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Reviews For: Hexbeam: Traffie

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

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Review Summary For : Hexbeam: Traffie
Reviews: 82MSRP: 1129.
Description:
model HX-5B
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.hexbeam.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00824.8
X_W7XV_STARK Rating: 2012-12-20
RATES A SOLID 10 IN MY BOOK! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
THIS IS THE BEST ANTENNA I HAVE USED. IT WAS EASY TO ASSEMBLE AND IT FITS NICELY IN OUR VERY SMALL YARD. THE ANTENNA IS 29' ABOVE THE GROUND ON PENNINGER MAST. I LIVE IN EUGENE, OR AND HAVE WORKED AUSTRALIA, RUSSIA, JAPAN, SPAIN AND MORE ON LESS THAN 100 WATTS SB. MIKE TRAFFIE IS A DELIGHT TO WORK WITH AND. HE HAS CREATED AN ADVANCE FORM OF THE HEX BEAM THAT WORKS BEYOND MY HIGHEST EXPECTATION.
73'S W7XV. MARVIN.
K6HJM Rating: 2012-11-25
Still fantastic! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned mine for at least 10 years (serial number 188). Have never needed to repair or adjust it, and when you call Mike to ask about routine maintenance he says "put RF through it". Only work done on it was to replace 100 feet of coax...and that was not necessary (no change after replacing it).

I'm now at 257 DX entities and still working at it.

73, Herb K6HJM
K7OED Rating: 2012-11-25
8 Years and Counting Time Owned: more than 12 months.
First the bad news: This Hexbeam is relatively expensive (but you already knew that, and there isn’t any other bad news).

Now the good news: HX5Bi #333 arrived on schedule only a few days after I placed the order. The directions were clear and it went together without a hitch – this was a real pleasure as it took only an afternoon to get it on the air (even counting the time it took me to paint the spreaders in a neutral gray color). Wanting to get it operational as soon as possible, I initially skipped the tower installation and mounted it only 5’ off the ground on an old pipe (my neighbors thought it was a clothesline). In that location I was able to work Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe barefoot on phone even in the waning stages of solar cycle 23, and with some negative interaction from a nearby chain link fence.

As others have said, Mike is a real pleasure to work with (not only during the original purchase but also when I accidentally damaged the unit last year and needed a couple replacement parts). Your station is only as good as your antenna system, and many of us don’t have the time to spend building things from scratch any more (we would rather spend more time operating and less time tinkering). I've had this unit for more than 8 years and am still as happy as the day it first went on the air. If you are looking for a decent performing lightweight and compact antenna that stands up to severe winds and goes together painlessly, bite the bullet and buy one from Mike – you won’t regret it!!
N4EES Rating: 2012-11-25
Great small space antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The Traffie Hex Beam is smaller than the others, and made with much better quality materials...worth the extra cost. At low power, it loads and works beautifully on 30m and 40m...an extra bonus. Mine is only up 28 feet, and I made DXCC QRP in 8 months with it. I would not hesitate to recommend it.
N9TLU Rating: 2012-11-12
Works GREAT! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Finally got the chance to get at this newest antenna project. Quality is the first word that comes to mind. The entire build took less than 2 hours with the help of another local HAM. Everything went together just as the instructions stated and the parts are top notch! Again, the word QUALITY comes to mind. The highest SWR I can find is 1.3 on 20 meters. Everywhere else throughout the 5 bands is PERFECT! I couldn't believe my eyes when I first put it on the air. The signal difference between my dipoles and the Hexbeam is always 3 to 5db. I rarely need to turn on my amp now. Yes, it's a bit expensive, but you really do get what you pay for. Just put it together and that's it! It works!! NO adjustments necessary! I just worked a KP2 station on 15 meters that I couldn't even hear on the wires!
VE1MC Rating: 2012-09-06
Excellant Product Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
First & foremost...fast & courteous service. SWR flat on all bands, lightweight, easy to install, handles KW without a problem. Have had yagi's in the past, however am very impressed with the quality and ease of construction with the Traffie product. Supplied instruction manual very easy to follow. I am only a few miles from the ocean & so far the wind & wet wx has not been an issue. Highly recommend this antenna. Mine is installed on a 4 1/2 foot mini tower on my garage & am very pleased with the preformance.
WB9JOX Rating: 2012-07-16
Quality antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Excellant performing antenna,up 37 feet.Very easy to assemble and no measuring. Quality #1 in my book.Reason I purchased this antenna ,light weight and turning radius 9 ft. Perfect for my location.Mike designed a great antenna and customer service is just great.
WE1X Rating: 2012-06-10
11 Years es Doing Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My Traffie HX-5Bi 5-band 20-10m hexbeam has been in operation for 11 years. As a mini-beam and mounted at 33 feet it has performed well on all bands. It has weathered the elements (sun, rain, snow and ice) exceptionally well over the past decade giving testament to the quality of materials used by Traffie.

The HX-5bi is mounted on a 30 foot push-up mast with the rotor installed at the bottom turning both the mast and antenna. The rotor is mounted on a length of conduit about 2 feet above ground.

This is a really great, well designed antenna that incorporates quality parts. My only concern is pricing. When I bought the HX-5bi in 2001 it was about $730...today $1129.

Harry WE1X
W5RIM Rating: 2012-04-02
FANTASTIC ANTENNA Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I moved from the countyside to the city. In the country i had several towers with very large antennas, 10 element log, quads etc. Moved to a area with home owners association. Stayed off the air for 10 years until i found the TRAFFIE HEX BEAM. Painted the antenna flat black and hid it amoung the trees at 23 feet. UNBELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE----You can hear me work dx every day on 20-17 and 15 meters. COSTS MORE THAN THE OTHERS BUT YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
W6UX Rating: 2012-01-22
A dream antenna for me! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
In a word: FANTASTIC!

Positively the best antenna I could put up at my QTH. Lightest, and smallest turning radius of any of the commercial Hex Beam designs. Assembled without issues, very fast with a few friends to help. Mine is at 40' on an aluminum pushup mast. Rotator is installed at ground level. You can find photos of it from my QRZ.com bio page.

Going from a typical 57 from SoCal into AK or VP8 with 100 watts using a multiband inverted-v doublet to 59 +10-20dB was a shock! I worked Korea and we both thought we were in the same room. Worked 700 QSOs in the NAQP SSB this past weekend in just 10 hours on 3 bands. This is a dream antenna for me. I can't have a full size beam on a 70' tower. Hands down the next best thing. Absolutely no plans to ever change this out for something else.

Thank you Mike Traffie for putting together an incredible product!

-Jeff, W6UX