| W3IRE |
Rating:  |
2023-03-22 | |
| Better than I expected |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Bought this a couple weeks ago. Just put it up today. Was a bear getting it all spread out and separators placed. The wire is very stiff. So it was hard trying to get it straight. Alpha Delta could have given a couple more separators for the wires. I made a couple of my own. Took my about 3-4 hours to get it all together and hung up on my flagpole. I also added a 1:1 balun for extra insurance.
Went down in the shack and attached my VNA.
7.100mz. 2.8
14.200mz. 1.4
21.200mz. 1.6
28.300mz. 1.8
Needless to say I'm pretty satisfied with 20-10 meter swrs
I shortened the 40 meters legs by 3 inches and brought the swr down to 1.5 at 7.200.
Hooked it up to my TS-890. Internal tuner tweeked my swrs. Made two contacts one on 40 m and 20 m.
I have say that this is about the best antenna I've had at my shack. Was a bear getting up, but hardly no tuning.
Great job Alpha Delta.
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|
| G8VVY |
Rating: |
2022-11-23 | |
| Excellent multiband antenna for restricted space installation |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
** UPDATE - November 2022 **
This has been my sole antenna for HF working since returning to the hobby in 2018.
It has enabled me to achieve 3 DXCC awards and I have now reached 150 DXCC - mixed modes, primarily digital - across the 4 covered bands.
I have to point out the antenna is shielded from any weather as it is in my loft; but it has remained 'rock solid' during the time it was installed around 4 and a half years ago!
** UPDATE - February 2021 **
If I could award this antenna 6 stars ... I would!
It has been used for many modes since installation - SSB, RTTY, FT8/4, BPSK and others - and subsequent to the earlier comments, is occasionally fed by a Kenwood TS480HX (200W).
Using the above modes - and always 5W only other than SSB - I have been able to work 109 countries, and this antenna is INSIDE my attic at less than 30' AGL with the property surrounded by taller houses! Some of the contacts e.g. Falkland Islands and Australia - work out at under half a milliwatt per mile!
After an initial 'settling down period' of a few weeks - I guess to allow for minor movement and stretch of the supporting 20/40m wires - the antenna is absolutely rock solid. I do not use an ATU! I prefer the RF to leave the property, not go into heating it up.
Check out to see what it's capable of on my QRZ page.
Stay safe and good DX! :-)
==================================
My location - at 300' ASL and on a housing estate with higher ground to all compass points - is far from ideal and a far cry from previous locations which were roughly 3 times the elevation!
After a 22 year break from the hobby, and realising that my 'B' Class licence allowed me now to operate on HF, I decided to set about getting back on the air. Current living circumstances don't allow for external mounting and so I was faced with a loft/attic install.
Doing some research came up with the DX-EE as being an ideal way to get on as many bands as space would allow.
My attic is a somewhat miserable place to work. You can't stand fully upright and there are diagonal joists to avoid at shoulder height and more at knee height! Just getting from one end to the other was a nightmare :-)
You soon get to grips with the fact that the 20m sections - if you don't want to to cut anything - need to have 'z-folds' in the wire. Make sure you don't fold them too tightly until you've achieved your best SWR. Then finalise things using small cable ties. This needs to be done before you tackle the 'short' 40m elements. The tiniest of changes here have a large effect, especially as the bandwidth is so small.
So; after more hours than I care to remember, and with the aid of the invaluable network analyser that I invested in, I achieved:
40m best SWR of 1.70:1 and a usable range of about 40KHz
20m best SWR of 1.13:1 and the full sideband allocation
15m best SWR of 1.06:1 and the full sideband allocation
10m best SWR of 1.08:1 and and usable range of about 220KHz
I was more than impressed with these results and really pleased how things have worked out. I knew I couldn't expect miracles though and with the combination of low power (5W), the location and the current poor band conditions; I do struggle to get contacts.
But ... I don't need an antenna tuner and I'm 100% stealthy across 4 bands. I think, in order to lower the frustration level, I am going to have to run some more power but even a 20-fold increase won't stress this antenna!
Best 73 de G8VVY.
Robin. |
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| W4FID |
Rating: |
2022-03-14 | |
| very good for its size |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Spring 2022 update. The antenna the HOA made me take down now resides in our RV. I get the center up about 20 feet on a portable mast and the ends however high wherever direction I can. It still does well and I still work lots of QSOs on 40 - 20 - 15. It will work OK on 10 too when it opens. A very well made antenna that has served me well about 15 years, been relocated numerous times, and given me lots of fun operating SSB, CW, and digital.
It is very well made from high quality materials. It is easy to tune. The static protector center is great for areas like mine (FL) where we have months with the storms from hell. 40 meters is a little narrow due to the loading coil but it will cover all the phone or all the CW portion - your choice. It's a trade off for the reduced length. 20-15-10 are fine. I ran mine as an inverted vee with a KW and the center at 33 feet. It was lots of fun and totally reliable till the HOA caught up with me and it had to come down.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W4FID on 2011-06-15
I use the DX-EE on my vintage station -- mostly SSB. The 4 bands are a great match for the KWM-2A and I enjoy it thououghly. Mine is a text book inverted Vee with a 90* apex at 33 feet (1/4 wave for 40M and 1/2 wave for 20M). The end supports are 20 feet from the center mast and 13 feet high. So each "leg" is 20 ft vertical and 20 feet horizontal. This puts the wire part in the clear with the end insulators about 16 or 18 feet high. The wire run east/west --- but it radiates well in all directions due to the 90* apex. It's under several huge trees that are 2 or 3 times its height -- but I work lots of Qs on all 4 bands easily.
I did raise and lower it a few times and use an analyzer to get it resonant where I wanted it. The materials are first class quality in every respect and adjusting it was easy. It's been up over a year in FL sun and storms and shows zero signs of wear. I'm confident it will be up -- and my primary antenna -- for many years.
Due to the loading coils 40M is narrower bandwidth than a full length dipole would be -- so you have a choice -- either cover the phone band or the CW band. 20 and 15 cover the entire band. 10 (since it's such a wide band) you have to choose to favor CW or phone somewhat. I chose a compromise and got it resonant at 28.350. So it covers (my definition of "covers" is under 2:1 SWR without a tuner) 40 phone, all of 20, all of 15, and from about 28.1 to 28.6 on 10M.
Our county EOC has the "big brother" and it too is excellant. Several of us felt strongly enough about Alpha-Delta to insist the primary HF antenna be the 80 - 10 version. It's been up 6 months and working nicely and we have no regrets about choosing it.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by W4FID on 2010-10-19
I have mine as an inverted vee. The apex is 32 feet high on a TV mast. The ends are 20 ft away and 12 feet high so it's a perfect vee --- 90* at the apex and 1/4 wave high on 40M. The wires run due east/west.
I did raise/lower/tune it a few times to get resonance where I wanted it. Without a tuner it is less than 2.5:1 on the 40M phone band; all of 20M; all of 15M; and from 28.100 to 28.750 on 10M. Tuning consisted of changing the 40M wire by pulling it thru the end insulators and wrapping it on itself. No cutting or soldering -- so I could easily redo it if I change the frequencies I prefer. The basic tuner in my IC-746PRO is good enough to widen the DX-EE as much as I want on 40-20-15-10. Since the coax is tight to the TV mast I haven't tried the WARC bands and a wide range tuner. Any radiation on the coax would go into the mast and not the air -- so I'm happy with the "basic 4". But if your coax was hanging in the clear you wouldn't care about RF on the shield too much and no doubt the wide range tuner would give you even more.
Performance it great. As omnidirectional as you can tell based on QSOs worked. I do equally well into Europe or the west or South America or Canada from my central FL QTH. Easy QSOs often on one call and easy checking into nets and getting good reports. I run 100 watts and the antenna is within a few feet of the house and under trees 2 or 3 times its height ......... so it's not the rig or my rare location (north central FL is not on anyone's needed list) or my high and clear QTH landscape. The antenna is very well made which is critical here as we are an area with lots of storms and wind and I have limited mobility so I'm not able to do much antenna work without lots of help. I expect it will be my primary radiator for a long time. |
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| VE3MVW |
Rating: |
2022-03-12 | |
| Good multiband dipole for limited space. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Great performance and SWR on 20, 15 and 10 meters. However very narrow banded on 40 meters. Pick a frequency you generally use most often and try and tune it close to there. Rugged construction but tough to make it aesthetically pleasing as the solid wire twists in every direction but the one you want. Overall a decent antenna for small properties. |
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| K0VH |
Rating: |
2022-03-06 | |
| Great for HOA attic installation |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I downsized from a tower/beam to an HOA location late 2021. I do have permission for a multiband vertical in my backyard but wanted to be on HF this winter/spring and thought an alternative horizontally polarized antenna is a good backup longterm. I tuned the antenna in the woods at my old QTH, had to shorten it a bit on all bands. I then had it professionally installed in the attic just before the sheetrock went in (due to medical issues my wife says no more attics/ladders for me). The tuning stayed flat on 20,15,10 but slid on 40 from 7.2 to 7.05mhz midband, so I am using my old manual tuner on 40 SSB but the Icom7300 autotuner handles the rest. It's a well built antenna, a bit overkill for indoors but low risk to any detuning over time.
It really performs well on 20-10. I've worked into Europe, Africa, So America with 100w SSB and of course N America with lobes favoring NE and SW. I don't do much FT8 but that and psk31 is great too. I've made a few 40m ssb contacts over 500 miles during the day. Perhaps being at 1220 feet above sea level in the flat midwest helps. Not a pileup crusher but it's keeping me active on HF. It will be fun this summer doing an A/B comparison when I get the vertical installed too. |
|
| VA3FLN |
Rating: |
2020-05-02 | |
| Narrow SWR resonance on 40m but great antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased this antenna several years ago for use in a tight backyard (approximately 15x45feet with plenty of wires and objects all over the place). It was originally set up as a horizontal dipole at approximately 16-17 feet, and without an analyzer I relied upon an autotuner to deal with SWR. I had reasonable but somewhat limited success using it under those circumstance, as was to be expected.
Fast forward to 2020 and I have set it up again in the same backyard, this time using an MFJ telescoping mast to get it approximately 22 feet off the ground in an inverted-v setup. As noted by others the SWR is narrow on 40m, so I cannot tune across the entire phone band with an internal tuner, though external tuners seem capable of handling it. I believe that the inverted-v configuration is best for this antenna on account of the fact that it allows easy access to the dipole ends in order to occasionally adjust the SWR for 40m. I simply shorten or lengthen the wire in 1cm increments, wrap the remainder around the insulators and confirm SWR range with an analyzer. As originally configured the antenna was resonant below the phone band but easy enough to adjust.
Given the phase of the solar cycle, I have essentially limited my use to 40 and 20m for now but look forward to trying the higher bands as conditions improve. I might take a cue from an earlier review and see if lengthening the ends might provide resonance on 75m, as I really miss the many nets on that band. The inverted v does not appear get out as far as my Butternut vertical, but otherwise provides stellar service with slightly less noise. |
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| KA1JFB |
Rating: |
2019-02-18 | |
| wont tune 40 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| My ALPHA DELTA DX EE is abt 25 ft up problem is it WONT tune 40M ? Im using a YAESU FT DX-1200 and the tuner wont even try to tune 40? It tunes everything else but not 40M Any help would be APPRECIATED! Tnx 73 KB1ZA JOE |
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| W6ORV |
Rating: |
2018-01-17 | |
| Great Antenna |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
First HF antenna. Installed as an inverted V. Have worked DX on voice, CW, FT8, and PSK. I use a tuner, your results may vary. It's not hung in the best of antenna settings (trees, chicken coop, house). I am very happy with the performance of his antenna. Would buy again.
FT450D & MFJ Tuner |
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| W6NIK |
Rating: |
2017-09-17 | |
| Good, But Very Limited on 40m |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
When it comes to 20m, I am very happy with this antenna. I have not been able to work much 10m or 15m, not much band openings when I have been on air. I can even get a useful tune on it for for 17m & 30m.
But.... 40m is the deal breaker that may make me go find another antenna. The bandwidth is just to narrow. For FT8 I can get a great SWR on 7.074, and as long I stay in the digital range, I am good to go. But, if for some silly reason I want to switch to phone? Nope. I need to go adjust the length of the antenna. The instructions say I can just use a tuner to tune other parts of the band, but my LDG AT-100ProII tuner can't tune it (it works fine). The reason I have a dipole is so that I don't have to use a tuner and have the feed line loss, etc.
I give it a 5 for 20m, 15m, 10m, and it was pretty easy to get up in the air (although I am not a fan of the solid core wire)
I give it a 3 on 40m because although it works great for a set frequency, it has no flexibility in the same band. |
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| KD0CQG |
Rating: |
2016-12-09 | |
| Good Antenna for HOAs |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have had this antenna for about 8 years. I have talked to Guadalajara, The Queen Mary, Thule Greenland, Slovania, Japan and all across the USA.I ran it without tuning it from its original assembly and it did well. ONce we tuned it which meant about 2 inch trim off each end it ran better. All advertised bands are great to pretty good except 40M. 40M as per our tune has low SWR in the center of the band with pretty sharp rises on either side.
But here is the cool thing. Using the ole calcs on dipole length, I added another set of radials for 6 M. It works great and the swr is very flat and below 1.5. I sent the swr curves to Alpha Delta for their review hoping they would add 6M radials for their customers to make this a 6 band antenna. But it didn't catch on with them even though they loved the plots.
I recommend this for your HOA homes that have about 45' to 50' of attic space. |
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