It turned out that my long term wish of trying a hex beam came into play when I heard of one available second-hand. This is not an antenna for a small garden, they say… and mine, being smaller than most, meant that when I did eventually assemble the beam on the lawn, it would only just fit in the width of the plot. It was manhandled up on a short stub mast on the side of the garage to place the bottom of the ‘inverted umbrella’ at the height of the garage roof, putting the 20m element at about 4m. At present, it is tied off (moored) by rope to align roughly with the States, which does make 'I’ll just turn the beam' a bit of a mission!

I did consider hanging some washing on it, which would have been a waste, since it is a surprisingly good antenna, even at very low heights and to prove a point, I have managed a few decent rag chews across the pond with it, so it promises well when on a mast (awaiting planning).

I have tested it with a linear, also a recent second-hand addition, but after a a nice start to a QSO with Steve W7QC in Seattle, and running 400W, I noticed the 20m dipole element suddenly drop and swing in the breeze. Grrr, the insulator had melted, I suspect due to arcing from the end of the dipole driven element.

A phone call to Ant, MW0JZE, who makes the hex beams in the UK, was very helpful and supplied the missing end caps which should have been fitted over the ends of the elements. This should allow it to handle UK power levels with ease. Excellent service from Ant and, as a result, I have followed this with an order for a 40m element add-on, plus a tilt plate.

Take away points about the hex beam:

1) Works well at low heights
2) Multi-band and just the one feeder
3) Hoping it doesn’t look so big when on a taller mast...
4) Hope it will be a good ‘doer’ for Sporadic E on 10m and 6m

All part of the station upgrade and now I have recently retired there’s even more time to play radio!

73 de Jim G3YLA