| N0TONE |
Rating:   |
2002-01-22 | |
| Excellent product, but not Black Magic |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I gave the product a "2" partly to get attention. It's really a good product, but the website is loaded with hyperbole, claims of Black Magic, and seriously misleads the prospective buyer.
On performance, I'll give the product a "4", but on promotion, it's a solid ZERO.
For those who don't want to read long reviews, here are my oh-so-brief summaries:
If you want a beam, and you're trying to keep the total expense and complexity down, then buy this antenna. You can stop reading here.
If you want a beam with the best performance you can get, and you're willing to pay extra for that performance, then don't buy this antenna. You can stop reading here.
I've used similar antennas since long before this was commercially available. As a wire antenna experimenter, I've made quite a few wire beam antennas, usually by supporting them from ropes in trees.
I have to hand it to Mike Traffie for figuring out a way to put the classic "opposed M" antenna on a rotatable configuration. He gets overwhelming credit for making a wire beam rotatable.
On the other hand, make no mistake, this is a compromise beam antenna.
We start with an ordinary two-element Yagi. Now, a two-element Yagi consists usually of a driven halfwave element and a reflector. We all know you can take a half wave dipole and bend, twist, roll or otherwise mutilate it's shape any way you want, and it will still work, although at reduced gain. One of those bend/twist/mutilate shapes is a "W". Hey, we can do the same thing with the reflector element, too. Now, place those two elements so that the legs of the "W" and an inverted "W" are close to each other, and you get the idea of this antenna.
It's a two element Yagi, where both the driven element and the reflector have been "compromised" by making them non-straight.
How much compromise? Very little. Of all the ways to reduce antenna size that I know of, this is the best. NEC predicts gain that is only 0.4dB less than a full-size two element Yagi, yet this particular configuration requires 1/2 the turning radius.
Then, because Mike Traffie makes them out of wire and textiles, they are much lighter than full-size aluminum beams, so you can mount them on inexpensive Radio Shack masts, and turn them with lightweight TV antenna rotators.
I am associated with a contest club. Recently one of our members agreed to a blind test with me. We used his towers to mount several antennas for contest use. This is a two operator, single radio installation. So the ops can choose any antenna they want, any time.
They had a hex-beam (HX5Bi), an A3S, an older TH3, a homebrew monoband two element Yagi, and our own monoband hex-beam available. For the sake of fairness, we did not tell the ops specifically which antenna they were using. We had mounted some antennas lower on the towers on swing-arms so they were all at the same height (65 feet). For contests that are multi-band, the monoband beams were all 20 meters. We also did the ARRL 10 meter contest, in which case the monobanders were 10 meters. The antenna switches were simply labelled "two elements at 65 feet", "three elements at 65 feet" or "two elements fixed on Europe at 65 feet", etc. All five towers are at least five wavelengths apart. Unfortunately, a few towers had to shoot through other towers in some directions, but we did not notice any effects based on this.
The results were not at all surprising. There were very few differences between the antennas at all, which pretty much demonstrates the concept that height above ground dominates anything else about an antenna.
What differences were noticed were mostly in F/B ratio, with the monoband antennas consistently outperforming any multibander. Our homebrewed hex-beam did far better than the commercial HX5Bi in this respect. For forward gain, the two hex beams appeared identical, and slightly below the homebrew monoband two element Yagi. "Slightly" in this case means about 1/2dB, measured via our own method, described below. The A3S and TH3, despite having three elements, fared only about as well as the full-size two element Yagi, which seemed about as good as any of these antennas. The A3S and TH3 are both trapped antennas which cost substantially less than the hex-beam, but require larger rotators and more substantial supports. They outperformed the hex beam marginally.
We also did some "in the know" work, where we worked local and DX stations and did comparative signal reports. We belive it's about as rude as one can get if you ask for antenna reports during a pileup, so admittedly our DX tests were with "common" DX such as Europe or Asia. The careful method we use is to switch antennas without telling the distant station which antenna is which ("A" or "B")?. We briefly switch to CW (or AM) with a carrier offset of 1kHz, because voice peaks are no signal to use for testing. We do this a few times and ask for results. Based on the results, we do it again, sometimes exchanging the meaning of "A" and "B". If there is a consistent difference between antennas, we then adjust the amplifier/rig ALC controls so that we can quickly adjust the transmit power output levels. This system is calibrated in dB. Then we do the experiment again, only this time we switch antennas AND transmit power. The antenna which had previously provided better signal reports is provided less power.
We don't settle until we consistently get reports of "I can't tell the difference" between one antenna/TX power and the other. We have our power measuring system accurate to NIST standards, so we now have a calibrated antenna measurement system.
One of the bits of Black Magic on the hexbeam website is their claim of using received signal reports based on "S" meter readings. There is no more biased judge in the world than an "S" meter. The hex-beam website also does not indicate whether they use a real test signal or SSB signals.
In our testing, the results exactly match the theoretical results.
Conclusions. The hex beam is a compromised two element Yagi. The electrical compromise is very minor - about 1/2 dB. It's a somewhat expensive antenna, but not all that bad. It's more expensive than Hy-Gain antennas, certainly, but less expensive than the likes of Force12. I believe the price is correct for the performance.
And the total system cost is even less than might otherwise be had because you don't need an expensive tower and rotor.
One local ham showed some repeatable ingenuity. He built his own hex-beam, a monobander for 40 meters, his favorite band. He says the antenna cost It's mounted atop a 50 foot Channel Master telescoping mast he purchased brand new from a TV shop for $60. At the base, he has it contained in a plywood and 2 X 4 mount, which was sealed by soaking in Thompson's Water Seal for a month. Another $20 in hardware store Dacron rope is used for guying the structure. Five feet up from the base, has has mounted a collection of 1 X 2 timbers and some ropes. Just outside the shack window (20 feet away), he can pull on the ropes to rotate the entire mast. No rotor.
This mounting system could be made for a commercial hex-beam for the same price. How many beams can be mounted on a total of $100 worth of additional hardware, including rotor?
Good antenna, I just wish the website didn't sound like so many of those ultra-high-end audio websites. |
|
| W5PUG |
Rating:      |
2001-12-28 | |
| Great mini-beam |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I was looking for a lightweight beam that could handle a push-up mast until I could afford the tower, then keep for more serious DXing when the tower goes up. This is the one.
I've owned the Mosley TA-32JR in a similar setup, and there is no comparison. With 800 watts, this is a consistent pile-up buster except over the longest paths (it's only 30 feet off the ground). I've worked about 20 new ones (and I already had 242 countries) with this in 3 months.
Assembly is straightforward, and it's (almost)quiet like a quad. Very broadbanded across the bands (I have the 5 band version). Don't let the price comparison with other beams scare you, this performs like a 3-4 element yagi, and better on receive. No compromise on power or bandwidth. First time in my life I've heard "big signal".
One caution, be careful which hub you order with the beam. I didn't get the 2" hub, and mounting to my rotor with the waterpipe recommended required some creative shimming to the Yaesu 450 mast support. If I had it to do over again, I'd get the 2" hub, which I'll have to convert to when I put this up on the tower. When I have this up at 72 feet, I seriously doubt I'll want any more antenna.
If you're looking for a high performance beam that's lightweight and has a small turning radius, but don't want to fight with the complexity of a quad, I highly recommend the HexBeam. And, Mike Traffie gives you personal service. |
|
| W1COP |
Rating:      |
2001-12-25 | |
| A LOT for a little |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've owned my HEX-Beam for a few years and waiting to get it back in the air again. In fact
mine is serial#HX-06.
Before rating it let me digress why I bought it in the first place, about 4 years ago Mike Traffie came up to a hamfest at Union,Me. with a mono bander for 20 meters and a Ten-Tec Scout hooked up to a battery and a telescopic mast at 30'.
I walked by a few times and chuckled to my self yeah that's'gonna work ( right!!!) ?
When I met a guy I know from down state Steve Hanks WZ1J,we were both very skeptical and MIKE
said give it a try, our first try in a 20 meter pile-up we got a VK-2, Prior to that I did'nt hear VK's at my home QTH, as I live on a postage stamp size lot right in downtown Bangor,ME. I was hooked then and there.
About 8 months later I bought an HX-5, and the preformance was all and more than I expected
with low noise and great front to back as well as side rejection. Things were working great, and I must note that MIKE TRAFFIE is one guy you can buy
something from and will follow up time and time again ( LUCKY FOR ME !!).
Disaster struck one of those rouge winds that blow up the Penobscot river toward my place doubled over my "Rat-Shack" 30' mast DO-NOT USE
this type for a mast for anything beside a discone. Several of the arms were broken when "I"
tried to get it down, and dejected I said well
that it's gone,, Nope about a month later MIKE TRAFFIE called again and asked how it was working?
I gave him the news ,, He said NO Problem figure out what you need and I'll send it... HE DID and
let me pay for it over some time "Unheard" of, I got it back up and none the worst for wear still working away.. I recently took down while trying
to re-arrainge the antenna site. Hopefully it will be back up by around the first of the year.
I can't say enough good about the antenna or MIKE.
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|
| VE3PTC |
Rating:      |
2001-12-25 | |
| great performer! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
my antenna is a mono-bander, for 10m. i home-brewed this antenna, to evaluate it's performance, before deciding to multi-band it!
the design/shape of the antenna lends its self to easy home construction! forward gain seems consistent, with normally configured 2 element yagi's! f/s is good, but f/b ratio is rather poor, and peaks at the low end of the band in use!
however, once up in the clear, it does perform very nicely, with quite a wide main lobe! i will probably multi-band this antenna, and it will be the main directional antenna at this qth, as it has a very small turning radius, is lightweight, and wont scare the neighbours!!
my compliments to traffie, for an innovating design! |
|
| KE1FT |
Rating:      |
2001-12-16 | |
| I was truly skeptacle |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I had an a3ws for 12 and 17 on a 10 foot roof tower, wanted to get more band coverage, so the HX5B seemed like a good adventure. It seems to do better on these bands, but who really knows without an actual A/B comparison? Last night a local ham with a cushcraft X7 went to 20 mtrs with me to do a comparison. His antenna is on a tower at 50 ft. The band wasn't in that great shape. We came across a zs in johanisberg, south africa. We also had our 2 meter radios on to keep tabs. We were both running 700 watts. He finally contacted the zs station after a lengthy pileup simmered down. After recieving a 5/5 report, the contact was passed to me. His call was zs6sd. He said there was a 2 s unit difference. Immediately, I thought he was going to tell me I was 5/3. MY SIGNAL WAS 5/7. He then went back to my local to check again to make sure it wasnt a qsb situation. The signal reports repeated. This is what it took to convince me, but I am truly convinced. These are true credentials. THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING..........KE1FT, PHIL TERRIEN |
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| W0ZPE |
Rating:      |
2001-10-24 | |
| Performance, Performance! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I purchased a 17-Meter mono-bander Hex Beam from Traffie. The beam is installed at 35' with a Yaesu Rotor coupled to the mast. This unique beam goes together in less than 1 hour, weighs 6 pounds and provides 2000 pounds of performance. I'm not going to bore the reader with technical data...Performance while DXing is what this beam provides, Traffie also performs! The support is only a phone call away AND, they'll arrainge an 0n the air sked with you to boot!!! |
|
| K3MLA |
Rating:      |
2001-09-26 | |
| A Super |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I decided to pick up the HX-5B after looking for a 5 band antenna that didn't have an 18 to 24 foot boom and less than 11 elements. In other words, something small and light. I started with a 5 band quad. It worked but still too large so down it came. It took me about 2-3 hours to put the Hex together (temps were in the 100's). I have it mounted on my "test fixture", an AB-577 "rocket Launcher" up at about 20 feet. I also have a 5 el, 10 Meter beam at about the same height located about 60 feet away. Something I quickly noticed was that the Hex didn't react to ground wave the same way as the typical Yagi. On a local beacon on 28295, the Yagi was seeing the signal at about an S9. The HexBeam was only seeing the beacon at about an S2! I though I had broke it! I then tuned up a beacon down in LU and pointed both antennas south. There was only a 1-2 S unit difference between the two antennas. I've been looking at this for several months and can only conclude that the HEX doesn't hear ground wave well (no vertical component, all horizontal?). Once you get out to the first hop then it really starts to play well. I can also say it's working as well as the 2 el, 5 band Quad I took off the launcher, and was one heck of a lot easier to put together and get up in the air by myself. I also believe this would be a great DX'pedition antenna. Wish I had it with me down at Gitmo (KG4ML). Mike has done a great job with this little beam. |
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| KC2IHN |
Rating:      |
2001-09-19 | |
| Great |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I'm under tight antenna restrictions and the small size and light weight of the Hexbeam was appealing. Also it can be painted to make it more inobtrusive. But most important is the performance: a good solid 2+ S-units above my R-8 vertical and excellent front to back and front to side.
Frankly, I'd use it even if size and weight were not a factor.
Bob (now K2SGO even though I can't seem to change my registration)
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|
| DL7IO |
Rating:  |
2001-05-16 | |
| don't get me your problems... |
Time Owned: N.A. |
Finally it is a nice antenna for it's size and a good oportunity for DXpeditioning. That was the reason for me to buy it. My version is smaller (when packed) and has less weight. May it is not designed for cyclones. But I need it for DXped's and not for radioing in a storm. I could find 1-2 S-unit's difference to a 1/4 vertical with 16 radials. But it is more quiet(!) so you may hear weaker signals.
Holger, DL7IO |
|
| VK4KKO |
Rating:      |
2001-04-15 | |
| Great things from small packages! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I had to come around the world to get back to HF! A gentle prodding from my Dad made me realize the potential we had to experience real long distance DX. Not likelly with a vertical, however. Our rental home in Maroochydore Queensland has little back yard space, and with an indeffinate assignment in OZ land, the need to keep things simple, and costs down became evident.
I started researching for a small beam and initially selected the MA-5B from Cushcraft. On a trip back to the states, "to get Ham supplies", I noticed a small add in CQ, made a phone call and Mike Traffie's expertise and hospitality convinced me to place the order on the spot. Now two antennas to bring back to Australia!
About an hour was the time it took to get the HX-5B assembled, double checked and hauled (12 lbs)up to the upstairs balcony. A low cost Channel Master TV rotor and a 10' length of TV aerial mast were mounted to the corner post of the balcony railing. Up like a flagpole, and a rush to plug in the coax. Wow, there is life after living with verticals!
My Dad (N5KBY, El Paso Texas) and I have had many great QSOs on 10m, and I have found 10, 12, 15, 17, 20 meters to be a whole new world! The HX-5B is virtually immune to wind. Being symetrical there is no loading to work alighment loose or torque mountings in unexpected directions.
It has delivered excellent results throughout Europe, Canada, and the US ... all "barefoot" Excellent signal reports, pile busting ease, and great audio even in poor signal conditions make this antenna well worth consideration.
I could not be more pleased, especially when adding up what I did not have to spend on tower, heavy rotor, concrete, and time!!! Quality materials, hardware, design and simplicity. Plug it in, point it and enjoy. A single feed point for five bands? Low SWRs? Reliable? Small? Yes!
Mike Traffie and his company have a great deal to be proud of. Expertise, honest dialogue, and prompt support make big difference -- especially when your're way "down under". Thanks Mike!
Oh yes, the MA-5B ... is still in the box. It's nothing personal, but there is no reason to expect better...and I really don't have the room!
Type in "Hexbeam" to your favorite search engine. Take a few minutes to research the fine web site Traffie Engineering have produced. I'll look forward to your reports on eHAM. |
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