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Reviews For: OptiBeam OB4030 - 40m & 30m high performance duobander

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

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Review Summary For : OptiBeam OB4030 - 40m & 30m high performance duobander
Reviews: 25MSRP: 2,300
Description:
Extremely efficient trapless Yagi for 40 and 30m.
2el on 40 / 2el on 30.
A specialty in particular for CW fans !!!
Lossfree shortened elements by software designed high Q air coils.
40m elements decoupled from other bands by the "OptiBeam decoupling stub technique".
Broadband single 50 Ohm coax cable feed system by the "OptiBeam direct coupled driver feed system"
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.optibeam.de
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00255
K6AFW Rating: 2023-08-22
Wonderful antenna and GREAT service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The Optibeam 40/30 is outstanding! Even better than the antenna is Tom from Optibeam and his crew. Outstanding customer service. I mean, O U T S T A N D I N G. If you love this hobby as I do and are looking for a great product and company, I urge you to consider Optibeam products. My good (and knowledgeable) friend, Denny, K0TT and I will soon be putting up the Optibeam 11-5. I cannot wait to experience the another quality, well thought out antenna from Optibeam.
W7TJ Rating: 2022-08-29
Outstanding ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OB 40/30 2 Element Yagi for 40 and 30 Meters
This antenna is battle hardened with a outstanding electrical and
mechanical design – it looks as good as it plays. F/B good, a good
200kc of operating bandwidth – setting to resonate at 7.100 gives the
flexibility of covering CW up to 7.200 – above that, a tuner will easily
handle. Previous antennas used on 40 were a combination of verticals
and rotary dipoles – with this antenna I can hear and work stations
that were previously unreadable, and have arm chair QSOs with others -
put another way, I can work barefoot which previously required the amplifier.
I have used other 2 element 40M Yagis in the past – this one for a
2 element is at the top of the DX food chain. A resounding “10”
PA8A Rating: 2022-07-11
Most ecxcellent antenna! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am 80 years old and a ham since 1960 and active on all amateur bands.
I have been using almost all available HF-beams on the market during the last 45 years, Since about 8 years I am using two Optibeams OB11-5 and OB4030.
They are superior over every system I ever used.
I managed to complete the last most difficult entities in SSB and I got the HONOR ROLLl #1 ARRL award confirming that I have worked all excisting 340 DXCC entities in SSB.
Both antennas deliver all the specs that are promised by OPTIBEAM something you can’t say of most other manufacturers.

Ing.Peter Jelgersma PA8A.
OH1EB Rating: 2020-11-07
Great antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Easy to assemble, well marked parts. Strong boom and element structure. Works great at 36m in rotating tower.

The tower installation with taylor made fixing parts. The pattern is as specified. Tunes up well over the band on 40m. No problems with 30m either. Great service from OptiBeam all the way, fast delivery, tower positioning calculations etc.

Many challenging DXCC countries worked on 40m and 30m already.
K0COM Rating: 2020-01-07
Solid performer - excellent quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I picked the OptiBeam over the competition based on several criteria plus reviews. So far I have not been disappointed.

Build and install: Packing was very good, arrived at my remote qth with no damage. Part list complete, build instructions a bid confusing as they combine several models. Build well just fine and mechanically a very robust antenna. Installed at 80 ft, it works great. I have it stacked 10 feet from a triband yagi and have no interaction issues.

Performance: I run 100 watts from a northern MN qth. Calling CQ during the day on 30 meters FT8 returns a pile up of either EU or Asian stations. Great performance on 40 meter phone during the day state side as well as DX in the early evenings.

I am very pleased with my short term results and I'm very excited about future operations. I am building great confidence in the antenna's performance. I'm very satisfied in my decision.
K6ELQ Rating: 2017-07-02
Super antenna! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently installed an OB4030 at 71', 12' above an OB9-5. The OB4030 replaced a OB1-4030 Rotary Dipole. Great observed F/B and F/S ratios and a real performer on both bands. I operate 100% CW so I chose that option in setting the adjustable element lengths. The element tips have holes 15cm apart for fine tuning the lengths to compensate for various installations. This is in addition to holes to set the CW/PHONE portions of 40m. The 40m elements of the antenna feature decoupling stubs to prevent interaction with other HF antennas on the mast and this has proven to be the case. Construction technique and materials are second to none. Tom promptly answers all questions and offers useful suggestions in case of difficulty. If BMW made antennas, they would look like an OptiBeam.
DM5RC Rating: 2017-05-24
Great Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have my OB4030 now for 4 weeks and it is no comparison to the commercial antennas I had before. In these 4 weeks I was able to work on 30 and 40m 43 new DXCC and that exclusively with a maximum of 100 watts
The mechanics are terrific, a clean workmanship. Thanks to the markings, the structure is very easy to set up and in one day alone.
Also the electrical performance is very good, I can work on both bands completely without tuner.
This is very good German quality work and I can only recommend this antenna, the money is worth it!
IZ2DLV Rating: 2016-07-29
Top performing! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The OB 30-40 2 elements is my last system upgrading, that finally was mounted 10 days ago. My QTH is in a 6 floor condo, I was looking for a final antenna solution and Tom assisted me in finding the right one (is the upper antenna over an OB 11-5). The mounting part is really easy, with the pre assembled and marked elements, but consider the dimension and the weight of this toy... Once up, it was an even better surprise of my expectations: coming from one rotative dipole on 40m and one inverted V on 30, once you turn on the radio, you will receive a new dimension of signals! Also SWR is perfect, better that what expected! I believe this is the top end of what you can put on a condo!
If you have the space, the right structure and the budget, well this is the arriving point!
HB9BMY Rating: 2016-03-24
Is life really too short for QRP? - Not with an OB4030! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The last solar minimum was very frustrating for me as a QRP DXer. That is why a year ago I began planning an upgrade of my current antenna system. I found the reviews on eham.net very helpful. Since spring is a time when many hams are planning new antennas, I’m writing this review already four months after the installation of the OB4030.

In 2000 I began to work CW QRP DX (5W), and since February 2003 I have worked exclusively QRP. Since April 2002 I have used OB9-5s in two different locations. Thanks to my OB9-5s I achieved DXCC Honor Roll #1 mixed with QRO and QRP combined. The last dozen DXCC entities that I needed for Honor Roll I worked exclusively with QRP. Thanks to my OB9-5s I could work 320+ DXCC entities with QRP. The OB9-5 is the best antenna I’ve ever had (please also read my two reviews of the OB9-5).

Because of their performance and legendary mechanical quality, in my eyes only an OptiBeam is good enough. I wanted a directional antenna for both 40m and 30m. The OB4030 was the largest antenna I could install on the Versatower I already had. This tower only had two sections and was upgraded with a third one. The OB4030 is 17m above ground and the OB9-5 20m. There is no negative interaction between the two antennas.

Due to their ruggedness the OB9-5 and OB4030 are heavy antennas. A heavy duty rotator is crucial, as well as a suitable tower, concrete base and guys. The laws of physics and mechanics cannot be tricked. If you decide to install an OptiBeam antenna, make sure you also provide the necessary infrastructure. If you fail to do that, disaster will be inevitable. I let the upgrade of my antenna system do by professionals, by HB9AAZ and HB9TTY. Both are very experienced installers of big antennas. HB9AAZ is probably the most experienced and best expert we have in Switzerland. During installation they noticed and solved problems I didn’t even know they existed. If you’re not an expert yourself, I’d strongly recommend you to let do the installation by experts for you.

SteppIR antennas have got a big advantage over OptiBeam antennas: They offer comparable gain with significantly less weight and windload. However, their elements consist of fiberglass, they have many moving parts and wires as well as sophisticated electronics. If only one of these many parts or contacts fails, antenna performance is either severely impaired or reduced to zero. If you consider installing such an antenna system, you should be able to repair it yourself or have someone at hand who can repair it for you immediately, even in winter. If not, you will risk missing a most needed DXCC entity that had not been available for the last twenty years and will not be available for the next ten to twenty years. If you miss it because of your broken SteppIR, life might indeed become too short for you! Not only with QRP, but even with a big linear amplifier.

I don’t have my station at home but in a different place where I’ve got sloping ground from northeast to southwest. Since conditions on the higher bands are still good, I haven’t yet spent much time with the new antenna. But what I’ve heard and have been able to work was amazing and most promising for the future.

40m: In the first night of the CW part of the ARRL International DX contest I made a couple of QSOs in the CQ mode. In the second night I managed to work stations in CQ mode for one and a half hours. Sometimes up to three stations came back simultaneously. I could work stations from parts of the USA with amazingly strong signals I never could work before.
30m: In January 2016 I worked 3D2AG/p (Rotuma) “uphill” via long path. Signals were so weak that I didn’t expect to work him with QRP. In March I worked TX7EU (Marquesas) via short path after twenty minutes calling. For more than an hour I heard him with S8-9.

This report is not complete. I heard a lot of other DX stations with the OB4030 with amazingly strong signals that I didn’t try to work. But what I managed to hear and work makes me believe that the OB4030 is just as good an investment as the OB9-5.

Peter Egger
G4RCG Rating: 2016-01-11
Best 40/30m Beam I have had Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After using a F12 EF230/240 for several years with good results I had a major tower crash which smashed the F12 beam, seeing that they do not make it any more I looked around for a substitute and was recomended to look at Optibeam, it looked good so ordered it, it arrived in quite a short time after being told it had to be built first. All i can say is that the beam is one of the strongest I have had and its build quality is superb, every part fits perfect and the only adjust I had to make was to alter the tips of the 40m driven element to give me a 1-1 swr on 7025.0 30m was flat across the band.
On the first day of use on 30m I had running JA pile ups for 2 hours and ZL's giving me huge reports. 40m was just the same and the front to back is exceptional.
Like I said its one of the best antennas I have had and once my F12 C31XR needs changing I will be getting an OPTIBEAM