Very nice setup and location Hayden. Thanks for taking us on a tour. We will move house in the early new year. Will then be "Temporarily Offline" too. HIHI 73
I'm getting great results from a 9m collapsible Eagle One antenna fed through an SGC SG-231 antenna tuner. Great that we have options for limited space and/or HOAs.
@@HamRadioDX I know how you feel. Well not so much the Lockdown's as here in WA we haven't had to lockdown too much 😄. But since we moved to WA from NSW last year it feels like it's done nothing but Rain here!
Thanks for the video, and the time you take so Hams will find those informative. We tested 2 types of antennas one similar to the one shown against a simple 9m pole ( no traps no nothing, lol) with 4:1 Balun and an antenna tuner attached, both were located at the same location about 30m apart ( no structures around them ), we made sure the same height from the ground was noted and the same amount of radial kit was connected to both ( 10 " legs" for each antenna install ). From what we noticed the 9m vertical did much better than the one shown here, yes you need a GOOD balun ( low loss ) as well as an antenna tuner, but ! the positive was much better reports that overcame the negatives of tuning the antenna to each band. We didn't expect the 9m pole to do so well on 80m ( being short ) yet trying proved us wrong. Have a great weekend.
I’ve been using my classic for about three years. It works very well, and I keep it up permanently. During the winter I travel down to Arizona and the classic comes with me. To make things easy I leave the radials in the ground. My 80 meter wire is efficient, and I don’t mind the “80 meter sway.” The VSWR for 80 meters varies according to where I tie off the wire. Usually tied off high up in a tree. For safety I double guys to the pole.
It looks like the casino is down the hill. Could be the birdies are from every time someone hits a jackpot. Lovely location with a beautiful view. We'll also be moving next year, hopefully to somewhere with enough room to run a wire antenna. 73, VK3TTT
Haha could be Tracy! Although I doubt the jackpot goes off there a lot. That noise when I filmed is not always there, and when I filmed everyone was at home in lockdown so hopefully a "worst case" scenario. Cheers and good luck with the move. 73
Great video Hayden, looks like you will hear plenty on dx from that location and it looks like a good takeoff towards the direction of the bay. 73 from ZL2FT.
@@HamRadioDX yeah saw that video the bands were busy here as well. Lets hope the solar flux keeps going up and it peaks a bit ready for next weekends cq ww ssb contest.
Whoaaaaa....what a huge swimming pool you got there. Aww... you still running the Firmware 1.30 on your IC-7300 I noticed. Nice clean shack, Hayden! Happy saturday from SW-Germany. 73's de Your Friend Uncle Guenter
@@HamRadioDX Ocean, Bay, Lake...what is that behind of you right in the Beginning of the Video? You could jump out of your bedroom window right into it
I have had my DX Commander up for a year and it works great. Also have endfed half wave and a couple dipoles. only time I really use any of them are when rag chewing with locals. I have tested all my antennas against the DX commander for signals and really the only one that comes close is the end fed. 73 n7kon
Thanks Keith! The end fed, being a little longer (1/2 wave) and depending on orientation will probably perform a little better. But the DXC is a good compromise antenna, I have no room for dipoles which is a shame.
Hi Haydon, can you evenly spread the radials out? It should give you a benefit. One way to check is use your analyser and check where your resonance dip is on 80m. Spread the radials out and check again. I would expect the resonance dip may be lower. If it is then you have more ground losses with the radials bunched. If you check it out let me know. I did a video a long time ago called radials vs resonance it was really eye opening.
Thanks for sharing. I may get a chance to put one up in the spring after we move (smaller yard like you). Was curious how it behaves in the wind with just the one camo rope. Like those noise levels!
I put another bit of rope up the other day after filming. It's a lot more stable now, but I think the angle I have is too extreme, so I'm going to try and guy it out a bit further
@@HamRadioDX You will need a decent antenna like a wire around the fence line otherwise you will need to attenuate the main signal too much as the signal you want to cancel needs to be the same level as it is on the main antenna to phase it out effectively, that is why the sub antenna has a high gain preamp to try and boost the interfering signal enough to cancel it.
I certainly believe this antenna would perform very well at the location as in the picture. However I would really appreciate if these antennas are tested at locations significantly inland well away from salt water ways or oceans. From my experience, I have operated ham radio using a wire dipole about 6 meters up near a beach, ending up with QSO pile ups from around the world. Using the same antenna 400 km, only local contact was possible.
Cheaper than my Titan DX I would like to see a comparison plus my titan doesn't need radials not that I'm opposed but for me I would need to take them up.
@@HamRadioDX Great video....Would it be reasonable to bury your radial bundles? Of course you'd still have to deal with stanchions. It seems that any vertical antenna used sort of requires taking over an area of one's yard. I'm guessing you don't have kids playing in your backyard and getting into your antenna layout.
@@michaeledmonds3027 Hi Michael, I can really bury here as it's a rental property, so short term/temporary. No kids or animals to trip over the antenna :)
Good show, Are you gonna put up the end-fed half-wave? Luckily for you, no metal roofs, I live between metal roofs on my home a two-story, and neighbors east and north of me with my home hiding the south so it hurts a ground-mounted vertical.
@@HamRadioDX hi Haydon,I thought the same but I have efhw shortened with a coil for 80m n works great!!! Is only approx 74ft long:) still got the dxpedition up and a cobwebb (brilliant antenna) .look forward to the next one 😊😊
You don't spread the radials out? I have the Classic myself and moved it to another location in my yard. I will be laying out 320 meters, (1,050 feet) of radials and planned spreading them out on the ground.
i have this very same antenna. i absolutely love the antenna. i also have an 80m inverted l wire on it. i put a guy wire on the very top spreader where the 80m wire goes through, as well as have BOTH round spreader plates guy'd. i recently had a storm that came through, with about 30mph winds, and the top 7' broke off. rather disappointed considering that this has withstood 50-60mph winds with having both round spreader plates guy'd just wanted to share some other user experience.
Question for you. Should I use my SWR Meter say at the DX Commander with a shorter cable or go 100 feet or so into the shack and test it there since the Coax will be much longer? Checking and tuning at the Commander would be much faster.
I’d just use a short length of cable for tuning and then run your longer length into the shack. You shouldn’t see any difference, or very little with a properly tuned antenna. That said, you can also put the full length on and still tune at the antenna, unless the feedline is buried or something like that
@@HamRadioDX OK, and what about the pole itself? Is there something inside it (e.g. a kind of wooden pole) that goes into the terrain , to keep it safe and steady?
@@HamRadioDX OK, thank you... I am pretty sure I'll have to put something inside the pole, since I have to deal with wind that may blow at 130 Km/h (look for Bora wind in the NE of Italy). And I am talking about gusts, not steady blowing wind. I have experience with 10m fishing rods poles, they stay up, indeed... but mine were well guyed and attached to metal banisters since there was always one wire and an ATU at the base. 73 de IV3YNB
I’m in the process of building some wire guides I was curious if you could confirm how high they are mounted and what the diameter of the interior circle is at each position I’m using an MFJ 10 m pole which I understand is supposed to be pretty much identical to the dx commander pole
With a mower… 😂 nah seriously I just remove the radials and put them back afterwards. Takes about 2 mins. But you can also use pins that DX Commander can provide where the radials will slowly bury themselves into the grass/ground over time and you can mow straight over the top then
Great content, thanks Hayden! I'm thinking of jumping on Callum's train soon too and I'll definitely order a second pole for 80m. Would the DX Commander work mounted on a pole at say 6m or would better on the ground? Just I've got a metal shed about 5m from where I would sit it on the ground. Or I can put a piece of pipe bolted to the side of the shed and mount it on that? That toroid works a treat. There's a great little side project there to track down where the interference is coming from. I'd be interested in watching some content on that if you're up for it. Hope your near the top of the hill, it looks like a great takeoff point. 73s.
What camo rope? Can you do a comparison of how your setup behaves (noise, RX signal strength, if it makes any difference in how the other party receives your signal) with radials bundled as they are in the video and each of them spread out?
@@HamRadioDX I know what "camo" is short for, just made a joke about not being able to see your camouflaged rope :). Looking forward to the "radials" sequel to this video. 73
@@HamRadioDX ... thank you ... even though its Sunday, I've learnt something new. I was under the impression that CMC was only a thing with a poor swr ... Incidentally I used the principle of current on the outside of the coax about 10 years ago when I made a few end fed dipoles ... and used a choke to tune the dipole. Got some really good results in the day!
Get that vertical in the air for best performance, and as a plus, you only need 2 radials per band. The difficult part is getting the radials and antenna high enough as to not have some kind of hazard.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Very nice setup and location Hayden. Thanks for taking us on a tour. We will move house in the early new year. Will then be "Temporarily Offline" too. HIHI
73
Thanks Kevin, hope things are well with you 👍
I'm getting great results from a 9m collapsible Eagle One antenna fed through an SGC SG-231 antenna tuner. Great that we have options for limited space and/or HOAs.
I have one too. Works quite well.
For your 80m Element I purchased an additional 7m Pole from Callum when I ordered my ABV.
Works a treat 👍
Yes I do have one sitting in the garage. I think I’ll do just that, weather (and lockdown) has been against me lately!
@@HamRadioDX I know how you feel. Well not so much the Lockdown's as here in WA we haven't had to lockdown too much 😄. But since we moved to WA from NSW last year it feels like it's done nothing but Rain here!
Thanks for the video, and the time you take so Hams will find those informative.
We tested 2 types of antennas one similar to the one shown against a simple 9m pole ( no traps no nothing, lol) with 4:1 Balun and an antenna tuner attached, both were located at the same location about 30m apart ( no structures around them ), we made sure the same height from the ground was noted and the same amount of radial kit was connected to both ( 10 " legs" for each antenna install ).
From what we noticed the 9m vertical did much better than the one shown here, yes you need a GOOD balun ( low loss ) as well as an antenna tuner, but ! the positive was much better reports that overcame the negatives of tuning the antenna to each band.
We didn't expect the 9m pole to do so well on 80m ( being short ) yet trying proved us wrong.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks for the comment!
I’ve been using my classic for about three years. It works very well, and I keep it up permanently. During the winter I travel down to Arizona and the classic comes with me. To make things easy I leave the radials in the ground. My 80 meter wire is efficient, and I don’t mind the “80 meter sway.” The VSWR for 80 meters varies according to where I tie off the wire. Usually tied off high up in a tree. For safety I double guys to the pole.
The only negative thing so far is the guy plate is starting to crack after 3 years of continuous use. 73 K7NFO
Contact Callum, he’s made some improvements I think
It looks like the casino is down the hill. Could be the birdies are from every time someone hits a jackpot. Lovely location with a beautiful view. We'll also be moving next year, hopefully to somewhere with enough room to run a wire antenna. 73, VK3TTT
Haha could be Tracy! Although I doubt the jackpot goes off there a lot. That noise when I filmed is not always there, and when I filmed everyone was at home in lockdown so hopefully a "worst case" scenario. Cheers and good luck with the move. 73
Great video. Also have the Classic and very pleased with it. Bringing down this weekend for a few adjustments. Mark, 2E0MSR
Nice one Mark! Great antennas, great British product and service
Nice yard. Lots of plant life.
Great video Hayden, looks like you will hear plenty on dx from that location and it looks like a good takeoff towards the direction of the bay. 73 from ZL2FT.
Thanks Jason, already been working Europe this afternoon on 20m. Uploaded a short on it
@@HamRadioDX yeah saw that video the bands were busy here as well. Lets hope the solar flux keeps going up and it peaks a bit ready for next weekends cq ww ssb contest.
Whoaaaaa....what a huge swimming pool you got there. Aww... you still running the Firmware 1.30 on your IC-7300 I noticed. Nice clean shack, Hayden! Happy saturday from SW-Germany. 73's de Your Friend Uncle Guenter
Swimming pool? I must of missed that one. Thanks Guenter
@@HamRadioDX Ocean, Bay, Lake...what is that behind of you right in the Beginning of the Video? You could jump out of your bedroom window right into it
Ahhh River 👍 yep it’s a nice view
I have had my DX Commander up for a year and it works great. Also have endfed half wave and a couple dipoles. only time I really use any of them are when rag chewing with locals. I have tested all my antennas against the DX commander for signals and really the only one that comes close is the end fed. 73 n7kon
Thanks Keith! The end fed, being a little longer (1/2 wave) and depending on orientation will probably perform a little better. But the DXC is a good compromise antenna, I have no room for dipoles which is a shame.
Hi Haydon, can you evenly spread the radials out? It should give you a benefit. One way to check is use your analyser and check where your resonance dip is on 80m. Spread the radials out and check again. I would expect the resonance dip may be lower. If it is then you have more ground losses with the radials bunched. If you check it out let me know. I did a video a long time ago called radials vs resonance it was really eye opening.
Thanks, might make a good future video for sure!
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing. I may get a chance to put one up in the spring after we move (smaller yard like you). Was curious how it behaves in the wind with just the one camo rope. Like those noise levels!
I put another bit of rope up the other day after filming. It's a lot more stable now, but I think the angle I have is too extreme, so I'm going to try and guy it out a bit further
@@HamRadioDX Appreciate the reply. I hadn't seen much info on wind behavior so thanks. 73 de ki5gx
Can't remember whether or not I commented on this video yet or not LOL but this looks like a great antenna! KC9QVE Marion,Indiana
Thanks Tony for commenting!
So do you have to remove the antenna any time you want to mow the grass?
Yes, but it takes about 2 mins to remove the radials and lower the antenna down out the way. About the same to put back up, so less than 5 mins
Plasma TV is that noise, a phase noise canceller like MFJ1026 will get rid of it. I prefer to use fix rather than centre mode on the IC7300 scope.
I do use Fix at times. Ah I have one of those phase cancellers in the cupboard! Hopefully one day soon all those Plasma’s will end up in eWaste
@@HamRadioDX You will need a decent antenna like a wire around the fence line otherwise you will need to attenuate the main signal too much as the signal you want to cancel needs to be the same level as it is on the main antenna to phase it out effectively, that is why the sub antenna has a high gain preamp to try and boost the interfering signal enough to cancel it.
Can you bury the radials?
Yes you can, in fact it's probably the best thing to do if it's permanent. Mine is semi-permanent as it's a rental
I certainly believe this antenna would perform very well at the location as in the picture. However I would really appreciate if these antennas are tested at locations significantly inland well away from salt water ways or oceans. From my experience, I have operated ham radio using a wire dipole about 6 meters up near a beach, ending up with QSO pile ups from around the world. Using the same antenna 400 km, only local contact was possible.
Cheaper than my Titan DX I would like to see a comparison plus my titan doesn't need radials not that I'm opposed but for me I would need to take them up.
I guess that is a compromise… when I need to mow the lawn I need to take them up. But it only takes literally a minute to pack them up
@@HamRadioDX Great video....Would it be reasonable to bury your radial bundles? Of course you'd still have to deal with stanchions. It seems that any vertical antenna used sort of requires taking over an area of one's yard. I'm guessing you don't have kids playing in your backyard and getting into your antenna layout.
@@michaeledmonds3027 Hi Michael, I can really bury here as it's a rental property, so short term/temporary. No kids or animals to trip over the antenna :)
Noise level be dammed that is a freakin portrait of a view.
😂😂 more videos with the view I’m sure in time
Good show, Are you gonna put up the end-fed half-wave? Luckily for you, no metal roofs, I live between metal roofs on my home a two-story, and neighbors east and north of me with my home hiding the south so it hurts a ground-mounted vertical.
No I don’t have the room for the end-fed now 😞
@@HamRadioDX hi Haydon,I thought the same but I have efhw shortened with a coil for 80m n works great!!! Is only approx 74ft long:) still got the dxpedition up and a cobwebb (brilliant antenna) .look forward to the next one 😊😊
Awesome
You don't spread the radials out? I have the Classic myself and moved it to another location in my yard. I will be laying out 320 meters, (1,050 feet) of radials and planned spreading them out on the ground.
I didn't spread the radials out, but I might try doing so
@@HamRadioDX at RF, bunched radials are seen as one at / on the lowest frequency. Need to fan them out.
@@russturner3454 Be interesting to test on air
i have this very same antenna. i absolutely love the antenna. i also have an 80m inverted l wire on it. i put a guy wire on the very top spreader where the 80m wire goes through, as well as have BOTH round spreader plates guy'd. i recently had a storm that came through, with about 30mph winds, and the top 7' broke off. rather disappointed considering that this has withstood 50-60mph winds with having both round spreader plates guy'd just wanted to share some other user experience.
yes i understand its for limited space but what about the safety distance away from the public. surly that changes everything.?
The public isn’t allowed in my backyard? That’s private property. 73
Question for you. Should I use my SWR Meter say at the DX Commander with a shorter cable or go 100 feet or so into the shack and test it there since the Coax will be much longer? Checking and tuning at the Commander would be much faster.
I’d just use a short length of cable for tuning and then run your longer length into the shack. You shouldn’t see any difference, or very little with a properly tuned antenna.
That said, you can also put the full length on and still tune at the antenna, unless the feedline is buried or something like that
Looks almost like this antenna could be portable if you had the patience to set up and re pack. Being a new guy. What is it called.
Good to see your setup Hayden. Does it matter what you install the DX Commander on? Grass, pebbles or concrete etc?
Since I don't think the pole is simply resting on the lawn, what did you use to secure it to the ground?
There are three guys there that are tied to the bottom spreader plate with clips
@@HamRadioDX OK, and what about the pole itself? Is there something inside it (e.g. a kind of wooden pole) that goes into the terrain , to keep it safe and steady?
Nah mate it sits on the grass just with a radial plate at the bottom. You can slide a pole down the middle at the base, but not really needed
@@HamRadioDX OK, thank you... I am pretty sure I'll have to put something inside the pole, since I have to deal with wind that may blow at 130 Km/h (look for Bora wind in the NE of Italy). And I am talking about gusts, not steady blowing wind. I have experience with 10m fishing rods poles, they stay up, indeed... but mine were well guyed and attached to metal banisters since there was always one wire and an ATU at the base. 73 de IV3YNB
RG58 to the shack? You don’t use 400 or at least 8X?
Nah, not on HF
Great antenna. What's the deal the choke or balun. Guess it 1-1
Yes just a choke. There is no impedance transformation happening
@@HamRadioDX what core and winding .guess it math
Is this a permanent installation? Also, that's an awesome view you have there!
Thanks Lionel! Yes it’s my permanent HF antenna. Thanks, it’s a pretty sweet outlook, too bad it’s a rental!
Great video mate. I also find 25-30 ferrite clamps on the feedline near the feed point work well. Zl3xdj.
Thanks!
Is that the DX Commander Classic?
Yes, the DX Commander ABV Classic. I do a build video on it here - ruclips.net/video/iiDB5jpFFss/видео.html
I’m in the process of building some wire guides I was curious if you could confirm how high they are mounted and what the diameter of the interior circle is at each position I’m using an MFJ 10 m pole which I understand is supposed to be pretty much identical to the dx commander pole
How do you trim the grass?
With a mower… 😂 nah seriously I just remove the radials and put them back afterwards. Takes about 2 mins.
But you can also use pins that DX Commander can provide where the radials will slowly bury themselves into the grass/ground over time and you can mow straight over the top then
Great content, thanks Hayden! I'm thinking of jumping on Callum's train soon too and I'll definitely order a second pole for 80m. Would the DX Commander work mounted on a pole at say 6m or would better on the ground? Just I've got a metal shed about 5m from where I would sit it on the ground. Or I can put a piece of pipe bolted to the side of the shed and mount it on that? That toroid works a treat. There's a great little side project there to track down where the interference is coming from. I'd be interested in watching some content on that if you're up for it. Hope your near the top of the hill, it looks like a great takeoff point. 73s.
Thanks James. I’m not sure about mounting on the roof, but I think you could definitely experiment. The interference will be a good side project
What camo rope? Can you do a comparison of how your setup behaves (noise, RX signal strength, if it makes any difference in how the other party receives your signal) with radials bundled as they are in the video and each of them spread out?
Camouflaged rope. Thanks, it seems I’ve gotten that request a few times, so might need to a do a video 👍
@@HamRadioDX I know what "camo" is short for, just made a joke about not being able to see your camouflaged rope :). Looking forward to the "radials" sequel to this video. 73
😂 haha sorry Bojan, it is late here. Good stuff, I nearly run into it myself when I don’t see it!
I’ll do some tests soon 👍
Can the radials be buried
Yes. Callum sells pins now that slowly the radials go into the ground/grass with
why wouldnt you seperate all those radials?
Why would I separate them? Gets cluttered then. Besides the fact that birds and wind naturally separate them anyway
so why aren’t the radials spread out?
at least it’s not the old Russian woodpecker radar.
What kind of problems have you had with elements tangling with other elements or getting caught in the Jubilee Clips in 80-100 kph winds?
None at all. There is just enough tension on the elements to stop that and they are spread out evenly.
I have a S9 noise floor on 80 and 40 so I don’t have much fun on those bands
Have to go portable!
How do, would it be better to open up the radials for more ground cover? Cheers Gary (M7EGD)
I can just spread the individual wires yes. I left them bunched up for neatness… whether it makes a difference on air is another matter
@@HamRadioDX It would make a good experiment, especially with the noise levels too
Might be a future video idea!
Hey mate, regarding the choke for common mode currents ... is it really necessary if you have a good swr?
Hey mate,
Yes! A low SWR doesn’t mean you have no CMC. A good summary is here - owenduffy.net/blog/?p=428
Actually this link might be easier understood perhaps - www.w8ji.com/common_mode_current.htm
@@HamRadioDX ... thank you ... even though its Sunday, I've learnt something new.
I was under the impression that CMC was only a thing with a poor swr ...
Incidentally I used the principle of current on the outside of the coax about 10 years ago when I made a few end fed dipoles ... and used a choke to tune the dipole. Got some really good results in the day!
@@HamRadioDX one last question ... can I ask what toroid you used?
The toroid I used is in this video - ruclips.net/video/r2deRuOXJfI/видео.html
It’s a FT240-43 from MiniKits in Adelaide 👍
Get that vertical in the air for best performance, and as a plus, you only need 2 radials per band. The difficult part is getting the radials and antenna high enough as to not have some kind of hazard.
Quiet As!
Shhh 🤫 you hear that? No? Good! Not much noise 😉
seems to delete feedback
RUclips gets too many spam links so URL’s don’t always work
One way I lower my noise floor is to run the dogs outside. ROFL
Haha Phil!
fark mate not much back yard for a ham operator nice view tho cheers mate
small backyard. too close to the neighbours ;)
A problem I'll have is the trouble and strife won't like big ugly antennas.......
Yeah there is that