(E-mail)

Re: Lew McCoy, e-mail comments! Feb. 2000
"This antenna has changed many of my methods of looking at antennas. Why? -- I have built, tested, and used hundreds of different antenna(s) -- I think I know pretty well that small antenna(s) are very inefficient when compared to larger ones. But, ... the proof of the pudding is in the working ... On 20M, at 35ft., this HEX-BEAM, (a five-bander) knocked off pile-up after pile up ... It's very lightweight ... doesn't need a heavy duty tower ... it's easy to put together ... etc. I made many test(s) on 20 using 100 watts and comparison(s) against other single yagi beam antenna(s) and in nearly every instant -- had a bigger signal."

(E-mail) Re: On the Move . . . Our club N7KE, took the 5 bander to Quartz mountain in Central Washington for the Flight of the Bumblebees contest. Details: Quartz Mountain -- Central Washington, elevation 6300' Club: Redmond Top Key and Contest Club (RTKCC) Photo taken by: K1LOG (Rick Como)

Dr.-Ing. Gottfried Dutine
DK3DG
Winterbacher Str. 21 b
Stuttgart, 70374 GERMANY
e-mail: G.Dutine@t-online.de

Date: 02.02.2001

TELEFAX: 001-978-386-7905
Traffie Technology
Dear Mike,

I refer to our yesterday's telecom.

I am extremely pleased about the actual performance of my 5-band HEX-BEAM. To give you a few details:

Before putting the antenna on the top of my roof (45 feet), I assembled the antenna in my backyard and did some initial testing. The antenna was mounted on top of a 6 (!) feet pole. The antenna was heading south/south/west. I made some 50 QSO's working some 20 countries. Amongst others: VP8S, V5, CY9, ZP, LU, 5N3, 7P, J7. Reports between 559 and 599.

Mounted on top of my roof I have made in the meantime with my HEX-BEAM some 500 QSO's and have improved my DXCC count from 250 to 273. Amongst others I had contacts with: FO0MOT, VK9XY, K5K, A52B, V73CW, VK0MM, ZM8CW, T88TU, 3W2LWS, FK0SZ, 3C1AG etc. Most of them on multiple bands.

No doubts at all, the performance is absolutely outstanding.

Vy 73 and all the best

Mike,

Here's a picture of the temporary installation for the 2000 CQWW CW contest at KH7/N5CR on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The 20M beam in the foreground is on your 30' slip up mast, and the dual band 15/10M beam is on a 20' TV mast in the background. Everything (except the TV mast from Radio Shack) was shipped FedEx from the states at minimal expense because it is so light. Both antennas went up and down in a couple of hours without incident. I was very pleased with the performance and I'm now planning other trips with these antennas.

Regards,

Conrad, N5CR
e-mail: conrad.romberg@gte.net

Traffie Technology
421 Jones Hill Road
Ashby, MA 01431

Dear Mike,
November 17, 2000

Normally I do not write "Love Letters" about a product. However, I want to drop you a line and let you know how happy I am with my new HEX-BEAM HX-5B. After several delays (rain, travel, etc.), I finally got it up on October 22nd and have marveled at its performance ever since. So far I have had 55 contacts and have worked 35 countries in less than 30 days. It is a great product and is surpassing all my expectations.

The assembly instructions were great. At first I didn't really know what I was doing, but just followed the steps and after about 20 minutes the beam started to take shape. After that, it was a piece of cake. I have it mounted on my chimney about 35 feet off the ground. I purchased all my material from Radio Shack and have less than $800 invested in the whole project. My SWR is nearly flat on all bands.

I've been a ham for 46 years and have used almost every antenna known to man, including long wires, dipoles, verticals, beams, quads, etc. This is the best I've ever had. And, it isn't any more of an attention getter that my most recent vertical. We have had some pretty hefty windstorms and it hardly moves.

I would like to recognize Lew McCoy, W1ICP, and his wonderful review of the HEX-BEAM in the April 2000 issue of CQ magazine. His excellent article prompted me to investigate and purchase the antenna. Sadly, Lew became a Silent Key shortly after helping me make my decision on the new antenna.

Mike, I've enjoyed our phone conversations and thanks for answering all my questions. You have a wonderful product and I look forward to many years of good hamming with my new beam. Continued success.

73,

W3RFQ

11/8/00

Steve Stroschein, W9XF
711 South Ridgeland Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60304-1432

Mike Traffie
Traffie Technology
421 Jones Hill Road
Ashby, MA 01431-1801

Dear Mike,

First of all, I want to again thank you for expediting the shipment of my HX-5B. I received it on Thursday, October 28. I assembled it the next day in about 3 hours. Unfortunately, a defective rotor prevented me from having it in/on the air for the CQWW SSB contest. I finally got it in the air (at 30 ft. -- city zoning restrictions) Monday, October 30 and what a difference! I've compared it to my delta loop at 40 ft. and am hearing signals from 2 to 4 S-units better with the '5B. In some situations, I can't even hear stations on the loop, but do hear then at S-3 to S-5 with the '5B. Unfortunately, I had to be out of town on business for the next 3 days and was extremely anxious to get back and give it a real tryout! When I did return, I immediately turned on the rig & worked ZK1NKD/North Cook/2nd call with 100 watts on 10 meters -- OUTSTANDING! Since then, I've been regularly working all continents, both on SSB and CW.

Its size is perfect for my QTH -- a 40 ft. x 120 ft. lot with neighbors' trees on either side & overlapping into my airspace, e.g., no room for the turning radius of a full-size yagi. I mounted it on my garage using an Easy-Up 5 ft. tripod, a Radio 19 ft. mast and I rotate it with the Philips U-105 rotor/TB-105 thrust bearing combination. The rotor/thrust bearing/HX-5B assembly is mounted to the mast on a separate 5 ft. Radio Shack mast.

I can't say enough about how pleased I am with the '5B. Since I've started using it, I always get through to any DX I call now, regardless of the size of the pileups. Feel free to use my comments on your website if you wish. Anyone interested in feedback is also welcome to email me at w9xf@att.net.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

W9XF

"Everything it's advertised to be and more ... Unbelievable V.S.W.R ... 'piece of cake' to assemble ... this antenna is very, very good ... I'm extremely pleased ... Unbelievable! Tried to reach Korea for two days with my other beam ... 1st call with the HEX-BEAM.

Claude, KD6CYS San Diego, CA e-mail: chiefgunner@earthlink.net

"This is the best antenna I've ever had! ... took my big quad down ... left my brand new tri-bander in the box ... you ought to hear the reports I'm getting ... really got something there ... just sits there in the wind!"

Sidney, K1SJ Adelanto, CA e-mail: kd6nor@aol.com

"Plays better than I was told it would ... 3 hours from the box to the tower ... as confident about its performance as the large 100lb. L.P.D.A. I had up ... don't know just how it works, but it works ... very happy with it! Set up quickly and worked flawlessly for K5PP/p@NA-120.

Max, K5PP New Orleans, LA e-mail: k5pp@orx.com

Finally got the HX-5B up at 40ft ... Amazed at how it performs compared to other beams here ... holds its own in pile-ups ... no problem with our ice and snow.

John Swanson St. Paul Fire Dept. Station e-mail: ci.stpaul.mn.us 651 407-8754 Home

"I was skeptical at first ... every small beam I knew of turned out to barely work or have other problems. When compared to my multi-band yagi, my L.P.D.A., or the 10M mono-bander, it's turned out to be the best antenna I've ever had ... remarkable! ... can't say enough about it!"

Frank Moore, KB2KBC Bordentown, NJ e-mail: kb2kbc@aol.com 609 298-5697 Home

This antenna is "unbelievable" ... working stations I've never heard before ... nothing on my vertical but noise ... HXL-1510 is 5x6-7!! ... other NJ stations get reports of 5x6+/-, while mine are 59+ ... with my 100W!! I've talked to Taiwan ... China ... Japan ... I'm absolutely thrilled with this thing! I just had to call and thank you for what you've done ... this thing's rigged up on some masting and tube ... its' surrounded by much higher trees and I'm working stations not even spotted on the cluster yet!? ... and my neighbors don't even know it's there ... Thanks!

Frank Chenny Hill, NJ e-mail: fkissel@attglobal.net

"I'm calling about this HX-5B I got from you ... I've got this thing 5ft. off my roof ... maybe 20 ft. off the ground ... and ... well ... I've been a ham for 40 years and I've never had anything that works like this! ... Just wanted you to know I'm very, very, pleased ... I used to call and call and call, trying to work DX -- now it's usually by the 2nd call. It's just a pleasure to find something out there today that works exactly as advertised ... at first I thought it was pricey ... but the bottom line is ... the thing works! If anyone wants to know about the HEX-BEAM, have them e-mail me.

Michael, WA9BTE Highland Park, IL e-mail: mlflotus@aol.com

"I'm telling you ... this thing's great ... works as well or better than my large fixed wire beams and the little thing covers 5 bands ... really impressive ... hardly ever call more than once to break a pile-up!

Richard, W2GFF Fairhope, AL e-mail: w2gff@zebra.net

Delighted with the HEX-BEAM ... at least as good as my Quad ... easy to put up ... at least 2 "S" units better than my vertical."

Al, W2I0T Huntington, NY 631 421-4839 e-mail: w2iot1@juno.com

"I'm calling with a complaint ... got this thing up ... maybe 5 ft. below my roof ... and ... can't believe what it's doing ... your're making ham radio too easy!" (see follow-up letter)

Bill Nelson, VE3EBN Stevensville, ON Canada L0S IS0 e-mail: ve3ebn@rac.ca

"The HX-5B is the antenna for guys with very little space ... the more I've looked at it, the more surprised I am ... slickest thing I've ever seen ... yet it's so simple!" "It's small ... it's light ... and it works better than advertised!"

Don, N0GEI Olivia, MN e-mail: bordend@special-projects.com

"Works great ... Amazing how well I get out!"

John, W3UX Highspire, PA 717 939-3507

"Turned my amp off -- working DX wasn't fun anymore ... barefoot was still too easy ... QRP is the way to go with a HEX-BEAM!! ... if I can hear 'em, I can work 'em."

Dennis, K8KXK dennis@caryaudio.com

"Really amazed ... 6-7 "S" units less noise than my windom ... incredible DX ... stations I never even heard before."

Alan, W1CCE Framington, MA w1cce@arrl.net

"Works excellent ... and ... the winds it's held up to! ... impressed with V.S.W.R ... you don't need a tuner -- much less an expensive one for use with an amplifier."

Charlie, K2IZE cjspader@yahoo.com

"The first time I turned the rig on, I couldn't believe what I was hearing ... big difference from vertical ... inconspicuous in trees at 25 ft. ... neighbors don't even notice it's there."

Harlan Falkin, WB70WF 172203 14th Ave. NW Shoreline, WA 98177 206 527-3417

"Impressive ... best money I spent on the DX-pedition ... exceeded all expectations ... gave us at least 1 "S" unit advantage over the conventional tri-bander ... and what, 20lbs! -- the antenna, the tower, the guylines, the stakes, the coax ... everything -- 20/30 lbs!? ... you are "on the air" in a hour ... Next trip we're taking one for each of us!"

Bill MacCracken @ FO0MAC 3065 Ravenna Street Hudson, OH 44236 330 650-1261 Home 330 688-6633 Work

"Unbelievable ... worked perfectly at Palmyra Island after a disappointing first trip, one of the biggest thrills was switching to the HEX-BEAM and ... BAM ... Europe pounding in! ... from noise on the dipole to working mobiles over there with my 100 watts ... consistently 2 "S" better than dipole ... often more ... made talking to Europe "a walk in the park" ... monsoon winds blew right through it ... very impressive!"

Chuck Brady, N4BQW/KH5 16819 Holly Trail Houston, TX 77058 281 488-1472

"The HEX-BEAM is the simplest antenna I ever assembled ... at only 35 ft. I'm breaking pileups I couldn't touch before ... many new ones in a few weeks ... incredibly impressed!" (322 countries, Spring 2002)

Anthony DeGennaro, AD1Y 3 Monique Court New Hampstead, NY 10977 845 354-1883 / After 4PM EST

"Assembly is a piece of cake ... in consideration of its small size, light weight, low wind load, portability, and ease of installation, the HEX-PAC is a most impressive antenna ... usually 2 "S" better than my dipole ... really like it!"

Gene Socher, N9SW/7 @ Puget Sound Box 413 Wayne, IL 60184 630 497-2999 Home 847 632-0900 Work

"Played well ... SWR good ... q-u-i-e-t ... very pleased ... built well ... COOL!"

Dave Palmer 7928 Estate Circle Longmont, CO 80503

"Works wonderfully ... real pleased ... especially notice its performance level in marginal conditions ... had 70 mph gusts ... amazed it held up."

Bill Cook, N4WC 8566 Peaktree Court Riverdale, GA 31274 770 477-6983 Home 770 991-7200 Work

"Due to antenna restrictions, I extend 20M HEX-PAC to 33 ft. when in use. Although location not ideal, DX reports are typically 2-3 "S" units, sometimes more, over commercial 1/2 wave vertical ... elegant simplicity!"

Gary Flynn, WA9PUB e-mail: flynntuc@aol.com