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You can
write your own review of the Diamond D-130J discone.
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KI6HPO
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 1, 2010 16:42
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Excellent 'Cone For The Price!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought a R/S discone and the first 50 MPG gust that hit, it took me two days to find the radials! I then bought a Diamond Discone. All stainless and in 2007, it took 85MPH gusts and was still standing tall the next day. It receives and transmits extremely well, particularly over the hilly terrain I have surrounding me.
The 800 Meg band comes in great. The addition of the whip helps greatly in pulling in the CHP from anywhere within 140 mile radius from my QTH. Freq's from the low band CHP to the CalFire 800 Meg band are all received Q-5 and S-8 or better. Up here, reception is more than a hobby, it's a fundamental necessity!
I'm sorry to hear that others have found the antenna to be less than advertised. I live in wildfire country and hearing the CalFire/USFS comms has always kept me way ahead of the curve during emergency situations here in SoCal. The D-130J has never let me down. Mine is fed with Belden 9913.
BTW, the Diamond Discone [D-130J] will receive and transmit on 220 MHz also; something that they don't list in the advert. I used it that way for several years with great success until I put up my 5 element Yagi. The discone's available with a PL-259 or "N" connector.
If you do buy one, be v-e-r-y careful with those small Allen head s/s screws when you mount the radials for the disk & cone. The supplied wrench is small and if you drop one of those little screws, it's a long way down that ladder, hi!
73
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SV1EEX
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 16, 2009 22:52
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Very good Antenna
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have had this antenna for few time. Already tested it. As previous friends mentioned it has a poor performance in 10m. My internal rig's tunner had a rough time tuning it but the performance even so is terrible. Also on 6m at the beggining of the band where most stations operate the SWR readings are rather high.Couldn't test yet with real qso performance for the 6m because the Es period is not yet here.
The above are the reasons why I didn't give the antenna a 5/5.
On the other hand the antenna is a ufb performer for the size at 2m/70cm/23cm. Also hears very well on the air and marine band compared to my homemade dipoles.
The material seems to be corrosion free and with solid making as far as the parts are concerned.
A friend of mine who uses it for more than a year has never had any problems and yet there is no rust or anything on it.
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WA7SRZ
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Rating: 2/5
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May 18, 2009 18:04
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DISAPPOINTED
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After reading The reviews on Discone Antennas I decided on this one. It works great on 2m /440 but I bought it for the Police and Fire bands. This is where it fails. It is up at 35ft, you would think that would be great. The indoor telescoping antenna works much better. Go Figure.
Very disappointed!!!!
WA7SRZ
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VA3ZXN
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 21, 2009 12:38
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Great option
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have mine in the attic of a condo and have had great reults with it on all bands for scanning and better than I expected on 2 M and 70 CM,
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AE6PN
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 20, 2009 00:14
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good antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have D-130 up 20 ft
mostly used for 144Mhz band
it work as well as 5/8 or 1/4
no rust , still solid after 3 years.
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KW4N
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 12, 2007 18:41
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Top of the line
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Material and workmanship are superb. Installation instructions are clear and correctly sequenced. Mounted in the attic with low loss cable and a coax switch, I can work anything across the frequency range, receive and transmit. It will probably outlast most buyers.
73's KW4N
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K6LHA
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Rating: 4/5
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May 1, 2007 09:59
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Good Enough
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Bought for both VHF-UHF and Scanner use, it is
attractive looking but only useful from about 100 MHz and up. Using an MFJ-269 Antenna Analyzer,
mine (on 20 feet of mast, clearing roof peak by 4 feet to bottom of cone radials) measures SWR of:
70 cm: 1.2 to 1.8, peak at 445 MHz
2m: 1.0 to 1.5, peak at 147, 148 MHz
Aviation Radionav (108-118): 2.5 to 1.4
Aviation Comms (118-137): 1.5 to 1.1
Business "mid band" (150-175): 1.3 to 1.7
FM BC: 5.8 to 2.7, worst at 88 MHz
R/C bands (72-76): 8.6 to 7.9
6m: 2.6 to 6.8, worst at 54 MHz, best at 50 MHz
10m: 9.0 to 9.6 [CB no better]
The above uses 50 feet of Belden RG-8 in a cable assembly, cable itself into a 50 Ohm load has SWR no greater than 1.2.
[MFJ-269 has no capability for 175 to 418 MHz nor above 452 MHz]
The 8 cone radials are (stainless) tubes with attachment end filled with some white material. To properly mount them, one has to use enough torque on the supplied Allen wrench (for set-screw mounting)to begin bending the little Allen; normal set-screw torque is insufficient. Found that out during a day of wind storm (55 MPH
gusts) happening four days after finishing installation. Three of the cone radials fell off but all were found, re-attached. Instruction sheet (nice illustration) does not emphasize necessary torque on radial set-screws. Measurement data above from after storm.
Advertising says "it works from 25 MHz" but with SWR=10 at low end, that isn't "working." The overall size of the discone (first write-
up in trades in 1953) is one for about 100 MHz and up. Using it at 6m makes an antenna tuner almost mandatory for maximum Tx output; absolutely mandatory using it on 10m or CB.
Good quality in parts, workmanship, very pretty in the sun (neighbors don't complain about it). Not up to advertising claims for lower frequencies of operation. Inclusion of full fastening instruction on cone radials should have been added long ago. Works fine on 2m Tx, should be good on "220" to 23cm ham bands for 0 db gain with omni pattern.
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LEM
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 1, 2006 18:42
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Superior Quality
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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My Second Diamond D130 NJ discone antenna I have purchased and put up in yet another location,,For a Second Base Scanner,,I have had Great recieving performance regardless of my mounting location !!..These Discones just can't be beat, and as I've said in another review,,The fit and finish and durability is unmatched compared to other brands I owned, and I have tried several..If a Discone Antenna is what you need, Go with the Best , Go with Diamond +++++
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WU1T
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 26, 2006 06:37
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Great scanner antenna.
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought this antenna for use with my scanner. For this purpose, it works great. I can hear everything in the metro Boston area with it. I installed it in my attic, up on a rafter. It is well machined and easy to assemble. I have other antennas for VHF and UHF, so this antenna will probably never have RF applied to it, but it is good to know it could be used as an emergency backup on some bands.
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N8RGQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 25, 2006 21:17
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One of the best!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had mine up for over 14 yrs. it still looks brand new ! The swr is still great as the day I bought it ! I have evan worked C02kk in cuba on this thing on 6m ! I tryed the radio shack discone it couldn't take the winter storms and fell apart in no time at all. The fit and finish on this antenna is GREAT! If your looking for a discone this is the one to buy !
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