Category: DX Commander

Today’s job is a proper step forward on the tower rebuild. In this first part, I strip down the original mast, fit the new GS-2800 rotator, correct some long-standing geometry issues around the hinge point, add a substantial insulated section, and begin rebuilding the tower with heavier-duty hardware and a new plan for the guying.

The long-term idea here is not just a stronger lift-up mast for the beam, but a structure that can eventually serve double-duty as part of a 160m vertical as well. That means thinking ahead now – insulation, support sleeves, thrust bearings, couplers, turnbuckles, shackles, and how the whole thing behaves while going up and down.

This is very much real-world prototyping in the field:

– taking the old mast down
– removing the beam
– rebuilding the lower section
– fitting the new rotator
– correcting the hinge arrangement
– testing the first section with revised guying
– adding the second steel pole
– and finally carrying out a cautious test lift

I also talk through the design thinking as I go – including why I’m changing to Dyneema guys, why I’ve moved away from the original arrangement, and how I’m trying to make the whole system stronger, smoother and more repeatable.

The camera gave up near the end, so the final lift is shown via the field camera. Part 2 will continue with the next stage of the tower build, final alignment, and getting the extended mast up to its finished working height.

Thanks for watching.

00:00 Tower upgrade begins
00:38 Building the insulator section
03:30 Dropping the old mast
06:49 Removing the beam and stripping down
10:50 Shim and rotator fitting
11:55 Correcting the hinge point
13:22 Mounting the GS-2800
14:43 New guying plan explained
17:34 Rebuilding the lower section
25:25 Next day – upgraded hardware
30:27 Rethinking the design
32:56 Reworking the guy anchors
36:55 First section back up
42:32 Plan for Dyneema guys
51:57 Heavy-duty coupler and second pole
54:40 Final test lift

#hamradio #amateurradio #tower #rotator #dxcommander

Today I get the Yaesu GS-2800 and G-450 rotators working with the Rotator Genius for remote, network control.

This turned into a bit of a saga… but we got there in the end.

In this video I cover:

– How Rotator Genius actually drives DC rotators (2-wire vs 3-wire confusion)
– Correct wiring for GS-2800 and G-450 (pins and setup)
– Bench testing before going up the tower
– Magnetic sensor install and alignment
– Dip switch settings (and how the manual can trip you up)
– Speed control and voltage considerations
– Getting two rotators working on one system

The goal here is simple: allow multiple stations to control different towers over the network without conflict.

This wasn’t a plug-and-play job – it took a few days of checking and thinking of trial and error to get right. If you’re setting up Rotator Genius, this should save you a fair bit of time!

00:00 Overview and plan
02:19 Wiring breakthrough (2-wire control)
03:10 Dip switch issues
05:32 Adding second rotator (G-450)
10:27 Field testing
11:47 Sensor install
14:23 Software control and presets
16:15 Final thoughts

In this episode we move away from verticals and start modelling loop antennas.

Using MMANA-GAL, we draw a horizontal delta loop and explore how it behaves compared to a vertical antenna.

Along the way we also look at how ground conditions affect antenna performance, and why antennas near salt water can perform dramatically better.

In this video we:

• Benchmark a vertical antenna at low take-off angles
• See how changing ground conductivity affects performance
• Draw a horizontal delta loop using the wire editor
• Place the feedpoint and model a 4:1 balun
• Use wire scaling to tune the antenna to the correct frequency
• Compare the far-field plots of a loop and a vertical

You’ll also see how loop antennas behave on multiple harmonics, making them useful multiband antennas.

In the next episode we’ll convert this into a vertically polarised delta loop and compare the radiation patterns again.

Software used

MMANA-GAL (Basic version)
Free download:
http://gal-ana.de/basicmm/en/

Model files used in this series

All MMANA-GAL antenna models used in these tutorials can be downloaded here:

📁 https://mega.nz/folder/EnoXlTQL#Iuq-TqnW7ZglzkJMEIk59w

This folder will be updated as new videos in the series are released.

Full Video Playlist

📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7zl-6HKJ5ihuSH3-22IX6kq

If you want to follow the whole modelling series, subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode.

In this episode we take the ground mounted vertical from Part 3 and add elevated radials to see how the antenna behaves.

Using MMANA-GAL, we model a simple vertical and experiment with different radial configurations to see how they affect the far-field radiation pattern.

In this video we:

• Start with a basic ground mounted vertical
• Add two elevated radials
• Compare radiation patterns using the Compare function
• Add additional radials and experiment with geometry
• Raise the antenna and slope the radials downward
• Observe how the low-angle radiation changes

The goal here isn’t deep theory – it’s learning how to draw the antenna and observe what happens when you change the geometry.

You’ll also see how elevated radials can slightly improve low-angle radiation, which is important for DX performance.

In the next episode we’ll move on from verticals and start looking at loop antennas.

Software used

MMANA-GAL (Basic version)
Free download:
http://gal-ana.de/basicmm/en/

Model files used in this series

All MMANA-GAL antenna models used in these tutorials can be downloaded here:

📁 https://mega.nz/folder/EnoXlTQL#Iuq-TqnW7ZglzkJMEIk59w

This folder will be updated as new videos in the series are released.

Full Video Playlist

📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7zl-6HKJ5ihuSH3-22IX6kq

If you want to follow the whole modelling series, subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode.

Thanks to Regin (OY1R) and Stian (LB5SH) for arranging this. You may have heard them previously calling in to my streams with their home calls in the past. With the help of WhatsApp to get a sked, we made it. Just for fun guys, I don’t really collect DX Entities.

It takes a whole community to make these things happen and everyone should be proud, the operators, the major sponsors and of course the small donations from the average ham. I know it goes a long way.

You can hear Stian calling me as 3Y/LB5SH and that starts here:

I have to say, the team this time around have done an awesome job. I think they almost cleared 100,000 QSOs and a great boost and focus for many.

See https://3y0k.com/

Thank you to the team on Bouvet Island for this amazinig experience for the 100,000 or so QSOs they made before packing up.

40m Band. 1kW, 4-Square and hunting and grinding! Join in, chat or just listen. All good fun!

Let’s see if we can find Bouvet Island today – but of course, we can do plenty of search-and-pounce and of course, calling CQ too. Join in, chat or just watch. Just for fun.

In this short tutorial we model a ground mounted vertical antenna using the free MMANA-GAL antenna modelling software. This is Part 3 of the Model Your Own Antennas series where we learn how antenna modelling works in simple practical steps.

In this episode we:

• Create a 20m ground mounted vertical
• Define the antenna using X, Y and Z coordinates
• Run the far-field calculation
• Compare the elevation pattern to the inverted-V from the previous episode

Vertical antennas produce a low take-off angle, which is why they are often used for DX communication.
Model files used in this series

All MMANA-GAL antenna models used in these tutorials can be downloaded here:

📁 https://mega.nz/folder/EnoXlTQL#Iuq-TqnW7ZglzkJMEIk59w

This folder will be updated as new videos in the series are released.

Full video playlist

📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7zl-6HKJ5ihuSH3-22IX6kq

If you want to follow the whole modelling series, subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode.

In this episode we take the flat-top dipole from Part 1 and convert it into an inverted-V antenna using the drawing tools in MMANA-GAL. This short practical tutorial shows how to modify antenna geometry and understand how shape affects radiation patterns.

In this video we:

• Use the wire drawing editor
• Split a dipole into two wires
• Convert a flat dipole into an inverted-V
• Adjust antenna height above ground
• Check SWR and resonance
• Use the Wire Scale function to retune the antenna
• Compare the far-field radiation pattern

You’ll also see why modelling sometimes shows odd impedance values when elements are very close to ground, and why that doesn’t necessarily mean the antenna won’t work in practice.

Model files used in this series

All MMANA-GAL antenna models used in these tutorials can be downloaded here:

📁 https://mega.nz/folder/EnoXlTQL#Iuq-TqnW7ZglzkJMEIk59w

This folder will be updated as new videos in the series are released.

Full video playlist

📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7zl-6HKJ5ihuSH3-22IX6kq

If you want to follow the whole modelling series, subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode.