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write your own review of the Diamond D-130J discone.
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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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AF6AY
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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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LEM
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 18, 2006 13:30
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Superior Discone !!!!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This is By Far the Best Built and Best Performing Discone out there, along with the Icom ah 7000 that Diamond Manufactures,,And No Diamond Does Not make the radio shack cheaper discone !!,,,Diamond Discones Are Superior In Quality Fit and Finish, And Perfomance second to NONE !!,Great transmiters too I hear, Although I do not personally transmit..The Stainless Steel is of some of the best available,,The Hollow Tooled long Radial Elements are Stronger than solid thinner steel,,And Hold up to wind and weather Much better than most,,And Now Diamond Done it again By Re Releasing the D 130 NJ,,With the Even Better "N CONNECTOR" which is very low loss and Greater Performing,,(Thank's Diamond),,,If Quality and Performance are a Priority, then Diamond is what you want,,You'll be glad you did !!!
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VE3LLL
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 15, 2005 23:32
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Beats the competition
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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My first discone came from a well-known chain store and didn't survive an un-careful installation attempt. My second was the same brand, purchased used at a hamfest for much less money and put up more cautiously, but within less than two months I found parts on the ground after a modest windstorm.
I already owned two other Diamond antennas that had proven to be excellent, so I decided to buy the D-130J online. When it arrived, all the quality that was missing from that other brand could be immediately seen in the D-130J. While I had it up only about six months before moving, and it's not back in the air yet, I expect this one will last a long time.
I use it with a scanner, and have been pleased with its performance in that role receiving signals from VHF and up. For fun, I took it to a friend with a $40,000 network analyzer and it showed very respectable resonance at 146, 224, 440, 903 (less so), and 1296Mhz. As someone else has pointed out, the 50Mhz resonance is disappointing, but it will transmit just fine on the other bands.
There are better individual antennas for each of the bands this antenna supports. The great thing about the D-130J is that it does a pretty good job on all of them in one well-constructed antenna.
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