Hex Beam Antenna

[nicky]

I have been reading a lot about the Hex Beam Antenna for several different frequencies but none listed for 11 meters. Is there a reason for this or are they just not popular for the 11 meter band? I enjoy talking CB SSB and where I live I seem to get quite a bit of noise and I thought maybe a directional antenna like this would help me some. Plus it seems relitavely cheap to construct. I would appreciate some views on this from people who had or have one. Thank you, Nicky

 

[Big Kahuna]

I'll sell you the one from this video, I have quite a few antennas and am not using it. $100 plus shipping.

 

[nicky]

I'll sell you the one from this video, I have quite a few antennas and am not using it. $100 plus shipping.

I have already looked at this before I made my post. It has nothing to do with answering my question. Why would I want to buy something I know nothing about??? Hence my question in the first place.

 

[2AF409]

That's a nice video showing how easy it is to assemble this antenna. UNIT 314 are you out there? For DIY here's a pdf with dimensions from the web.

 

[Big Kahuna]

I have already looked at this before I made my post. It has nothing to do with answering my question. Why would I want to buy something I know nothing about??? Hence my question in the first place.

Ok. Price is now $500.

 

[nicky]

Ok. Price is now $500.

Still no answer to my question. I was going to build my own anyway....... you can make it $5 and still not interested! I want to know how good they perform on long distance.... skip.

 

[nicky]

That's a nice video showing how easy it is to assemble this antenna. UNIT 314 are you out there? For DIY here's a pdf with dimensions from the web.

Thank you very much. This is part of what I have been hunting for as I have a lot of salvage stuff to use. Nicky

 

[Crawdad]

I want to know how good they perform on long distance.... skip.

They perform as well as any Two-element Yagi does, which is what they are, they're just bent. Quite well for DXing. But then almost anything does if well tuned and Mother Nature is cooperating. Home brewing your own is quite fun and using it to talk halfway around the planet (or more) is even more fun. If you get one built try to get it at least 1/2 wavelength AGL.

7 3 and good luck with it.

PS. There are lots of calculators and build designs out there on the web.

 

[Pez]

I have a K4KIO for the ham bands. Be aware, the most common multiband hexbeams (for ham) you will find have a fairly narrow bandwidth on the 10m element. They do not perform well on 11m at all. Not just because of VSWR, but the lobes do funny things and they loose much of their directivity. If you build or buy one for 11m and want it to work on 10m also, the same limits will apply.

For 11m, you would need to modify the 10m element and retune, or make one specifically for 11m. Because the elements do interact with each other somewhat, it can be interesting to get them resonant everywhere you need.

For a directional antenna with gain and a small footprint on 11m use, I would personally get a 3el yagi over a Hexbeam, unless you really want a multi-band antenna. A 3el typically has a lot better F/B ratio and is usually much better off the side too. A hex is pretty broad in comparison.
But building a monoband 11m hex could be a fun project if you are keen, or you could buy one of course (@Big Kahuna thats a nice looking design. Good price too).

 

[nicky]

They perform as well as any Two-element Yagi does, which is what they are, they're just bent. Quite well for DXing. But then almost anything does if well tuned and Mother Nature is cooperating. Home brewing your own is quite fun and using it to talk halfway around the planet (or more) is even more fun. If you get one built try to get it at least 1/2 wavelength AGL.

7 3 and good luck with it.

PS. There are lots of calculators and build designs out there on the web.

I have a K4KIO for the ham bands. Be aware, the most common multiband hexbeams (for ham) you will find have a fairly narrow bandwidth on the 10m element. They do not perform well on 11m at all. Not just because of VSWR, but the lobes do funny things and they loose much of their directivity. If you build or buy one for 11m and want it to work on 10m also, the same limits will apply.

For 11m, you would need to modify the 10m element and retune, or make one specifically for 11m. Because the elements do interact with each other somewhat, it can be interesting to get them resonant everywhere you need.

For a directional antenna with gain and a small footprint on 11m use, I would personally get a 3el yagi over a Hexbeam, unless you really want a multi-band antenna. A 3el typically has a lot better F/B ratio and is usually much better off the side too. A hex is pretty broad in comparison.
But building a monoband 11m hex could be a fun project if you are keen, or you could buy one of course (@Big Kahuna thats a nice looking design. Good price too).

Thank you for the reply. I do not need a multi-band antenna as I only do 11 meter sideband. It gets so confusing with so many different types of antennas available. I now use a Sirio ground plane, Anytone AT6666 and KL203P and it works fairly well but I was wanting to get into some sort of directional antenna that I could build myself. Something that would reject some the noise off of the back side. I seem to get a lot of noise and splash from other channels running big power.

 

[Crawdad]

Thank you for the reply. I do not need a multi-band antenna as I only do 11 meter sideband. It gets so confusing with so many different types of antennas available. I now use a Sirio ground plane, Anytone AT6666 and KL203P and it works fairly well but I was wanting to get into some sort of directional antenna that I could build myself. Something that would reject some the noise off of the back side. I seem to get a lot of noise and splash from other channels running big power.

You might also consider homebrewing a 2-element Moxon rectangle. They offer some decent gain with a very good Front-to-Back ratio (in English that means very good signal rejection on the back side). Better rejection than a 3-element Yagi.

A Moxon is a bit easier to homebrew than a Hex is; less material and a bit less $. The gain and F/B numbers are similar. Made from either wire or some form of metallic tubing, a Moxon is lightweight and pretty easy to get up in the air. Plenty of build info/designs out there.

Here's a calculator that works quite well:
https://ac6la.com/moxgen1.html

7 3

 

[BC Coyote]

Something that would reject some the noise off of the back side. I seem to get a lot of noise and splash from other channels running big power.

A beam of at least three elements is the only kind of antenna that is going to help you with this. Other kinds of directional antennas such as hex beams, single delta loops, wire dipoles, skyloops etc. etc. just do not have a good enough F/B ratio or enough side rejection to be serious contenders for the job.

Pez's suggestion of a 11 meter band 3 element yagi is the best one in this thread. Forget the hex beam, you are going to be disappointed. As stated above, a 3 element yagi takes up about the same amount of real estate, and will do what you want it to do much better than a hex beam ever will!

 

[nicky]

A beam of at least three elements is the only kind of antenna that is going to help you with this. Other kinds of directional antennas such as hex beams, single delta loops, wire dipoles, skyloops etc. etc. just do not have a good enough F/B ratio or enough side rejection to be serious contenders for the job.

Pez's suggestion of a 11 meter band 3 element yagi is the best one in this thread. Forget the hex beam, you are going to be disappointed. As stated above, a 3 element yagi takes up about the same amount of real estate, and will do what you want it to do much better than a hex beam ever will!

I will do some looking at it. thank you much

 

[magnuman]

The antenna you want is called skypper. Easy to make and they work very well. Easier than a hex but the same horizontal square configuration. Complete instructions on the net.
I use one. Light weight. Simple. Effective.

 

[Riverman]

The antenna you want is called skypper. Easy to make and they work very well. Easier than a hex but the same horizontal square configuration. Complete instructions on the net.
I use one. Light weight. Simple. Effective.

Have never heard of the Skypper. Did a search, and found there are several threads on WWDX about it, going back to 2009. Looks interesting.
Still, the best bang for the buck is Big Kahuna’s Radiowavz hex beam for a hundred bucks. Still looks new, easy to assemble and a new one costs $225 these days. Great deal.