Optibeam OBW10-5 wire beam antenna

The antenna is high quality, but the manual isn't. I struggled many times to read and understand it, each time I resorted to looking at a picture of the antenna and working it out from there. Apart from the manual I found the antenna hard to put together, no doubt because I hadn't understood the manual. There are many bits and all sizes of nuts and bolts seemingly being specified for each job rather than ease of construction and cost. It comes to mind that this antenna could have been simplified and productionised better making it easier to manufacture and making it less expensive to buy. The antenna does however work well on all specified bands with highest SWR being 1:1.6 on 12m. Funnily enough this antenna is not manufactured any more and has been replaced with a compact minibeam OB10-5M (without the wire). If you are considering buying this antenna second hand, ropes and silicon tubes should be inspected for wear and tear as these are the only perishables on the antenna.