Hex Beam by K4KIO
Site publication date
12/2007
his site provides guidelines to build a G3TXQ broad band hex beam R.F. antenna for the five amateur radio bands, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10
meters. The G3TXQ broad band hex beam is a new development and actually easier to build than the classic hexbeam.

This is not the same hexbeam design that you get with the
T
.
commercial version. It is a newer design that is broader in its frequency
response for both front/back performance and SWR. If you still want to build
the homebrew version of the commercial hex beam, referred to on this
website as the classic version, go here for those guidelines.

However, I strongly recommend this broad band hex beam version over the
classic version and you can find out the reasons here.

The hex beam offers a number of features as follows:
  • Forward gain and front/back comparable to a two element Yagi.
  • Five bands with low SWR
  • Broad band characteristics
  • Low noise performance.
  • Low weight and low wind load
  • Construction from general hardware components
  • Ease of adjustment

The broad band hex beam has higher front to back performance and better SWR response and both over a significantly wider frequency range
than the classic version. For a more full understanding, visit the web site of the inventor of the broad band hex beam, Steve Hunt, G3TXQ.

If you have already built the classic hexbeam as I had, you can convert it to the broad band version with very little expense and effort. A single
page describing how to do this is available.

This hex beam was constructed with the idea of a quality antenna at a very economical cost using mainly hardware found at on line sites and
Home Depot or Lowes. It is the fourth hex beam I have built and each one has been an improvement over the previous one, mainly in the
quality of the build and hopefully, the survivability of the hex beam in adverse outdoor conditions.

The general activities of each of the seven steps are outlined at the top part of each page. The details are provided as captions under the photos
in order from left to right. Most photos can be clicked to enlarge.

A printable version is available for the pages of the seven steps, parts list and specifications.

I would encourage you to spend time studying G3TXQ's web site at the link to the left for a better understanding of hex beams, and particularly
the broad band version. Further, you can get help from the Yahoo hex beam user group also linked at the left. And finally, I will be glad to do
what I can to make your experience building a hex beam more successful.
Building the G3TXQ Broad Band Hex Beam