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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: 24MSRP: 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
00245
N7XM Rating: 2013-07-13
Performs very well ! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
this dual band yagi does a very good job!
I am in a very windy area of Northern Nevada
its been up since OCT 2012 at 33 meters above ground. It is a pleasure to use ( especially on
30 meters ) !

Very well thought out and mechanically and electrically very sound

I am CW DXer and it does the job with a relatively
small footprint compared to the BIG YAGIS
KM1C Rating: 2012-01-04
Well Built and GREAT Performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Configuration: HDX555 tower. OB4030 mounted at the bottom of a 24' chrome molly mast on an NN4ZZ TiltPlate. (There is an OB9-5 mounted in the middle of the mast on another NN4ZZ TiltPlate and an OB5-6 mounted at the top of the mast. The entire stack is rotated by an MSquared Orion rotor. The TiltPlates allow the two larger OptiBeams to remain essentially in the horizontal position as the tower is tilted over toward the ground. As a result, all of the beam building and maintenance can be done with the beams on the mast while working at ground level. Absolutely no tower climbing!) OB4030 specifics: Very strong, very well-engineered beam, easy and intelligent assembly process. Makes working 40 and 30 meters a delight with just 100 watts of RF. Easy to hold a frequency during contests on 40, easy to break DX pile-ups on either band. No sign whatsoever of any interaction with the beams above. Obvious Front to Back and Front to Side nulling. All 3 OptiBeams survived a direct hit by hurricane Irene with zero damage to any of them. Nothing twisted, nothing bent, nothing broke. These antennas are fantastic and well worth the price. Communications with both Tom, DF2BO, and Array Solutions, was top notch when I had a few questions about integrating the OptiBeams with the NN4ZZ TiltPlates. Thank you Tom, DF2BO, for a job well done. 73 de Bill KM1C Oriental, NC, USA
W2EG Rating: 2010-04-14
'5' on yagi & '5' on cust svce Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this antenna up for roughly 3-1/2 years, including through 4 TOUGH winters here in the upper Hudson Valley with all the ice storms one could ever want. (I've seen > 1/2" radial ice on the elements.) I have concluded that this antenna is built to take it. I had one minor problem due to failure to sufficiently tighten the bolts fastening the boom sections together. It was easy to remedy and all the fault was with installation, not antenna.

The antenna has performed VERY well, indeed. I have it mounted lowest on the mast on a 70' tower. Until recently, I have been operating barefoot and have been able to run EU (on 40) in cw contests (admittedly, most often in the upper portion of the cw band, though sometimes in the lower part). I can crack pile-ups, no problem, and am hearing/ working DX on 40 like never before. I am sure that my hilltop location (moved here shortly before installing the antenna) accounts for a good part of this success, but I attribute much to the antenna. There are no traps; the loading coils are BIG. I doubt there is much loss as compared with a full length elements (and how many of those are there for 40 mtrs?). I compare these coils with those on other shortened 40 mtr yagis, and it's like night and day.

I've not spent that much time on 30 mtrs, but the performance seems comparable to that I've enjoyed on 40.

Customer service: I had a minor problem with incorrect parts when I received the antenna. Tom (Blue Ocean) at OptiBeam went beyond the extra mile (or two kilometers) to make everything right PDQ! In these days of what seems like general diminishment in customer service and even expectations, I was IMPRESSED!

The antenna is well-designed (from its heavy, square boom to large diameter coils, etc., etc.), very durable, and sold and customer-serviced with great professionalism by Tom (Blue Ocean).

In short, I have been (and expect to continue to be) DELIGHTED! It has much to do with making 40 my favorite band.
WF2S Rating: 2009-09-04
Great Results !! UPDATE Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I previously reviewed only the assembly aspects of the antenna and now have had an opportunity for 'on-the-air use. Erecting new HF antennas during the sunspot shortage, I did not expect much chance to test them out. I now see that this is the BEST TIME to test antenna performance. The OB4030 sits at 66 feet, above an OB11-5. My Ten Tec Titan amplifier sits silent. I have been able to work any station I hear with minimal effort. Working the Middle East of 40 SSB with 100 watts never happened with my previous 2 el. 40M Yagi !! On 30 meters I enjoy PSK as never before.. Hams are calling me on the phone and quizzing me about my Optibeams and several have stopped in to take pictures. The WNY DX Assn wants a presentation on the optibeams and their construction. This is a step above my previous yagis of the past 38 years. I am glad that I did not 'cut corners' on my antenna. No traps to collect spiders and lose resonance, element to boom clamps that won't slip and preassemblies to reduce repeptitive and time consuming tasks make Optibeam antennas a pleasure to assemble. I had a question during assembly and the owner/manufacturer , DF2BO Tom, responded to my email in 2 hours answering my question and including close up digital photos to make certain I understood. Have you tried this with any other antenna 'company' ??
What remains is for me to improve my operating skills !
K4KL Rating: 2009-08-07
Tremendous Performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
For the past four years, I have used successfully the OB4030 which is stacked above the OB16-5 on a 90 foot crank-up tower. No matter what height I have cranked the tower up, the performance of this beam has been tremendous. Cracking the pileups and working into Europe has been relatively easy especially on 40 meters. SWR, FB and gain has met advertisement specs but its overall performance is far better than I initially thought it would be. For its size, with no traps, it is a very hard antenna to beat. It has made operation on 40 and 30 meters a blast to use.
EA8CK Rating: 2008-02-25
A rewarding experience Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OB-4030 by Optibeam is all what I ask for a beam with two elements on each band, 40 and 30m. It is very well designed and has a rugged construction with harsh conditions in mind.
Assembly is well straightforward, clear instructions, all parts are marked, nothing missing... it takes about an evening to see all parts together.
On the air it meets or even exceeds published data. A real pleasure.
It has to be said that Tom's service is second to none, answering questions and being reachable anytime needed; something that I was not used to and very important in nowdays...
OE3GCU Rating: 2006-11-17
Great performer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having more space after moving my QTH was the trigger to look for a new antenna system. I had a closer look to the products at the fair in Friedrichshafen (Germany) 2005 and was enthused of the design and strong mechanics of OptiBeam antennas. After some email exchange I decided to buy the OB4030 and the OB16-5 (see other review). I have mounted the OB4030 3m above the OB16-5. All parts are very well packed and easy to assemble. After having some troubles which have been professionally solved by Optibeam the antenna is a great performer. I could not detect any interfering of the two antennas. I haven’t had a beam on those bands before but breaking the pileup is no problem anymore... It has to be mentioned that especially the support from Tom (the owner) is very good!
ON4IZ Rating: 2006-08-16
A discovery ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My problem was to have antennas from 2meters down to 40 meters on one self supporting tower,preferably rotated by one big Prosistel rotor.I had a good experience with the Cushcraft 40m beam but on 30 I had to do it with a vertical until DF2BO showed me in Friedrichshafen the fantastic engineering of the OB40-30. The coils alone caused my heartbeat to reach dangerous levels (hi).My scare was that the 40m part would interfere with the OB16-5 (five bander) 4 meters lower but I could not trace any adverse interaction.Working DX on 30 has become almost too easy. On 40 I cannot compare scientifically with the Cushcraft as it has been taken down but with 50 years (alas!) of experience as a ham I feel the OB4030 is more efficient and definitely much stronger.
Customer support was very quick and adequate when I had some queries re the assembly manual.
The boom to mast plate is marvelous !
PA3DUV Rating: 2006-01-08
THE SLEDGE HAMMER! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.

In order to improve the performance of my multiband Winlink2000 system I was on the lookout for a 40 and 30 meter beam antenna system. My reference was a multiband 10 meter long boom log periodic which needed regular maintenance and my inverted Vee dipole.

After reading the reviews and asking Tom from Optibeam all sorts of questions I bit the bullet and ordered the OB4030. The OB4030 is a slightly shortened 2 element yagi for 30 and 40 meters on one boom (total 4 elements). Since multi transmitter use was necessary Tom changed the design so I could feed the drivers with their own dedicated coax feeders.

The OB4030 is optimized for maximum forward gain with a driver-reflector distance of approx. 1/8 wavelength. Checks with ZL2BSJ on the long path showed a F/B ratio of approx. 15 dB which matched the specifications.

From a mechanical engineering point of view the OB4030 is hard to beat. The design is full of smart engineered solutions for all kinds of antenna issues like element interconnection (simple but very clever, no hose clamps or plate screws!!) boom to element fixation and alignment, feeding techniques and element trussing. Also the design and execution of the huge air wound loading coils is first class and should last a lifetime. The boom, a huge aluminium extruded rectangular cross-section (80 x 80 mm) profile is so stiff that this monster boom does not need trussing.

The 2:1 baluns provided with the OB4030 are first class 6 kW units from Jay Terleski, Array Solutions.

The OB4030 is put in the same tower as my OB11-5. In the final execution of the production of my OB4030 Tom took all these conditions into account and adjusted the final dimensions of driver and reflector in order to get the beam properly tuned. After assembling the beam according to these dimensions no further adjustment was needed.

The OB4030 is performing VERY well to say the least. I gave the antenna a proper work out and the reports are astonishing. I can confirm that all factory specifications, including power handling are met.
With this first class, well designed and well engineered product you can't go wrong.

Cheers, Dick
PA3DUV

PS: very much preferred is Toms scientific approach of antenna design and the resulting REAL WORLD gain values, contrary to the exaggerated gain claims of other HF antenna manufacturers.
HB9BGV Rating: 2005-09-29
a hammer! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
For more than 20 years I worked with 3 element monobanders on 40 m. With my upcoming interest in 30 m and a storm destroying the 40 m yagi, I was looking around for a new antenna and choosed the OB4030.
I learned from my OB4-2WARC (2 el. on 17m and 2 el. on 12m) that 2 elements are much better than a dipole and 3 elements are only a little better than 2 elements. Also the data-sheets show a difference of only 1 .. 1.5 dB between 2 and 3 elements. This was reason enough to by the OB4030 instead of a new 3 element yagi for 40m.
On the air experience is just great! On 40m, I feel no difference to the former antenna with 3 elements. But on 30m it is a real big difference to the pyramid antenna I used before and which is still hanging around for comparison. Working C21XF and K7C (Kure Isl.) was a matter of a couples of minutes and the reports with the pyramid (which is better than a dipole) were between "nil hr" and "I feel he's there".
The solid and compact construction is another plus for this performer.