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| Reviews Summary for Optibeam OB9-5 |
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Reviews: 40
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Average rating: 5.0/5
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MSRP: $995
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Description: Performant yagi designed as stacked monobander for 20/17/15/12/10 with patented feed system. Optimized computer designed German yagi without traps and with full size elements. The OB9-5 has 2 el on 20, 2 el on 17, 2 el on 15, 2 el on 12 and 3 el on 10 meters.
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More info: http://www.optibeam.de
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IW2CLM
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 15, 2007 06:30
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Amazing antenna...
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I own OB9-5 antenna for a little while now, but it is very nice, easy to mount, no SWR in all 5 band. I've worked all the world with incredible signals.
Great assistance from Tom for anything needed. Well done Optibeam.
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CT1BWW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 5, 2007 11:58
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SUPER Antennas for Great DXers!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Dear Friends!
I decide to write this review exactly 2 months after setup my OPTIBEAM 9-5.
I don't want to explain what everybody already knows about antennas, for myself all antennas are good! But I just want to explain Why I decide for Opitbeam! I've already work with Cuschcraft, Force 12, I've already help mounting over 30 antennas from other friends. So !I know very well different manufacturers.
I choose Optibeam for following:
1)I want to have a antenna with a good VSWR and should work from 10 to 20 Meters including WARC
Not too Heavy and with NOT A LONG Boom. (This is because my tower is not Telescopic and it's supported by stream steel cables.(I've to put a J-Pole to setup all antennas)
OPTIBEAM 9-5 The Antenna Technical features exactly as showns on the WEB-Page .
2)My location as very problematic strong Winds from Atlantic Coast. Antenna made under German Techonoly as Very Good Quality. (ask for others OPtibeam Users if you have any doubt!)
3)That I've decide to have 40 Meters Band I've to buy 2 antennas OPTIBEAM 9-5 and a second antenna for 40 Meters OPTIBEAM 1-40, I study very carefully with my Budget. OPTIBEAM as Very Good Prices comparing with others.
4)I'm accustomize with mounting antennas and towers , but I decide to ask to OPTIBEAM some advise about to have two (2) antennas on same mast .They give me VERY Good Support from Factory.
5)What I Expect on the antenna? First QSO on 20 Mts (BS7H Phone) Phone after a while (BS7H CW). Work DXs easy on WARC and also very good VSWR curves. You don't need POWER ! Usually I'm saying I prefer 2 elements without traps than 3 elements with Traps. Nowadays more important ARE NOT TRANSMITTING but have a GOOD RECEPTION, GOOD LISTENING.
On the same mast about 2,5 Meters I have my OPTIBEAM 1-40
This antenna SYSTEM are REALLY WHAT i EXPECT!
If you hear me give me a call ! I'm using a OPTIBEAM !
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PA3EXX
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 17, 2007 07:40
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Great replacement for my old FB-33
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After owning a Fritzel FB33 for 14 years I was looking for a replacement. I had the idea the beam was not doing so well anymore because of the traps and the WARC dipole mounted on the FB33 boom did not give good results either.
I was looking for a beam for 14-28 Mhz. The best choices seemed to be the Optibeam 9-5 and the 3 ele Steppir ( because of the size ).
There is not very much difference between the specs of the Steppir and the Optibeam, only the Steppir also works on 50 MHz. My choice was the Optibeam OB9-5 because it has no moving parts, because it is very well constructed, because it is much cheaper and because of all the great reviews on this forum.
The beam was shipped from Optibeam in Germany and the service was very good. Construction is easy and the manual is very clear.
I am very happy with the beam. I do hear less noise and stronger signals and that is what it was all about.
The beam has fullsize elements instead of traps and I was a bit worried that it would look huge but the neighbours did not even notice that I replaced the old beam.
Excellent antenna and great value for money !
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K1CP
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 18, 2006 02:33
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It's the one...
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've been looking for a 5 band HF beam for my single tower city lot antenna "farm". I wanted an antenna that would provide both performance and reliability in a small package and be able to withstand Maine winters. After considering several alternatives I purchased an OB9-5 from Array Solutions. So far I have not been disappointed! The OB9-5 was easy to assemble and easy to put up on the tower. The SWR is better than specified across the CW and SSB segments on all 5 bands... and the antenna "plays" very nicely. You can expect to work what you can hear with this antenna. Exemplary customer service from the designer Tom DF2BO at Optibeam and from Jay at Array Solutions is part of the deal too. If you're in the market for a small, rugged HF beam, this one is certainly worth a look.
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DL8GAE
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 8, 2006 14:07
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. . . . after sales service
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Hi there,
I recently decided to get rid of my Mosley TA 34 XL WARC and get something different. Due to my advancing age I needed something that needs little or no maintenance – my days of crawling around on roof tops are numbered.
After searching through various flyers and the internet I finally chose the OptiBeam 9-5.
A huge parcel arrived with seemingly endless numbers of parts. But everything was clearly marked and when I laid the all out in sequence the numbers were not that formidable after all.
A ham friend came along and we put it all together – everything fitted mechanically perfectly.
I hired a crane to get up on the roof (without risking or stressing the friends who helped) and pulled down the old beam. The new beam went up with the crane – no hitches at all. Having got everything up and in place came the eagerly awaited moment – how well will it work!
Ran the first SWR tests with an analyzer – 20m fine the rest was a shambles. Oh boy – what has gone wrong where! The beam is on the roof and the crane has been sent off.
I sent an eMail to Tom DF2BO who produces the antenna explaing my findings, together with some pictures taken during the assembly and erecting process. A series of mails followed back and forward (almost in real time) including a few more pictures. Then Tom mailed me right back with the solution and told me how to go about solving the physical problem of correcting the mistake on the beam (now way up on the roof).
The mistake was purely mine (shame on me) I had not read the part in the assembly manual covering the “crossed phased line” thoroughly and had assembled the connecters parallel and not crossed as they should be.
I was amazed that Tom was able to spot the problem based on the photos I had sent.
Well today I went up onto the roof in stron winds and rather wobbly stood there making the corrections – the whole job took about 30 minutes.
Back in the shack I ran the SWR tests again and everything was in perfect order.
The whole project would have been that more difficult had Tom not been so helpful – I feel that one does not always get this kind of support from a supplier. Often it’s a case of goods and cash changing hands and then you are on your own from there. Tom proved that customer relationship and satisfaction is important and this is by my books worth a full 5 rating.
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MM0MSS
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 12, 2006 17:15
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First impressions - Excellent
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've had my OB9-5 (HD version - heavy duty) in the air on my 60ft tower only for a short time, but my first impressions are very favourable. Here are a few for/against comments....
FOR:
(1) No TRAPS or COILS !!!!!!! Nothing to get burnt out or water in - fantastic!
(2) Very good build quality.
(3) Easy to put together (although I did have help from existing Optibeam owners).
(4) SWR excellent on all bands. Exceeds expectations.
(5) Compact size for HF beam.
(6) On air performance is superb.
AGAINST:
(1) Nothing !!!
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KA5SMA
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 8, 2006 19:08
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So far performance is good.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have had my OB9-5 in the air( at 40 ft) for 2 weeks. I am a DXer and every station I have called has come back to me on first or second call running barfoot.
The only criticism I have is that the instructions contain pictures of parts that do not belong to the OB9-5. The instructions seem to be written for several Optibeam antennas. I would have been much better off if I had just put the antenna together without reading the instructions. It would have been nice to have an actual picture of the completed antenna instead of pictures of small sections which in some instances are not even pictures of the OB9-
5.
The elements sag quite a bit..however under gusty wind conditions so far elements do not move very much. After the antenna is in the air the sagging is not so apparent...
From an SWR standpoint this antenna performs better than advertised. The SWR is below specifications in most cases. My SWR across the entire 20 meter band is 1.2:1 or less. The SWR at 29.5 MHz is 2.1:1 which is a little higher than specs..dont operate on FM portion of band but if I did the intenal tuner in my Mark V will take care of the 2.1:1 SWR.
I have noticed that this antenna is very quiet.
This may be partly due to the receiver in the Mark V Field..however.
So far support from Jay and Tom have been great.
I would recommend this antenna if you are looking for a good 5 band antenna. A little inconvience, going through customs at the airport is worth it.
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LX1AX
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Rating: 5/5
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May 28, 2006 08:12
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THE OPTIMUM
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Hello to all,
After more than 1 year of using the OB9-5 I think it's time to write a second review. I don't want to tell again about the good performance, the very good customer service from Tom DF2BO and his wife Diana and.....and.....for more read my review before.
My Opinion has not changed!
Important is to tell that the SWR is not changing if it is raining and also if there is ice and snow on the antenna, I know that now after the long winter we have had here in Luxembourg.
Another experience is the high winds doesn't make anything to it, and a very important thing is to mentionned that you here no whistles or other noise coming from the antenna by really high winds.
This is a nice aspect because if you have the antenna on the roof of your house,like I do, you know what I mean, but also if you have a big tower near your house, noise from the antenna can brings you a lot of problems.
Band changing can be done very rapidly, because you need no tuner or tuning anything on the antenna and for DX chasing only a few seconds can be for us hams an eternity.
I'm every day again fascinated about the DX performance about this antenna. It has completly changed my ham life. I love this antenna.
My opinion: The OPTIBEAM OB9-5 is the OPTIMUM in performance for this size.
It's an high efficient optimised Yagi.
And I have no TVI complaints ore BCI ore others until I'm using it. O.K. I'm running only 200 Watts.
Only one regret is that I cannot put up any other bigger antenna from OPTIBEAM or some for(80m,40m ) due to my space limitations.
You can see that on my webpage: If you want to take a look, go please on www.qrz.com here you find me and a there you find a link to my homepage. Thank you for visiting.
If you are thinking to change your antenna, I highly recommend you the OPTIBEAM OB9-5, you will not regret it, like al the other happy owners of the OB9-5.
73's and best dx LX1AX Alain
Thank you for reading and I hope to meeting you all on the air.
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EI8CE
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 15, 2005 07:58
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Customer service
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Purchased an early model and when erected some of the driven elements developed a forward v shape. I contacted Tom about this and he responded immediately suggesting a modification which has since been incorporated on later versions. Not only did he supply the additional parts for free when I asked about fitting a commercail balun he also sent me that. Antenna performance has been without doubt the best I have ever worked behind with many stations commenting on the outstandingly strong signal from what is essentially a 2 element yagi. Great antenna and great service.
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EA1DDU
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 24, 2005 02:14
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¡MAGNÍFICA ANTENA!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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¡Hola a todos!
Compré esta antena hace un par de años ya que necesitaba una que me diera juego en todas las frecuencias de HF por encima de 14 Mhz., con R.O.E. bajo, y que fuera "poco ruidosa" para una nueva instalación en la ciudad después de haber realizado toda mi actividad hasta entonces en casa de mis padres, en el campo, donde el ruído es mayoritariamente ambiental y no "humano" (Confieso que este tema me preocupaba en gran medida y no era en vano).
¡Pues bien!, después de entrar prácticamente en todas las páginas de los fabricantes de antenas que trabajaran multibandas y descartar las logarítmicas, di con Optibeam. Después de varios e-mails que fueron contestados con toda clase de detalles e incluso fotografías, me decidí por la OB9-5 por:
-El boom no es muy largo (5,10m) lo que me permitía poner más pisos en mi instalación. Dado que sólo puedo tener una torreta y trabajo las bandas de V-UHF en DX, no puedo permitirme colocar un "primer piso" muy voluminoso.
-La ROE que especifican en la WEB es muy interesante por lo que no tendría que usar tanto el acoplador de antenas.
-Quería alguna antena no-logarítmica y sin bobinas para tratar de evitar interferencias indeseadas. Y esta cumple el requisito (hay muy pocas)
-La ganancia que citan es relativamente baja en dB pero esto es un poco ficticio porque, sin embargo, la comparativa con yagis monobandas la sitúan por encima de una yagi monobanda de 2 elementos en todas las bandas y la diferencia es de menos de 1 dB sobre una 3 elementos en la mayoría de los casos.
-Y, por último, un amigo que ya tenía antenas de este fabricante me dijo que estaba muy contento con ellas (no cito nombre e indicativo porque no le consulté sobre el particular).
Por contra, confieso que me preocuban dos temas: Los elementos son muy largos (el más largo está cercano a 11m.)con lo que tenía miedo por la resistencia al viento, que sopla fuerte por nuestra zona del Cantábrico, y estaba dudando si los 1.200€. que costaba la antena se corresponderían con las prestaciones...
Pues bien, tengo que deciros que, aparte del trato recibido, que es excelente, la antena
-Se monta muy rápido porque vienen pre-montadas varias piezas del boom y marcados todos los tramos de los elementos. Todo ello completado con un manual muy interesante y con fotografías.
-La ROE que citan en las especificaciones de la página es real.
-El rendimiento es excelente comparado con yagis más largas y no es ruidosa. Sorprende el entrar en pile-ups grandes con suma facilidad y ¡sólo 100w.!
-La resistencia al viento, después de dos o tres galernas soportadas, es grande. No sufrió ninguna rotura ni deformación y ya hubo ráfagas cercanas a 170 km/h.
Ahora, prácticamente, no uso el amplificador para estas bandas y el equipo que uso es sencillo (TS450SAT) con lo cual, lo que de chaval me enseñaba mi amigo, que en paz descanse, Braulio, EA1EJ, es así:
"El mejor amplificador es una buena antena"
¡Realmente os la aconsejo!
Saludos cordiales,
¡73 y DX!
Domi (EA1DDU)
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