Category: DX Commander

This one turned into a proper three-day station build. I started by measuring the downward load on the falling derrick so I could get a better idea of what sort of force the alloy pole is really seeing, and whether a swap to fibreglass is realistic for the next stage of the project. From there, the tower came down again so I could cut a small coax exit slot near the top of the mast – carefully placed, drilled, filed and smoothed so it would do the job without turning into a stress-riser or a coax shredder.

After that, it became one of those jobs where everything takes longer than expected. Coax runs up the inside of the mast, connectors off and back on again, snakes through the tube, joins where I didn’t want joins, new PL259s, old PL259s, seized threads, soldering in the wind, choke fitting, weatherproofing, cable routing round the rotator, and generally trying to future-proof the whole lot for 10m, 20m and eventually the 160m vertical idea.

There’s also some real-world thinking in this one about temporary compromises versus final installation – using what’s good enough for now, replacing the scrappy bits, checking bend radius, watching rope stretch in the heat, and trying to keep failure points to a minimum. In other words, this is less a polished “how-to” and more an honest look at how these big field jobs actually get done.

By the end of it, the mast is back up, the new coax routing is in place, the chokes are fitted, the system is starting to make sense again, and the next decision is what comes first: the 60m vertical, or the new 15m/6m tower project.

If you enjoy the longer workshop-style videos where you can follow the whole process – including the mistakes, workarounds and muttering – this one is definitely for you.

Software, tools, antennas, rotators, coax and assorted chaos all feature heavily. Enjoy the video, and enjoy your radio.

For reference:

Signature 9 system for future 160m vertical work
Internal coax routing through tilt-over mast
Common mode chokes for 10m and 20m
PL259 fitting, joins, sealing and weatherproofing
Falling derrick load measurement and mast planning

If you like this sort of full build documentation, leave a comment and let me know what you’d like next.

Callum.

Peak gust is 44mph (predicted)

This is Teddy who we found a home for after Junior passed away. Our old faithful Django is now tolerant of him and is enjoying being "Big Brother". They are playing in the Antenna Field.

2-element on top for 20m band and 3-element underneath for 10m band. Still prototyping. Should be operational shortly.

Just a quick update from the field today. I’ve been going round the mast adding a bit of threadlocker to the fittings and doing a few small tweaks after the recent rebuild. Nothing major – just part of the ongoing process of getting everything settled and working exactly as it should.

I also learned something interesting about how the mast sits depending on wind direction, which is worth noting for anyone building something similar.

The rest of the video is just a bit of footage from the field – including some drone shots I thought you might enjoy.

*** And finally, a genuine thank you to everyone who supports what I do. Customers, viewers, and those following along on YouTube – none of this would exist without you.

73,
Callum M0MCX

Why didn’t I just buy a lattice tower? It’s a question I get all the time. In this video, I explain exactly why I built my own 60ft tilt-over mast using scaffold poles instead of going down the traditional tower route.

Having used lattice towers before, I know how good they can be. But there’s a side to them people don’t always talk about – transport, foundations, maintenance, cost, and what happens when things go wrong. This build solves a lot of those problems in a surprisingly simple way.

This mast is fully single-handed. I can raise and lower it in minutes, it’s built from readily available materials, and if something breaks, I fix it the same day. No waiting for parts, no specialist sections, no heavy machinery required beyond the initial setup.

I also walk through the basic geometry behind the system – a falling derrick design. Once you understand that, the whole thing becomes much less mysterious than it looks at first glance.

Cost-wise, the entire system comes in at under £1,000 (excluding the rotator), spread over time. Everything can be transported and handled by one person, and the installation is completely reversible – important when you’re working in a field that may one day return to its original use.

The final sequence shows the mast being raised – something I never get tired of watching. There’s something quite special about seeing it go up smoothly and quietly at the press of a button.

If you’ve ever considered putting up a tower, or thought it was out of reach, this might give you another option.

DX Commander products: https://dxcommander.com

Chapters
00:00 Why not a lattice tower?
01:30 Real-world downsides of towers
03:00 Why this mast works better for me
05:30 How the falling derrick system works
07:30 Cost breakdown
09:01 Raising the mast

Another storm brewing…

When my 60 ft (18 m) antenna mast came down in a storm, I had a theory… Actually – everyone had a theory.

– Too many guys.
– Not enough guys.
– Angles too steep.
– Rope stretch.

Turns out… we were all wrong. In this video I rebuild the tower and explain what really happened — including the exact failure that brought the whole system down.

We also look at:

– Guy angles and geometry
– Wind loading and bending moment
– Why rope stiffness matters more than strength
– Why the top section behaves differently
– And how the rebuild improves the system

The original trigger was simple. The way it failed… wasn’t.

👉 One missing shackle pin started it.
👉 Rope stretch finished it.

We’ve now rebuilt the tower, upgraded the guys, and the next step will be switching to Dyneema.

If you enjoy practical antenna building, real-world engineering, and learning from mistakes — you’re in the right place.

73, Callum M0MCX.

Buy here: https://dxcommander.com/product/free-worldwide-shipping-easter-expedition-antenna-kit-copy/ Limited Easter run – once they’re gone, free shipping ends.

WHAT’S INCLUDED
– DX Commander Expedition antenna kit (80m–6m capable)
– Free worldwide shipping (limited time)
– Extra 100m DX10 wire included
– All parts included – nothing missing

IMPORTANT
– Import duty / VAT may apply depending on your country
– Collected by courier (UPS) at delivery
– This is standard for international orders

BUILD VIDEO

INVERTED L BUILD

TOM’S PORTABLE SETUP
https://youtu.be/xJnN5nAIFG8

A curious line of thinking… What if Stonehenge wasn’t built to transmit anything at all? What if it was designed to remove noise?

In this video, we explore an unusual collaboration between Dr Arnold Schwarz (Technical Institute of Munich) and Professor Barker (OU Milton Keynes), and a series of experiments that led to some rather unexpected results.

Topics touched on include:

multi-channel correlation
atmospheric noise cancellation
low-noise receive systems
ground-referenced signal stability

If you’ve ever experimented with LoGs or other receive antennas, some of this may feel… oddly familiar.

That said… the discussion around noise, correlation, and receive antennas is very real. The “research”, professors, field work, and documents were created using AI tools and a slightly overactive imagination. Filmed and published on April 1st. If you made it this far without raising an eyebrow… well done.

And if you spotted the “anomaly”… even better.