Having said that, I have enjoyed my 4 element Sirio beam immensely. Having literally talked around the world with it several times over in less than just two months time.
You can say that again! About a month-6 weeks ago when DX was in so well from Europe and everywhere else, I unkeyed over 20 times during one conversation with a station in Ireland to hear my own voice saying the last syllable before I unkeyed. That was one of the strangest radio oddities I've ever experienced. I was going all the way around the world, bounce after bounce, and coming back to my own receiver. Either that or it was moon bounce but it was too quick for moon bounce and I doubt my RF could ever get out and back through the charged atmosphere.