I agree on the F/B issue. I built a long boom 15m yagi years ago that
> worked great. I pointed it to JA from Colorado and it was quiet off the
> back so much so that stations would constantly move in on my frequency.
> For working big pileups simplex the F/B helped wipe out some of the
> qrm. For most of my operating, I prefer max gain out the front and I
> will take whatever F/B as long as the pattern is decent. I have had the same experience on 160M working JA. I have a vertical
that gives me a dB or two in that direction, but I don't use it much for
that reason. The only time I want rear rejection is for receiving to
minimize noise. Indeed, I know serious contesters with multiple yagis
for the same band who often point one at the DX with 1400W and another
at their competition with 100W.