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Reviews For: OptiBeam OB6/3M High Performance Tribander

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

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Review Summary For : OptiBeam OB6/3M High Performance Tribander
Reviews: 28MSRP: 780
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 (moxxon), 2 on 15, and 2 on 10 meters all on a 10 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
15285
VK3CAM Rating: 2024-12-25
New OB6/3M to replace 3 band trap yagi Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have had few 3 band trapped Yagi over the years, the last one was very poor quality especially the traps and caps. Given my small yard I needed a compact 3 band yagi without the issues of traps, and not being able to operate in wet weather.
I came across Opti beam OB6-3M, made in Germany to order. With the AUD being low it made it an expensive purchase, so I was reluctant at first. Made contact with Thomas in Germany the owner who provided a wealth of information. So ordered through local agent.
The OB6-3M was very well engineered, well marked parts for easy assembly. Very solid antenna, without traps. Boom length and turning radius about the same as a compact yagi. Weight is an extra 2kg, given the extra elements. I did the assembly and install myself.
All the pre-drilled holes lined up, making it an easy build.
But very impressed with the first test transmissions and SWR check. 1.1 as per the manual, no additional tuning. All as per the manual across the 3 bands..!!
I now have great 3 band compact antenna, that will happily operate in all weather, and no traps. Great product.
PD4WG Rating: 2022-08-26
New OB6/3M Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
On 23 August i have mounted my new Optibeam antenna after i had issues with the council from my hometown on the OB7/3 i did not got a permit.
The OB6/3M is smaller so i didn't need a permit.
The results in the first days are the same like the OB7/3 antenna very good!
I would surely recommend to use the OptiBeam antenna.
The service from Thomas from OptiBeam is excellent.


AD4YM Rating: 2022-03-26
Small size, easy to install, likely very reliable Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Last year a wind storm damaged my large Cushcraft X-9 yagi and the top two sections of my 80-foot free-standing Universal aluminum tower. I replaced the two tower sections and put up an OptiBeam OB6-3M because it is small and light (easy for one person to install and won't touch the nearby tree), has a low wind cross section (won't damage the tower), and is likely to last a long time without maintenance (no traps, solid mechanical design). Also, the front-to-back ratio of the 20 m Moxon is very good. See my QRZ.com page for more information about this excellent antenna.
KJ5XF Rating: 2021-11-11
Great Tri-bander Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my first beam and the tower I have is limited to a windload of ~8 sq feet with the rotor on top. So, due to the tower limitations I needed a beam that would not over stress the tower. The beam is 33 feet tall with the OB6-3m about a foot higher.

Besides the excellent reviews for the OB6-3M that I read, support is equally important to me. I emailed Tom a few times with questions and he was VERY prompt in his responses.

I purchased the OB6-3m from a ham radio retailer here in the US and the beam was installed about 2 weeks ago. Prior to this OB6-3M, I only had wire antennas (fan dipole for the first 3 years followed by an open wire fed 40m doublet for the last 25 years). Suffice to say is that the OB6-3M has allowed me to make DX contacts like I never had before.

One other comment is that the SWR mapped exactly to what was in the manual.

Summary:
Great tribander and EXCELLENT support from Tom at Optibeam.

WC3N Rating: 2021-04-27
OB6-3M Quite a performer! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was looking for an antenna that was going to be better than my hex beam. I didn’t have space to put an antenna with 38 foot element lengths due to trees on my property. That is what led me to finding this Optibeam antenna. It has not disappointed. I am decoding ft8 stations from other countries that I wasn’t decoding on my hex beam. Signals on SSB and cw are stronger as well. In my case about an S unit stronger which is really what I was hoping to see. The quality of the antenna is top notch, it’s not a heavy antenna, about 33 pounds and the longest element is a little less than 27 feet. Swr is excellent on 10,15 and 20 and I use a tuner for 12 and 17. Assembly went very well and this antenna is a pleasure to have!
PD1DCV Rating: 2020-12-08
OB 6-3M... great antenna!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hi,this is the best antenna i have ever owned.
A remarkeble performance on 20 meter!!
10 and 15 meter are also super!
The antenna was assembled in less then 3 hours and it was really easy,even for me
Overall,if you dont have the space for a fullsize yagi on 20 meters,then this is the best antenna you can get.
Also if you have any questions,you get fast e-mail response from Tom (DF2BO).
Thx Tom!!!
TA3ON Rating: 2018-02-24
Like A Panzer ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is my first yagi antenna. I used wire antennas before this one. There is nobody near me who uses yagi antennas. One of the most important things that I chose this antenna was the reviews on this page. I was looking for a small and light yagi antenna without traps. My research took me to Optibeam OB6-3M. I wrote to DF2BO Thomas via e-mail. He answers his emails fast and with sincere. He wasn't just a seller who wanted sell his antenna. He asked a lot of questions about the technical details and helped me with the right decision with his ideas. I took the antenna directly from him in Germany. The tower which the antenna will be established on is 20 meters high and fixed. During the establishment, a mistake caused by us, a part of the antenna was broken. When we asked the spare part from Thomas, he didn't just send us the spare part. He also didn't take any charge ! In several days the antenna was established on the tower. Other reviewers already wrote about the quality of the materials of this antenna. The performance is magnificent. I'm not saying this just with my opinion, also the reports and QSO's with other stations confirm this. There were other stations who sent me my return and showed me how good my station is ! There is nowhere that I can hear but can't talk just with 100 Watts. Now, I'm always in pile-ups. I got the 5 contients certificate which I was trying with wire antennas for 3 years just in 3 months with this antenna even though the poor propogation. THE RESULT: A light, strong and high-performanced antenna. A fast and very reliable technical support with care and knowladge. A last thing for people who want to take this antenna; while establishing an antenna of this kind to a 20-meters-high fixed tower, you should especially care about the Maxon element. Because Maxon is completely closed from sides it is required to pull the antenna to the top first, then lowering it to the assembling position. Time to time, this caused us trouble. However this is not a special problem for this antenna. It is all about the Maxon design. I recommend with all my honesty to the people who thinks of buying this.
LA1ZM Rating: 2017-09-28
Solid, exellent performance Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have been using 2 el quad for many years, but after moving my station to my cabin, remote operation, I was looking for a solid and not to big beam antenna. The OB6-3M was bought from a local ham. It is a solid construction, not very heavy and easy to put up in my tower.
The performance is just as described by the factory, and I am surprised by the very good f/b on 20 m (moxon). I like to use Wspr to test a new antenna, and I have tested this optibeam mostly on 20 m, but the performance is great also on 15 and 10. At my qth I have a multiband OCF-dipole(windom), top point at the same hight as the Optibeam, 12 m. The qth is very good, no local noise, and the windom antenna is performing very well. In my test I use two Flexradio 1500, one connected to the Optibeam and the other to my windom. Then I can compare the same received signal on Wspr. In all the test I have done, local in Europe and dx to North- and South-America, the Optibeam receive between 8 to 20 db better s/n. That is much more than I expeceted, and I am very satisfied with the Optibeam.
HS0ZIA Rating: 2016-11-22
Excellent as usual Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The 8th Optibeam we have assembled and like all the others was a pleasure to assemble and use. We turn it at 2 RPM with no trouble.

OPTIBEAMS are 6 star products.
EA1YE Rating: 2013-08-26
Perfect Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've installed this weekend. I only had to spend Saturday morning. In the afternoon I was in the air with it. Really easy to assemble, well finished and very well documented. Mechanically excellent. As for their behavior in 20mtrs band at 12mtrs hight, a relationship front back of 20-25 dbs. Specifically with Italian station at 90 ° (beaming 0º) from S9 to S0. So I am delighted!!.