The one you made for me is a great antenna, 52m top leg and 40m feeder into an MFJ intelligent tuner, works 160 - 6 m and handles the Highlands WX in Lairg no problem. Eddie mm0edz

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Eddie! I'm so glad it's all still working :)

@Aswaguespack

8 ай бұрын

I avoid ALL MFJ Products in my shack. I’m MfJ Free!! 😂😂😂 😉

I actually loved having no sound and watching you work. It is always interesting to see how some one else does it.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Ah OK.. That was a risk / experiment. I thought SOME folks may enjoy.. Indeed, it's always good to see how other folks do stuff - for same result..!

@dondonaldson1684

7 ай бұрын

I enjoyed it too

I think you're about the only person on KZread who uses a heat gun to shrink heatshrink tubing. Most of the builders I watch do amazing projects in shops with thousands of dollars of specialized equipment then whip out an old Bic lighter when it's time to heatshrink connections.

@daveN2MXX

Жыл бұрын

...yet uses a diagonal cutter instead of a crimp tool, which places stress in one concentrated point on the wire and could contribute to failure.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

@@daveN2MXX Yes it works well. It doesn't crimp it though. The idea is to close the gap and hold it - and no more for the solder to flow around. They are not mechanically critical there is no strain on the forks.

@leapofshed

Жыл бұрын

Great work Callum! Kept my attention for the whole video, infact probably more than one with talking 😅 Wondered if you had considered velcro tie wraps to keep the legs coiled during shipping? Rather than zip-ties! Advantage of them is they are reusable and can be removed without a sharp tool!

@sincerelyyours7538

Жыл бұрын

I use an old Monokote gun for this. About $20 in hobby shops.

That was actually delightful, i had a bit of rum and just sat back. it's interesting the little details of watching someone else work on something and noticing the ever so slight differences in your own workflow. Thanks for the video cal, i hope your customer enjoys that one ! 73s

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Yes, for folks who have built stuff similar, they will appreciate it possibly better..!

Callum… I watched the video almost to the end. I’ve been on the military and commercial electronics industries for 40 years now, my main concern is having a stress-relief for that 450 ohm, solid conductor wires. If you were to add a half-loop to each side of the conductor it will have “room for thermal stresses” over the years. I’m not a reliability engineer, but I see an opportunity for an engineering update. 73 de KD6UYK (Tim).

Genuine crowbar technology! Always helpful in antenna builds!😅

@DXCommanderHQ

Ай бұрын

Always!

I love hard work, I could watch it all day! .

Mighty Fine! As we say in Sippi ! Calum. Enjoyed the process, great attention to detail, and great pack job too lol. Some one in Spain gonna have a merry Christmas and new year! Hope your taking good holiday Christmas break you and your family have surely earned this year ! Rock on DX Commander!

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

Impressive video, Calum! It's always enjoyable to tune into your content. I really loved the ASMR rendition.

@DXCommanderHQ

10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

I have the notification on ... and I think I have enough the stuff to make one with, gonna get my note pad & a pencil, see ya shortly ;-]

Real treat to watch this…👍👍

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Enjoyed and watched every minute

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Heck! Well done :)

Love the CAD work. Looks like it works!

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

HAHA Yes Tyler!

Nice build Callum. Over the years I've "converted" many ring connectors to fork connectors.

I'm sitting and watching this to get a sense of how a doublet is made. I have it up on the big screen in my den. My cat suddenly started avidly watching the screen from my lap. Now I'm going to have HER build me a doublet :-D

@DXCommanderHQ

5 ай бұрын

Well THAT would be a new one!

Good evening Callum, thanks for a great video. I do hope you and your family. Have a very safe and merry Christmas. And may your New Year’s will bring you health, and also a fun year. Looking forward for your videos into the new year. Take care and stay safe merry Christmas from the hill country of Texas. 73 WD5ENH Steve

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Steve.. Have a jolly good break yourself.

That was extremely relaxing after a very long day!,,.. cheers n 73

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Ah.. Nice one Tom...

Great stuff Callum. I can watch you work all day! Haha Ofcourse there is always something to learn from your quality work. ;)

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Legend!

Love the natural sound! nDK NC

I like your connection at the feed point, nice and secure. I often make folded dipoles because I am a big fan of NVIS and not a DXer. The reason for the folded dipole is it acts as an impedance transformer that offsets the effect of being on or a foot or so off the ground. Your doubling back is surely so insignificant in change to impedance that no negative effects are aquired but nice & secure is aquired.

@DXCommanderHQ

5 ай бұрын

Yes.. Agreed :)

Oh no Cal's at it agian, look out!!! 🤣😂🤣 Great vid as always

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Thanks 👍

What can i say..Very excellent . Like it

@DXCommanderHQ

7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much 😀

Nice one Cal, of course I got to the end---work fascinates me, I could watch it all day!!! Jim M7BXT

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

You and me both!

Clever trick with the red on the thumbnail. 🍻

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

(experiment.. not to be over-used : )

I should go to work for Callum, He has all the fun toys. lol

Cal, I like the dipole center.

I enjoyed seeing your techniques, definitely learned a few things to add to my repertoire. Viewers can speed up and slow down YT videos on a computer with a shift + (speed up). This will give the user a range of .25x through 2x. Of course this doesn't work on a live stream.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Yes! I run almost everything on 1.5 PLUS I am forever hittin right arrow key! I'm so impatient..!

Nice work and Good job!! 73 and Merry Christmas....de NF4J

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Happy holidays!

I've decided that a doublet will be my next antenna. I had thought, however, that a balun was needed and I don't see one here. Did I miss something? I have both a manual and a built-in antenna tuner, is one or both of those enough?

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

It's balanced feeder, so this would attach directly to an outboard ATU (* OR * a balun near the radio somewhere if you wanted a small piece of coax).

Greetings from Reno, Nevada.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Greetings!

Love the comments on the dx50 looks like great antenna wire. My ? Is the window line is that steel wire with copper coating ? Will a magnet stick to it ? Why not use 1 continuous wire from the end of element to the tuner connection ? No splices or connections to corrode. Yes I understand stuffing the wire & weaving it through the Cntr support is a royal pain but I feel it will make it maintenance free for years provided the live towers do not sway to much and break the wire off 😊

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

OK Kevin, they both do a different job.. You COULD make a contionuous run with DX50 but then you would need spacers to make your own ladder line.

i use a cheap budgie bird nail cutter to de isolate wires in narrow band places and for tiny tiny to 8 gauge ish wires :=) ,the smallest ones looking like a scissor .

Doublets are a fairly simple antenna. For me it's the length of the ladder line that limits its use. I just can't get it high enough at this time. Some of the old timers I know use a doublet exclusively, mainly so the signals go in and out with vey little loss. With the right transmatch a doublet is an actual multiband antenna.

@m0jeo

Жыл бұрын

I use them portable, believe it or not! QRP and full power, from the car or out walkies. I made a small balun for my Icom 705's remote tuner, and run a big manual tuner with a hefty 1:1 balun from the car.

Would love to get ahold of that window line center insulator. It looks simple enough that I could make one from a cheap cutting board from a dollar store. Love the video.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Sure.. carve one up :)

@bartcalder2791

Жыл бұрын

That"s what I did 2 years ago. Still working.

love to be able to order that antenna center and the two pieces you opened with the crow bar- think I can get the rest here in Jamaica- well, except ladder line..lol..

@brotheradam

Жыл бұрын

ok- hard to find ladder line but found antenna wires and those rope thimbles online but not the plastic ones..lol.. old cutting boards or IKEA maybe??lol..for the center..lol.. working on it

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

We can do you a doublet centre - and the wire and maybe glue-lined heat shrink.. Talk to me and I can price you up the components.

Greetings Commander Cal, question, what material is the wire end thimble made of, nylon? Any idea what affect on the antenna if a stainless steel thimble is used? I figure if it is nylon that UV would degrade the nylon over time. Thanks and keep up the great instructional content.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

I think the nylon at the very ends might degrade gradually but strangely, the wire around the thimble will protect it. The other ones are stainless and will have zero effect due to the fact that tuner is going to be employed..

Nice video Callum! If I may give you a tip: thread the 450 Ohm line further up and then mount the fork clamps so that you can use a longer piece of shrink tubing. Then slide everything back into place. If necessary, drill the holes slightly wider. You don't have to work with that liquid tape than! Thanks, Carel - PA0CMU

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Better idea.. Don't use the top holes :)

So, trying to understand this antenna....appears to be a dipole but with ladder line....what does this ladder line do and are you cutting the dipole wire to length just like another basic dipole without ladder line....Thanks Cullen...

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

OK Mike.. Good question. This antenna needs a balanced tuner or similar. For instance an AT4K. You can throw the tuning book out the window and tune the nuts of the antenna with your outboard ATU.. Balanced feeder doesn't care about very high SWR - losses are minimal so the tuner, the line and the antenna become one component (easy way of looking at it). I ran one for a long time and it worked great BUT changing frequency is a nightmare.. You have to retune the antenna again.. Look up AT4K and you'll see what I mean. NOW.. You CAN build something like this with more accurate "dipole legs" (there are charts somewhere and ALSO run a 4:1 balun to coax, THEN use a simple inboard ATU button, but ideally a Doublet needs balanced feeder and a big fat ATU unit.

What Balun would you recommend for the connection at the end of the ladder line?

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Well, personally I would use a balanced ATU else you are into some fine calculation on lengths of elements and ladder line. However, I'm going to try this with a 4:1 balun.. Suck it and see :)

You do nice work, with great patience. I would like to know what is your opinion of a double G5RV?

@DXCommanderHQ

7 ай бұрын

Erm.. I don't really care about single wire compromise antennas because I never quite know where my lobes are going to be.. But hey, why not!

Your customer in Spain should be extremely happy with the antenna. Truly excellent build quality. Speaking of Spain….. sorry guys I can’t resist this …. Rudolph the Reindeer died Recently at age 87. Rudolph was flying over Barcelona when he hit a flock of Seagulls then was hit by a 747. Eyewitnesses reports say the Reindeer in Spain was hit mainly by the plane. My 2£ … 😉😂 de KZ5Y dah di dah

@DXCommanderHQ

8 ай бұрын

HAHAHA

How does the strain relief of the DX50 and loopback to the window wire count in the length of the elements?

@DXCommanderHQ

3 ай бұрын

Because it's a doublet, the loops are irrelevant when considering the overall size since the customer will have an outboard tuner. They have no consequential effect .

truley a work of art . is the ladder lead. 14 or 16 gage wire ?

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

I don't know.. There is only one type of 450 ohm we can get in the UK.. I would LOVE to get higher quality made myself someday..

How many watts can the antenna handle? Thanks

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Oh.. I would say full legal limit in USA.. Certainly 1,500W. Probably 5kW.

Always wanted to know! What is Military Spec??. You see it banded around these days!

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

OK, so you are absolutely right to question that. It means is was designed in conjunction with the MOD (Plessey designed this) and needs (also) to be manufactured to that specification (which it is, ROyals Signals still buy it).

THOURGOUGH WORK BEHIND EVERY PRODUCT AND QUALITY! IT'S WORTH THE AMOUNT YOU DEBIT!

Does that extra pig tail count as the length of the antenna or no?

@anthonycosta1776

Жыл бұрын

Yes all the wire is the antenna. Loop and all.

Quick question. Would there be any benefit to forgoing the connections and just cutting out window line to the dimensions needed for the legs and using the mounting bracket as strain relief? Basically A Continuous length of wire. That may end up being expensive depending on window line cost I guess?

@StuartM0TTQAmateurRadio

Жыл бұрын

Window line split into two legs wouldn't have the strength under tension to form the doublet unless you are going to suspend it from a rope. The wire Callum is using has a Kevlar core, so it can support itself. You could reverse your idea - run continuous lengths of DX50 and form balanced feeder using spacers but that gets expensive very quickly just like the window line would!

@AndyAAzeroAM

Жыл бұрын

@@StuartM0TTQAmateurRadio Thanks Stuart, still a rookie to doublets. Appreciate it.. was looking at spacers and it does seem cost prohibitive.

Is the heat shrink strong enough to provide the strain relief? I’m used to clamping the wires together for that purpose.

@Ressy66

Жыл бұрын

I'd imagine so, the marine grade heatshrink has a good glue in it, usually used for ensuring moisture doesnt get in, but its strong enough, the advantage here is, if a branch comes down, it may strip the antenna wire out of it, rather than breaking it, which creates a PITA situation when equal leg lengths matter, rather clever Cal using this method.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Works fine. There is not much strain there.. The harder you pull the line, the more stress is placed on the thimble, not so much the heatshrink. Tests just fine.

Why fork terminals, not ring terminals? And is it possible to buy something like this white plastic center piece joining the dipole halves and ladder line together?

@DXCommanderHQ

9 ай бұрын

You can go to ring if you want.. Yes, we sell the doublet centre part.

@Jimigunneful

9 ай бұрын

@m0mcx do you have a sales website up?

Muy bueno los dipolo que fabrica muy bueno.saludo..73.51 a la distancia.desde argentina

@DXCommanderHQ

7 ай бұрын

Yes, very fine. 73.

nombre del cable paralelo

I am making an 84 foot doublet which will be a double extended zepp on 20m and should tune well on 40 meters. It will be up about 35 meters high. Do you think this will be Excellent on 20 and 40 ?

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

You will have "lobes" of RF higher up - and those lobes will work.

@anthonycosta1776

Жыл бұрын

@m0mcx That's what I was thinking. I wish you were in the states. You make antennas that will outlast mother earth. Lol. I will definitely mimic your build. 73

I love using a doublet, with an antenna tuner I can really take a fast look at the bands. I have mine cut to 144 foot, an often recommended length. I only have it at 45 feet high, so it is no DX antenna, it has made contacts half way around the world/

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Perfect! Mine was 85 feet each leg - worked a charm.

I have an used doublet wrapped inside a plastic bag inside my garage. I want to put it up in my garden, but I only have one mast, it's 15m (telescopic free standing) and made of aluminium. Can anyone suggest how I can get the centre of the antenna on the mast, but at the same time keeping the ribbon feeder away from the metal? Thanks

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

You don't need to keep it away unless you are a purist. You will find it's just fine. If you are paranoid, then simble U clamps with nylon plastic strips held off only 4-inches / 100mm will be perfect - but try it without first, you will be surprised.

@m0bob

Жыл бұрын

@@DXCommanderHQ Thanks Calum, I will hang it up and try it out.73

Did you ever think about making a doublet without the ladder line… if the whole thing was made from dx50 with some spacers on the vertical portion, then you could avoid all the connections at the doublet center? I bet you could get some amazing lightweight marine plastic spacers made?

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Sure.. I do have a drawing for spacers..

Flickers on 60hz too however if you change the frame rate it seems to go away

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I ran some tests, but changing the bloomin FPS all the time is a pain in the ass..

Nowt wrong with your OCD you've made perfect military quality Antenna.

What is the gauge of wire for the elements? Or is that important

@stevet7522

Жыл бұрын

Not as important as you would think depending on the power you're putting through it. For bare foot (100 watts) 18 or 16 awg is more than enough. I use 14 because I got it cheap.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Not important.. Good question though.

@allthingsradio_midtnwx

Жыл бұрын

@@DXCommanderHQ thank you sir. I have a local ham that has this antenna he made but he didn’t call it a doublet antenna. When I get general I will definitely be making one of these. Thank you for the videos. Very informative

Callum you left one thing off your workbench before starting this project. “Band-aids” because guys like me will most certainly cut a finger at some point regardless of how careful I try to be 😂 de KZ5Y dah di dah

@DXCommanderHQ

8 ай бұрын

Haha! INstead, I do actually keep a supply of Steri-Strips.. Most times I cut myself, I need stiches and Steri-Strips seem to work, holding the tissue together for a few days..!

@Aswaguespack

8 ай бұрын

Haha even better…..

Thank you. I enjoyed watching this. Cheers 🙂 N6IWP

@DXCommanderHQ

5 ай бұрын

More to come!

Time for a new blade

Interesting to hear the different terminology used between the U.K. and Canada. You use "dog bone" and we use "thimbles". You use "glue lined" and we use "seal wall" heat shrink. We call the connector "spades" and you call them "forks".😊 I have a couple of questions Cal: 1. Why did you need to cut off some of the 16 meters of 450 ohm line? Was that for balancing? Also, those loops where the DX50 folds back to the feed point. Are they just an articulation point or is there any impedance matching benefit? Sorry for the questions, but I haven't seen this type of construction previously. I like the use of the marine plastic cross. Our commercial name over here is "Starboard". Easy to machine. Looks like someone CNC'd that based on your design. Thanks for the great instructional video. Maybe you should apply for the call sign "M0OCD"? 😅 73, VE3NAP

@DXCommanderHQ

7 ай бұрын

OK, the cutting was the customer requirement and you are correct in that the loops are for strength - and I like your word, "articulation". Yes, we have even newer versions of this plastic doublet centre. They are machined now in a high density material that is marine / UV stable - they used to be water jet and after 3-hot summers COULD (not always) start to crack. But machining in this new stuff gives a better overall finish and should last many years. PS - I love all the translations between our "language"!

Hi cal i like your dipole center is there a drawnings of it i like to build my own ??? De OZ2LC

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Just lay some 450 ohm on some paper and draw one out :)

@larschristensen4677

Жыл бұрын

@@DXCommanderHQ ah okay was thinking the same i will make a template and router them out and drill the holes i think my ham friends would like one aswell

Get yerself a nice new 360 cam from the other guys. Bit different to edit but never miss anything for being pointed the wrong way and my battery lasts fine. For longer shots indoors you could just plug in, though. Use any cam you can and we'll keep watching. 73s

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Pls email me link to the camera. Tnx. (although, I'm not made of money.. I need to get what I have working...!)

Puno pozdrava od mene poštovanom kolegi odnosno elektroničaru te ga molim za pomoć oko izrade antene da mi kaže koju je žicu upotrebio za dipol da li je žica bakarna ili je čelična izolirana sa pvc izolacijom ja imam primopredajnik yaesu ft 707s, 10w. Pa bih napravio antenu za taj uređaj. Hvala na odgovoru lijep pozdrav.❤.

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

The wire is DX50. It will be back in stock again in about 40-weeks. dxcommander.com/product/dx50-wire-by-the-metre/ (although site is SLOW right now due to malicious hacking attempts from Amazon Web Servers in Asia.. Working on it..!) Doublet centre is this one: dxcommander.com/product/450-ohm-doublet-centre/

Waiting with baited breath (ok I'll go use some mouth wash ;) )

Nice work sir. 73, de K6ZTM

i thinc you menn a crobar 4 the power suply 😁😁😁

@DXCommanderHQ

8 ай бұрын

Ah. OK!

Why didn't you use a metal crimp on the foldback instead of heatshrink? No criticism, a genuine question. (edited typo - I'm instead of Why)

@DXCommanderHQ

4 ай бұрын

Not a crimp. I didn't. You COULD but I once had a flash-over years ago doing that.

Well I was hoping you'd take it out and deploy it. Oh well maybe next time?

@DXCommanderHQ

7 ай бұрын

I did deploy it.. Well, not THIS one since it was for a customer.

@RC-Heli835

7 ай бұрын

@@DXCommanderHQ I didn't realize these things went all the way from 6 to 160 Meters. Will The DX Commander achieve that broad a range?

I really enjoyed watching you work. It was very inspiring. 73 - KJ7RDY

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Extremely bodacious… 👌 ✨ 💯 I shall copy your build which is much more endurable than the plan I have,,, Antenna Alchemist. ✅ 😉 73

@DXCommanderHQ

7 ай бұрын

What a great word, "bodacious".. New one for me. Love it.

Bad Idea. That copper is going to stretch. Better to use galvanized 6/6 aircraft wire or stainless.

@DXCommanderHQ

5 ай бұрын

It won't strtetch. It's got a Kevlar core.

@DXCommanderHQ

5 ай бұрын

Actually.. Even if it did stretch, since it's a doublet you would never know - it's not a tuned length.

Not going to use the kitchen sink

How the hell can you work without talking to yourself? I can't, maybe I'm going mad!

@DXCommanderHQ

Жыл бұрын

I cut those bits out!