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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
KE5JA Rating: 2009-11-22
Excellent! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Well built, very low SWR, all that I expected and more. The antenna is mounted half way down on the back side of my roof (keep the neighbors happy), and with 50 watts and the space station ~ 22 degrees to the south and east, I was able to maintain an eight minute QSO with NA1SS recently!
W6QT Rating: 2009-11-20
Carefree Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Been up for 5 years. No worries. Does an excellent job.
N0FPE Rating: 2009-11-07
Bee's knee's Time Owned: more than 12 months.
works good for me.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N0FPE on 2008-03-24

I have had my x-50 up in 2 different locations in the last 6 years and it has never missed a beat. It lived thru many a storm in the midwest and now it has survived the heat and dust of Arizona for 3 years. To the previous poster...You have some other problem. Or at very least a bad antenna. Try checking it with a antenna analyzer or check your coax and connection. I now have a X-30 for the camper! love it too.

Dan
WE8Q Rating: 2009-11-07
Strong Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Put this antenna atop my new tower. This antenna is like a baseball bat...very strong. Low SWR and excellent performance on both bands.
W5XJ Rating: 2009-05-28
so far so good on 144/440 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just put it above my garage in the attic at 15 feet AGL and it is nice. Hits repeaters 30+ miles away, good quieting on locals. Perfect height - fits just under the roof peak on a broomstick for a mast in a milk crate with paint cans for ballast. The jury is still out on VHF DX, i keep calling on SSB but have few QSO's to show for it.
M0SAZ Rating: 2009-05-27
Best Collinear I have owned Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have been trying to get the most robust dual band base antenna with the most gain. Having tried 4 other antennas of various sizes, I found the X-50 to be the best.

I bought the one with the N-type connector and used Westflex 103 to keep as much of the signal as possible.

The antenna is "bomb proof" in so much as it is only one section, but it has a nice gain, which in real life terms is comparable with 2 and 3 section antennas I have tried. I would recommend this antenna to anyone who wants to simply put it up and leave it, without the need to keep going up to correct SWR issues becuase of joints leaking etc. on big antennas.

Would buy another one again without a thought.
KJ4EOZ Rating: 2009-05-19
very nice antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have been using this antenna for about 90 days now , and works very good . SWR's are flat on 2 meters and 440 1.1 but i am using 50 feet 9913 Coax .
and the antenna is up about 55 - 60 feet up .
the repeater im on most of the time , is 40 miles
away . and i can work it with 5 watts out of my FT-8800R . pick one up you will be happy !!!!
K1MRI Rating: 2009-04-29
Good to go Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have 2 of these mounted about 35' up at the peak of the house, both up there for over 12 years. Using my HT I can hit machines some 30 miles away........on 5 watts! Easy to put together (this was my 1st antenna)and mount.

Looking for a great antenna look no further.
KF6MNH Rating: 2009-02-22
Solid and reliable Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I've owned the X-50 for a few months now. I purchased it from HRO in Sunnyvale for right around $100. Its mounted on a Radio Shack tripod with 2x5ft RS mast elements, so its about 13 feet off the ground. With the built-in preamp on the TS-2000, every major repeater in Central California is S9+60 and I've had simplex conversations at least 50 miles away. You really can't go wrong for the price, get some decent coax and put it up as high as you can.
K2ID Rating: 2008-10-16
Fits in my attic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have two in my attic. One on the north side and one on the south. I use a coax switcher to go from one to the other. Most of the time they receive and send about the same but there are some places that I can only reach with one or the other.

The short size makes it a perfect fit for my attic. Good enough to reach over 25 repeaters in NJ/NY area. Not very interested in VHF/UHF simplex so this antenna is perfect for me. Occasionally will use it with my 746 Pro simplex but I mostly use it with my Yaesu 817. 5 watts and this antenna is usually all I need to work the area repeaters and even a few in NYC.