Building One Of The BEST HF Yagi Antennas - HexBeam Part 1

[@TechMindsOfficial]

For those of you that seem to have trouble understanding that this is a form of Yagi antenna, let me help you out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexbeam

[@aerofart]

That’s a really well built hex beam antenna. It looks like it will last 100 years. Can’t wait for the performance and A/B testing.

[@daycreek]

Ooh! I cliff-hanger! Looking forward to Part II. Love your reviews - thanks for all that you do.

[@TechMindsOfficial]

You're welcome and thanks for watching :-)

[@jamescady723]

Thanks for stepping through this build. I'm trying to decide if this is the direction I want to go. It's been very helpful! Looking forward to Part 2!

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Very welcome

[@jeffsheldon]

Incredibly clean design.

[@Wretchedone69]

Because of your video , I bought his cob Webb. It took two months for me to get it here in the USA. It was so easy to put together. I have it up on a flagpole at 40’. It works great. He makes a great product. I do want to get a hex beam. I might just buy one from him. 73

[@Lennymc39]

Great video Matt, delighted to see Pawel is making multiband Hexbeams now. Looking forward to part 2 for your thoughts.

[@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures]

When you put the antenna up keep the Rotator at the bottom to help with the it not being so heavy at the top. The rotator you have should work fine with the antenna, a heavier duty would be better but it will work. Get a thrust bearing to help guy it also and have fun! bear

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Yup, already been up a few days and had great fun in the CQ WW. Part 2 in a few days. :)

[@m1geo]

That looks really nicely made.

[@WECB640]

Backyard benevolent bovine beam brings brilliant benefits!

[@Yosemite_Sam]

COBWEB, SPIDER BEAM, HEX BEAM. They all work as well as a 2 el yagi or a Moxon at least in my experience. Each has it's advantages. I played with home brew versions of each one. Compact, cheap and effective. Here in OZ in rural areas where I live we have pink cockatoo (Galahs), Corellas, Black cockatoos with sharp beaks that shred wire antennas. Bastards from hell as the flock together densely and can be very destructive. For that reason I have used yagis nade from aircraft alloy aluminium. Current beam is a HyGain Explorer 14.

[@thork0tjt515]

I have a hex! A great antenna for the money. Great bang for the buck! You will enjoy it!

[@colinmcdonald7591]

I like the wire element clip design. Those are always the challenge to find when building your own hexbeam. Yes, one can 3D print such things, but when you have 36 of them to do, it takes days and days and you best get it right the first time. For portable use, you obviously leave the wire clips in place but you pretty much have to take all the elements off otherwise everything becomes a massive tangled mess. Much easier to spend the extra few minutes disassembling the elements and reassembling them when you deploy the antenna than spending an hour untangling it all in the field. Great well thought out design. I'm looking forward to seeing this one for sale as I'm in the market for a hexbeam and this one seems very well built.

[@wattsandhertz]

The green line looks like string trimmer line. That is something that I used on the moxon I built. Worked great.

[@ER1PLG]

I used this antenna to QSO French Polynesia from Moldova, ER1PL, FT8 mode. A very good antenna.

[@donalfinn4205]

Who would want to take a Hexbeam, portable? Looks a great aerial!

[@W8RIT1]

I would

[@octavs_ER1SKI]

I made one, a couple of months ago

[@lmaoroflcopter]

There is a portable hexbeam thing available iirc I think buddipole makes one Edit: yeah it's called the buddihex

[@m1geo]

I wouldn't take it portable. I'd take a bigger/better antenna. But this is great for a garden/smaller space, and it looks well made.

[@LoftechUK]

5:09 it’s like putting up my Christmas tree 😂 they have numbers and letters

[@kokoso1]

i only found the 11m and 10m/6m antennas on the website

[@jolebole-yt]

Same.

[@Jennifer-007]

Same

[@saltire546]

Make a fantastic washing line , looks just like a whirlygig .I know these work well but my neighbours would be hacked off if i put one of these up .The price is good as other ones i have seen range fom £700 to £1300 granted the usa made one the Vtx hex beam is built mega stong and can handle 3kw .I suppose with this one you would only need to increase the wire size to allow it to handle full legal uk power limit of 1k !. Great channel keep up the good work .

[@keithroberts5946]

You have to have a reasonable sized garden to assemble that in. Wouldnt work in my garden unfortunately. Look forward to part 2

[@TrzCharlie]

Very interested in the build. Subscribed for your content.

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Awesome, thank you!

[@dxscotland5901]

That looks great Mat! I bought a 10m delta loop from him and it was excellent! Looking forward to part2..73s Chris Gm4zji

[@ian_m_fink]

Thanks, Paul 👍

[@alphaadhito]

I laughed when Matt started crying at 1:26 😂

[@zerobow9413]

You need to get a mini tilt-over tower/pole for testing that`s concreted in the ground

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Damm right I do..! For some reason I have had an influx in antennas to test recently and I really could do with a tilting-tower against the back of my house. Trouble is that they are not too cheap, but I will endeavor to get something for sure. Thanks for watching :-)

[@VE3FAL1Fred]

Impressive, but still quite a footprint for sure. I have a CobWeb and enjoy using it, very light. Used yard fibreglass markers for the CobWeb.

[@m7trsradio]

Would love one of these but no room for one. If you had to pick dx commander or a cobweb?

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Cobweb generally only go as low as 20m, however you can make a 40m version but they are massive. The DX Commander can do 40m, no problem, and even 80m, but it needs radials like any other ground mounted vertical. If you do not need 40m and dont want to lay radials, then go for a cobweb. If you have the space, get both :-) cheers!

[@m7trsradio]

@@TechMindsOfficial Thanks Mat. I think I am going to going the DX route but both have their install issues. Not my garden to dip up. Lol. Thanks for the advice looking forward to part 2. 73

[@IndependentNewsMedia]

Nice build video, God bless.

[@VP2EIHonAnguillaIsland]

Geat beam 👍🏽Hope to hear ya on the bands 👍🏽. Great Hex👋🏻73, de 🎙Ira

[@mediocreman2]

Interesting. I wonder what kind of base allows for portable use. Too bad they don't seem to include a base?

[@psychodadsn]

I don't see this multi band unit on their website yet, any idea when it might appear? Any idea on cost?

[@Ei2iP]

Same only 10/6M hex..

[@TechMindsOfficial]

finding more about this, will update in next video in the week. cheers

[@psychodadsn]

Thanks Mat!

[@andy2E0JIU]

Just put a scaffold swivel clamp on your concreted post n you will have a tilt over mast

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Thanks for the suggestion, I defo need to do something! Thanks for watching.

[@austieoutdoors9763]

great video mat i all so have the cobweb which i still use on my 40ft telescopic mast and been thinking about getting that hexbeam but would luv to see it in action can,t wait for the next video 73 from m7byf

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Hope you got to see the second part, that was release last week :-) Thanks for watching!

[@austieoutdoors9763]

@@TechMindsOfficial yes i am now

[@PhilON4VP]

Hi Mat, very interesting. I certainly gonna folluw up on this build. Reason ... I'm looking towards a hexbeam or the Optibeam OB-10M Moxon two element 5-bander. Both performing about the same. The small beam wins on gain on the 10/12/15 meter band but the hexbeam has better F/B figures. I took a look at the his website but only find a haxbeam with 6/10 meters, not a 5-bander. Perhaps your video concerns a pilot project and it is not yet available in his webshop. Keep this build coming ;-) I'm also interested in your SWR readings on a certain height because I'm looking at a maximm height of around 12 meters which is not that great for 17/20 but I'm just getting to old to climb towers, LOL. Good luck finishing and testing this project. One quick question: I noticed the Chameleon tuner at the base of yout inverted-L wire. Does this means you now only use the tuner and no longer the 49:1 UNUN ? Interesting as I would like to do the same or use a 9:1 UNUN instead the 49:1 so I also can use warc bands. 73 Phil ON4VP

[@G_C340]

Matt, Paul only seems to be selling single band hexbeams at present.

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Yeh I'm checking with Paul on this, hopefully will update in part 2. Cheers :-)

[@germanjohn5626]

A Hexbeam is and always was a compromise antenna. It is by no means the best HF Yagi antenna. Personally I would consider it one of the better compromise antennas. Nothing beats monoband Yagi antennas or monoband quad antennas..

[@TechMindsOfficial]

No one said it's THE best, and 99% of people can't install mono band yagis. If I had the space I would defo have mono band full size yagis, just like every other ham would want to. Cheers

[@AdrianBoyko]

This counts as a yagi?

[@TechMindsOfficial]

@@AdrianBoyko Check my pinned comment. Cheers

[@Marek_M79]

Matt, From now Your wife will be hanging the laundry on it. Very usable - 2in1 😂 73's

[@stevefisher1036]

Hopefully we'll hear more about this antenna. I want to try a hex beam, but there are many on the market. I need to see in part 2 what you think of it.

[@bertrambirle9613]

What will be the price for it?

[@oh2hqe]

Looking good for forward use

[@Ei2iP]

You had it a month? Well nothing on the website for multiband Hex only 10/6M...

[@TechMindsOfficial]

I'll get more details about release date and when it will be available. Hope to update you all in Part 2. cheers

[@Ei2iP]

I got an email from manufacturer, do all is good, thanks 😊

[@m1geo]

Interested in buying one of these, but it doesn't appear on his website? Just the Cobweb. Any ideas?

[@TechMindsOfficial]

I spoke to Paul as mentioned in Part 2 video, and he said for people to drop him an email via his website if they are interested. As they take some time to kit together, he wanted to know the demand. I'm sure he will respond very promptly :-) Cheers

[@m1geo]

@TechMindsOfficial aah thanks!

[@jeremyturner4327]

What did it cost ?

[@W8RIT1]

I'm thinking of one of these myself. My mate, VK5MRD has a whole slew of videos of QSOs made with his HexBeam. I'm curious, for your rear/driven element, when looking down from above, does the element look like a M (with the other as a 'W')?? or does it extend from the tips of 3 extending pole sections? I'm curious on how the mechanics will hold up with birds and squirrels, then not so much rain, but snow and ice. I've heard from others that ice loading is not a problem, and same with wind loading...for both reasons because it's relatively compact.

[@TotalKeyOz]

I have already built a hexbeam myself and it works really well. I just don't understand how it is supposed to work here if all the elements are connected to the metal pole. Or are the screws insulated?

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Yeh they are insulated. I guess there is some magic going on inside the pole.

[@Scotscan]

Do you have a link to the rotator in use?

[@TechMindsOfficial]

I bought this second hand, not sure where you can buy them new. sorry.

[@mikesradiorepair]

I don't see it on the website. Only hex beams are a single band 11M and a dual band 6M/10M. Is yours a pre-production model?

[@TechMindsOfficial]

I'm not sure, I have asked Pawel about release time and will update in the Part 2 video coming this week. :-)

[@chrisherd991]

What is the rough diameter of the antenna?

[@g7vqedave2]

22 feet wide, I've got one and they're ok but on the last cycle I had a tri band Moxon and that had a way better front to back ratio.

[@x_CrossHair_x]

Cutting the grass underneath that antenna after it is fully assembled... Should be an interesting Challenge.

[@KA4UPW]

I might be wrong, but I'm thinking this isn't gonna pass the spouse test.

[@Richardincancale]

You didn’t receive any instructions? Why?

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Didn't need them but I have asked Pawel if he will include them when released for sale. Maybe he might just link my video. It's quite easy once youve done it once. I had never built one before, or even watched any build videos. All I done was to look for the wire element layout that I showed in the video. Cheers

[@CC-hk6vy]

Need the instructions!

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Thanks for your comment, but I think I have proven that with THIS KIT, you do not need instructions. You just need an idea of what the antenna looks like and how the elements are laid out, that's all you need to know before hand. cheers

[@LoftechUK]

Just dig another post hole. Use a 21ft scaffold pole put a meter in the ground and you will have 17ft. You could do more leaving you 15ft. World take a good to pull it down

[@GarryLennox]

i had no idea they were so big ,

[@LoftechUK]

Omg part one 😂

[@kirkhamandy]

Antenna build skills on show... odd grass cutting skills also on show 😂

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Haha nah, we have patches that used to be concrete from previous owner, we seeded the patches but bloody pigeons keep eating the seeds! Gotta wait till we can reseed again lol.

[@FoxtrotYankeeHotel]

What's the likelihood of the council allowing me this on my 1 bed semi detached bungalow? I'm sure it would overhang my front and back and definitely the solar panels... I'm serious but I know it's doubtful. Ask for permission and hope they don't understand meters? Hmm... Gotta think this one out a lot.

[@LoOpY-dude]

Put some very colourful woke flags on it and i am sure you will get the councils blessing and funding too. hahaha

[@FoxtrotYankeeHotel]

@@LoOpY-dude Oh god you said the magic words. Approval granted. Job done.

[@yavamaystudio8045]

Which country are you, I don't see any chemistrails

[@TechMindsOfficial]

UK

[@louislaporte1466]

@@TechMindsOfficialBeautiful landscape behind your home! For a minute I thought you were somewhere in the midwest USA. Awesome.

[@waynepaul7628]

only just over £200 thats a bargin in my book

[@CC-hk6vy]

Hexbeam not straight forward for building, I have built

[@dennis8019]

amazing antenna but way way to big... ask the neighbours

[@danwalkley304]

Weirdest looking "Yagi" I ever saw

[@RogierYou]

It’s ugly

[@brianfields4479]

Very professional looking ant, footprint for most sends xyl,s into anger hi. I am lucky that my simple elevated vertical in a tree works all the dx I ever need. 73 zl3xdj