Rick wrote:
. . .The moral of the
story, be careful about making assumptions regarding antenna performance
without having an A-B switch! . .

I'd like to add, use receiving signal strength for comparison. I have a
friend who occasionally entertains himself by asking for comparative
reports for two antennas. The differences are sometimes striking,
especially if the two antennas are described as being very different.
But in reality they're the same antenna.

There are at least two other good reasons for using received signals for
comparison. First, you can average out the effects of QSB, which can be
tens of dB, and can be different or even opposite for two different
antennas. And second, you can, with a step attenuator or an S-meter
calibrated with a step attenuator, accurately tell just how great the
difference is. If someone else truthfully reports a two S unit
difference, you don't have any way to know whether it's 4 dB or 12.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL