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You can
write your own review of the Hexbeam: Traffie.
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W6UX
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 22, 2012 15:55
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A dream antenna for me!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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In a word: FANTASTIC!
Positively the best antenna I could put up at my QTH. Lightest, and smallest turning radius of any of the commercial Hex Beam designs. Assembled without issues, very fast with a few friends to help. Mine is at 40' on an aluminum pushup mast. Rotator is installed at ground level. You can find photos of it from my QRZ.com bio page.
Going from a typical 57 from SoCal into AK or VP8 with 100 watts using a multiband inverted-v doublet to 59 +10-20dB was a shock! I worked Korea and we both thought we were in the same room. Worked 700 QSOs in the NAQP SSB this past weekend in just 10 hours on 3 bands. This is a dream antenna for me. I can't have a full size beam on a 70' tower. Hands down the next best thing. Absolutely no plans to ever change this out for something else.
Thank you Mike Traffie for putting together an incredible product!
-Jeff, W6UX
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K6HJM
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 11, 2011 18:16
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Great in wind
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Southern California had a very, very severe wind storm (Santa Ana winds)with sustained gusts up to 90 mph. Pasadena, CA lost over 200 trees and there still are folks without power.
After the winds I looked at my Hexbeam....no problems, no damage, no nothing. And I got a few new bands today on 10 meters.
Buy it....you will love it!
73 and good DX
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W9GZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 15, 2011 05:49
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Absolutely fabulous
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I know some people are worried about the cost of this antenna. Don't be. The antenna is worth every bit of the cost. I have never seen another antenna as well made as this one. It goes together perfect and is truly plug and play. No making connectors and cutting wire. You simply follow the instructions and in no time at all your antenna is ready to mount on the tower. I have both the 5 band and the 6 meter.
Was able to make the final connections to my radio last Sunday and was blown away at the signal. The SWR was well below 1.5 almost everywhere. Folks, this is one fantastic antenna. I cannot comment on other hex beams because I have not seen them. But what I can tell you is that your money is well spent on the Traffie Hexbeam. One other thought. You can spend a lot of money on your radio but if you don't have a good antenna all that money spent on the radio doesn't mean anything. Start with a great antenna like the Traffie hexbeam. You'll be a lot happier when you can hear that DX station. Or better yet, when they can hear you. Thanks, and happey DX. Jon
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W1KMA
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 11, 2011 05:38
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Absolutely Fantastic
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I must say, Mike makes a great product.
Putting it together with my son, which was a no-brainer, was done in about two hours. Mike has it all laid out. The only thing I should have done was pre-drill the thru-bolt holes. It was still no big deal. After setting the beam north, I just drilled through the hub and mast one shot. I fired up my rig, and let me tell you, ya gotta luv this beam. It is quiet and just about flat on any band I have put the rig on. I have number 638 and it was designed with craftsmanship to the fullest. Mike uses the best of materials that are machined with no sharp edges to dig into the cords or wires. You will not be disappointed with a hexbeam by Traffie.
73, Chris W1KMA
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KU6F
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 13, 2011 06:59
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Fantastic at 2 feet elev!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I studied and researched the various hex beam designs and available "plug and play" models to death. I love antenna building, but as a busy mom, needed a beam antenna easy on the household and time required. I am thrilled with the Traffie 5-band beam. Assembled by myself in just under two hours at 2' elevation on an umbrella stand. First QSL was at 2' pointed into the eastern hill behind my house. 5:9 into N5S NM. It's on the roof on a 10' mast now and I'm getting excellent signal reports all over the world. Couldn't be happier. Thanks Mike for an excellent beam that the husband likes the appearance of.
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N4SC
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 20, 2011 13:31
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Continues To Perform
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Today marks the one year anniversary of the initial installation of the Traffie 5Bi Hexbeam at my QTH. My original review here was on 4 Oct 2010 and this is a followup evaluation of this product after a year's worth of use.
This antenna has continued to perform flawlessly, evidenced by the fact that it's put 256 unique DXCC entities into my log since last August 20th. Generally, if I can hear them, I can work them and it hears very well. It has weathered the winter ice storms here in Michigan as well as the high heat, wind, and rain storms that we've experienced over the past year.
I have no qualms in rating this Hexbeam as an A++ and would definitely recommend it to anyone. As far as cost goes, I feel it was worth every penny.
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N1JR
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Rating: 5/5
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May 24, 2011 14:13
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Model HX-5Bi Fabulous Build and Operation
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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When I began researching Hex Antennas, I came on Mike Traffie's site. As he's located about an hour from my house, I decided to make a Field Trip and visit him. What an eye opener! When you get the $0.50 tour, you get to see what terrific craftsmanship goes into his antennas. He patiently explained not only what choices he made for materials but as well why they were made. He explained how he has the ribs fabricated and how he has evolved the physical design of the antenna over the years. After seeing his shop, I was sold. Proof of the pudding is in the performance, of course, and his antenna performs wonderfully. Went together easily the first time and has stood up to a severe New England Winter without a whimper. It costs more than some of the other designs, but when you examine the level and quality of build, the money seems very well spent.
His "Classic" design has a wide SWR and I have never felt that the "New" designs would provide me with any practical SWR improvement.
Finally, Mike is the company and when you have a question or problem (unlikely), a phone call gets you to the "CEO" right away. He's also a very friendly and nice man to deal with. Straight talk all the time. Highly recommended. Jim, N1JR
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NV7E
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Rating: 5/5
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May 11, 2011 05:17
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Worked fine at two locations in Africa
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I reviewed the Traffie HX-5Bi Hex-Beam before in 2006 when I was living in Pretoria, South Africa, operating as ZS6SIG. I will copy what I wrote then at the end of this review. In 2010 I moved to Nairobi, Kenya, where I am now 5Z4EE.
I had a good experience with the Hex-Beam in Pretoria, in an urban situation where I had only limited space to put up a yagi. The Hex-Beam worked very well and withstood several severe windstorms there. I doubt a conventional yagi would have survived as long.
In my neighborhood in Pretoria the Hex-Beam was something of a landmark, although most people had a hard time figuring out exactly what it was. Birds liked to land on the antenna’s spreaders for a bird’s eye panoramic view of the area. I had fun rotating the antenna with the birds on it so they could get the impression of being on a carousel.
The ultimate test of durability for my Hex-Beam came in 2009 when a sudden windstorm finally took out the mast it was on. The Hex-Beam came down, but amazingly unharmed and in one piece. I later sold it to a local ham who carried it away and installed it at another location. A cheaper version of this type antenna would not have survived as this one did. It is a testament to the Traffie quality of design and craftsmanship.
In my garage I had a spare HX-5Bi which I shipped to Nairobi. My current QTH in Kenya is great. The back yard faces a tropical forest. My only neighbors on that side are monkeys. It offers a clear shot toward the northwest and the U.S.
The downside to my situation is that I have even less room for a directional antenna than I did in Pretoria. With such a short turning radius, the Hex-Beam is the only beam antenna that could fit there at all. It was a challenge to get it in the air. I used a Penninger Tipper mast base again but this time with a Spiderbeam aluminum telescoping mast mounted on it. Once the mast was attached to the mast base in the tipped mode, I raised it vertically and then pushed the telescoping mast and the antenna on top of it up by hand. I now have the Hex-Beam up about 13 meters. The performance is great, as was with my first Hex-Beam. I can work everything I can hear.
I am again completely satisfied with the Traffie Hex-Beam. It is a good choice even for those with no space constraints. I may get another one when I go back to northeastern Nevada. I recommend it to people I like.
This was my original review in 2006:
I am currently in Pretoria, South Africa, licensed as ZS6SIG. I was fortunate to have the Traffie HX-5Bi Hex-Beam and HDX-30 mast in my household effects when I came to Pretoria. I would have liked to put up a full sized yagi, but my back yard is limited in size, fortunately just large enough for the Hex-Beam.
Assembly of the HX-5Bi is not difficult if you take your time and read the instructions carefully. Now that I have done it once, I think I could do it again much faster. The parts are sturdy and have not come undone in the eight months the antenna has been up despite some hefty windstorms, which at times shook the antenna and mast up to 45º from vertical.
During installation, the top of the 33’ Traffie mast was laying on the roof of my house with the top of the mast a few feet beyond the apex of the roof. The base of the mast is mounted on a Penninger Tipper mast base which I highly recommend. My XYL actually got up on the roof and put the antenna on the mast. The most difficult part of the installation exercise was raising the antenna and mast. I first thought I would be able to use a hand winch to raise it. This approach was just not sufficient. Fortunately, I had an electric winch which was able to handle that problem. I used earth screws to install guy lines.
Once installed, the HX-5Bi worked fine on all bands 20 through 10 meters. From South Africa, almost all QSOs to the outside world are long-haul, with the U.S. being at least 8,000 miles away. A mediocre antenna just won’t cut it from South Africa. With the Hex-Beam, if I can hear it I can work it.
I read in one of the earlier reviews of the Hex-Beam that with a tuner the antenna works well on frequencies lower than those for which the antenna is designed. I am glad to confirm that this is true, at least on 40 and 30 meters, using the Nye-Viking MB-V-A and Ten-Tec 238B tuners. I think this is possible only because the Hex-Beam design employs no traps. It works so well that I would now hesitate to replace it with a regular yagi for fear of losing 40 meters.
In summary, the Hex-Beam is an excellent antenna for limited space situations such as mine. It may seem expensive, but I am always willing to pay a little more for a piece of equipment such as this which really works. I don’t have a machine shop and parts available to do it myself. I highly recommend the Traffie Hex-Beam.
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VA6GSM
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 27, 2011 13:09
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Best antenna yet
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have the 20M mono band version. Had it over a year now. Only problem I had was we had a very high winds blow through and the PVC center section bent with the wind. I talked to Mike Traffie about this and he suggested using a hair drier and to soften the PVC and push a steel tube through the center to strengthen it, I used aluminum because I had a short length kicking around, fixed and problem solved. The Hex is now on a 40' light weight tower and I am using a TV antenna rotator with no problems. The max watts I use is 600 and I can break any pile up after a few calls with consistent 59+. Great performing antenna very well built. See pics on qrz.com VA6GSM. No regrets buying this.
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WO8USA
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 5, 2011 17:01
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Durable, fell down, no damage
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my Traffie Hexbeam #201 since 2003---recently fell down in an ice storm here. Unlike a yagi which hits the ground and get really bent/broken, the hexbeam simply flexed and ung on the graund and in air for a few days before the weather cleared anough to get it safely. No damage to it at all!
The ice had probably made it double the wind load, and in a 40 mph wind the push up mast would not hold (survived the great Windstorm in 2007 at 80MPH for hours).
I have my new mast, going back up to 30ft soon.
Chris WO8USA
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