| G0AIH |
Rating:  |
2023-11-08 | |
| Good solid construction |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have used the dxcc for more years than I care to remember. I recently bought the DXCC LB PLUS, it also works well, I am struggling with tuning top band, but I think thats an atu issue. I used cable ties instead of the wire supplied to secure the stays that keep the wires in place, much better. Other than that a very good multi band antenna for people like me with average space available. Highly recommended. |
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| G0UJK |
Rating: |
2023-01-22 | |
| Had it over 3 years, was working ok but! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
My alfa delta was a gift from a fellow ham for all the work I have done and still do on his station over many years. I found, you do need strong hard working hands to put this antenna together, its a " tough old beast" however i have now put together 3 of them! I am very sad to hear about all the chaps that have had a poor or bad experience with them. Yes as expected very narrow bandwith on 80 but i still get great reports on it using the tuner in rig or manual if, or moving freq. I have not had any luck with 15 terrible vswr. 10/20/40/80 "blown away" with its performance! So good that the purchaser of the gift has now bought one himself and also another ham friend is now using one! It hears very well, and not as much qrn as my doublet, or any other wires I have used or made.. As someone previously said if you can hear them, you can work em. Last week from London uk, i worked New Caledonia, in the same week Antarctica, Japan, south, and north America, And to many other places to mention. Benin, Falklands, west indies, botswana, china south korea. I got 5/9 from W2 on 80mtrs a few days ago, on 40 "its unreal for a wire", I have spoke to ron in Zl 58 both ways yet 2ele steppir uk station struggled 4/4 I put out a good strong signal all over the uk on 40mtrs. I loved my Dxcc alfa delta until yesterday, when i lost 40mtrs but still have all the other bands as before. Needs looking at! Had very strong winds and heavy rain for two weeks now! Its 36ft up, inverted to about 15ft, no balun, no choke, straight out of the packet! It does need time spent on it, to tune elements, and freq will change if height is changed ( its seeing the ground of course) but worth the effort, and a little pricey, its my main station antenna has been for 3 years . It works for me!! despite 15mtrs not resonating, I Hope my latest problem is simple to sort. (recommend it) : YES! This like many antennas is not for everyone. The G5rv has never worked for me! Of course every location is different. The Recomendations by Alfa delta says "inverted vee is best", so thats what i have! a inverted vee alfa delta dxcc.
UPDATE : despite changing the static blow fuse and cleaning all the contacts on the centre and traps the vswr was playing silly buggers with me. however after more fiddling about tightening all the contacts and wires with the spacer's, and pulling the traps about , at last! Bingo! Its working again like before!!. Please dont ask what the problem was??? I DONT KNOW! vswr now 3.723 flat1.1--- 7..057 1.2---14.160 flat 1.1,---21mhz no good needs tuner 3.1 whole band---28.495 flat 1.1 I am a happy bunny again. its a tempremental antenna but all is good now PHEW!! Lets work the dx again. cu on the bands. While the vswr freq's might not be good fer you guys in the states, because of your band allocation, the resonate freq's are good fer me here in the uk. |
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| KI5NBN |
Rating: |
2021-04-30 | |
| A great antenna and easy to set & tune. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I got the DX-CC antenna as a gift a month ago and set it up in a 35 foot tall sectioned pole mast with two 15 foot tall end poles.
A fellow ham operator KO5V spent four afternoons with me using his antenna tuner setting the SWR on all of the antennas designed bands and a few of the other bands it will handle.( to a point)
We noticed after the 2ND day that the antenna is subject to condensation on the wires affecting the overall SWR until this accumulated moisture evaporates off of the wires.
Once this condition was realized, the antenna was tuned again for the most used frequencies on all bands.
This antenna has turned out to be a very good performer and being in New Mexico, both coast have been hit with clear reception/transmission of my 100 watt transceiver.
I live at 7,000 feet ASL on the side of a mountain and the antenna is facing due West. The mountain rises above my QTH by 300 feet to my East, but hitting the East coast is no problem.
We ended up removing over 11" of wire one each leg to tune the antenna verifying every couple of inches on how its removal affected the SWR on the primary meter band and the resonances of the other bands as well.
You want to cut the wire off and not bend/wrap the wire back onto itself.We tried that and it did not change the SWR for the good. Trim the wire and wrap back no more than needed to hold the antenna wire in place to prevent slipping.( 2-3")
When this is done,the antenna really comes alive and performs very well with all bands having a low SWR in the mid range of the frequencies.( our target goal)
All of the wires should be free of bends and kinks as well and to be in line with the opposite leg of the antenna.( Avoid any twist in the legs to one another. )
The two "choke" type coils at the ends must be checked for loose screws. My wound coil wire screws were loose from the factory. You will have arcing/bazaar SWR readings if yours are loose as well.
The instructions barely mention in passing that the center support section containing the lightning arresting gas tube and coax connector must be 18" minimum from any metallic object. We found out that this one instruction really effected SWR.We tried mounting this section near the the steel pipe of the mast and then away from the steel pipe. Keep it away from metal.
I mounted a 30" piece of PVC pipe reinforced with smaller diameter PVC pipe on the inside for greater strength, to my antenna mast top and the results were impressive. Just by doing this the SWR dropped by .8 -.9
I get high winds here. ( 65 plus MPH) and the antenna was not bothered in the least.
The two ends of the inverted "V" should be above the ground as much as you can mount them. I started at 6 feet up and found SWR was too high for my radios self tuner to cope with. By raising the ends to 15 feet above the ground,the SWR dropped to much more realistic SWR readings across the bands. 20-25 feet up would be better yet.
When this antenna is installed and tuned up it is worth every penny you paid for it.The materials are first rate,well designed and perform very well indeed.
I would have no druthers recommending this antenna to any Ham wanting a multi- band HF antenna for his radio. |
|
| K2GW |
Rating: |
2020-01-25 | |
| Good Multiband Dipole |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Further Update. My Alpha Delta DXCC has now been in use for 19 years as my sole HF antenna. Despite trees falling on it, it's always recovered even when the supporting ropes have snapped from the load.
And I've now gotten Five Band DXCC ( that includes 80 meters, people) , 250 countries, all zones, WAS, and Worked All Canada using it.
We've also used one out at our Red Cross Chapter. It definitely prefers to be set up a as flat dipole and not as an inverted Vee.
So it is definitely worth the money unless your other sole antenna has been up for 20 years and done all that. ;-)
_____
I've had my Alpha Delta DXCC up for two years. A tower and beam aren't an option for me. I've worked 170 countries, all fifty states and all CQ zones with it. As with any dipole, height is the secret. Mine runs as a flat top from the peak of my two story house to a tree in the back yard.
A transmatch definitely helps on 80/75 meters. If you're really a phone operator on 75, trim about 18 inches off the outer section near the insulators and the resonance will definitely improve. All of the other bands can be handled by my rigs built-in auto tuner.
After two years, the clear outer coating of the insulation flakes off, but there are many layers beneath it still. The insulation is academic on an antenna, anyway.
All in all, a good all around antenna. I even made an imitation 40 to 10 meter version using insulated stranded antenna wire and PVC tubing for the stand-offs. It folds up and worked great for Field Day. |
|
| VE7TNF |
Rating: |
2018-07-22 | |
| Finally back on 80m |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I've had a Cushcraft R-9 shortly after building our home and played with it a million times to be heard on 80m. Performed so so on the other bands but was dismal on 80.
We had an extreme ice storm back in March that even with three guy wires, caused the demise of my R-9 and snapped it in half.
Our home consumes most of our property so space was limited such that a G5RV would not work.
I bought the DX-CC as I knew it would fit mounted at the feed point under our 2nd floor roof and sloping to each corner of the yard.
Had fun building it and had it up and tied off in an evening.
I have since made every 80m net and have reports that I haven't sounded better with any antenna.
I have bought and made a number of antennas but for what this is, I'm extremly happy with the performance and still have some work to add a choke and untwist the one lead.
For my application, I love it and rate it a 5 compaired to the R-9 which was not even close to the performance. |
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| KB6QXM |
Rating: |
2017-10-28 | |
| Good, not great! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have noticed that the performance is based on many factors. Obstructions, height over ground. I installed this antenna with a Professional-grade common mode choke at the feedpoint.
The antenna is presently 72 feet high at the feedpoint. The antenna works well. I want to find a group for people that have tried to modify this antenna. The antenna has a reasonable 2:1 bandwidth points considering it's construction.
These are my findings and measurements:
49 Khz-80 meters
320 Khz-40 meters
252 khz-20 meters
471 khz-10 meters
SWR at resonance is reasonable.
1.2-80 meters
1.0-40 meters
1.0-20 meters
1.2-10 meters
I do not like that they do not have a separate 15 meter wire and have to use the 3rd harmonic to resonate on 15 meters.
Is it a great antenna. No. Is it a good compromise antenna. Yes. I would like to see a fan dipole made for the WARC bands. |
|
| K4VI |
Rating: |
2017-06-05 | |
| Flat top installation and something to watch for |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I installed my Alpha Delta DX-CC in a flat top installation (supported at each end) 8 years ago. I called Alpha Delta to make sure that the antenna could support the weight of the coax hanging down from the center insulator. I used RG6 because I had quite about of surplus coax around. I made a balun by coiling 8 to 10 turns of the RG6 at the center insulator. They told me it should not be a problem.
One tip on putting it together. It is a bear to assemble. I found that attaching the center insulator to a tree or a post to support it while threading the wires through the spacers really helped.
Alpha Delta was correct that the antenna is mechanically stout. I had my support rope break during wind storms and once the 70 foot poplar tree that I used to guy one end came down in 60 mph winds but the antenna itself never broke.
Performance: I give it good marks. After installing it I used an AIM 4170B antenna analyzer to check the impedance. It was under 2:1 SWR across most of 40 and 20 meters. On 75 the 2:1 SWR bandwidth is pretty narrow. I would say around 25 kHz. Performance on 15 as a 3/2 wave is what I have seen for most 40 meter dipoles operated on 15 meters. On 10 it had a broad 2:1 SWR bandwidth.
It is what I would have expected for a trap 80/40 shortened dipole and like a standalone dipole on 10 meters. My Kenwood TS 2000 antenna tuner could handle it anywhere on the 5 bands. I ran w/o the tuner on the 40 meter phone band.
Recently I noticed the performance had degraded and the SWR had gone way up on 40 meters. When I dropped the antenna I found that two of the three conductors had broken on one leg where they attach to the center insulator. I imagine this was cause by flexing in the wind over the years. This is probably due to the end support arrangement.
The fix was easy. I soldered on some #12 AWG stubs to re-attach the conductors to the post on the center insulator.
Price? Yeah it seems a little high for a wire antenna but it was worth it to me to not have to chase down wire and parts. I'd buy one again. |
|
| W1SNE |
Rating: |
2017-04-26 | |
| Performs Very Well |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| ~Greetings from little Rhode Island~ There are many variables when it comes to antenna performance. Especially on HF. Soil/earth composition, orientation, feedline, just to name a few. I bought my first DXCC in 2010. Had it up for a few years. About 25 ft at feedpoint and about 6 feet at ends. Decent performance, direct to radio without a tuner. But obvoiusly, not an ideal installation. Had dispute with neighbor, so it came down. It was still in excellent shape, so I gave it to a friend in need. Used a tri-band Yagi up 30 feet, mounted to my house, for a few years with (obvious) better performance on 10-15-20 meters. I know, comparing a Caddy to a Yugo. Best, least conspicuous wire I could fit on my lot was a 40 meter OCF. Decent performance on 40. Bad ice/wind storm damaged both antennas in 2016, so they both came down. So I started thinking about how well a resonant fan dipole worked for me several years back. And how much better it could work if I installed it properly. So in late 2016, I told my neighbor to pound sand, and I purchased another DXCC. This time, I used double shielded high grade coax (150ft). I cast a line over the top of one of my hardwoods, and tied the feedpoint off with paracord, at about 50 feet above ground. The ends I tied off at about 20 feet above ground. Lowered it a few times to get swr I wanted, on ALL FIVE BANDS. At eighty-something feet long, 75 meters ok from 3.8 to 3.9. All other bands fine across ENTIRE BAND. That is GREAT for a shortened antenna. With marginal band conditions, I have been working THE WORLD on All bands. Yes, even on 75/80 meters. Check out my QRZ Page and note the JT65 Signals on 75/80m. Note the Omni-directional pattern. I did need a tuner on 3.576mhz. Compromise? What compromise? What I hear, I work. Simple as that. The antenna does what it is supposed to do, and it does it well. Resonant wires are the way to go. Build your own fan dipole, if you are so inclined. Or buy this one. Heavy and built like a tank. AND VERY WELL DESIGNED. The coils are NOT an issue. The 12g solid insulated copper is MUCH better than stranded bare 14g any day. If you ever dealt with something coming into contact with BARE WIRE, you understand what I'm talking about. Now my friends use DXCC antennas. They love them. They brag they are the best wire antenna they have ever used. Period. Your results may vary, you know, those pesky variables, but I honestly NEVER encountered a single problem with ANY DXCC antenna I have ever used or heard used on the air. Best of all, it performs BETTER than these huge loops I hear described on 40 and 75/80 meters. Do yourself a favor, even if you can fit 135 feet of wire on your lot, give this antenna a try. I have no idea how some could rate this a "1", other than antenna perhaps had a manufacturing flaw, or the operator did ;-) |
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| KM4IY |
Rating: |
2017-04-23 | |
| works for me |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
i've used this antenna primarily in psk31 and JT65. it works. you can look at my qrz.com page to see the results.
i have it installed as an inverted Vee with the top being about 35' using heavy duty pvc water pipe as the mast.
i've used a kenwood 450sat and a kenwood 480sat. out of the box, the antenna tunes with the tuners in the radios, in the phone band. i've not modified it so i touch it up a little bit with a manual tuner when i'm down in the digital frequencies.
assembly was pretty much a snap...
i bought a 2nd one that was slightly used at a ham fest to have just in case. |
|
| KA9MOT |
Rating: |
2016-12-26 | |
| A complete waste of money! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have nothing good to say about this antenna.
I knew this antenna was going to be a compromise on 80M because it was shortened. I did not realize the 7 Sable bandwidth WITH a tuner would be so poor.
Performance on the other bands was marginal at best.
I have been building my own antenna since 2003 and this is my first "store bought" antenna.
The manufacturer is no help when it comes to troubleshooting. They only offer advice in tuning a fan dipole. I've built a couple of fan dipoles I know how to tune 'em. |
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