A hexbeam is a light, compact 2-element beam — a driven element and a reflector bent onto six fiberglass spreaders in a hexagon about 22 ft across. The broadband version is the same proven design sold by the well-known commercial hexbeams, so building it yourself gets you that same antenna for the cost of wire and fiberglass. See the KIO Hexbeam site for more info.
Top view. The driven element (warm) is the "W" across the top, fed at the centre; the reflector (blue) is the "U" across the bottom. Point the "Gain" direction at the DX. All six bands stack along the same six spreaders (~22 ft / 6.7 m across); feed the centre with 50 Ω coax through a 1:1 current balun (see the Baluns page).
What you get
~1.5–2 dB gain over a dipole and ~18–25 dB front-to-back — a real, steerable beam.
Six bands on one feedline: 20, 17, 15, 12, 10 and 6 m, no tuner, SWR under 2:1 across each band (that flat SWR is the "broadband" part).
Small and light: about 22 ft (6.7 m) across, ~10.7 ft turning radius, under ~25 lb — a modest rotator and mast handle it.
Horizontally polarised and unidirectional — point the open (driven) side at the DX.
What you'll need
Centre plate / hub to bolt the six spreaders to, plus a short centre post above it to anchor the support cords.
Six fiberglass spreaders, about 11 ft (3.4 m) each (telescoping fishing-pole type or solid rod).
Spreader support cord (Dacron/polyester) from the centre-post top to each spreader tip — it tensions the tips up into the antenna's dome shape.
Wire: #14 or #16 stranded copper — roughly 270 ft (82 m) total for all six bands. Bare and PVC-insulated wire use different lengths (see the tables).
Perimeter support cord with the per-band attach points marked, to carry the wires along the spreaders.
Centre feed: an SO-239 or terminal block and a 1:1 current balun (choke), plus 50 Ω coax.
Stainless hardware, cable ties, and weatherproofing.
Putting it together
Bolt the six spreaders to the centre plate, evenly at 60°, sloping slightly upward.
Run the support cord from the centre-post top to each spreader tip and tension it so the tips rise into the classic dome — that 3-D shape is what makes a hexbeam work.
Cut the wires from the table below: per band, two driver legs and one reflector. Pick the bare OR the PVC column to match your wire — don't mix them.
Mark each spreader (or the perimeter cord) with every band's attach point, the lowest band (20 m) outermost.
String the driven elements: each band's two legs run from the centre feedpoint out toward the front and bend at the spreaders — that's the "M."
String the reflectors behind them (the "U"), holding the driver-to-reflector tip gap from the table at the two sides.
Bond all the driver legs together at the centre feedpoint and feed it with 50 Ω coax through a 1:1 current balun.
Hoist it and check SWR on each band. The broadband design is usually right on; if a band sits high or low, nudge that band's driver-leg length (longer = lower in frequency).
Wire lengths, per band
Cut two driver legs and one reflector per band. The tip gap is the spacing held between the driver and reflector tips at the two sides. These are the published broadband-hexbeam dimensions; trim a little for your exact wire and lowest SWR.
Bare copper wire (#14 / #16)
Band
Driver leg — cut 2
Reflector — cut 1
Driver↔reflector tip gap
20m
218" / 554 cm
412" / 1046 cm
24" / 61.0 cm
17m
169.5" / 431 cm
321" / 815 cm
18.5" / 47.0 cm
15m
144.5" / 367 cm
274.4" / 697 cm
16" / 40.6 cm
12m
121.7" / 309 cm
232" / 589 cm
13.5" / 34.3 cm
10m
106.8" / 271 cm
204.4" / 519 cm
12" / 30.5 cm
6m
58.5" / 149 cm
112.5" / 286 cm
6.5" / 16.5 cm
PVC-insulated wire (#14 / #16)
Band
Driver leg — cut 2
Reflector — cut 1
Driver↔reflector tip gap
20m
213.5" / 542 cm
403" / 1024 cm
24" / 61.0 cm
17m
165.5" / 420 cm
313.5" / 796 cm
18.5" / 47.0 cm
15m
141" / 358 cm
268" / 681 cm
16" / 40.6 cm
12m
118.75" / 302 cm
226.25" / 575 cm
13.5" / 34.3 cm
10m
104" / 264 cm
199.25" / 506 cm
12" / 30.5 cm
6m
57.3" / 146 cm
110.25" / 280 cm
6.5" / 16.5 cm
Insulated wire comes out a touch shorter than bare because the insulation slows the wave — that's why the two tables differ. Match the table to the wire you actually use.
Spreader layout — marking in one pass
Approximate radial distances from the centre post outward along a spreader, so you can mark all six bands at once (lowest band outermost). These are scaled from the published ~130″ 20 m spreader-tip radius using the wire-length ratios — a layout aid, not exact build marks. The real geometry settles itself when you string the cut wires, so treat these as where to place each band's element clip and confirm against your wire lengths.
Band
Driven wire — radius
Reflector wire — radius
20m
106" / 269 cm
130" / 330 cm
17m
83" / 210 cm
101" / 257 cm
15m
71" / 179 cm
87" / 220 cm
12m
60" / 152 cm
73" / 186 cm
10m
52" / 133 cm
64" / 164 cm
6m
29" / 74 cm
35" / 90 cm
The reflector is the outer wire; the driven element sits about one "tip gap" inboard of it. Bands scale together, so if your 20 m radius differs from 130″, scale every row by the same factor.
Feeding & tuning
The driven element sits near 50 Ω, so feed it directly with 50 Ω coax through a 1:1 current balun (choke) — no impedance transformer needed. See the Baluns & Ununs page to wind one.
All six driven elements connect in parallel at the one feedpoint; each is resonant only on its own band, so they don't fight each other.
Flat SWR across each band is the broadband design's signature. If one band is off, adjust only that band's driver legs — the reflector mainly sets front-to-back, not resonance.