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Reviews For: Diamond X-510MA

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

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Review Summary For : Diamond X-510MA
Reviews: 41MSRP: Greater than $200
Description:
Dual-Band Base/Repeater Antenna
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00414.3
KB7EFZ Rating: 2005-05-02
Great antenna, well built Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Love it, it's 10' above the peak of my roof on TV masting and it works very well for simplex and repeater operation. We have up to 50W on 2m. 110 mi to Eugene and 163 mi to Mitchell are no problem (on 2m).
For example, at 22.5 miles, I can work my FT-530 HT if the person with the HT carefully moves to find a 'hot' spot. Not remarkable until you note the HT is in North Portland at 197' and the antenna is in Banks at 450' and the West Hills are between, 4 mi west of HT to 7 mi west of HT with a peak of 1100' 5.66 mi west of HT.
Went together easily, must assume that anyone with a leak didn't seat the O-rings correctly. Not looking for flames please, but the design is quite sound.
KC9AYN Rating: 2005-04-20
PERFECT Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
BOUGHT IT AFTER FIRE DESTROYED THE DIAMOND X200. EASY TO ASSEMBLE AND USED 50 FEET OF THE CABLE EXPERTS PRODUCT. ON TOP OF MY DUPLEX I OWN, I HAVE EXCELLENT RESULTS.
THANK YOU DIAMOND !!
NT4I Rating: 2004-01-09
JUNK! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
After less than 1 year the radome filled with water and the rest is history. In the trash it went. Yes I put the antenna together right and tightened the joints with the supplied tools. In my opinion the new Diamonds are not manufactured with the same quality as the models when they first entered the US market 15 or so years ago. I installed my 20 year old Hustler G-6 and I am back in business. No more Diamonds for me!
W3NRL Rating: 2003-12-26
can't ask for anything better Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had My x510ma for 3 years without any failure, very dependable great coverage. Mine is up 40 feet on my tower, Can't ask for anything better.
Works great on simplex as well hitting many repeaters in and out of my area.
73 w3nrl
CT1DDW Rating: 2003-12-26
Good reliable antena Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had one of those 510 working for 5 years in 3 diferent QTH, supersignals in reception and TX. Often she pick up winds of more then 50 miles hour, bend but not break!
The joints betwen sections i isolated them with silicone, no wather intrusion, its important also let free the inferior wholes for exausting condensated wather. In Portugal almost all the repeaters in V-UHF work with X-510 or copy, so i dont see reason for stated declarations about the product, its like all tings there are good and bad depending of the cases and instalations.
KF6PYF Rating: 2003-08-21
Great Antenna with Mods Time Owned: more than 12 months.
To all those owners of the Diamond 510 who keep complaining about durability, I say use some of that good old fashion ham ingenuity. Why mess around with the metal joint fasteners they will eventually leak or loosen. This antenna is made in three pieces for easy shipping. My question is, why people set this antenna up as a temporary antenna (Collapsible) instead of converting it to a permanent installation. How many of you plan on pulling this antenna down breaking it apart and shipping is somewhere. If I where to guess I would say near NONE . Then do what I did I applied a small amount of Red locktite to all the inside connections. Then glue the Three sections together with some Devcon 30 Min epoxy. To eliminate the metal joint fasteners I used one rap of 2.5 inch wide fiberglass cloth wetted down with some Devcon 30 Min epoxy around the outside of each joint . It’s a simple mod that replaces the metal joint couplers with a permanent waterproof Joint. The benefit is a MUCH stronger (Less Flexing) and water proof antenna. My 510 has been up for 5 years !!! To give it even more resistant to the elements try waxing it with plain old car wax about twice a year.. It works for me Mine looks like the day it was bought. For the price when using these simple mods I say this is one of the best Base antennas you can get
K4CDK Rating: 2002-11-30
Top Quality Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Put up this antenna 2 years ago, it has with stood about all the weather, any type, that has come along. Has good reception for both bands 2m and 440. Was easy to assemble and put up. Sits on a 40 foot tower and gets great coverage.Well worth the price paid for it.
N8CBJ Rating: 2002-11-07
Excellent Antenna! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this antenna on the top of my 50' tower on a 10' piece of conduit since I have been licensed in early 2000. It has been a fantastic performer. I have a 1.3:1 SWR on 2 & 70 into a Yaesu FT-847 over RG-8U. It has been through quite a bit, including a possible tornado with recorded winds over 100 mph, and remains completely unscathed. I will definitely buy Diamond again!
N9LBW Rating: 2002-03-07
Excellent Value Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna, like all other Diamonds that I have owned, works beautiful. There are lots of copies around, but nothing works like a Diamond. It has survived several lightning strikes and tornado force winds. It works as well as most smaller 2 meter beams up to a radius of 50 miles.
KG6FGM Rating: 2002-03-07
Pricey and Powerful Punch Time Owned: more than 12 months.

I guess the ol' addage is "you get what You pay for" holds true to the Diamond line of antennas because they are by far the most expensive ones out there.

I bought my X-510MA in 2000 without incident (so far so good) I can work repeaters over 200 miles away on 440 running only 35 watts! Max power in is 200 watts with 8.3 and 11.7 dB gain for 2M and 70cm respectfully. Pretty impressive numbers compared to anything I've seen from ANY dual band antenna manufacturer.

When I first started working my antenna I was concerned about high SWR's but after contacting "Diamond" They mentioned that I was testing it out of its design range. They also told me how to adjust or 'slide' the SWR's to fit my TX needs. I give this antenna high marks for its performance on gain rating, overall quality of parts (it's made in Japan)and my individual testing results.

There are alot of choices out there but this antenna is the benchmark of VHF/UHF Dual Band omni antennas that people will compare to. Most won't buy this antenna due to the initial investment, when you compare like antennas, the X510MA will always pop in your mind as The Benchmark Contender.