EF-706 Built!

With temperatures warming rapidly in the morning, I decided to take about 90 minutes and put together the Force 12 EF-706 beam for 6M. I had already moved all the parts outside the previous day, so I brought out the necessary tools and started to rivet the elements together. Each element was clearly labeled ‘A’ or ‘B’ depending on which side it attached to. The elements were held together by three rivets on each side.

The boom, all 18′ of it is constructed of 2′ O.D. aluminum and includes pre drilled holes and brackets for each element to mount to. Thankfully the boom can easily and quickly be broken down into three, 6′ sections, as it is held together by four bolts. Once the boom was together I hung the elements using U-bolts.

What I didn’t realize is just how BIG an 18′ boom is. I had measured an 18′ area, but it looks much larger than I expected. Hmmm…sounds like a hex beam I bought and built too. LOL! Since the Sporadi-E season is only a few months, I am going to attempt to mount the boom only about 12′ high. I have an unused 4×4 post mounted in the backyard, which will hold the antenna.

In a surprise the other day, I realized I was given two, EF-706 beams for 6M. So the second one, still NIB will be up for sale. If you are interested you can look over the details here. With any luck I can get on 6M with the EF-706 by Tuesday.