![]() ![]() Still the weight and size of the central hubs and spreader arms seemed to make them somewhat difficult to handle by one person in winds. These designs use wire elements which lowers the wind-load and weight of the final antenna. So, around January this year I started looking at Bird Yagi and Hexbeam designs and what was currently available in the market. Several unsuccessful attempts to get it mounted to my portable mast system were made in moderate winds. The current tribander I have weighs in at over 40 lbs. This review is about my most recent findings.įinding 1: I finally realized that a good 10-15-20M tribander that was heavy-duty enough to survive the coastal environment was not a light-weight antenna. As a result, finding good antennas with some gain that can be safely setup, used and taken down in windy conditions by one person, has been a 3-year experiment. Due to the coastal environment, moderate to severe weather conditions and the neighborhood being a vacation area, I do these activities similar to Field Day, performing antenna setup and cable runs the day or two before the contest starts, and subsequent breakdown after the contest. ![]() Great Portable Lightweight 20 - 6M Hexbeamīackground: Currently, my ham radio activities consist of portable operations from a family beach house in Atlantic Beach, NC (FM14PQ, IOTA NA112, US Islands NC010S), mostly weekend HF contests. I hope that with time and practice, I will learn to love it like others have. In terms of effectiveness during WFD, it did not wow me when compared to an endfed inverted L at 80 feet. I'm not giving it a five because the initial user experience was at times frustrating. It is well thought out and materials used are excellent. Bottom line, the antenna performed well but whether it was worth the price and effort to set up is still questionable. That said, the only way to learn to assemble it is to just do it. The written instructions for both the antenna and mast could better IMHO. The set up of the mast is not self intuitive. I watched the videos and read the instructions. There are no videos on how to set up the Mastwerks mast but several on how to set up the Buddihex. ![]() If the legs are extended beyond 90 degrees from vertical (counterclockwise), it will fracture the edge of the plastic platform that houses the level bubble. Also, watch the angle of the tripod legs. Make sure you guy the mast first while extended then bring it down and put the assembled hexbeam on. I had a lot of help and it was up in about 45 minutes. I did my first deployment of the Buddihex with the 7 meter Mastwerks mast for Winter Field Day. Total weight with wires for all bands attached is 9.5 lbs, making this one of the most lightweight hex beams available commercially and easy to use with most push-up masts.Īntenna package comes complete with all support cords and tensioners, wires for all bands 20m - 6m (pre-tuned, no adjustments/trimming required), 3 figure-8 line winders for wire storage, BNC terminated feed point (PL259 style soon available), and a padded Cordura carrying bag with shoulder strap. Lightweight and portable 6 band (20m - 6m) hex beam perfect for everything from POTA activations to camping trips to small backyards or Field Day, and everything in-between. Review Summary For : BuddiHex by Buddipole EMail SubscriptionRegistered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |