This sleeve for a chain link
fence works well to provide a
joint between the hex beam
center post and the mast. The
holes through the center post
should not be drilled until the
hex beam is set into the joint to
avoid the problem of aligning
the holes. The rings with the
hooks on them allow the mast
to turn without twisting the guy
ropes.
With the 4X4 post in
concrete, a ladder
can be leaned
against it to enable
one to push the
mast up with the hex
beam on it.
A thrust bearing probably is not
really necessary for the heavier
duty rotator that I wound up
buying but I already had it. It is
mounted to the post with angle
stock obtained from Lowe's or
Home Depot. It relieved me of
any worries anymore about the
rotator.
Step Seven - Mast and Rotator

The hex beam weighs 22 pounds and is symmetrical in shape resulting in best wind performance for the rotator.

My mast is a 30 foot Channel Master push up telescoping mast that cost about $75. I use Dacron rope guy lines.

I have used a Hy gain rotator offered by MFJ Enterprises for TV use costing about $80 and a similar unit sold by Radio Shack.  I think these
units would work OK if the rotator was mounted at the top of the mast. But if mounted at the bottom as I have done in the past, the weight of the
mast adds to the hex beam weight and two such small rotators of mine failed eventually.

As a result, I recently installed a thrust bearing and a Yaesu G-450A rotator. The rotator is at the bottom and rotates the entire mast.

I sank a twelve foot 4X4 treated post in concrete to serve as a rigid support and mounted the push up mast to the post. With the post sunk in
concrete, you can lean a ladder against it to get up high enough to push the mast to its maximal position.  You can climb the ladder with the hex
beam and then mount the hex beam into place on the mast before extending the mast sections. Some neighborly help would be nice for this
although I was able to do mine completely alone.
Click photos to enlarge
This is a Yaesu G-450A rotator.
It is mounted on the post with
angle stock from Lowe's or
Home Depot. It turns the mast
as well as the hex beam.
Here is the final product ready
for DX.
Hex Beam by K4KIO
My common mode choke
consists of ten Type 31 ferrite
cores which the RG 213 coax
passes through as it comes out
through the hole in the base
plate. It is anchored to the
bottom of the base plate as
shown.

A choke balun can also be
made without the ferrite cores
by forming the coax neatly into
a loop of 6-7 rounds, 6 inches
in diameter and lashing them
together with cable ties.
Building the G3TXQ Broad Band Hex Beam
Site pub. date 12/2007
Page revision date 1/2008