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Reviews For: Telrex TB6EM

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

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Review Summary For : Telrex TB6EM
Reviews: 4MSRP:
Description:
Six element beam for 10m 15m and 20m. Boom is 26', longest element is 34'
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0044.8
VA7UO Rating: 2019-06-28
Good Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently bought a TB5ES that had been in storage for more than 20 + years.This is the lighter version of the EM and it is rated for 2KW. The only thing I did was toss the balun, the previous owner said the SWR was no lower than 1.9:1 on all three bands the balun was the reason.
I re-coated the traps with liquid rubber and used it this past field day, (2019) with good results. It was only 22' up but it did work. One thing I noticed was that it had good front to back and front to side rejection. The boom splice and the reflector sleeve holes were elongated from years of wind movement, fixed by drilling new holes.
I paid $75 for it, good antenna for portable operations though.
K9AUB Rating: 2012-12-21
Magnificent! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Man, do I miss this company! I bought a TB6EM new back in 1978. It was built like a battleship, and HEAVY, over 100 pounds! Everything that could possibly fail was reinforced, and then reinforced again! It's a heavy beast, but I was able to support it with 70 feet of Rohn 25 tower, heavily guyed and a thrust bearing. I could turn it with a Ham IV inside the tower, but would prefer a heavier rotor today, maybe a Tailtwister. The performance has to be heard to be believed! It never failed to pull out the WEAKEST DX that others nearby simply couldn't hear. I got a phone call from a nearby neighbor ham one day who was listening to me in QSO ragchewing with some DX on 10 meters, and he asked me what frequency the DX was on? I told him I was working simplex. Well, he had a Cushcraft A3S at 55 feet, and he couldn't even hear the DX, while it was nice and strong on my Telrex. Another neighbor with a KT-34 at 60 feet reported similar experiences; I could hear the weak DX when he couldn't. I worked over 300 countries with that beam, and it never failed me, ever. I became accustomed to reports of, "loudest signal on the band." Front to back ratio was excellent, and front to side even better, which allowed me to reject QRM from unwanted directions, and that frequently makes a BIG difference. You can't work 'em if you can't hear 'em, and the Telrex certainly can hear them! And, it will do so, year after year after year! Man, I wish that company was still in business! There is simply NOTHING out there today to compete! NOTHING!
KU4B Rating: 2008-01-01
Great Performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had a TB6-EM up since the early 80s. I did have to add the sleve to reinforce the boom on the reflector, other than that it is still stock. I have used a few other tri band beams over the years. The Telrex is a far better performer than those I have used before. I have this one at 105 ft. I wish that company was still around, they made some really impressive antennas.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KU4B on 2005-09-20

I have had a TB6-EM up for 25 years now. It is one of the best tri band antennas I have used. Many years ago I added a sleeve to the boom for fixing the physical resonance problem with the reflector, however that is the only change that has been made. These antennas are quite rare and heavy, however are a great performer.
VA3SWS Rating: 2005-03-11
They don't make them like this any more. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had one of these on the air for almost 10 years, with great results. It is a monster though, very heavy duty. Elements go through the 3 inch boom, instead of on or under it. It's heavy (about 100 lbs)so a good tower and rotor is required. I bought mine in 1993 from the original owner who had it up for about 25 years. After 25 years in the air it required only minimal tweaking before I could put it up. If you are in the market for a big tri-bander and you see one of these for sale, consider it.