| N5ID |
Rating:  |
2025-01-05 | |
| Great Beam |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| The NA4RR Hex Beam is very simple to assemble and it works excellent. The SWR is pretty flat on all bands, the highest SWR I see on the band edge of 12 and 20 meters is 1.3 to 1, the rest of the bands are 1.2 or lower. I would buy another one if mine were to come down in a storm! |
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| KE8DAX |
Rating: |
2024-11-11 | |
| NA4RR did it right and supplied a great antenna value! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
After 5 Years:
This antenna has worked very well with no issues. It is very quiet and works DX routinely. At the original installation, I painted the fiberglass arms with matt white Krylon and the paint has held up great. It was subjected to a very bad ice storm a couple of years ago and suffered no damage. After this experience, I did install ice cords. If I had to do over, I would install the cords from the start as they also provide stability in high winds. I highly recommend a hexbeam and don't believe that you will find an antenna that works better at anywhere near it's price.
After much research, I decided to order the NA4RR hex. I really wanted the opportunity to explore the higher HF bands, i.e., 17 through 10m and this beam represented the best value. I bit the bullet and placed the order. Everything arrived in a timely manner and all parts were well identified, neatly packed, and of high quality. It took a couple of hours to assemble with no issues. It was installed at 45' on a Universal Tower and then the fun began. The first call broke a big pileup to a Lithuanian station and I'm only running 100 watts. I've been using this antenna for about six weeks and it exceeds my expectations. Basically, if I can hear them I can work them. You are going to have to spend three to four times as much to get equivalent performance. Time will tell the durability of the basic hexbeam design. I now have no plans to upgrade to a "higher performance" antenna and am absolutely loving 17M! And by the way, I don't even use the tuner in my TS-590SG.......haven't needed it with this antenna. |
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| W0RDR |
Rating: |
2024-11-10 | |
| Outstanding and Easy |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This HexBeam went together easily, simply followed the instructions (and watched the video) and it was a snap. I did take the extra steps (and time) to use plastic primer and flat-black protective enamel paint on it before assembly. I'm sure that will pay off in the long run.
Once it was up on the tower and connected, before I even tried it on the air I did a sweep of it with my uVNA. I was amazed to find the SWR well under 2:1 on all bands (in fact in the middle of all bands it was under 1.5:1. Mine even sweeps out to be under 1.5:1 on 2m a band it's not advertised to work on.
I made my first contact with "The Christmas Train" in VA. On RX, comparing it to my R9 vertical, the HexBeam increased his signal from S8 to more that 10 over S9. He advised I was +20 on the HexBeam. I didn't have a chance to do a comparison as he was very busy.
Overall I am VERY impressed, although my wife says our neighbors are going to wonder why I put the clothesline up so high and it keeps rotating...
I've had my NA4RR HexBeam up and operating now for almost 2 years. It has been through wind storms (up to 65 MPH gusts) hail, sleet, and ice. No issues at all. I bought the ice-cords to install on it, but haven't brought it down to do so. When I do bring it down for maintenance (checking the connectors, etc), I'm going to add some sort of brightly colored streamer or something so I can easily see and determine its orientation. I know how to see where it's pointed but, it's 150' from my window and the wires are hard to see against a bright sky background.
I've easily worked all continents and some decent DX. The bottom of the antenna is only about 22' (3m) above the ground and it works great. After 2 years, the SWR is less than 2:1 across all the rated bands, and I still don't know how it's doing this, but it also has relatively low (2.5:1) SWR on 2m, and pretty good directivity.
You can't go wrong buying this. |
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| N4WRE |
Rating: |
2024-09-03 | |
| Great Antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have always been a Yagi guy, but wanted to try one of the Hex Beams. I chose the NA4RR and have been really happy with it's performance. So far I have not heard anyone that I could not work. I work all modes and work all digital and cw with 100 watts. It is simple and easy to put together in 30 min or so. Mine is only up 30 feet with a small rotor and I have been amazed at the results. I think for the money it is the best bang for the buck for a 6 band antenna. Try one and you will feel the same. 73
Marty N4WRE |
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| K4KZ |
Rating: |
2024-01-15 | |
| Works well |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I recently purchased this Hexbeam antenna following a recommendation from a friend who had installed one in Missouri. The assembly process was straightforward and took approximately an hour. Living in an HOA-regulated area, I discreetly installed the antenna behind a line of trees in my backyard, painting it black for better concealment. To support the antenna, I opted for a black, heavy-duty, 25-foot telescopic flagpole. The installation required digging a hole, into which I placed six 50-pound bags of concrete mix to secure the PVC base of the telescopic pole. I've found the antenna to be highly effective across all bands from 20m to 6m, meeting all my needs.-Lonnie, K4KZ |
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| N1JDH |
Rating: |
2024-01-14 | |
| Good Wind Survivability |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've been using the NA4RR hex beam for 4 years now. In Dec 23 an 85 MPH wind gust took out my tower. The hex beam was damaged by the weight of the tower. I put up a new tower (5 guys instead of 3 now) and repaired the hex beam with replacement parts. It was up only 3 days before another wind storm came through, sustained winds of 50+ MPH and gusts reaching 74 MPH. Hex beam made it through intact. This is a great product! |
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| K2GT |
Rating: |
2023-05-10 | |
| CQ DX! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
UPDATE: 8 years later. 89 countries when it went up, closer to 300 now! 25 states confirmed when it went up. 8 Band WAS hanging on the wall now!
The problems: Weather related reliability. I live in Hawaii and do not have a wind issue, but have a major rain and humidity issue. Over the years, I have replaced 3 wire sets because the humidity has caused the rope between the elements to break. Actually when that happens the ends of the elements hang down, but the antenna still works well. 15 meters broke a year ago and the next day I placed first in Hawaii in the ARRL International Digital Contest, mostly on 15. The second issue has been running high pwer and having burns on the wire set where it passes through the hose clamps. Rubber tube over the hose clamp might help that. Customer response has been great, and I'd do it again if I needed to.
''''''''
For the last year I have been sitting with 89 confirmed on LOTW. I put up the Hex at 32 feet, and got the last 11 confirmed in two weeks. I'm a believer. One person construction, 2 or 3 persons to actually put it up and you're good to go. I saw another review where a ham had the rods break in a a hurricane here in Hawaii. Roger sent me extra fiberglass rods which I forwarded on to that ham (no charge) and I assume he's up and running again. Great customer service from Roger. It's a winner. |
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| KC4MOP |
Rating: |
2023-04-02 | |
| Worked GR8 till 70mph wind |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This antenna and probably the other copies of the original Traffie Hexbeam do not do well in high winds storms, as we had APRIL 1st, 2023. 70 MPH winds and broken spreaders. I regret installing it on my 30 foot steel tower. Now I have to call someone in to remove the antenna...Order spreader arms.....disassemble the antenna.......install new spreaders....call a tree company back to re-install. Not going through any of that. I bought a DX Commander vertical and live with the consequences of no HEXbeam. These antennas do well on a push-up mast or 30 foot tilt-over tower to make repairs that are surely going to happen. I am retired and fixed income and do not have endless resources. I was just getting into the the activity of the upper bands 20M and up with the new cycle we are in now. |
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| VA3VS |
Rating: |
2023-03-05 | |
| vy fb. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
this is an update on my na4rr hexbeam. the antenna has been in service for 7 years, with zero problems. swr is 1.3:1 on all bands, rising slightly to 1.7:1 at 29.650.
in the last 2 weeks, we have had a couple ice storms, that made the wire elements about 5/8'' thick !! antenna well out of resonance. but as soon as the ice melted, normal operations resumed.
i have read about some hexbeams failing, and i must say, the thin walled plastic pipe joining the vertical post to the hexplate, could be a problem. if i was assembling this antenna today, i would substitute a thick walled fibreglass pipe, or delrin, or even solid polypropylene, to make this more solid.
however. there are a few areas, that really need close attention when assembling this antenna.
the s hooks that attach the cords to the top of the vertical post MUST be closed, so they cannot come out.
the stub mast that goes from your rotor to the hexplate coupling, must be a close fit. this is important.
spreaders, and cords. let the spreaders and support cords do their job! the element wires are not for supplementing these. there is perfect equilibrium between all 6 cords, acting on the central vertical post. dont tighten up the element wires, thats not a good idea, and takes away from the spreaders and cords. plus, you will have tight, and slack areas, that will affect the operation of the spreaders.
i think maybe some manufacturers, may beef up the thin pipe (on the na4rr),but dont throw this antenna together too fast. take your time, follow the instructions, and for sure, leave a little slack on the wires. it wont affect the performance one bit, but will allow the other parts to do their job.
mine has been up for 7 years, and i look fwd to another 7 !
great antenna, enjoy !
vy 73 de bob.
va3vs
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| NN2X |
Rating: |
2023-03-03 | |
| Fantastic and compared with Mono Banders (Yagi and Verticals) |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Update: March 2, 2023
Everyone knows the Hex beams do very well; however, how about during Wind storms of 60MPH and gusts up to 80MPH? How does the HEX handle this?
Well, on March 2, in north Dallas, we had a storm (60MPh gusting to 80MPH), and the HEX beam survived. (Both mechanical and RF parameters were the same).
End of update: March 2, 2023
I had the luxury of owning both the K4KIO and the NA4RR. Both are great; both have outstanding support...I will say having Youtube Video instructions was a neat idea by NA4RR. Nevertheless, both are easy to assemble; I even hoisted the antenna on the mast myself (Both weigh the same 25 lbs)..(I am 63, not the greatest in shape, but I can see my toes!)
Performance.
Both NA4RR and K4KIO have the exact dimensions.
When I had the K4KIO, I compared with my mono banders (K4KIO Up at 35FT)
The first Mono Bander was the 24FT Mono Band Mosely antenna (20 Meters / 3 elements)) Up at 40ft
The second Mono Bander was the 12ft Mono Bander Hygain (15 meters / 3 elements) Up at 50ft.
The third Mono Bander was at 12 FT Force 12 (10 Meters 4 ELements) / Up at 55 ft.
You can see it on my QRZ Page...
I compared the Hex Beam to the Mono banners...(Hex Beam was at 35ft)
The results.
I first modeled the EZNEC Software, and I'd like to let you know that the Hex beam performance is best at 35ft for both DX and Local). (If you go higher or lower, the performance suffers) Go figure? And we always thought the higher, the better...But I digress
Hex versus Mono Banders
The HEX Beam for 20 Meters, The Mosely slightly won (Mono Bander 24ft boom /3 Element @ 40ft/ The Hex Beam 35ft), but you would never notice the difference, maybe a 0.5 S unit...(Both Local and DX). But with QSB, you would have a hard time seeing the difference.
For 15 Meters, the Hex Beam won (Against the 12FT Boom 3 Element Yagi @50ft / The Hex Beam 35ft)...Flat out, especially in DX. I can't explain, but a full 1 to 2 S unit favoring the HEX Beam (DX) Local is about the same.
For 10 meters (4 Elements 12 FT Boom @ 55ft/ The Hex Beam 35ft), The Yagi 4 Element had slightly better results for DX but only 0.5 S Unit to 1 S Unit for DX, but once again, hard to tell, with QSB...But nothing to get too excited about.
The MONO band system = Costs about $7,000 (Rotor, Tower, and antennas)
The Hex Beam = About $1,000 (Antenna, Mast, and Rotor)
My takeaway from modeling with EZNec, you would need a boom length of 32FT to start knowing you upgraded from Hex to Large Yagi array.
So all those multi-band configurations, for 10-20, unless it is 32 ft, don't bother...Stick with a Hex beam unless 32 FT Boom...
I paid dearly learning this with my mono banders.
Hex versus DX Commander (Vertical)
I am about 10 ft above the ground (NA4RR), and the VSWR measured Flat on all bands (Less than 1.5:1) / 10/12/15/18/20. I will raise it to 35ft...
I have a DX Commander to compare with; it is about 4 to 5 S Units difference locally (Favoring the HEX Beam at 10ft (10-20). I will upload the results on YouTube when I get a chance. I am sure the performance of the DX commander will get closer when working DX...I saw one DX on 15 meters (Just JA) still was at least 3 S Units difference, but I need more time to compare. (Favoring Hex Beam)
But local (Which is typical, the two-element HEX, will do far better). Another point for the DX Commander, so much is determined by Ground quality.
Please note: My DX Commander has only 32 radials and an average of 15ft in length for each radial...Maybe in another location, DX Commander would do better (Ground Quality and Longer radials)
In summary...
NA4RR is an excellent product with superb customer support, a great price...and outstanding performance.
About the wind storm...I bought a Spiderbeam Aluminum Mast (41ft) very easy to pull up and down. Pull down with knobs to 5FT 7 inches; I also purchased the Quad Pod. If winds come along, 3 minutes to pull down.
C U on the bands
DE NN2X / Tom |
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