Hayden, this is the best video I have seen on the DXC build since Callum made the antenna available - just great. Mine has been in my garden for 2+ years and is still perfect. Great editing and fun to watch. Brilliant mate.

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you Tom, really appreciate your comment and glad to hear your DXC is working great

Back into the hobby after 20 yrs - this video has made my mind up on my antenna choice - I’ve started saving already! Great video De G0TUZ

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

That’s great to hear and welcome back to the hobby!! You’ll be very happy with the DX Commander. Give Cal a shout and he’ll sort you out 👍

Mine is on order target date is 10/09/2023. Love that jungle vibe you have going. Kookaburra's sound tropical ya know. Thanks for the great instruction. I will be comandeering the kitchen area to have room to string the wire out for the elements. I will get creative. Magnets, clamps and spindles and dowels come to mind...

Great timing for this video, I'm in the process of building mine that I received a couple weeks back. I agree the wire is super nice, I'm thinking about getting another roll of it to build a end feed to keep in my bugout bag.

I assembled my identical antenna yesterday, I probably made the job more difficult by doing most of it indoors. Great to have plenty of spare parts in the kit. Your video did add some clarity to the tensioning of the 40m element.

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks and I hope you're happy with your antenna! Mine is currently on the the ground after a QTH move, I'll be putting it back up shortly, maybe I need to do a follow up video

@g0fvt

2 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX, enjoy your new home, it's always stressful moving...73

Thanks Hayden great build! I love mine. Need to fix my elements due to a hurricane and tornado stretching them out, but it still works. Thank you!

@chucktedeschi9333

3 жыл бұрын

That was going to be my question, how does it do in a wind load? I don't get hurricane force winds here in the Mojave Desert of SoCal. But can expect gusts up to 80 on rare occasions, usually sustained winds in the 20's! Good video, we call them hose clamps here in the states too. And your Para-cord, you should burn the ends to keep them from fraying. 73! W2QLH

@kevinshieldsw1kps785

3 жыл бұрын

@@chucktedeschi9333 you should do fine. Mine is guyed at two heights and it works great! My elements are stretched due to it blowing so hard over, but it never fell or snapped. Pretty harsh winter also.

The edits on this were funny!!!

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Josh! I didn’t think it was my best video, so your auto tune helped heaps 😜

I ordered mine just couple of days ago. Looking forward to putting it together and may also create a video covering my build and installation. 73 / Steve / K4SRF

Great sound by the way. Love that Bass rift that starts up at 21:50.

Your video just came up on my feed just when I've started building my DXC Classic - for once the algorithm worked, great video and very informative.

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Excellent! What do you think and how is the build coming?

@phillipsiviter2024

3 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX Today is Big Build Day, all the elements have been made as well as radial and driven element plates and spreaders. Announced it yesterday on the club net - this is the first DXC in the county and it looks like I’ll be hosting tours 😀

Awesome video I was a little worried about construction but this videowas a big help in deciding if this will be added to my ham radio arsenal and yes it will! Ordering one later today...

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Nice! I think you’ll enjoy the antenna 👍

Nice Job Hayden , you will like it !

Excellent tutorial. Well done and thanks.

Haha, I did the same thing my my hand when setting up the pole.

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

The little metal eyelet hurts!

Excellent. I had a similar idea for this type of antenna after using fan dipoles. Never got around to it as life got in the way of the hobby.! Looks well built and designed and a fair price . Was also thinkin of a vertical with 1 variable length wire element. Maybe Callum could make one! Spool of bare fine strand copper wire at bottom. wire goes up and over the top of pole and back down. DX Commander uno!

Just watched this again all the way through. Really damn fine video. Feel very comfortable now to complete the build this weekend. Thanks !! Mark. M7MSR

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mark. I have to put mine back together after a recent move. Please let me know back here how you go this weekend 👍

B-roll is insane Subscribed!

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

The dxc antenna is excellent in its simplicity. Nice job with the video! 73 de N2MXX

Excellent Job with this build, brilliant

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike

Awesome video as this will be my Xmas present to myself and my Januray project!

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Patrick 👍

Excellent review!!

Excellent video, makes me want to buy one.

Very nice video and a great antenna. On your guying cord, use a cigarette lighter to ball up the ends and stop the fraying and separation.

cool, I like the video and the construction of the DX commander. SWR looks good but on AIR testing would have been GREAT. Great job mate. Cheers.

Nice job mate very detailed, i like it i do!

It's like a work of art that antenna!

@HamRadioDX

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely beautiful ain't it!

You make it look so simple to put together. 73 De ZS5DG in South Africa.

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Daniel! It took a while but now I could put together a second in half the time - plus I’d save time not having to film!

Excellent video! Thanks!

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks JA 👍

Very nice video. Congratulations on the DXC. I am saving up to get one also. 73's KC6CNN

Made the 1000th like for this video. Thank you for doing this. It calmed some of my fears that it was too complicated for a simple guy.

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

Glad the video helped! I'm a simple guy, if I can do it, anyone can! 1000 likes, whoa... I didn't realize that. Thanks!!

Very good review..

At resonance, a quarter vertical is about 35ohms. Now a 50 ohm coax is connected, you need an L-matching network to deal with this mismatch.

@M0RMY

Жыл бұрын

Err-- nope. All SWR is less than 1.5 on all bands here.

Great video Hayden. Looking at getting one soon Cheers mate Kevin

@HamRadioDX

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Kevin 👍

Great build Hayden. And you beat Jason haha!

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike!

You can add a top band as a kinda 1/4 wave inverted L I have one but since my garden is so small it's nearly all horizontal and in a U shape but still works surprisingly well. Since it's also only about 2-3m off the ground it's basically NVIS, but for top band that's perfect for me.

Had mine up for about 6 months now and it works well. Only use dipole for close in contacts. 73 n7kon

Good video fella!

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Appreciate it! Cheers mate!

Great video, I like the antenna and it will hid real well in the tree line so the HOA no antenna police don't knock on my door

@CC-hk6vy

2 жыл бұрын

Mike, I want to do.same.thing, how is tree working? de WO8USA

It's all ok but Kookaburra laughing is amazing !!!

Nice build video. Thanks for sharing. 73

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

#MNHR Team replay for the win Great build, I'll have to get one of those.

I am going to stub out my radial connections on a single wire to a powerpole connection with the radial triplet of wire into another powerpole connection. I may have to employ some waterproofing as this will be a semi-permanent installation. It will make it very easy for me to hook up the radial farm as I am unable to kneel any longer. Although gravity keeps trying to drive me to my knees, but I manage to resist and I have the bruises to prove it! Cheers

@HamRadioDX

10 ай бұрын

That sounds great Alvin!

@HamRadioDX

10 ай бұрын

Awesome mate, sure it will all turn out great. Also - CDO, OCD in alphabetical order 😂

Great video Hayden! Great to see one of Callum's antennas being built in VK. Please let us know how it performs on air.

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Adam. Will do!

just received my DX-Connabder Classic. I'm interested in the extra bits, like the hooks you have at the end of the guys and tension ropes. Thanks of this really great video

@HamRadioDX

8 ай бұрын

I got the hooks from my local hardware. The tension rope I think came with my classic kit? I can’t remember

Aw-was hoping to hear how she did on the radio. Anyway-thanks for the install instructional.

Thank you.

How very Australian having a Kookaburra laughing at you 😆. Need to get my Butt into gear and get one of these Bad Boys myself. 73's Brad UK6UHF

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Fun video to watch! Great insight into building the A.B.V. I can’t wait to get my hands on one!!!

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Thor! Awesome name too lol. 73

@thork0tjt515

3 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX Thank you Hayden! This video made me laugh! Great job! 73

Well, the pole build is done with the HCL Ezy-Clamp and I used that silicon tape on all the joints. My guy anchors are set and this Sunday this beast goes up! Just think with this newest kit we are using stopper knots and no carabiners. My guy lines do have carabiners as I don't want to fumble around.

@HamRadioDX

10 ай бұрын

That's awesome! You're gonna work some great DX on that!

we call them hose clamps as well here in USA land. Good vid

@HamRadioDX

Жыл бұрын

Thanks mate

Currently have a 125ft doublet fed with 600ohm open wire going into a balanced match box. It’s about 50ft up. What kind of difference could I expect between the dxc vertical and my doublet?

Suggest using a length of re-bar hammered into the ground. Then slip pole over it For additional support.

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Douglas 👍

I can almost remember when my knees would do that.

Hi. Tip:-Put the cut to size plastic tube for the hose clip in hot water to make soft. Nice tools. The G5RV sucks. Good if it's up 80 foot. Good vid man..

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks mate

@joinedupjon

3 жыл бұрын

Was going to say this too - really good tip, makes it so much easier.

Made in The Commonwealth. Made in Great Britain. It's great to support our friends and allies.

Great !

Very well produced video. Many thanks! HNY Nick M1DDD

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Nick!

Here in the Eastern U.S. it is still cold and either Snowing or Raining constantly.

Great video. Studying loads of videos before I build mine. For the shorter elements have you done the little fold over recommended in the manual?. I could see the little loops for the clips, but could not see the fold overs. I note the 40m does not have a fold over (ie as suggested by Callum). Edit - OK get it now. NO probs

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

There is a little fold over on the elements so I can clip it in, but it would hardly affect the tuning of the element. The 40m element goes all the way to the top and folds back over too.

Ive never read a bad repoŕt àbout callum or his aerials The man does it all himself Pure qualit plus the man is an utter gentleman D X COMMANDER ALL AROUND THE WORLD When i get my foundation this year id lòve to catch you both on air ill only b pushing 10 watts but you can do a lot with a little Say no more ill see how i go when i get foundation then push to intermediate . Back in 80,s i made a cb aerial about 3ft of coax coming out of midland and at end of coax 3 strips of copper wire stuck to my bedroom wall inside i had radio on bedside cabinet now it was just a straight 4 watts i got swr to 1.3 and the furthest i got was 10 miles im no exspert but that Wasnt bad for an aerial inside a house It will help me as i suffer severe back probs ans fibromyalgia im going to pass foundation ans ill b chuffed to bits Keep safe god bless you alll

question can you slide that whole mast over a fibreglass pole in the ground ? instead of the 3 guy wires

Great video. Calums videos are simply gold and his products are good quality indeed. Like the design.

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

100% agree there Mark. I’m very happy with mine

We also use the term "hose clamps" in the U.S.

I own the Rapide which is 20meters on up to 10M I followed instructions to make 30M ...40M. My SWR's are not anywhere near what I saw here. The only "perfect band" for me was 40M and 20M. The rest hovered closer to 2:1...........the worst was 15M. The slice of 15M I tuned for gave me a slight dip under 2:1; using a Rig Expert and 25 foot coax at the antenna site. My ground system is not using 25 foot long wires. I went with stainless steel welded fencing 36 inch wide 25 feet long going in 4 directions. Bonded at the center by soldering with a blow torch.

Hi,had my dxc up few months now but was does the 80m work like?? Great video 👍

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

80m been working down for me, had several contacts

I would like to see the differences in use between the DX Commander and the Go2 Antenna, on the same radio. Why does no one do this ?

Thanks for video. Could this antenna be erected on top of a corrugated metal roof with radials in contact with roof? I have very large barn roof available but little clear space elsewhere. Thanks

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe try asking Callum from DXC about alternative mounting methods… I can’t see why it won’t work if the pole is sturdily mounted

Great Video. I want one of these antennas. Do I have to order it from England or is there a distributor in the U.S.?

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Dana, Callum ships them out directly from the UK. He has lots of US shipments I believe so I think you’ll receive it quick if you order from him directly. 73

Great video. Every video I watch on this antenna makes me want one more. Soon I hope. And I see something else I didn't see before. Thanks. KJ6DQ

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Get one Rolland, they are great for portable too

I'm with you: what bands do you want to use? All of them!

Could you hide a Slim-Jim antenna inside the DX-Commander for 144-146 MHZ.

About the same as the line of Gap DX Antennas sold in the states there ok if that's all you have room for and only good for DX not very good on NVIS.Then of course if you're in a good Sun Spot Cycle most any thing will work😎😎

@sbromley6739

23 күн бұрын

I’m new to this. With the 80m horizontal wire wouldn’t that work for NVIS?

So why no baluns or matching units with this antenna?? Thanks.

My IC 7300 will not tune the 10M band with the antenna lengths given in the instructions. Instructions call out a length of 8.4M (331"). My radio tunes up a 10M dipole perfectly, but not the DX Commander. I think the length given in the instructions are incorrect. It's my understanding that a 1/2 wave, 10M antenna should be 5.26 meters (207"). Can someone help?

Auto tune**** "dx commander....". Going to be in my head now, all day. Thanks

It looks like you MUST hook up radials for this antenna to work properly. This could be a non-starter for me. I think I have room for the antenna itself, and the guy lines, but not for stringing out the radials.

folklore! Put the bugger on the air and let me hear it already :) 73 j

Did you alter the length of the radials to fit in your garden? Cheers

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

No I cut them as specified and just made them fit

I am very interested in buying one of these. However, the location I have in mind for it would mean I can only attach 2 perpendicular guylines. Do you think only two would be safe?

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

3 is probably the minimum. If you can get that third in you'll be good to go!

How does it receive international broadcast?

11.5meters would be 11meters and 50cm, yes? I am trying to learn my metrics and to apply thought to the difference and make a simultaneous translation/understanding.

@HamRadioDX

11 ай бұрын

Yes that’s correct mate!

Good vid. I would like a revieww in 6 months if youm leave it up. I am not sure you needed to cut an inch or so off an element when you could have made the end loop a bit longer. where the loop doubles back against it self it actually ends at the end of the loop Thanks

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Dennis. On some elements they were a little long, so the loop would have been rather large, but you're right. Thanks for watching

In portable use do you have to break it down completely? Meaning take all the wires off of it. I would like to use it for POTA and Maybe SOTA if I get it but I don’t want it to take forever to put up / take down. Also how short would it be? I would want to transport it in my truck bed 6ft / 1.8m without it sticking out hopefully. 73 KH7FC

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

I would say yes you need to disassemble it, but you can leave the bottom plates on and even maybe the stay point. With the carabiner clips and wing nuts it makes it easier to just attach the wires and away you go, probably no more than 20 mins setup time.

@WC9Beau

3 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX that doesn’t sound to bad then. Do you know the collapsed length?

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

I think fully collapsed it would be only about 1.5m long maximum. Whatever the length of the first section. Very portable friendly. That's the All Band Vertical. The Expedition version may be smaller still.

@WC9Beau

3 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX right on. Looks like something that I might want to buy. Thanks for the help

Is there any reason to NOT paint the pole light blue? The reason for my question is it would be harder to see if light blue compared to black. The wires are so thin people will not see them. I am asking because I live in a subdivision that does not allow antennas.

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Can't see why not. Although possibly there may be some interaction if you use paint that has metallic pigments in it perhaps?

Great vid! Thanks. . Could you tell me what´s the diameter of the aluminium discs? Are those dimensions critical? Thanks in advance.

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Not sure on exact measurements but they are about 200mm I think. Callum may have the info on his website or in the manual

@FoxtrotMike

3 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX Oh great. I looked for it but didn´t find it. But to have an idea it´s enough. Thanks!!

@FoxtrotMike

3 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX Well, I calculated it and I´m pretty sure it´s a diameter of 17cms. :)

I don't know, man... living down there, I'd worry about Coastal Taipans hiding inside the mast....

I wonder what is going to happen when the new Ofcom ruling comes out? in some cases, you will not be able to use these ground-mounted antennas?

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Luckily that won’t affect me here in Australia. What is the new rule?

@RobB_VK6ES

3 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX Actually Hayden ACMA already specify similar constraints here in VK. It is mentioned in the LCD part 4 which then goes on to reference an Australian Standard. It seems to lean more to protecting the general public, just don't fry the kids :)

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

@@RobB_VK6ES Luckily with a 1/4 ground mounted vertical such as this, voltage maximum is at the top of the antenna, not at the feedpoint. Keeps the prying fingers away from RF burns at high voltages ;)

I'm still trying to figure out the use case for this antenna. Is it a portable or a permanent antenna?

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Either/or but designed and built to be portable

Stupid question… doesn‘t this antenna need an Unun? Isn‘t this kind of an end fed antenna where the impedance at the feeding point needs to be transformed?

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

Hey mate, No this is just a standard 1/4 vertical, nominal impedance is around 36 ohms over perfect ground. Pretty close to our 50 ohms needed for the radio :)

You skipped a bit mate -- the whole topic of radials. My yard looks almost exactly like yours, and I haven't purchased the antenna for the uncertainty of placing the radials in the constrained space. How long are they ? How many ? And how did you route them in your yard ?

@HamRadioDX

Жыл бұрын

I have a playlist on all my DX Commander videos that may answer the questions you are seeking. kzread.info/head/PLSuX83ay4OuiqZw3oFgnjs4tIQ5f5jzEU

@AlvinMcManus

11 ай бұрын

He built (4) bunches of Five radials each and each radial was 3.5 meters long. That will take 70 meters of wire. I have a big spool of #14 AWG stranded and that's what I'll be using. Save any extra DX 10 wire left over from elements to use as repair stock. Callum has said that a 180 or 90 degree fan of radials will work as well as the 360 config. Do what you can with what you got. It will work out.

How come all the decent radio videos are from UK and virtually none from USA?

@almightyEsquilax

2 жыл бұрын

You realize this isn't from either country, right?

Great video! I've been looking at Callum's videos for a while now. A most innovative design, for those who can't put up a tower and beam/Yagi antenna, or for a field HF station. The only thing I would probably suggest/recommend is to put a stainless steel washer between the crimp lugs and the aluminium plates, especially if the antenna is going to get wet. I know that there is not a direct copper to aluminium interface (the lugs are plated), but copper and aluminum are enemies on the galvanic table, especially in the presence of an electrolyte. Michael VK5LN/VK5ZEA

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

Ah thanks Michael. Actually a stainless washer is provided - I'm not sure if in the video that shows, but yes they all have washers underneath! Thanks for watching

@michaelcarey

3 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX All good. I was looking at the video at around 17:37 and it looks like there are only washers between the lug and the wing nut. For portable or temporary installations, it's probably not overly critical... but I've seen some horrific electrolysis after only a few months of being exposed to moisture. :-)

Geometry fail: It's turned 180 degrees! 🙂

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

? 180, that would be an upside down fan dipole

@James_Bowie

3 жыл бұрын

@@HamRadioDX QED. (I trust you will put a flame to the ends of the shock cord. Those frayed ends look awful.)

At about 26:08 you said one to one or one to zero . huh ? one to zero doesn't exist, best value on swr is 1:1 to 1 .

Oh yeah. Do you love me? 😍💋 💝💖❤️

@HamRadioDX

3 жыл бұрын

No I don’t, but become a ham radio operator, you’ll enjoy it!

Chinese fibreglass pole with some wire up the side and radials, not rocket science.

@M0RMY

2 жыл бұрын

So why didn't you design it?

@G0ogs

2 жыл бұрын

@@M0RMY Marconi as probably got the credit for the 1/4 wave ground plane, so the design if that's the right word was already out the bag.

@M0RMY

Жыл бұрын

@@G0ogs Science is established. Engineering is the result.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

@@G0ogs It's called engineering Steve. Get over yourself - you've been trolling me for 4-years. Go and do something useful in your life.

@g0ooq537

Жыл бұрын

Yay..... today we reinvented the wheel

Great video! de W2CSI

@HamRadioDX

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks mate!