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Grand Junction, Colorado |
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Grand Junction, Colorado |
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Attached to the beam is a support frame holding the rotator. The base for the rotator came from my old SteppIR antenna. May as well use what is available. Steel angle supports the platform for the rotator, and bolts connect everything to the 6" x 6" post. I much prefer the rotator mounted at the bottom of the antenna rather than at the top. It provides easy access to do periodic maintenance, or if there is a problem that occurs - I won't have to lower a rotator from the top of the antenna. Even more beneficial, if the rotator were at the top of the mast, it would be very heavy and hard to fully extend the mast and antenna to the top. 
I also installed the now-defunct SteppIR's mast thrust bearing (about the only thing I could salvage from the tower collapse) at the top of the wooden beam to keep the mast aligned vertically. It took some measuring and testing to get the mast vertically aligned. You sharp eyed readers will notice the grasshopper on the post - we were invaded by tens of thousands of them this year. At least he didn't eat the wood beam supporting the antenna - but they destroyed hundreds of dollars of plants, trees, and other vegetation. 
Installing the antenna on the mast was fairly easy - the mast I bought from Waldi collapses to about 6 feet tall. Each section is held in place by set screws, allowing you to raise the antenna, tighten the set screws, then raise the next section. Not difficult, but it takes a bit of strength to hold everything in place while tightening the screws. This is the finished project, with UV-resistant guy rope supporting it, tied to two nearby trees (left side of the picture), and a stump on the right side of the picture. Our prevailing winds are from left to right, so the trees do most of the work. It keeps the guy rope higher than the horns of the passing elk and deer, who otherwise would get tangled in the supports. Having lost an antenna and tower to a microburst of winds, I'm not chancing losing this one to a wandering herd of critters. 
I won't say it matches the performance of the SteppIR, however the Hex Beam by SP7IDX has a VERY low SWR across nearly evey band from 20M - 6M while having no moving parts to complicate performance. I checked SWR across the bands, and here are some examples. Although 12M tends to run a bit higher than the others, it's still a very usable number: 
I'm very happy with the results, the budget wasn't impacted to the tune of a replacement SteppIR (although I LOVE that antenna), and no need for another major tower installation. I hope this helps others who may be considering a hex beam. Installation was very simple, compared to a very complicated SteppIR, there was no need to install a heavy duty tower, and the results are impressive. Now, I'm off to work the last few DXCC entities I need to have worked them all... 73, |