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Reviews For: DX Blaster

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : DX Blaster
Reviews: 13MSRP: 249.95
Description:
WideBand Cage Antennas
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.dxblaster.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00134.9
OD5ZZ Rating: 2013-11-16
Great on 40 m Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I ordered the DX Blaster for 80 m , it arrived and it was nicely manufactured but the Balun was defected , communicating was not easy and still is not with the company , tried to explain that it is not working on 80 m but I guess since I am not in the States things were not taken seriously and till now they did not answer , anyway got fed up from paying 350 USD for an antenna that was worth a dime under the circumstances , tried to tune it using my ten tec 238 B and yet I could not tune it on a single Ham band , again communication went unanswered, enough nagging and let us move to the positive part

I decided there was nothing to lose , if I changed the Balun and tuned it myself to 40 m using an MFJ antenna analyzer , which I did , I was able to bring the SWR using my antenna tuner down to 1:1 , fired my Ameritron AL-1500 and started calling to my surprise I was getting calls back from all over the world , people thought I was using a beam and I was getting all kind of nice reports.

So that is my story with the DX Blaster that I called for a while DX Disaster but after doing tuning and no thanks to the company because they were of ZERO help , it is a pleasure again to work 40 m , so guys you will not go wrong with a cage antenna , catch you on 40 m

Walid - OD5ZZ
AA4VX Rating: 2013-05-05
40 Meter Cage Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Built very nice and easy antenna to hang. No tune and very quiet. Mike is a down to earth type and I brought a Balun and part's to build a 80 Meter for a receive and look forward to finish building it. Nice antenna and priced not to break the bank.
VA7DH Rating: 2013-03-24
80m Cage Dipole Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Just a suggestion that if you decide to build one of these antennas "do not" use plastic hoops as spreader. All plastic does take a drumming from the sun. If possible go to a welding supply house and buy a bunch of lengths of 1/8" or thicker stainless steel welding rod, form it into hoops the right size, weld it together, and that part of your antenna will last longer than you will.

If you ever decide to make a droopy ground plane antenna. Get some copper covered 1/16" steel welding rod and make yourself a caged stinger for it. You will need to trim it a bit shorter than the correct one piece stinger. The bandwidth will blow your socks off.
W2IT Rating: 2013-02-28
EXCELLENT Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My Cage was custom built as a flat-top. It is 124 feet long and fed with Balanced line. I use a PalStar BT-1500 tuner. The combination is great. I get a fair amount of Bandwidth and it is very east to tune. My reports are always the same. YOU ARE LOUD ! This is a very very well made product and I would recommend it to anyone. My CAGE is up about 60 feet. Although I purchased it for 75 meters and 40 I have used it on all bands and have had very good reports
W4HBM Rating: 2013-02-06
A Real Workout! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The company made me a custom 160 meter cage dipole. It uses 14AWG THHN stranded wire. While the company usually says that one line of rope to a pulley is sufficient, there ain't no way a normal human being is going to haul this up. The way to do it is to use 7/16" diameter double-dacron/polyester (black outer coating) and make up a gun carriage pull with two single sheaves, on each end of the dipole. Lotsa rope, but with double pulleys there's a good mechanical advantage. Additionally, having a center hoist rope will mean a flatter appearance and help support this heavy antenna and feedline. If you choose coax feed, count on a balun coil. I went with 575 ohm 14AWG stranded OWL going to a balanced tuner, 'cause there's so much distance to cover outside. Once the measurements were done and verified, the antenna was put into service and I only work 160, 80 and 40 on it, and those bands tune right up, no problem. I later went and built my own 30 meter cage from the company kit, and feed it with coax and a balun, and that works dynamite, too. These are the best wires I've ever hooked up to, and if you're up to it, it's worth the effort.
N2YXW Rating: 2012-04-14
1 YEAR LATER Time Owned: more than 12 months.
One year later still the best antenna that I've ever used on 80/75 meters. It held up when some of my other antennas failed during the historical ice storm we had this past October in the Northeast. I have moved the legs around a bit due to the failure of some of my oak trees during that storm. The swr has remained flat,1.0:1.0 to 1.2:1.0 allowing me to run QRO without a tuner 3.800-4.000mhz. The swr stays flat and below 1.5:1 down to 3.600mhz! The signal reports that I get speak for themselves.I've experimented with many different designs over the years, double bazookas, vee beams, dipoles made from rg8x with and without reflectors etc. When I put this monster up last year my regular ragchew group took notice. Mike and Doug called me often to get my feedback and to offer some tips and advice which is something that gets overlooked nowdays.With most manufacturers it's "see you Joe gotta go" not so with Doug. I'd be more than happy to give anyone an on air report. Just send me an email, good on QTH.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N2YXW on 2011-06-15

Mike was a pleasure to talk with and he takes customer service to another level. If you are looking for a great antenna design with a lot of bandwidth and GAIN, yes I said GAIN, look to this antenna. A/B switching with my 80m dipole made from #8awg wire versus the cage dipole in every case 10db better on transmit and receive. You must consider the weight of the antenna when you hang it. There is a a lot of wire in the air but the end result is well, well worth it!
W1WN Rating: 2012-02-26
Great Product and even better service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the 40 meter cage. Purchase and delivery was seamless. I installed it as per the instructions and was able to do it myself. Out of the box the SWR was 1.5:1 or less throughout the entire band. Mike was there to answer questions whenever I called, including the weekend.

Shortly after my purchase, I had the opportunity to get a 40 meter beam. Mike cheerfully accepted the return of the antenna and I was so impressed with its performance that I purchased the 80 meter cage.

Like its little brother, the 80 meter cage installed easily yesterday. Initial tests, before any tuning or trimming is less than 2:1 SWR for 300 khz.

An excellent product from a superior company
N6JS Rating: 2011-10-12
Performed Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Ordered 80-meter blaster through Mike. And found Mike's input very helpful. The 80-meter blaster was actually quite easy to put up on my 72-foot tower, and performed so well that I ordered a 40-meter blaster the following day. It too also performed extremely well. During the Calif QSO party, first weekend of Oct, I can say that my signal was much improved over the standard dipoles that I had installed in previous years. Overall I am very pleased with this product.
W5VFO Rating: 2010-12-26
Great Antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought the 40M antenna and use in a Vee config. SWR at 7.001 is 1.05 and 1.7 at 7.299. Very broad banded as advertised. I will be purchasing the 80M cage soon. Great construction. I highly recommend this cage antenna from DXBLASTERS.
W4NFR Rating: 2010-08-13
CAGE 40 METER ANTENNA Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had my 40 Meter Cage antenna from DX Blaster for a couple of months now and love it.
The Low Q provides a 1.3:1 SWR across the band. My antenna is the 8 wire version and 12" diameter spreader hoops. It is fed with a current choke balun and coaxial cable.
The design is very strong and has held up very well so far. The 8 wires provide very low inductive loss and the antenna is very efficient. I recommend this product and would encourage any serious ham to get one. I have worked DX and all over the US with mine. It not only transmits well, but received great too!