Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: OptiBeam OB7-3 High Performance TriBander

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

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : OptiBeam OB7-3 High Performance TriBander
Reviews: 5MSRP: 795
Description:
German designed high performance multi band 20/15/10m Yagi with patented efficient feed system. Computer optimized and field tested yagi without traps and with full size elements on all bands. It has 2 elements on 20, 2 on 15, and 3 on 10 meters all on a 14 foot boom. Mechanically this antenna is a beauty. Get a better beam for your money, check it out!
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.optibeam.de
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0055
ON4KPU Rating: 2020-07-16
Carefully designed antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The OB7-3 yagi is a carefully designed antenna and easy to put in my crank-up tower. The operating bandwidth is appreciably greater than the width of three bands. Great little antenna! My neighbor found that its visual impact is less disturbing.I have tested the OB7-3 on three bands. I was surprised by the low noise picked up by OB7-3. No need to use an antenna tuner even on 10m band above 28500 KHz. I recommand it if you have a limited space like me. I suggest you to follow the advice of Tom (df2bo).
Who would be interested to read a bit more in detail about my OB7-3 experience, please check my personal website www.ot9p.be
Best 73s
W6PDC Rating: 2007-09-18
Great Small Tribander Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is the first rotatable HF antenna installed at my new QTH. Its mounted at ~32 ft., on a 9' Glen Martin roof Tower, turned by a Ham-IV, using a thick-wall Al. mast from Texas Towers. Jay was easy & great to deal with, and I appreciated the "green" packaging of newspaper & shredded paper- no plastic or stryofoam.

Was quite impressed, as expected, by the mechanical construction (previous Cushcraft, Hy-Gain & KLM/M2 beam building/operating background). Even a few extra hose clamps were incluced- no trips to the hardware store for any missing pieces! Went together in only a few hours, with my ~80 year old dad, KD6QDA, helping out. Glad to not contend with rivets! Light enough for one-man lifting/handling. Felt it was in the same league as a 2 el. SteppIR (want to use with multiple rigs, adverse to moving parts in air, firmware updates, yet more lines to lightning protect, $$, etc.), or small Force12 (concerned re. availabilty & customer support).

I specifically was looking for a no trap (based on prior usage of a TH-2, A-3 & KT-34A), "multi-monobander" tri-bander (no interest in WARC bands- main interest is HF SSB contesting, this will end up being the S & P 2nd antenna when I go fully SO2R), and feel this fit the bill.

This past weekend, the SSB Sprints, was the first time since the antenna's been up, that the bands were in halfway decent shape, and I sure enjoyed everyone coming back to my first call (barefoot). As expected, a clear difference compared to low dipoles, or a 4BTV (ground mounted w/30 radials) that are my other current options.

A great choice for those requiring roof tower mounting, or to use, while saving for a 55' or 70' crank-up, with an OB12-4...
IW1RAX Rating: 2005-09-15
Great Antenna !! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently installed the OB7-3 antenna from Optibeam. Tom (Optibeam's Owner)is a person much available one, a lot competent, it has known to advise to me well.
The antenna, is a "little" big antenna. No traps, optimal construction, optimal material. I have installed also the balun, and I mounted at 12 meters the antenna on my tower. In little days I have connected with optimal reports (5/9+), Asia, America, Africa, without amplifier.
If anyone have any questions, please don´t hesitate to send me an E-mail.
73, Andreino
DJ3IW Rating: 2004-02-20
Very good beam for its size Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've used the OB7-3 since December 2001 - it is a great antenna. No traps, no balun, it will take your full power and radiate it. On the air it performs noticably better than the average 3-ele tribander with traps. I worked P5, VP6DI and other such goodies with it. I can fully recommend this antenna to hams that do not want or for whatever reasons cannot install a bigger one.
EA3BQQ Rating: 2002-10-04
excellent hf antenna ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This excellent hf antenna is now 23 meter up on a tower on my second house.I have had previosly two good antenas:first the th6dxx a very good beam,for over elf years,then a klm kt34 4 element beam,with this klm i have had many troubles (mechanical troubles)and the last strong wind had lost half reflector... (sorry,I was not happy with this antenna).
Now, I had search "a long live" antenna, and I was impressed with many mecanical solutions, and the results are extremely good, on the three bands and specialy on the 10 meter band. Congratulations for the manufacturer team!
Best 73,s
Antoni F.Forn Valls (Barcelona -Spain-)