| F4WFB |
Rating:  |
2024-11-18 | |
| Signature 9. Simple to set up and really does the job. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I am just setting up a new station and wanted something of a catch-all antenna to get me on most of the bands. I found DX Commander team to be very efficient , sending the antenna the same day it was ordered and it arrived the following day. Everything was present and well packaged.I found the assembly straightforward and after following the cut chart for the elements I found that every band except 12m was spot on with very low SWRs. The 12m only needed a couple of cms removing and it joined the rest. I have to say that it's rare to come a across a product that really does what it should and is backed by a small friendly team that really know what they are doing. Top marks from me! |
|
| KQ4KK |
Rating: |
2024-11-13 | |
| Easy to build, Easy to erect |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Watched 10-15 YouTube videos on the DX Commander first. Goes together fast. No issues. Cut the antenna elements exactly as the instructions say. 40, 20, 15, 12 were less than 1.11:1 in each band. Others below 2.0:1.
Almost ran out of stretch cord.
Simple design with great execution in materials.
Much cheaper than a StepirBigIR 3 vertical, it's only real competitor.
Installed in a restricted retirement community, in the woods, almost cannot be seen. |
|
| W4EEY |
Rating: |
2024-08-27 | |
| Classic - A Contender! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I purchased the Classic version direct from the DX Commander in England. It was shipped promptly but it took me a few months to find the time (and cooler weather) to assemble it.
The instructions are in PDF form on the website and there are numerous videos on YouTube to aid in understanding the assembly.
Plan on taking your time in putting this antenna together. I built mine over two days. Nothing is difficult - just a lot of steps. You will want an antenna analyzer to trim the element lengths to length as your soil conductivity and other factors will vary.
You can hear my first contact using the antenna here:
https://youtu.be/u1tPkdCDXrY
I like having options. This antenna is a worthwhile addition to my toolkit.
If this is your first antenna, invite an Elmer over to build it with you. Take your time and read the directions. 73 de W4EEY |
|
| VE2CXA |
Rating: |
2024-02-04 | |
| The antenna to buy for great performance |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Update January 2024 - My DX Commander Classic has now been up and running for more than 4 years now. Everything still works, no broken parts, sustains many storms and never broken. Temp from recorded -40C to Plus 40C in Canada, with winds up to 95 mph plus gust. It simply works and provides spectacular Rx and Tx. This has been the best investment ever made in an Antenna. Simply awesome.
---------------- 2020-04-12 --------------------
I just completed a full winter with my new DX Commander. Put it up temporarily in the back yard after assembly, which became permanent for the winter, following an early winter storm. Long story short, it stayed there with 6 feet of snow around it most of the time and 60+ mile an hour winds from time to time. The snow is now gone, the winds have died down for spring and I have had a blast with this all-band vertical. This DX Commander has survived a Canadian winter without any issues. It has been pure joy throughout the winter season. Wow, it works like a charm, and I enjoy it very much. Low SWR on all bands as well as on my 80-meter extension. This one beat out my older G5RV and my homemade dipole. Quality components and easy to build, I would recommend the DX Commander competitive solution to anyone looking for a great antenna at a great value point. Used ALL modes am, ssb, cw, js8, ft8, etc... during the season and all performed very well. Checking for any winter related damage, the antenna is as good a shape as the day it went up for testing.
I look forward to trying it out during the next solar cycle 25. So far, I have nothing bad to say even if I wanted to. Highly recommended. The kit is easy to build and using the on-line video or written manual, makes it an easy build for everyone. I have it working from 6-meters to 80-meters, no issues.
Great job DX Commander, awesome product.
|
|
| K0VSH |
Rating: |
2024-01-18 | |
| Signature 9: stealthy, self supporting and effective antenna |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
The Signature 9 meets my requirements for band coverage (40-10 m) and performance in an unobtrusive light weight package easy to setup and install.
All components furnished in the kit (base pole, wire, telescoping fiberglass pole, plates and hardware) are top quality and a pleasure to work with. I had a friend help me with final assembly after cutting all wires to their prescribed length. We put it up, and with about two dozen radials the SWR match was acceptable on most bands with no further tweaking. I only need to use a transmatch on the 17, 15, and 12 bands.
My neighbors hardly see the antenna, it has survived winds up to 50 mph, and I work lots of DX with it. The impedances on all the bands seem very stable in all kinds of weather. |
|
| VA3XUK |
Rating: |
2023-11-27 | |
| Amazing antenna |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| Well, I had 2 dipoles, and a 3 element beam on a tower. They worked just fine. But cables n wire all over the place, wife was not happy but, she put up with it. Last year we had a new roof, and siding on the house. And I really liked the idea of tidying the whole property up. I had a roof mounted vertical for hf years ago, and it was OK. So I really investigated all the verticals on the market. I kept coming back to the DX Commader. Then I saw Callum’s Video saying there would be a self supporting version. That sounded perfect. So waited for that. It works just as I had hoped. Easy to build, easy to tune, looks great. I have been licensed for 41 years now, this is my most favourite hf antenna I have ever owned |
|
| KD0VUY |
Rating: |
2023-10-06 | |
| Yes it lives up to the hype |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I needed something easy, efficient, and inexpensive to get on the air at my new QTH in Illinois so I decided on the DX Commander Classic w/ 80m. Antenna arrived well packaged from England in 4 days. I agree with others that the instructions could have been better. I had to look at multiple videos on youtube to get an understanding of how to put this together. It's not as easy as Callum claims. It took me a day and a half to get everything assembled and the antenna up. Maybe I'm just not that autistic but either way it was worth the effort.
Performance exceeded my expectations. Noise floor is next to nothing and if I can hear them I can work them on 100 watts. I have 33 radials down of various lengths from 10 to 60 ft. long 360 degrees around the antenna. Used all the wire provided but used some extra wire I had on hand to get a few more radials down. I just laid them down wherever it made sense and didn't overthink it. Pinned them to the grass with some cheap biostakes from Lowes. Ran the 80m element sloping down to a bush in the yard. The 80m element does pull on the pole a little bit (even with no tension) so it leans slightly in that direction. The pole is extremely light weight so it does bend and sway with little force.
Excellent swr across all bands except 10m. I just used the tuner in the rig and was still able to work DX on 10. The pole is over 30 ft long so make sure you have enough space to lay it across some chairs to assemble it. All that holds the antenna up are three guy ropes with any random tent stakes. I've had it up for a month and it's still up there after several storms.
Not sure why this antenna gets so much hate from some old timers. I often hear that the DX Commander has a "cult following". Is your product having a cult following a bad thing? I'm 35 but have been a ham for over 20 years. This antenna blows away every other vertical I've used over the years and I've used dozens. I'm working Europe, Russia and the Middle East with ease on 100 watts. Low noise floor is where the DX Commander really shines but that could also be my QTH. I understand there is nothing magical about this antenna (it's just wires on a pole and wires on the ground). Point is it works and works well. Yes a yagi in most cases will be superior and comparing this antenna to a yagi is dumb.
In conclusion,
Get the dx commander if you're like me and can't afford or aren't allowed a massive antenna system. Set a couple of days aside, take your time, lay down some radials (radials are the easiest part btw and that seems to be the thing that scares people away from this antenna), don't overthink it and enjoy.
|
|
| GI0OUZ |
Rating: |
2023-09-19 | |
| Signature 9 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
i took a long hard look at what was available before i bought the Signature 9 from DX Commander which truly is a wonderful aerial system. I also have a Diamond W8010 fan di pole in a north/south configuration which has given me great service and i still use it for 80 m on the rare occasions that I open that band, but it was always a compromise and as a FT8 user, i could see from my signal reports that my ability to transmit and receive had limits. I don't use a lot of power, i have an ICOM 7300 and usually run 60 watts or thereabouts and might consider a linear amp later but the aerial system was always my first consideration .
i had no interest in guy ropes to support an aerial of any sort either which is why i never went for any the guyed versions of the DX commander or any other vertical but when i heard that an un-guyed version was on its way known as a Signature 9, i became very interested. Calum from DX Commander has a plethora of YouTube videos and I followed his advice on radials and laid 40 radials in a circle, each were 3 meters long or 120 meters in total giving me a field that ranged from 3 wavelengths at 40 meters to 10 wavelengths at 10 meters. This gave me confidence that my aerial should perform well. i followed the element cut chart to the millimeter and apart from 15/40 m element, i had minimal adjusting to do.
installation took a few days, firstly I dug a hole to put the ground post in and sank it in concrete, the next day I cut the lawn lower than i normally would and installed the radial field using the ground pegs as Calum suggested. The radials disappeared from view in about 2 weeks and the aerial has performed excellently ever since. My FT8 results increased dramatically which was my first indication of the difference between the di pole and the Signature 9 , i now have reports as high as +21 whereas my previous reports were -15 to -24. This is from locations as far afield as Japan and Argentina and South Africa, so as someone living in Northern Ireland here in western Europe, i have been more than impressed with this aerial system.
I found that voice contacts via SSB which was previously very limited through my Di Pole has now completely changed and opened up into a new world and 59++ is a common report i have received from around Europe, Azores, and beyond. i had the pleasure of a quick QSO with Calum from DX Commander on 40 meters and had a 59 report from him as well. All in all this is a great aerial. it is a multiband system so it is not for the feint hearted but this is amateur radio, exploring and experimenting and expanding our knowledge is part of it. I am also an engineer albeit retired but i enjoyed the process of researching and building it as much as using it.
The DX Commander Signature 9 definitely lives up to what is promised, performs extremely well and I am more than satisfied with it and i can highly recommend it.
Happy DX'ing to you all, best 73's De GI0OUZ |
|
| KM4LUP |
Rating: |
2023-09-18 | |
| Awesome Performance for the Money |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I previously have not had any good luck at all making any DX contacts using the ZS6BKW hung in the tree-line at the edge of my property.
The ZS6BKW works fine for local and regional communications, but is just not high enough for long distance communication.
I decided on a Vertical to supplement the existing antenna, and the "antenna farm obsession began"
Ordered a DX Commander Classic Vertical antenna kit.
Purchase decision based on:
Low cost
Numerous great online reviews,
Fairly low profile appearance in the yard to appease "She Who Must Be Obeyed".
Yes, I know that I could have cobbled together/built something similar myself.
However this is very reasonably priced
"all in one box" kit.
Take your time building it, and be sure to follow the standard "Measure Twice, Cut Once" rule.
I added additional ground radials (currently have 60 total) because extra wire and ring connectors are cheap at the "Big Box Store".
I noticed that (in my environment) the antenna began to quiet down a good bit when I got over 30 radials on the ground.
The DX Commander is still a little noisier than the ZS6BKW I have in an inverted V on the tree-line at the back of my yard, but not by very much.
I have them both on a A/B Switch for easy comparisons.
I'm running an older ICOM IC-7200, running just the base radio, with 100 watts max power.
Without even trying hard, I've been able to make multiple international contacts from the North Alabama area.
Just in the past 4 days, I've been getting 5-9 and 5-8 signal reports
Italy, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Mexico...
I am also getting out much further within USA.
In my opinion, the DX Commander works absolutely fantastic, and is an incredible value for the money.
If this thing got destroyed by lightning, tornado, meteor crashing in the back yard, etc... I would immediately buy another.
Callum, the owner of DX Commander, has done a great job, and does answer his emails if you have questions. |
|
| NN2X |
Rating: |
2023-07-26 | |
| Light, efficient, effective and very cost effective |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The DX Commander Vertical Antenna continues to demonstrate exceptional resilience in extreme weather conditions. It withstood winds at a notable speed of 70 mph or 112 kilometers per hour with no apparent complications or malfunctions, illustrating its robust and sturdy design.
Turning our attention to performance, the DX Commander asserts its dominance in the vertical antenna market with unparalleled efficiency. When comparing the performance of various vertical antennas, the DX Commander is second to none.
What sets the DX Commander apart is its fan dipole configuration, erected vertically. This unique design, devoid of any traps or unconventional impedance matches, allows each wire to be dedicated to each band, thus maximizing performance. The straightforwardness of this setup renders it incomparable in its category.
In the sphere of vertical antennas, there simply is no match for the DX Commander in terms of resilience and efficiency.
DE NN2X Tom
Update June 3, 2022
I saw some reviews on this antenna, and I have to weigh in..
This is a vertical..
The huge difference when comparing to other verticals, is the fact it uses a fan dipole (Vertically) which eliminates traps, and complicated impedance matching...Each wire (Driven element) supports a band.
By default this will be far better than any other vertical...Period...
If you use EZnec, software it does well, in DX...(No kidding Vertical does well DX)!
You can't compare this antenna with a Yagi, you can with another vertical or dipole...
But as far as a vertical, there is no other vertical that can have higher performance than a single driven element for each band. And that is the design of the DX Commander
About instructions, yes there are zillions of videos on how to build the antenna..30 minute videos in detail, you can't miss
About using an Amplifier, I found 800 Watts was the best balance between TX and RX...
It is super light, 33ft...(Weighs about 2Lbs)...Easy to take down and put back up..
About amplifiers, running about 800 watts, was in my experience a good balance..
I did use 32 radials, about 10 ft to 20 ft
Below are my older reviews..
I had winds here in Dallas area, up to 65Miles an hour...
No issues, what so ever...It is light, and bends, but does not break...
However, if I thought there would be an issue, I would simply tilt over, it only weighs 2 to 3Lbps...(At 33FT), 10-40
Performance, is the best you will get out of a vertical, Each band has its own element (40 Meter and 15 Share, 15 at 5/8, and 40 at 1/4).
No traps, no compromise.
Try any other vertical it will be heavier, complicated, and compromised
DE NN2X
Great antenna, and here is why
1). Light as a feather! (2lbs) @ 33ft / supporting 7 bands
2). 7 Band (10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 30 and 40) / No tuner, no traps, no contraptions, no moving parts / No matching BS. Straight 50 Ohms
3). Efficient - You can't get any more efficient than this antenna, each band has an element
4). Simple to put together, (If you don't like to read, watch many Ham Youtubers show step by step..It is truly simple design)
About Performance, it works very well! Far better than what I expected..
And why not?
When you consider no traps, no loading coils, no contraptions, no mechanical moving parts, no compromises of any sorts, you will have great results...
I don’t know how another Ham would purchase any other vertical system
And if this wasn't enough, watch Callum McCormick / M0MCX videos, he does all the software analysis to illustrate how the antenna works...If for anything, one can learn a ton!
What I can't understand, why no other manufacturer did not come up with this design earlier...! Simple Fan Dipole (Vertical) / Simple, elegant design, and weighing only 2LBS. (But the mechanical design on how to support these 7 bands without interaction is the key (And this is again all simply solved by the light weight mechanical design)
Support, Callum (CEO) answers 24/7 any questions...He never sleeps...
C U on the bands
NN2X
Tom Wright
|
|
