Hex beam woes continue

Since installing my multi-band hex beam antenna just after Christmas of last year I've watched its performance degrade progressively and I'm puzzled as to why it's happening. Along the way, I've learned two very important points:

1. They don't like heavy wet snow

2. If you're going to buy commercially, do your research

Item #1, heavy wet snow, is something that I wrote about back in March when an especially wet snowstorm swept through my area and pretty much disfigured and nearly destroyed my hex. You can see pictures here. Surprisingly, once I took it down, damage was minimal.

Item #2, I thought I'd done my research on where to buy. WI4USA had a nice website and several testimonials. I spoke with him on two occasions and felt comfortable about my purchase. Since March I've attempted to contact WI4USA several times. His website is no more. Finally, this past Sunday, I heard from him via email. It seems that he lost his job in Atlanta, has moved to Memphis, and no longer can produce hex kits. I hate to hear that anyone has lost their job. I think all of us have come into contact with at least one person (often more than one) who has been affected by the economic situation we find ourselves in. Again, I hate to hear that.

WI4USA did offer some useful suggestions that I am going to try. Most centered around ensuring a good ground. After trying them, I will list what I end up doing and the outcomes here. I feel much better now that Thom replied and I appreciate the fact that he's not thrown in the towel. I wish him the best.

The situation is that the noise level is so high now that I can't hardly copy any stations. Swapping coax has no effect. My two other antennas, a G5RV and a Zero-Five vertical don't exhibit any where close to the same level of noise. And it is getting worse, almost daily. SWR checks on all bands reveal nothing, all normal or as expected. Clearly something is amiss. My next step is to take the darn thing down, take it apart, ohm out the center post, rebuild it, and try again. Along with Thom's suggestions.

Even after it suffered through the surprise snowfall it worked fine. The last time I can remember using it effectively was during the CQ WPX CW contest. It seemed ok then. More this weekend.