Hexbeam antenna - 2 full elements on 6 band's, and it ROCK's



Ever since i began in this hobby, i have wanted a better antenna than my 92 foot
ladderline fed dipole. not a bad antenna in itself, but it had the same weakness
as any other dipole at the right hight, big deaf areas at the ends of the elements.

I have searched high and low for a healthy multiband design, and i dont have
the room or tower for a big multiband yagi. Finally i stumbled on the Hexbeam.

You get 6 bands, 20-17-15-12-10-6, and almost the same data as a 2 element
yagi. Something like 4dB forward gain, and 20dB front to back, not bad at all.

The antenna has great directivity, small footprint, turning radius just 3.25m
so the whole antenna measures just 6.5m from corner to corner. in other
words, just the antenna i was looking for. So i decided to try and build it.


i started out with the hub, cut from a sheet of 6mm maritime aluminium




then i proceeded with the feeder for the elemments. it is fed from the top
of the center post, so i had my feedline go up thru the post and terminated
with the element feeder at the top.






i then assembled the center post with feeder and mounted it on the alu hub.




Spacer cords are an essential part of this antenna so i made those too.
with kevlar string and small s-hooks.




the fiberglass spreader arms are from Spiderbeam in germany. i opted to pay
a little extra, and get something that could hold up in bad weather.

i tapped a small piece of thin walled aluminium tube into the end of the
fiberglass to make a ferrule. i then added a small piece of plastic tubing
inside. all this to spread out the load from the s-hook, so the tube dont
crack under the stress from wind load or snow, that was the idea at least.







Last but not least you need a balun to make the transition from unbalanced
coax feedline, to balanced antenna elements. so i made a quick common mode
choke, nothing fancy, but it does the job very well. just 8-10 turns of H155
on a ft240-43 toroid core.




finally came assembly time :-) yeehaw i have been waiting for this moment.
heres an image of the hub and spreader assembly.

All the element feed points have been sealed with epoxy and contact cement.
not pretty, but it will keep out rain and moisture for a long time ;-)




theres many ways to attach the element wires to the spreaders, but
heres how i did it. when the antenna was trimmed and good to go,
i covered all the black plastic holders in contact cement, so they wont
break away, even if the cable ties do not last.




my element to spacer cord transition




all done and ready for the initial SWR readings and adjustments




The finished antenna, time for testing and doing some DX!




Post script:

i have since worked alot with this antenna and it just continues to amaze me.
i have literally worked the world with it, incl. some DXCC's i simply could not
reach on the dipole or my verticals. some of these include dxcc's like

Alaska, Malaysia, Mexico, Falkland Isl., Maldive Isl., South Africa, Hawaii, Svalbard

The gain and F/B on this antenna is really great. and for the first time ever
i get the feeling, that if i can hear it, i can work it.. i simply love this little gem.

If you would like to know how to build one for yourself, or just want some
indepth information, theres a couple of very good websites to check out.

Try these to start with:

Steve, G3TXQ, is responsible for the broad-band version i have build
you can find his website and all the technical info HERE


Leo Shoemaker, K4KIO, has ALL the DIY info you need to make your
own hexbeam, you can find his website HERE

One example of a VERY nicely made 5-band Hexbeam by HB9MCZ HERE

How to calculate and make your own aluminium center post HERE

Another homebrew hexbeam site by KG4JJH HERE


Now go build your own Hexbeam antenna, you will NOT be disappointed





DX Cluster