Question on HD-8800 assembly

[wems95@aol.com]

Hello all, I have a question on an HD-8800 double bow-tie antenna. Does it matter if the wing nuts on the stacking bar face the reflector or face out towards the transmitter? I may have misassembled the antenna, I put the wing nuts for the balun facing the reflector, the assembly picture shows the wing-nuts facing outward. I really don't think it should matter since I believe it should still be phased correctly but I wanted to check to be sure.

Also, if I put a denser reflector in the rear (like close-knit chicken wire) will I increase the gain somewhat (at the expense of making it a bit more directional?)

Thanks,
- Bill

[winegard]

Good morning wems95 -

It does not matter which way the downlead terminals face. It is important that the phasing bars are parallel do not touch each other going from the antenna to the downlead terminal block. Adding the chicken wire or any other material will not improve the gain of the antenna.