Hex Beam by K4KIO
Site publication date
12/2007
Step Four - Making the wire elements

  • The wires and end spacers should be measured, cut and adjusted for the proper lengths in this step. The lengths and spacing on the
    Specifications page are based on use of 16 gauge wire but conversion factors are provided for use of other gauges.  

  • The driven element will consist of two pieces of wire for each band; not four. The reflector will also consist of one pieces of wire for each
    band. Each driven element piece will be shaped by the hex beam structure into an inverted "V" and when arranged next to the other
    piece, will form a "M." Each Reflector piece will be wrapped around the four spreaders and attached to the tip spacers which in turn are
    attached to the driver wires. Be precise with cutting the wires as an inch can make a difference in the resonant frequency of that band.

  • Each outer half of the driver wires has a non-conducting line that connects that wire to one end of the reflector wire. These non-
    conducting lines will be called "tip spacers." The length of the spacers is important to proper performance of the hex beam and they are
    designed here so they can be adjusted precisely after installation on the hex beam.
With masking tape or envelope
labels tag each wire with its
end spacer attached ("20
Driver, 17 Reflector, etc.") so
as not to get them mixed up.
A good way to handle the
measurement process is to use
a nail in a board so you can
anchor the  wire while
stretching it out on the floor
driveway.

The reflector wire is a single
large piece rather than two
half pieces as the driver wire.
Also it has no terminal lugs on
it as each end of the reflector
wire will be attached to a "tip
spacer" as shown in the next
photo.
These strips at Radio Shack
can be easily cut into 12 end
spacer connectors. Two such
packages would be needed.
These connectors will make it
easy to adjust the end spaces.
Get the jumbo size as the
Dacron cord is pretty thick.
Click these photos to enlarge
Remove the plastic from a
#12-#10 ring terminal and
solder it to the end of the wire.
This will be attached later to
the terminal on the center
post. The little utility lighter is
great for soldering if you don't
have a heavy duty soldering
iron. They cost $2-3 at
Walmart in the camping
equipment section.
You will need two of these for
each band. Each of these will
be used to connect one end of
a driver wire to one end of the
reflector wire. Later, the space
between the tips of those wires
will be adjusted precisely to
the specifications called for on
each band. The Kevlar is very
strong and will not stretch and
has a covering of Dacron to
protect against ultraviolet
radiation. With the jumbo size
connector blocks, it will be
easy to insert the wires
alongside the cord
You will have two tip spacer
assemblies per band like this
for a total of 10 for a five band
hex beam. You need to make
the length long enough to
allow for no less than the tip
spaces called for on each
band. The spaces for each
band's driver and reflector
wires are in the table on the
Specifications page.
You might want to paint the
connector blocks to give them
some UV protection.
Building the G3TXQ Broad Band Hex Beam