| W7ASA |
Rating:  |
2024-04-13 | |
| Good Antenna! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I wanted a vertical for the longer reach that comes with lower take-off angle. My focus for decades has been regional ("NVIS") so the vertical looked good to expand my DX capability, on a budget.
I bought this DX Commander Classic through DX Engineering (a REAL pleasure to work with them) after reading reviews and I watching several YT videos from Callum and others about this vertical antenna.
I built it to spec, and it was immediately usable on all bands ( 40 - 10 m ) down in the Morse section of the band, which is ideal, because I am a Morse operator. Reverse beacon network shoed EXCELLENT coverage of my signal into Europe, the shortwave listening using this antenna was very good.
If you are considering a multi band vertical antenna, I can recommend the DX Commander. It's a simple, multiband 1/4 wave 'pipe organ' vertical and works quite well.
73 de Ray ..._ ._ |
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| KB9UZO |
Rating:  |
2024-04-10 | |
| Good idea BUT ... |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Bought a DX commander telescoping mast. Mast failed after limited use. Never misused nor mistreated. never left "coking" in the sun.
Was a temporary setup used maybe 2 weeks out of the year. No high wind loading either. Followed instructions / guidance to a 'T'.
Always took care not to "bounce" or "slam" the sections together when disassembling. Never over torqued or abused the mast when extending.
Mast failed in two places: The end cap cracked followed by a crack having developed in the fiberglass top section (at the second telescoping portion).
Mast ALONE was used to support the END of a 20M dipole LEG. Not the center insulator, THE LEG. Was not "overloaded" AT ALL.
Contacted them via email THREE separate times over the course of several MONTHS. I simply asked to be warrantied OR that I'd be willing to accept a used one in return. I explained the mast was not abused or tossed around. Provided a ton of pictures and videos. This was obviously a defect in the fiberglass itself.
Eventually I was contacted AFTER I received zero response from them, after I filed a dispute.
The gal who responded said they hadn't responded to my email(s) due to being on vacation.... For months though?
This went back and forth for about 5 emails. They finally said that they would not warranty the mast nor provide a replacement unless I bought a brand new one. They claimed I "bounced", "slammed" and "abused" the telescoping sections. The mast still looks brand new though minus the two broken areas! The gal became extremely snarky and condescending by the last email.
Horrible people to deal with. Horrible "policies". Just plain garbage. I'd go elsewhere if you're needing a simple telescoping mast. |
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| VE3UZX |
Rating: |
2023-10-07 | |
| DX Commander Signature 9 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought the DX Commander Signature 9 from Callum's UK online shop when he announced a special with free shipping. I had been eying his products for a while and the special pushed me over the edge.
The shipping was delayed a little due to some trouble with parts deliveries to Callum's shop, but I wasn't complaining. The sale price was still very good.
The antenna kit arrived and I immediately started building. The instructions were excellent, and when the written guidance was a little murky, Callum or other builders have great videos to bridge the gap. Tuning was great for 5 of the 7 bands and fiddly for the other two. I put down 104 meters of radials - overkill maybe but that's okay.
Most of the bands have flat SWR of less than 1.3 to 1. Only one band has a small SWR problem (20m) due to the very steep valley to the minimum SWR of 1.18 to 1 (at 14.225 MHz). At the digital part of the band, SWR creeps above 1.5 to 1, and the same thing happens above 14.330 MHz. Max SWR in the band is 1.61 to 1 in the CW portion (I am not a CW op yet). The tuner cleans it up easily.
The signature 9 was my choice due to the in-ground mounting pole. This system works great for tuning, and the lack of stabilizing guys is nice. It has performed well on windy days, standing proud during a recent storm when the winds were gusting to 80 km/h (50 mph, 43 knots). The ability to bring it down quickly for really bad weather is also nice.
I wanted a vertical for DX - I live in an HOA, so no 5 element Yagis for me. My previous antenna system (now my backup) is an EFHW, and after two years I had reached the limits of this really compromised system. My first experience with the antenna was that the RX SNR was so much better - stronger signals coming in, less noise across the band. And I am getting out on SSB with much better results, to places that were previously only digital DXCCs in my log. SSB signal reports have been great, so I am very pleased with the product.
The antenna is highly recommended. Well done to Callum and his DX Commander team for producing such an excellent product.
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| GI7FDZ |
Rating: |
2023-10-05 | |
| DX Commander Expedition |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've been using the DX Commander Expedition for POTA activations for about a year now and I love it and I love the BACKUP SERVICE I got. After using it for nearly a year my mast developed an issue on the 4th section (it was one of the old style poles). I phoned DX commander HQ and explained my problem and asked to buy a new section. They asked me to send in some pictures of the broken part, then checked the pictures could see the issue and then sent a COMPLETE NEW Expedition POLE by courier which arrived the next day FOC. 10/10 for service Loki and Cal I couldn't have asked for more!!! |
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| KN6STX |
Rating: |
2023-03-20 | |
| DX Commander Expedition |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I bought the DX Commander Expedition Antenna from Callum a few months ago, I built it precisely the way the instructions said to do it. I also watched a few DX Commander Expedition build videos by other Hams on YouTube, which helped a bunch! After I built it, the antenna sat for months, until last weekend when I went to activate a POTA park. Oh my, to my surprise, this antenna is absolutely amazing! In about 4 hours I had 75 contacts in my log. The contacts were on 40m, 20m, 15m, and 10m. Not once did I have to get up and change or re-tune the antenna for band changes. I live in California, I am in a valley surrounded by mountains, and my signal got out all over the place, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Tennesse, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. I have never had a Coast to Coast contact before. So, would I recommend this antenna, I would ABSOLUTELY recommend the DX Commander Expedition, I am a new Ham Radio Operator, and I have been licensed for a little over a year now, with a General license. I learn a little bit every day about Ham Radio and I have learned that the antenna is everything in this hobby!!! The DX Commander Antennas work and they work well!!! Get one today!!! 73, everyone!!! KN6STX |
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| WB2FKW |
Rating: |
2022-11-11 | |
| Very, very pleased so far !!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I received the DX Commander about a month ago and inventoried everything that was sent. It was all there !!! No probs with shipping and the instructions, which can be downloaded from Callum's website, are very clear and easy to use. As the WX is getting colder here in Upstate New York, this antenna will probably get put up in the Spring. The quality of the components is also above average; all the drilling and sizing of screws, wire for elements and radials, connectors .....It is all there !!; No chasing around from site to site to find things. I am really psyched to put this antenna up. It is an excellent product at a reasonable price. Will write a review in the Spring. 73s everybody !!! |
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| KC9WUV |
Rating: |
2022-04-30 | |
| Excellent Performer |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This is long overdue. DXC Classic. My version has been up since Dec. 2018, harsh winter , summer and all in between. Other than some preventive maintenance it has been trouble free. I did have a failure of the wire to the driven plate from the constant moving around back and forth. Broke the wire. Turned the antenna 90 degrees made another and no issues for last two years. You can not find all the quality parts for what Calum sells the kit for. I Recommend this to everyone. They look at my log book and can’t believe it. Thanks for a great product and support. Keep in mind it is not a beam at 100 feet. Small footprint great results. No tuner and easy to build. Fun actually. Excellent support and information on you tube from the designer. Quality all around. |
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| MW0MWZ |
Rating: |
2022-01-10 | |
| DX Commander 12M Pole (Awesome build quality!) |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have just received my DX Commander 12M pole, I cant really find any reviews of this beast yet, so if you are considering purchasing one, it sure gets my vote.
I also have a 10M DX Commander classic too, and there is a substantial difference between the two, the 10M pole is exactly as I expected it to be, its very good, but a little too "whippy" to be installed permanently. For /P and semi permanent installs it is great, but the 12M pole is quite a different beast.
The first thing you notice is the weight, it's quite a bit heavier than the 10M pole, a quick look at it and the reason is clear - the wall thicknesses are all beefed up, and the top section is not tapered away to a whip, compared to the 10M pole its like the top 2 sections are not there. IMO this was a superb design choice, the pole is strong to the very top giving me more choices about how I use it.
This isn't a SOTA / Backpack antenna pole, but thats not the point of it, it's going to make an excellent permanently installed 40-10M setup, I *may* string 80M on it too, I get the feeling that i could put the 80M inverted L on here (or a small loading coil) and it would cope with that easily.
I'll come back and update this review once I've had some more time to experiment. |
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| KD8WBZ |
Rating: |
2021-12-10 | |
| Build it to your specialty |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I’ve had my DX Commander up since late October, and in that time I’ve logged over 800 QSOs. The longest being from my QTH in NW Ohio to the west coast of Australia, which is over 11000 miles on 40, 30, and 20M bands.
The antenna comes as a kit build, so you can optimize the antenna for CW/digital, phone or both to your liking. The build takes a day, once that is settled,you can set it up, and tear it down in about 30 minutes. That works great since I live in a HOA development. When you get your antenna, your invited to a discord channel where other owners, and even Callum himself would be happy to help out with any issues you might have.
I’ve own several portable antennas, but when it comes to ease of operation. Band resonance, and the power it can handle. It rates as a top notch antenna for the price. |
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| K9LRG |
Rating: |
2021-02-11 | |
| I love my DXCC!!! 5 months, 1500+ FT8 contacts from Middle USA |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I Made my first contact on this antenna on 9/23/20 (My first HF contact) I have made over 1500 FT8 contacts as of this writing on 2/3/21 I've contacted all 50 states in the USA, all 6 continents, all over the UK, HI, JA, and Aus. Callum has all the bits, bops, and doingy doingy you will need in one package. You will have to do some measuring and cutting, but not without plenty of instructions to guide you each step along the way. I used a Nano vna to tune my elements after cutting them to the lengths recommended in the instructions. This is my first antenna (DX Commander Classic 6 element ABV) connected to a Yaesu FT-891 and has 1.5 SWR on 10, 12, 17, 20, 30, 40, and 15(free) Building this antenna has given me a better understanding about how antennas work than all the Websites and YouTubes you can ingest. Thanks to Callum, I'll be building my next antenna from scratch, an inverted V NVIS to reach the people left out there that I can't reach now (skip zone). I have Hi power lines that run North/South behind my property, and a rock bluff 200 feet hit across the street in front of my property. And I can still talk from UK to JA, CA to SA (on the right band) any day of the week! I love my DXCC 6 wire ABV!!!!!! |
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