Overall Description
This is a five band Hexbeam for 10 - 20 meters. It is just over 19 feet in diameter
and is constructed of six fiberglass tubes and 16 gauge stranded copper wire.
The center post is a five foot piece of fiberglass or PVC. The hexbeam is fed at
the top of the center post with 50 ohm coax and weighs about 20 pounds.
The hexbeam consists of two elements for each band. The driven element is in
the shape of an "M" and the reflector element is in the shape of a "W". The
elements are made of wire instead of tubes used by most yagi antennas.
Therefore there is a need for a supporting structure. The supporting structure
consists of six flexible fiberglass rods attached to a base. The rods are as
shown and thus the name hexbeam. The antenna elements are held in place
by the base/rod structure, the wires and dacron cords. All bands of the antenna
are fed by a single coax cable.
To the right are sketches of how a hexbeam is configured.
Some Comments on Hexbeam Design
As with a Yagi, the length of the elements in a hexbeam are critically important.
Adding an inch or taking an inch off the dimensions will affect the SWR and shift
the performance down or up the band. From the Performance and Modeling
curves you will notice that the peak front - back performance does not occur at
the lowest SWR. You certainly can achieve low SWR across the entire band if
that is your main objective but you will not get the best front - back performance.
Think about this; you could substitute a 50 ohm resistor for your hexbeam at the
end of your feedline and you would get an SWR of 1:1across the band. But you
wouldn't make many QSO's! SWR is important but it doesn't tell the whole story.
Two sets of wire dimensions (low and high) are provided on this site because
the hexbeam's optimal "sweet spot" is fairly narrow and if you want only the best
performance, you need to choose which part of the band you want to operate. If
you want to operate the entire band and are willing to compromise a little, you
can design your hexbeam for the middle of the bands and it will work fine.
This is a five band Hexbeam for 10 - 20 meters. It is just over 19 feet in diameter
and is constructed of six fiberglass tubes and 16 gauge stranded copper wire.
The center post is a five foot piece of fiberglass or PVC. The hexbeam is fed at
the top of the center post with 50 ohm coax and weighs about 20 pounds.
The hexbeam consists of two elements for each band. The driven element is in
the shape of an "M" and the reflector element is in the shape of a "W". The
elements are made of wire instead of tubes used by most yagi antennas.
Therefore there is a need for a supporting structure. The supporting structure
consists of six flexible fiberglass rods attached to a base. The rods are as
shown and thus the name hexbeam. The antenna elements are held in place
by the base/rod structure, the wires and dacron cords. All bands of the antenna
are fed by a single coax cable.
To the right are sketches of how a hexbeam is configured.
Some Comments on Hexbeam Design
As with a Yagi, the length of the elements in a hexbeam are critically important.
Adding an inch or taking an inch off the dimensions will affect the SWR and shift
the performance down or up the band. From the Performance and Modeling
curves you will notice that the peak front - back performance does not occur at
the lowest SWR. You certainly can achieve low SWR across the entire band if
that is your main objective but you will not get the best front - back performance.
Think about this; you could substitute a 50 ohm resistor for your hexbeam at the
end of your feedline and you would get an SWR of 1:1across the band. But you
wouldn't make many QSO's! SWR is important but it doesn't tell the whole story.
Two sets of wire dimensions (low and high) are provided on this site because
the hexbeam's optimal "sweet spot" is fairly narrow and if you want only the best
performance, you need to choose which part of the band you want to operate. If
you want to operate the entire band and are willing to compromise a little, you
can design your hexbeam for the middle of the bands and it will work fine.
Site publication date 12/2005
Page revision date 3/2007
Page revision date 3/2007
Side view, hexbeam with 20 and 10 meter elements shown.
Hex beam by K4KIO
| dddddTable of Contents dGeneral dOverall Description dddddddBuilding it dStep 1 - Baseplate dStep 2 - Spreaders dStep 3 - Frame assembly dStep 4 - Making wire elements dStep 5 - Installing the feedlines dStep 6 - Installing the wires dStep 7 - Mast and rotator dParts for a Hexbeam dddddUnderstanding It it dSpecifications and FAQ's dPerformance and Modeling |
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