Category: DX Commander

HOA and UK Planning laws: You don’t need towers, stealth tricks, or neighbour disputes to enjoy HF. In this video I walk through simple, proven antenna ideas that work extremely well from a small back garden or backyard, whether you’re in the UK or the USA. We’ll look at why verticals shine on the higher bands, why low dipoles and loops are brilliant on 40 m and 80 m, and how combining transmit and receive antennas can transform your station.

This isn’t clickbait. It isn’t stealth. It’s about scale, shape, take-off angle, and being considerate.

With a bit of wire, a balun, and some common sense, you can work the world without upsetting anyone – and have a lot of fun doing it.

IDEAS:

Enjoy your radio, Callum.

A quick look at the updated DX Commander dipole / doublet centre. Slightly thicker HDPE, same proven layout – designed to stop feedpoint fatigue whether you’re running coax, ladder line, dipoles, doublets, or fans. Small change, long-term reliability. Enjoy your radio. Callum.

Buy https://dxcommander.com/product/450-ohm-doublet-centre/

https://youtu.be/s4WzIgCvAbQ

Modern SDR radios are extraordinary pieces of engineering – and in the right environment, they absolutely shine.

But this video isn’t about specs, rankings, or what’s “best on paper”. It’s about how we listen.

After a recent video on upgrading "radio versus antenna", some fascinating comments prompted me to step back and reflect on something deeper: why, despite all the advances in SDR technology, I still prefer an older high-end analogue-based radio in a quiet location.

In this video I talk about:

– Quiet QTHs versus high-noise environments
– Why SDR radios can’t invent signal that didn’t arrive at the antenna
– Where DSP helps – and where it can get in the way
– Assembling callsigns from fragments in real pile-ups
– Stable noise, operator focus, and long-term listening fatigue
– Why trained ears sometimes outperform algorithms

This is not anti-SDR. It’s about understanding the trade-offs, the role of the operator, and why different radios suit different people and locations.

The best radio isn’t the one at the top of a list. It’s the one that lets you hear best.

Merry Christmas – and enjoy your radio.

There’s an old argument that never seems to die: “There’s no point buying a better radio if your antenna is rubbish.”

For years, I agreed with it. And technically… it’s still true. But life isn’t always technical.

In this short winter ramble, I talk honestly about why people sometimes upgrade the radio instead of the antenna, what really changes (and what doesn’t), and why enjoyment matters just as much as optimisation.

This isn’t advice.
It’s not justification.
It’s just a grown-up reflection.

Because radio isn’t a spreadsheet competition. It’s a hobby — and hobbies are supposed to make you smile.

Enjoy your radio!
Lord C.

Many people approach antenna building with a sense of uncertainty – sometimes even fear – especially when it’s unfamiliar, physical, and expected to work first time in the real world.

This video isn’t a build guide. It’s an explanation of why details matter, why learning removes complexity, and why confidence grows once you understand what you’re actually doing.

Take a DX Commander for example. A simple, well-understood RF design, but the skills involved – knots, connectors, digging, radials, weather-proofing – aren’t always obvious if you’ve never done them before. That doesn’t make the antenna complicated. It means the experience is learned.

Some people will skim instructions and be on the air in hours. Others need to see what “good enough” looks like before they trust themselves to start. This video is for both.

It isn’t rocket science – it’s RF science.

Enjoy your radio.

DX CODE OF CONDUCT – This restored instructional film, attributed to the RSBG Film Unit (circa 1963), outlines a set of provisional guidelines for orderly DX operation.

While presented with the tone and authority of a formal committee circular, the guidance reflects an era of enthusiastic over-regulation, where dignity, restraint and procedure were considered virtues in themselves.

Viewed today, the film reads less as instruction and more as a gentle satire on bureaucracy, operating etiquette, and the tendency of committees to solve complex human behaviour with increasingly elaborate guidance.

Many of the recommendations shown here were later removed.

What remained became known as the DX Code of Conduct 🙂

With the mast (tower… yes, I know 😄) down at the moment, this is a relaxed walk-through of what’s changing and why.

I go through the move from lorry rope to Dyneema guys, proper swivels and shackles, upgraded mast couplers, improved bearings, and preparations for fitting the GS-2800 without abusing the rotator. You’ll also see the falling-derrick geometry, winch setup, guy tensioning, and why accuracy in anchor placement matters more than brute force.

Nothing rushed, nothing dramatic – just explaining the thinking behind a very economical 60-ft (approx) guyed structure that can safely go up and down, ready for CQ WPX in March.

As always, there are many ways to skin this cat – this is simply how I’m doing it.

Enjoy your radio, stay warm, and thanks for watching.

Callum.

After seven weeks on the editing floor, the final chapter of the Holly Farm 40m 4-Square is here. Four verticals, four phasing lines, a control box, and a huge amount of head-scratching finally lead to the moment the array locks in – proper directionality, proper front-to-back, and that beautiful silence off the back.

In this video I walk through:

– Why four-squares only work when X = 0 on every element
– The real trick: ignore SWR, chase reactance
– How to tune phasing lines to the same Z-minimum
– Why my central mast should have ruined everything… and why it didn’t
– The software mistake that killed the front-to-back
– The moment the relays finally go clickity-click
– On-air tests showing the array suddenly behaving like a real four-square
– There’s plenty of B-roll, mistakes, dogs running around, and a few unexpected discoveries along the way.

But the result?

A rock-solid, directional 40m system with astonishing front-to-back.

If you’re building or tuning a four-square, this will save you hours – and maybe your sanity.

Enjoy the journey,
Callum — M0MCX / DX Commander

We made it… After seven weeks of not touching a camera, I finally sat down in the bunker and talked through everything we built, fixed, rebuilt, upgraded and pushed through this year at Holly Farm – and why I was completely burned out afterwards.

From the new winch on the "tower", to rebuilding antennas, running Multi-2 for CQ Worldwide, sorting the switching matrix, remote ops, the 4-Square, filters, amplifiers, coax runs, the bike-shed project… and yes, getting a new puppy – it’s been absolutely full-on.

But the good news? It all works.

Remote ops are flying, the 990s are paired with serious horsepower, and the big winter upgrades are about to begin: tower rebuild, GS-2800 rotator, Dyneema guys, a 160-metre vertical, LDF4-50 feeders, stub filters, and even a potential Station 3 down the field.

If you’ve wondered where I’ve been – here’s the whole story, straight from the bunker, with plenty of B-roll from the year’s chaos.

Thanks for sticking with me.
Cameras charged. Puppy asleep.
We’re rolling again.

Enjoy your radio.

– Cal / M0MCX
DX Commander

My window into the antenna field