Hex Beam by K4KIO
A good way to handle the
measurement process is to use
a nail in a board so you can
anchor the  wire while
stretching it out on the floor or
driveway.

The reflector wire is a single
large piece rather than two
half pieces as the driver wire.
Also it has no terminal lugs on
it as each end of the reflector
wire will be attached to a "tip
spacer" as shown in the next
photos.
These strips at Radio Shack
can be easily cut into 12
terminals to make tip spacers.
Since you will need 20
terminal strips for tip spacers
and several more for support
cords and 20 meter spreader
anchors, you will have to get
three such packages. These
will make it easy to adjust for
the various functions. Get the
jumbo size to make it easy to
insert the wire as well as the
cord for the tip spacers.

I painted mine with the same
color used on the spreaders.
Click these photos to enlarge
Remove the plastic from a
#12-#10 ring terminal and
solder it to the end of the wire.
This will be attached later to
the terminal on the center
post. The little utility lighter is
great for soldering if you don't
have a heavy duty soldering
iron. They cost $2-3 at
Walmart in the camping
equipment section.
You will need two of these tip
spacers for each band. Each of
these will be used to connect
one end of a driver wire to one
end of the reflector wire. The
space between the tips of
those wires will be adjusted
precisely to the specifications
called for on each band. The
Kevlar is very strong and will
not stretch and has a covering
of Dacron to protect against
ultraviolet radiation. With the
jumbo size terminal strips, it
will be easy to insert the wires
alongside the cord
Building the G3TXQ Broad Band Hex Beam
Step Four - Making the wire/ tip spacer assemblies and support cords

  • The driven element will consist of two pieces of wire for each band; not
    four. The reflector will also consist of one pieces of wire for each band.
    Each driven element piece will be shaped by the hex beam structure into
    an inverted "V" and when arranged next to the other piece, will form a "M."
    Each Reflector piece will be wrapped around the four spreaders and
    attached to the tip spacers which in turn are attached to the driver wires.
    Be precise with cutting the wires as an inch can make a difference in the
    resonant frequency of that band.

  • Each outer half of the driver wires has a non-conducting line that
    connects that wire to one end of the reflector wire. These non-conducting
    lines will be called "tip spacers." The length of the spacers is important to
    proper performance of the hex beam and they are designed here so they
    can be adjusted precisely.

  • The two ½ driver wires, the reflector wire and the two tip spacers should
    be measured and assembled as single end to end sets before
    installation on the spreaders using the approach below for each band

  • Six permanent support cords should be cut and adjusted as described
    below.
Connect each of the tip spacers
to the ends of the driver wire and
reflector wire. Then adjust the tip
spacers for 24 inches for 20
meters and tighten the set screws.

Assemble the wires and tip
spacers for the other bands using
the lengths on the Specifications
page. No terminal strips other
than those used on the tip
spacers should be used. The
other bands' wire/tip spacer
assemblies will be attached to
spreaders using cable ties.
Here are the components of
the 20 meter wire/tip spacer
assembly. They are not to
scale, of course. Note that the
reflector has four terminal strips
strung on it and these will be
used to anchor the reflector
wire to the spreaders. They  
should be slid onto the wire
before you attach the tip
spacers.

The other bands will not use
the terminals strips for spreader
connections but will use them
for the tip spacers.
The 20 meter wire/tip spacer
assembly is shown here in the
shape of the final hexagon
only for illustrative purposes to
make it easier to see where the
terminal strips are placed. After
you have adjusted the tip
spacers, adjust the locations of
the terminal strips as shown. On
the other bands, you will have
only the tip spacers to adjust as
there will be no other terminal
strips needed.
Using the Kevlar/Dacron cord
make the support cords with
loops on each end as shown.
Terminal strips can be installed
in them to make them easier to
adjust if required. Initially, they
should be 128 inches except for
the small cord between spreaders
1 and 6. This small cord will be
adjusted in Step 6 to keep the
two spreaders from bowing out.
Site publication date
12/2007
Page Revision date
7/2008
Wires and tip spacers only
20 meters
(Top View)
1/2 Driver wire
218 inches ea.
Non metallic Tip Spacers
24 inches ea.
Reflector wire
412 inches
 What's magic about 128?

 No magic; it's geometry. Look:

 Driver length    2 @ 218 ea    =   436 inches
 Reflector length                          412 inches
 Tip Spacers     2  @   24 ea   =     48 inches

 Total perimeter length 20 M  =   896 inches

 896 / 7 sections                      =   128 inches per section

The key is that in a hexagon, all sides of each segment are the
same length. That makes adjusting the shape of a hexbeam a
sure thing if you just do the numbers.