Two years ago I built my first directional antenna, a 15 meter two-element Moxon. You can read my write up on the project here. A few months ago I spent some time building a Vee Beam, with that write up here. A key part of that project was a 35 foot push up mast that was a huge difference from the painter pole I’d been using with the Moxon. This week I spent some time evaluating the Vee Beam and the Moxon trying to consider which one to put in play for the IARU HF Championships about 10 days from now.

The Vee Beam just did not cut it. I had hoped it would work well over 20 to 10 meters, and it would have worked reasonably well, but I just can’t get even a small one (65 feet per leg) wedged into my backyard, and get it pointing to population areas for the contest. My sense is that I’ll be replacing the 4:1 balun with a 1:1 balun and using it as a dipole on 80 meters for the Sweepstakes and NAQP contests.

Having tested and resolved that the Vee Beam just wasn’t the ticket, I set up the Moxon on the 35 foot push up mast. First QSO was American Samoa and the next day I pointed it at Europe and started working the few stations that were on the air. I’ve taken a few photos of the beam and the push up mast. This works so much better than the painter pole, which I could only really elevate to about 15 feet. Moreover, the painter pole required guying along with ropes to the antenna to keep it pointed in the right direction. This one locks in place and with a good armstrong adjustment can be pointed in the desired direction as the bands change.

So it looks like I’m all set for the IARU HF Championships, putting the Moxon in play on 15 meters along with the MA6V and HF2V to cover 80 to 10 meters. I’ll let you know how it goes.