Hexbeam or hexagonal beam is a directional HF antenna popular among amateur radio operators for DX work and contests. The name comes from the hexagonal outer shape of the antenna. It looks like an upturned umbrella as well! Multi-band hexbeam antennas covering multiple bands like 20, 15 and 10 or more are popular. In multi-band hexbeam the elements for the lowest frequency are at the exterior of the antena.
Got one from Mike Traffie in 2006 for 20, then one for 6 meters in 2007, then a 5 bander in 2010. It eventually wore out so I got a 5 bander from K4KIO in 2021. Same performance as a 2 element yagi, more or less. Get it up about 40 feet for best performance (see G3TXB's website for detailed discussion). It's lightweight, easy to maintain, stealthy. Don't expect miracles. But it will give you a lot more DX than the dipole or vertical on that band.
I have been hearing about Hexbeam for quite some time. Not sure whether @VU2TAH is still making his TAHA BEAM. Inspired by your results, I am planning to check out with @VU2XVR who is known to me and listed as one of the successful users, a little over 100 km from my region. @VU2RBI (738 km) who is using it has a good signal here on 20m. 73 de Jon, VU2JO.
Thank you very much Mark, for the nice words of appreciation. I have been checking your QRZ profile often. I always appreciate your childhood photos most, along with the captions! 73 de Jon, VU2JO
