KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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Whats the best commercial hex beam?

Posted: 14 Dec 2015 12:11 PM PST
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu...m_medium=email

A K4KIO hex beam.

Buoyed by the success of my latest antenna project—a homebrew version of
the Cobra doublet antenna—Ive decided to put upÂ*a hex beam in the spring. I
think I can mount one on a simple mast attached to the side of my house.

In order to learn more about the hex beam, I have subscribed to the the hex
beam Yahoo Group.Â*Yesterday, someone asked, What is the best off-the-shelf
Hex Beam ?Â* Looking for it to work out of the box and not need
trimming/adjusting; well built, will not require maintenance, I am willing
to pay for quality.

This, of course, promptedÂ*many different responses. Here are some of the
most cogent:

If you are in the UK the only one to go for is the one built by MW0JZE.
Straight out the box, in the air and no messing about setting
up.Â*http://www.g3txq-hexbeam.com/
Even if youre not in the UK, Ant, MW0JZE, makes a Hex Beam that is worth
the shipping cost to the U.S.A. It is robustly built. Yes, it will cost you
more, but the quality is well worth it.
I had both a Traffie and K4KIO. Both worked great with no tweaking required.
http://www.k4hex.com/Â*this is a great buy I have had mine up for a couple
of months and its been perfect! Very well built! SWR perfect on all bands
no tweaking.
I have a NA4RR (http://www.k4hex.com/) and after driving a short pipe in
the ground it took about 20 minutes to put it together. Now up at about 15
meters on a homemade tilt mast and working fine.Â* I did give the fiberglass
a coat of Rustoleum before I put it together. If it was destroyed by
lightning or something, I would buy another one.
I installed an SP7IDX hexbeam on my carport roof in September. Very high
quality and no tweaking required. I am still amazed how quiet this antenna
is. Just dont be in a hurry to get it. Mine took about 3 months to get here.
Same experience with the SP7IDX hexbeam.Â* Made of the highest quality
materials and advanced engineering. Waldis hexbeam was easily assembled, no
adjustment required, covers 6-bands, but expect a few months for delivery.Â*
Excellent support from Waldi.
The K4KIO and NA4RR Hex beams are both plug and play and simple to
assemble. I assembled both brands and it took about 45 minutes to assemble
either one. No cutting or trimming involved. I own the NA4RR and have it up
3 years now with no issues.
Ditto for the NA4RR Hex wonderful unit.
I have a Waldi SP7IDX Hexbeam (HD), and its a marvellous antenna.Â*Its hand
made, and so you need time to receive it. Approximatively three to four
months, but the SWR id perfect on all bands. Quality is great.

18 months ago I purchased a Textenna Tex-Hex from Texas Towers. Â*It is a
plug-and-play version of the G3TXQ broadband hexagonal design. Â*All
elements are pre-tuned, and the installation was quick and easy. Â*The
Tex-Hex employs high-quality UV-resistent resin / fiberglass tubes for the
spreaders and 13 support cords for additional support and
strength. Â*Customer service is excellent from both Texas Towers and the
manufacturer of the antenna. Â*I live on the coast in Gloucester, MA and
last years winter with 100 inches of snow put the antenna to a severe
test. Â*We had several days of 40-50 mile per hour winds and icing. Â*There
were absolutely no problems.



So, it looks like there are a number of good choices out there. Im going to
do an analysis of how much it would cost me to build one myself versus
buying a ready-made one. I know that DX Engineering sells parts for DIYers.

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