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Reviews For: Hybrid-Quad Antenna

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

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Review Summary For : Hybrid-Quad Antenna
	Reviews: 10	MSRP: 370
	Description: 2 element beam - two models, 6/10/12/15/17/20 meter model and 6/10/15/20 meter model. Unit has short boom (6 feet) and has loading coils and capacity hats to deliver directivity. Very heavy construction - good for heavy snow loading conditions.
	Product is in production
More Info: http://www3.sympatico.ca/tgmc/index.html
# last 180 days	Avg. Rating last 180 days	Total reviews	Avg. overall rating
0	0	10	4.1

VA3AQB	Rating:	2021-04-02
2nd review			Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought and thought it worked well as I stated in my first review, someone contacted me as was asking some details. I have a Hexbeam now so I wish I had bought the Hexbeam first. The quad works ok and very well on 15m and above. It has very narrow bandwidth though so make sure you review the manual graphs, your radios internal tuner should help you to cover more of the band. I bought in 2013 and was very expensive almost $1000 CND at that time. Not sure of the price these days. So quality is very good but Hexbeam is cheaper and out performs this quad. I just wanted to update my review.

KB6HRT	Rating:	2017-03-26
Very Very Happy			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have used this antenna since 2011 it has never let me down, what I like most is it's great Signal to noise ratio an thats it still pulls in stations that this antenna is not pointed at, I can point the antenna at the station an it comes up between 1-2s units most of the time, this antenna is built to last, an birds think its great for a perch an now I don't have any rodents in the yard a plus for the XYL. For my needs this antenna fills the bill, do I think its as good as a Hexbeam well Yes an No! Only you can determine that, have the MQ-26 on a 30' tower at 36' to the apex, fits my needs to a tee a 5+. I know Tom retired at the end of 2016, but I have no fear my antenna will be working a long time, its built like a tank.......73s..........kb6hrt

K0MU	Rating:	2007-04-25
Not bad			Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have used the 6 band model for a few months and can compare it to a Hygain DX-88 vertical. 1) I live in a typical neighborhood with 'houses made of ticky tacky' and RFI hash noise is horrible on my vertical. I tried to 'fight' the noise by giving out ferrite beads but it was hopeless. 2) I purchased and mounted the beam using an 'eave mount' and it expends about 5 feet above the roof. It is about 25 feet above ground. 3) Local hash noise is not a problem anymore. If a certain noise is particularly bad, I can null it out by pointing the edge at the source. 4) F/B on 20 in barely measuable but gets better as frequency increases. 5) Performance is better than my vertical on most instances. 6) I can usually get through on a big pileup within 10 tries using 100 watts. 7) I rotate it with a TV antenna rotor. I took the vertical down since I don't use it anymore. Jay

N6PEQ	Rating:	2007-04-24
Excellent for its intended market			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Although I no longer use a Mini-Quad antenna, I did use one for about 18 years, and worked all current DXCC countries with the exception of 9. It is an excellent antenna for a size restricted environment. It is designed to compete with full-sized yagis obviously, but it does very well for its small size. You must use a good 1:1 balun with the antenna, or it will not show good pattern. If a 1:1 balun is used, the antenna will show decent pattern and gain. The proof is in the pudding, and for me it worked like a charm!

AB5CC	Rating:	2007-04-24
Simply works!			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had the TGM hybrid quad for 3 years now. I live in Oklahoma where we get 70mph winds nearly every year. This little beam just works. The wind load is small, you can turn it with a TV rotor. I use an Alliance Tenna Rotor. It works 6m, 10m, 12m, 15m,17m and 20m. Heck, it even has a good SWR on 2m ssb, but I'm sure the pattern isn't optimal. I have it installed at a little over 50 feet. For those who must have a flat SWR on all bands, this may not be for you. While it is resonant on all the bands it covers, the SWR curve is really sharp. I find I need to use the autotuner to touch it up on most of all bands. On 6m, the SWR is never better than 3:1 without the tuner. The front-to-back ratio is nearly non-existant. It works nearly as well off the back as it does off the front. This is just the way a 2 element beam works. If you can't live with this, just get a beam with more elements. The front-to-back will be much better. I kinda like it, I can work both coasts without turning the beam. Does it work? I just worked the Swain's Island Dxpedition on 15m ssb and 17m ssb with only 100 watts. It is much better than the wire dipoles I have always used on HF. On 6m, it isn't great, but it works and is more directional than the lower bands. I will keep it, it is easy to keep up in the air having withstood 2 ice storms and many bouts with 50-70mph winds with no problems. One more thing, it is suggested that you run a balun with the beam, well...be sure that the balun will cover 50 mHz. I didn't and had to remove it because it attenuated 6m very badly. I hope this helps anyone who is thinking about buying one. It isn't for everyone, but it is good for what it is. Kenneth AB5CC

REMOVED_ACCOUNT_2015_01_09	Rating:	2007-04-24
Don't Waste your money			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased one of these and it is the worst antenna one can buy. I turned it 360 degrees and there was NO difference in the signals strength I was listening to! This is nothing but a rotary dipole. The nice thing is you can operate it on other bands. Keep in mind for the technical disadvantaged, gain both transmit and receive is a product of boom length. Look how little the boom length is on this and you can see for yourself this antenna does not perform. Your better saving your money and building a trapped dipole in all seriousness. I expect this review to be taken off eHam for it's negativity but it is the truth. I know of one other ham who purchased it and gave it to a friend and he also threw it in the garbage!!

PLRC	Rating:	2007-04-24
Excellent Performance			Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought my mini-quad used while still up on the tower. I had it down in less than an hour, and reassembled it as is without any tuning. It really works! I had many contacts on 20-15 (didn't try 10M due to solar cycle) and got good reports. Didn't try 6M, but I did load it on 80M and worked England several times. I called the manufacturer in Stratford, ON and reported that it loaded on 80M and he said he had heard that before but never tried it. I don't know what the SWR was, I just hit auto tune on my FT-850S and responded to a CQ DX and I worked him. I have since replaced with a Hy-Gain Mk III, but would not hesitate to go back to the Mini-Quad if situation warrants. 73 - Pat - VE3CNX

WB5OAU	Rating:	2002-06-10
Good performance for the size			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my Mini Quad used at a local hamfest. It was missing some of the spokes, and I fabricated replacements out of #6 copper wire. The instructions are excellent and when they tell you to tune this antenna by shortening ONE spoke 1/8", believe them! While the MiniQuad is never going to replace a full sized tribander, it's an attractive alternative to a dipole, in a very small space. Mine is one of the original US made ones and has the ceramic coil forms. It's hard to believe how small this thing really is, and if you can be happy with picking band limits within the bandwidth of the antenna, you're going to like this thing!

W2IOJ	Rating:	2001-07-10
mine is an original,1/4 century old & still works FB			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My HQ-1 was manufactured in Erie PA & is in good operating condition.It has 5.6 Db gain over my G5rv on ten meters! Nice front to back & very directional and only needs a small TV rotor... Not bad for an antenna that is 1/4 century old! (It is the original HYBRID-QUAD & VERY WELL MADE) ....Jim, W2IOJ

W7MRR	Rating:	2001-07-10
Great Investment for limited space			Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna actually has forward and front to back when compared to a dipole cut to the same frequency. Although 20 meters is at best a few dbd's, the gain becomes noticably better as the frequency gets higher. Can't give you any input on 6 meter performance - no transmitter. I have it mounted on a tripod on the roof of my home in the mountains (6,850 feet msl). Because of the heavy snowfall (up to 2 feet sometimes overnight), this is one of the few beams that could withstand the weight. I have had it for three and one half years now and it continues to perform like new. For those of you that want to have a directional antenna that looks like an over grown TV antenna, this is the one to get.

Category:

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

Product:

Hybrid-Quad Antenna

Summary:

Rating:	Time Owned:
Great! Good OK Needs Help Poor Awful!	0 - 3 Months 3 - 6 Months 6 - 12 Months More than 12 Months

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