‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM MARCH 2009 QST  PAGES 31, 32 AND 81  ‰

IF YOU PLAN TO KEEP POWER LEVELS UNDER 500 W OTHERWISE RG 213 IS
RECOMMENDED.  AFTER COMPLETING THE INSTALLATION OF THE FEED LINE
COMPONENTS, IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO DO AN OHMMETER CHECK TO MAKE SURE
THERE ARE NO SHORT CIRCUITS OF COAX BRAI
‰  FROM PAGE 81  ‰
1,635,908 C C YE1ZAT 441,032 D FP/KV1J 77,112 A B 3V8ST 164,088 B B UA9CDV

BAND HEXAGONAL BEAM USING MAINLY HARDWARE STORE COMPONENTS WITH SOME PARTS
FROM ONLINE SUPPLIERS.  STEP ONE THE BASE PLATE THE BASE PLATE IS MADE OF A
12 INCH SQUARE TYPE 6061 T6 ALUMINUM PLATE THAT IS 3/16 INCH THICK.  THIS
PARTICULAR TYPE OF ALUMINUM IS HARDER THAN PURE ALUMINUM AND LESS LIKELY TO
BEND WHILE BEING RESISTANT TO WEATHER.  SKETCH THE HEXAGON USING THE
APPROACH SHOWN IN THE DRAWING ON THE QST BINARIES WEB SITE.  YOU CAN CUT
THE PLATE WITH A HACKSAW AND DRILL THE CENTER HOLE USING A 1 1/4 INCH METAL
HOLE SAW.  U BOLTS ARE USED TO SECURE THE SPREADERS TO THE BASE PLATE.  A
SQUARE BASE FLOOR FLANGE NORMALLY USED FOR HANDRAILS IS IDEAL FOR MOUNTING
THE CENTER POST TO THE BASE PLATE.  THE BLACK ARROW SHOWN IN FIGURE 4 HELPS
KEEP YOU ORIENTED AS YOU INSTALL THE WIRES LATER IN STEP SIX.  STAINLESS
STEEL HARDWARE SHOULD BE USED TO MINIMIZE CORROSION AND LOCK WASHERS WILL
HELP KEEP THE FIXTURES FROM LOOSENING WITH MOVEMENT OF THE HEXAGONAL BEAM
BY WIND AND ROTATION.  STEP TWO THE SPREADERS FIBERGLASS TUBES ARE
‰  FROM PAGE 81  ‰
88,320 D WN3R 416,955 D KD5VVI 30,844 D W2RDX 266,104 J28OO 26,895 A B
RW0AJ 142,956 C A RU1A 2,741,640 D VK2AYD 82,816 C B EA8ANE 3,488 A B
‰  END OF 30 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ

AS ILLUSTRATED WITH EZNEC MODELING, THE BLUE TRACE IN FIGURES 3A AND 3B
SHOW THIS NEW BROADBAND DESIGN HAS HIGHER FRONT TO BACK PERFORMANCE AND
BETTER SWR RESPONSE OVER A SIGNIFICANTLY WIDER FREQUENCY RANGE THAN THE
OLDER VERSION OF THE HEXAGONAL BEAM.  THE FRONT TO BACK PERFORMANCE F/B FOR
THE G3TXQ BROADBAND HEXAGONAL BEAM IS IN EXCESS OF 10 DB OVER THE ENTIRE 20
METER BAND, WHEREAS FOR THE CLASSIC VERSION F/B EXCEEDS 10 DB ONLY IN A
RANGE OF 150 KHZ.  IN ADDITION TO THE IMPROVEMENTS IN SWR AND F/B, THE
BROADBAND MODEL HAS A LITTLE MORE FORWARD GAIN AS SHOWN IN THE EZNEC
AZIMUTH RADIATION PATTERN IN FIGURE 3C.  FINALLY, THE SWEET SPOT FOR DESIGN
IS NOT ONLY BROADER BUT IS CENTERED ON THE LOWEST SWR POINT MAKING IT
EASIER TO OPERATE WITHOUT A TUNER.  PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS AND
COMPARISONS FOR THE OTHER FOUR BANDS ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE FOR 20 METERS.
BUILDING A BROADBAND HEXAGONAL BEAM THE BROAD BAND HEXAGONAL BEAM HAS NOW
BEEN BUILT BY A SIZABLE NUMBER OF HAMS WHO ENTHUSIASTICALLY REPORT ON ITS
ON AIR PERFORMANCE EVEN IN THE PITS OF THE PRESENT SUNSPOT CYCLE.  YOU CAN
JOIN THIS GROUP BY FOLLOWING THESE SIX STEPS FOR CONSTRUCTING A G3TXQ BROAD
‰  FROM PAGE 81  ‰
W1ZT 451,754 C C NR4M 1,090,086 D AA8LL 37,024 D W5WMU 647,703 D NR5M
1,502,380 D NN3W 1,863,810 D K5EK 230,445 D N0NI 1,395,906 D KB1H 1,016,576
D AC8Y 222,088 D W0SD 802,898 D K1TTT 599,964 D KA1ARB 194,000 D N5WLA

‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ