On 1 Dec 2005 08:23:30 -0800, "Brian Kelly" wrote:

I'm mulling the design/homebrewing of a hexagonal 20/17/15/12/10M wire
beam a la the Traffie Hexbeam. The problem with just about all projects
like this is the number of up/down iterations required to tweak the
tuning of the things. Put it up, calculate the required changes in
element lengths, take it down, make the adjustments, put it back up to
check it again, pull it down and go thru the whole cycle ad nauseam.
Pain in the tush.

I've seen suggestions here and there about simply aiming a beam
vertically upward and doing all the tuning at ground level instead.
Which would save an awful lot of time and effort. If it works. Does
anybody around here have any experience with this method and if so how
succesful was it?

Thanks,

Brian w3rv

It will get you close. However it really depends on the front to
back of the antenna. Dipoles do poorly this way, 2 element beams
slightly better. I've done 3 element 6m beams with the reflector only
4ft off the ground pointing up with excellent success. Seems the
breakpoint is some where around better than 10or 12 DB F/B ratio.

You do need distance from the ground or it acts like a reflector
and messes with your measurments.


Allison