Buddipole BuddiHEX - User Manual

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!!!!!BuddiHEX!Quick!Start!Guide

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Figure 1 Inser,ng spreader arm into lower hub

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Figure 2 Lower hub with 6 spreader arms installed

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Main Page

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The BuddiHEX is a six-band hexbeam antenna designed for optimal performance across multiple frequency bands. It features a lightweight design, making it suitable for portable and base station use. The antenna package includes components for quick setup and easy assembly.

Function Description

The BuddiHEX antenna is designed to provide excellent performance across six amateur radio bands. Its hexbeam design offers good gain and front-to-back ratio, making it effective for both transmitting and receiving signals. The antenna utilizes a vertical feed point assembly (VFA) with dedicated connections for each band, ensuring efficient power transfer and impedance matching. The design incorporates a driven element and a parasitic reflector, which are arranged to form a modified Moxon beam antenna.

Important Technical Specifications

Bands: Six-band operation, covering 6m, 10m, 12m, 15m, 17m, and 20m.
Design: Hexbeam antenna with a modified Moxon beam configuration.
Elements: Consists of a driven element and a parasitic reflector for each band.
Feed Point: Vertical feed point assembly (VFA) with color-coded screw terminals for each band.
Mounting: Designed for use with a HX6 TL mast assembly.
Components: Includes six folding spreader arms, a BNC feed point adapter, and various wire sets for each band.
Wire Winders: The antenna wires are stored on three different sizes of wire winders: 20m and 17m on the largest, 15m and 12m on the medium, and 10m and 6m on the smallest.

Usage Features

The BuddiHEX is designed for quick and easy assembly, making it suitable for both portable and permanent installations.

Assembly Process:

Tripod Setup: Begin by setting up and leveling the tripod.
Mast Insertion: Insert the un-extended mast into the tripod and attach the guy rings.
Lower Hub Attachment: Fully open the collar lock on the bottom of the BuddiHEX lower hub and carefully lift the complete antenna assembly and the mast section into the top of the mast. Lock the antenna in place by closing the BuddiHEX adapter collar lock.
Feedline Attachment: Attach the feedline to the feed-point and use a Velcro strap to the mast to take the weight of the feedline.
Guy Line Attachment: Attach guy lines to the upper and lower guy rings and place ground anchors around the tripod to secure the bottom end of the lines.
Mast Extension: Lift up the mast slowly, beginning with Section B (do not fully extend Section A). When the mast is fully extended (except Section A), the guy lines are properly secured, and the antenna is ready for use.

Spreader Arm and Wire Assembly:

Lower Hub Assembly: Unfold the six spreader arms and insert them into the lower hub arm sockets.
Central Hub Assembly: Insert the remaining six spreader arms into the central hub arm sockets.
Wire Attachment: Attach the outer peripheral cords at the outer end of the spreader arms between each of the spreader arms.
Toggle Installation: Start by taking the free end of a peripheral cord and pass the toggle through the left-hand hole in the adjacent spreader to the right.
Directional Winding: Walk in a counterclockwise direction, attaching the next cord to the adjacent spreader arm to the right until all the spreaders are connected.
Color-Coded Wires: The color-coded wire clips on each spreader must be positioned on the spreader. Rotate each of the six wire clips on each arm so the clip opening is facing towards the ground and slide each holder towards the outside.
Support Cords: Repeat the same process for the remaining four spreader arms.

Vertical Feed Point Assembly (VFA) and Wire Connection:

VFA Connection: Loosely connect the BNC feed-point adapter to the 20m feed point at the upper end of the vertical feed assembly. This will be tightened when the 20m antenna wires are connected.
Unwind Wires: Unwind the 20m antenna and lay out on the ground.
Attach 20m Wires: Take one of the antenna terminal hooks and attach it to the top right-hand terminal (blue) and tighten, ensuring that the BNC terminal leads are also tightened. Follow the step in the side bar below:
- Connect Driven Element: Connect the 20m driven element starting with the right-hand side of the feed point first.
- Walk Around Antenna: Walk around the antenna, attaching the 20m antenna to the blue wire clip on each spreader and proceed in a counterclockwise direction until you have attached to all wire clips.
- Connect End: Connect the end of the element to the left-hand (blue) terminal.
BNC Adapter Check: Check that the BNC adapter is connected tightly on both sides of the antenna before installing the next wire assembly.
Install Remaining Wires: Proceed with installing the wires for the remaining 5 bands, starting from 17m to 6m.
Tensioning Cord: The driven elements form a Vee shape at the point where they connect to the vertical feed point. To maintain constant tension around the antenna, an additional tension cord is added at the 10m wire clips (grey). Wrap each end of the inner spreader tensioning cord around the outboard end of the wire clips as shown in the figure below (orange colored line).

Antenna Disassembly:

Remove Elements: Remove the antenna element wires, starting with the innermost (6m) wires and moving towards the center.
Wrap Wires: After removing each element, wrap the wire as instructed in the next section, ready for storage.
Disconnect Peripheral Cord: Disconnect the peripheral cord at the end of each of the spreaders (leave cord attached to the end of the spreader).
Release Central Hub Cord: Carefully release the end of the support cord from the central hub to the end of each spreader (leave the cord attached to the end of the spreader).
Disconnect First Support Cord: After disconnecting the first support cord, remove the cord from the spreader diametrically opposite to keep the tension on the vertical support assembly as symmetrical as possible.

Maintenance Features

Wire Winders: The antenna wires are stored on three different sizes of wire winders to prevent tangling and facilitate organized storage. The 20m and 17m wires are stored on the largest winder, 15m and 12m on the medium winder, and 10m and 6m on the smallest winder.
Wire Assembly: Each of the wire assemblies should be wound onto the specific wire winder using a "figure of eight" winding technique. This avoids putting twists and kinks into the wire.
Spreader Arms: Each of the six spreader arms consists of three sections connected by shock cord. Pull the sections apart and fold them as shown in the figure below, taking note of the position of the colored wire clips.
Storage: All parts can be stowed in the soft carry case. Careful packing of the antenna will be well rewarded when you come to deploy it next time. Please follow these instructions carefully.
Wire Clip Inspection: Failure to position the wire clips as shown in Figure 13 could damage the spreader tubes when they are clipped into the VFA.
Spreader Arm Ready Position: When the spreader assembly is ready for storage, position it as shown in Figure 14 below and clip it into the vertical feed point assembly in one of the six available positions.
Cord Storage: When the spreader arm is secured on the VFA, wrap the peripheral cord around the bobbins located at the end of each hub as shown in Figure 15 below.
Remaining Parts: Repeat this process for the remaining arms. The assembly is now ready to be placed into the carrying case.

Buddipole BuddiHEX Specifications

General

Brand	Buddipole
Model	BuddiHEX
Category	Antenna
Language	English

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