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Reviews For: Hustler DCX Discone Antenna

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

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Review Summary For : Hustler DCX Discone Antenna
Reviews: 2MSRP: 26.95
Description:
40-950 MHz Discone Scanner Antenna; UHF Connector
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.new-tronics.com/main/index.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0024.5
N8EKT Rating: 2017-01-17
Can't build one for less Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Marketed as a scanner antenna but works fine on 6,2,220, and 440 for transmitting as well

Put it in a brightly colored plastic bag with some Japanese or Chinese graphics and it would be flying off the shelves at 3 times the price!

WA2CLP Rating: 2015-11-25
Works Well Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The DCX by Hustler is the lowest priced Discone out there and the amazing thing about it is that it works. This light weight antenna has 3 57" cone elements that slope down and 3 horizontal 21.5" disc elements on top. On 6 meters I heard a CW beacon running 20 watts to a vertical about 20 miles away with the DCX mounted in the my living room. Also excellent reception was found on NOAA Wx channels. (162 MHz)

A careful check with my SWR meter and a 5W HT showed 1.5 or better on 2 meters, 220 and 440 with a 20 foot run of coax. Talk about arm chair copy!!! Around 449 Mhz the SWR was just under 2 to 1 but much better down the band. I was particularly impressed with performance on 220!

The Discone gets a bad wrap, apparently, because it has no gain and is advertised as a receiving antenna however the formula is simple. Both the disc and cone are sized for the lowest operating frequency. As a result the DCX does not require multi length elements or tuning. The aluminum rods replace a more solid construction to reduce wind load. On the downside, it did not receive well around the 476 Mhz NYC public service band which, was my only disappointment.

For less than $30 it's worth buying just to have around. Unfortunately a 50 or 75 foot run of low loss coax will cost a bit more: I did enjoy putting it together and testing it though to prove that it's simple design & construction can really work. I would not suggest purchasing the version that comes with coax because the RG-58 supplied would be too lossy..The DCX is perfect for portable, Field Day or other outdoor operation.

And finally there is a modification which involves shortening the elements for better performance above 50 and on 700 Mhz, which, I have not tried.

The DCX is one antenna for multi band use made by a company you trust and definitely worth looking into.. . . .