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Reviews For: DIAMOND X-50 2m/440 ANTENNA

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Omnidirectional: verticals, mobile, etc

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Review Summary For : DIAMOND X-50 2m/440 ANTENNA
Reviews: 122MSRP: 99.99
Description:
Gain: 2m:4.5dB 70cm:7.2dB
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/x50.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
131224.6
W4KVW Rating: 2015-11-06
It was just OK & Leaked Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I owned the X-50A for about 5 or 6 years & purchased it used from a friend who used it for about 5 years as well.It talked great but would fill up with water whenever it rained & it rains a lot here in Florida.The drain hole was always getting stopped up by dirt daubers & other insects which did not allow the water too drain out.The outside material was so thin that the water would pass through it & fill the antenna completely up.I took the antenna down & drained it & painted it with several coats of Krylon Plastikote & it stopped leaking finally. I replaced it with a Diamond V-2000 Tri-Band vertical that works just as well & on three bands best I can tell.I have not had any issues with water in the V-2000.
KK9H Rating: 2015-11-06
Excellent base station antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I'm guessing the previous reviewer got a defective one. My experience with the X-50 has been very positive. I have one on the roof of my house at 35 ft. and it works very well with my Kenwood TM-V71A. It has been up for over 6 years and I had a chance to look at it recently. It looked fine and did not appear to be affected by the weather. I live in the Chicago area and the X-50 permits me to easily reach repeaters out 50 miles or more. I have had many simplex base and mobile QSOs out to 25 miles or so, perfectly reasonable for an antenna like this. I also recently installed one on the roof of an office building for my local club's APRS digipeater and it is working beautifully in that role. I have been very pleased with the performance of the X-50 and would recommend it for the kind of use that I have described.
N2MTH Rating: 2015-11-06
CRAP !!!!!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is by far the WORST antenna I've ever bought.
It barely can hear a 2 meter repeater that is 5 miles away. I put a dual band Larson 1/2 wave mobile antenna right next to it. Guess what ? The Larson hears the same repeater 3-4 S units stronger and people say I get into the repeater MUCH stronger !!!! The Diamond is 20 feet higher even !!!!
This was my first and LAST purchase of a Diamond product. What a waste of $100.
I wish I had bought a Ringo Ranger instead !!!!
What a piece of crap !!!!!!!!!
W4BGN Rating: 2015-10-07
Great Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had this antenna up for a while and it works great. Should last for many more years. If you buy this antenna, you will like it.
GM1EXK Rating: 2015-10-04
Great design and quality but tuned slightly off band for me Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have just installed a Diamond X-50N (non A version), which is the version with an N connector and designed to be resonant in the middle of the UK 144-146MHz band.

The antenna performs well and the design and construction are excellent. The mounting tube effectively keeps water off the connector, and recent versions now come with two screws holding the antenna to the mounting tube.

The only downside for me is the pre-tuned resonance. Putting an analyser on the antenna shows the tune point to be about 148MHz where it's nearly 1:1. At the top of the band (146MHz) it's 1.3:1. By 145MHz it's 1.4:1 and at 144MHz it's 1.6:1. Still acceptable and usable but quite annoying the 1:1 sweet spot is not at 145MHz!

The analyser on 70cm shows 1.3:1 at 430MHZ, 1.2:1 at 435MHz and 1.1:1 at 440MHZ but by 445MHz the curve shoots up and it's 1.7:1 and by 450MHz it's well over 2:1. Generally I'm happy with the 70cm SWR but again it's slightly higher in freq than it should be.

I don't know if A) They're all like this, B) Mine has been tuned a little off or C) my mounting location is affecting the tune. I have it on a pole where the bottom of the antenna just clears the apex of the building. The surrounding area is totally clear.
CT2IRJ Rating: 2015-09-08
Great antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Hi!

I have one of these great antennas for about 12y. It worked flawlessly, but at about 5 year I've been away from the hobby and didn“t gave it much use.

Now I'm back, and when i tried it again it was showing a bit of SWR on 2m.
One of the matching network capacitors was in bad shape.
I wonder if anyone has pictures of the matching network and the caps used in it.
if so please mail to sal.fresco (at) gmail.com

Many thanks

Sal
CT2IRJ
KI6OSH Rating: 2015-02-20
Super... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
14 months now and no complaints at 35 feet or so. I can hit a repeater near Santa Clara which is just over 100 miles with hilly/mountainous terrain between us. White noise but understandable. Great antenna for 2 meters/440 mz. No tuning feature I especially like.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KI6OSH on 2014-07-31

I've had mine up almost one year and no problems whatsoever. At 35 feet, it hits repeaters in the SFO bay area with no problems. Typical Diamond quality, super. It's getting a blast of our hot valley summers right now and is not complaining at all. This antenna will probably outlast me. A great antenna purchase, in my opinion.
VE7REN Rating: 2015-02-19
excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
bought this big brother to my already owned x30.. I needed another antenna for a second radio. I decided on the x50 for performance and price.. it hits all the repeaters I need it to with a higher gain than the x30.. well built,good fit and finish,stainless u bolts. what else to say....... for the price vs performance.. this is a winner..
KC7NYI Rating: 2014-07-31
14 YEARS, GREAT Time Owned: more than 12 months.
NO PROBLEM IN 14 YEARS. GOT FROM OPERATER WHO DIDNT LIKE IT. THE VERY BEST FROM ME. SINCE I AM HIGHER THAN THE CITY OF BOISE, I HAVE NO PROBLEM 75 MILES SIMPLEX.
N3US Rating: 2014-07-30
Imrpoved Mechanical Construction Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Purchased recently and installed on top of my HF Yagi mast at 70 feet. My unit had two set-screws to clamp it to the mast and this was mentioned as a recent upgrade in an addendum to the manual. I really like the fact that the PL-259 is installed way up into the tubing to avoid any water issues. So far the performance is excellent and I can hit repeaters in Richmond, about 90 miles away, with 10 watts. This antenna's construction and performance is superior to my previous Ringo Ranger.