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Reviews For: OptiBeam OB10-5M: 10el fiveband Yagi 20-17-15-12-10m

Category: Antennas: HF: Yagi, Quad, Rotary dipole, LPDA

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Review Summary For : OptiBeam OB10-5M: 10el fiveband Yagi 20-17-15-12-10m
Reviews: 15MSRP: 900
Description:
The OB10-5M is an extremely compact 10el full sized Yagi for 20- 17-15-12-10m. It takes advantage of the Moxon structure, loss free folded back element ends and the OptiBeam sleeve element technique. One single coaxial feed line is required due to the OptiBeam directly coupled driver feed system. This antenna is the alternative to a corresponding wirebeam while it offers more performance and stronger mechanical stability.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.optibeam.net/index.php?article_id=149&clang=1
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
25154.9
ON4CIS Rating: 2020-09-03
Great antenna ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the best antenna for restricted areas. It takes some time to put together but the manual that comes with it is superb! Everything is explained in detail, there's pictures in colour and so on.. can't go wrong. If you need help, Tom will do anything to get you on the right track, great support !
The antenna sits at only 9 meters, SWR is flat on all bands, performance is great ! Perfect job OPTIBEAM !
DL4MFC Rating: 2020-01-14
Excellent! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After a move to my suburban house I had to leave my OPTIBEAM OB 11-5 behind. It was a pity, but I don’t want to scare my new neighbourhood with big antennas. What to do? The market offers a lot of solutions for restricted space. I compared the data of trap antennas, antennas with moving parts and those with full size elements. It took over a year to weigh the pros and cons. In the end I decided on the Hamradio 2019 in Friedrichshafen. I talked with Tom (DF2BO, owner of OPTIBEAM) and his team and was convinced, that the OB10-5M is the perfect antenna for my location. The sales process was uncomplicated and the assembly based on the detailed instructions was easy. I mounted the antenna on a FLAMMEX PULL tower 13 m above ground. The performance is excellent on all 5 bands and SWR is as described.
DL1BKX Rating: 2019-11-07
Excellent! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered this antenna
and Tom has informed me about all the steps.
A very professional antenna with a very good performance.
Excellent instructions and technical support ad any time
Absolute recommendation.
73s.
DK1DKE Rating: 2019-10-12
Excellent! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I ordered this nice Beam during the HAM-Radio 2019 after a very interesting and fruitful discussion with Tom (DF2BO, owner of OptiBeam). I could pick up it then few days later at the shop floor in Mühlacker. I got the chance to visit Tom’s production. And I can tell you, very professional, clean and well organized!
All parts were well packed in the right length, especially for transport in my shooting brake and signed/prepared for assembly. Tom and his team did an excellent job!
The description in the Installation Manual was very detailed, structured and comprehensible, incl. many pictures. All parts were available, in a high quality and nothing has been missing. I needed several days for assembly with short interruptions.
Now, after assembly, the most important thing … first test and first qso …
Based on my measurement, the swr on all bands is ok. The swr was never worst than 1 : 1,3. Except above 29,4 MHz. Between 29,4 and 29,7 MHz the swr is more than 1 : 2,0. But who is using FM on 10-m with a Beam???
Means, it is very easy to assembly this antenna w/o any tuning activities.
Now some words to the performance of this antenna. I could compare this “OB10-5M” with a “FORCE 12 5BA” Beam on 20-m. The Force 12 was installed in 18 m height and my OB10-5M in 10 m height. The distance between the Force 12 and the OptiBeam was approx. 10 km. Both stations (located around Stuttgart/Germany) had a qso with the States (with N2II) with the same output (750 Watt). I got with my OptiBeam a “57” and my friend with the Force 12 a “58 - 59”. But you have to take into account two things: 1. the Force 12 is on 20-m a 3 element Beam (I guess) and the OptiBeam is on 20-m a 2 Element Moxon and 2. please consider that the Force12 antenna is installed almost double the height compared to my OB10-5M.
Therefore, I guess that at the same height (means, 18m for my OB) the dx-signal-difference between the two antennas would be the same, which more counts for this little compact antenna.

At the end I can highly recommend this very nice antenna, especially if you have a “restricted airspace”. The support from the vendor is excellent and the reaction on questions (via email) is very fast.

If you have any additional questions, you can ask me: dk1dke@freenet.de
73 de Dirk (DK1DKE)
LA4WIA Rating: 2019-04-28
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This antenna is very well made and a breeze to put together. And despite its small size the antenna is characterized by excellent electrical perfomance. No adjustment necessary, the measured SWR´s was according to the description.
The OptiBeam company gave an superb support in the buying prosess, and I would highly recommend this company if you are in the market for a new yagi.
73