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DX Commander Youtube

Multiband Antennas: Everything That Actually Works

Multiband Antennas: Everything That Actually Works


In this video, I walk through all the tricks, traps, and tools we use to get multiband performance from our wire antennas – whether you’re working from a tiny backyard or a large site.

We’ll talk:

– How traps really work (and their downsides)
– Fan dipoles and verticals (and why they’re so effective)
– Foldback techniques for 40/15m matching
– Why loops are naturally multiband
– And whether smart tuners are magic or just a box of trigs!

Whether you’re building a homebrew fan dipole, eyeing up a Delta Loop, or wondering if a DX Commander is just "visual physics" in disguise — this one’s for you.

🔗 Mentioned builds:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLGtz5Px6g0
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4WzIgCvAbQ

Let me know in the comments what *your* multiband setup looks like – commercial or DIY. 73!

00:00 Intro
00:29 Dipoles
01:49 End Effect
03:05 The 40m/15m Trick
03:40 Traps
05:13 Fan Dipoles
06:36 What is a Fan Vertical
08:00 How does it work?
09:27 Easy to understand antennas
11:01 Full wave multiband loops
13:02 Automatic Feedpoint ATU system
14:28 Doublets and Manual ATUs

#hamradio #multibandantenna #dxcommander

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DX Commander Youtube

Friday – Quick Blast – CQ Long Path VK / ZL

Friday - Quick Blast - CQ Long Path VK / ZL


Beaming 240 degrees from UK to VK

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DX Commander Youtube

Engineering a Compact 160m Dipole (Can It Get Smaller?)

Engineering a Compact 160m Dipole (Can It Get Smaller?)


Today I’m prepping my compact 160m dipole project. I start by spray-painting a few fibreglass poles, then discuss some ideas for making low-band antennas smaller – from dipoles, linear loading, horseshoe shapes and even loops.

Along the way I fire up the modelling software to see some quick far-field plots and test how these designs might actually work in practice.

If you’re curious about compact solutions for 160m (or just enjoy a bit of antenna waffle), this one’s for you!

Tower Project (Discussed): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcC64tNkZB7yRBNMcXCPeOvxLR305kQpx

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DX Commander Youtube

The Shock-Cord Vertical Antenna Guying Experiment (It Works!)

The Shock-Cord Vertical Antenna Guying Experiment (It Works!)


I’ve been experimenting with guying on my 18m fibreglass mast – and I’ve added 3 x 1m lengths of 12mm (1/2 inch) heavy shock-cord to the top guys. The result? Instead of the mast top shuddering in the wind, it’s now smooth and controlled.

In this video, I show you how I did it, why it works, and what I’m planning next for the station. If you’ve ever wondered whether shock-cord can tame verticals, this is for you!

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DX Commander Youtube

Friday – CQ Long Path

Friday - CQ Long Path


Beaming 240 degrees from UK to VK

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DX Commander Youtube

My Biggest Antenna – Build and Test the Signature 18m (Director’s Cut – 4k)

My Biggest Antenna - Build and Test the Signature 18m (Director's Cut - 4k)


This is my biggest DX Commander antenna and needs careful planning and execution to make sure this goes up first time without a hitch. But the rewards are big! Enjoy the fun – and the mistakes.

This build uses this cut chart:

80m – 21.23m (For 3.8m and above, use 20.75m)
60m – 13.02m
40m – 9.77m (USA / Region 2 – use 9.7m)
30m – 6.88m
20m – 4.87m
17m – 3.86m

NOTE: 15m, 12m and 10m are not guaranteed – although your ATU will easily tune them – same with 6m band.

00:00 Intro
21:50 Crash
50:34 Result

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DX Commander Youtube

Thank You RSGB IOTA Contest Organisers

Thank You RSGB IOTA Contest Organisers


Although I happened to win my chosen IOTA Contest Category (Woo-Hoo!), the real purpose of this video is to thank those "behind-the-scenes" folks who collate the contest logs and then manage to score the whole event inside 6-weeks. Reading between the lines, there’s probably a ton of errors that creep into these logs with people claiming the wrong category and mixing-and-matching corrupt ADIF files etc. By the sound of it, many of these are probably fixed "by-hand" until eventually, when all the logs can be machine readable, a big process somewhere is finally given the task of collating eveything and all the different categories; multi ops, single ops, 12 hours, 24 hours, assisted, non-assisted, island stations, world-stations – and more into order. So house-points and gold-stars all around. Thank you to the invisible team behind the scenes. 73, Callum M0MCX (Club Call M0XXT).

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DX Commander Youtube

I Survived Another Ham Fest!

I Survived Another Ham Fest!


This time, I went to the Telford Rally. I ran a TS-590SG and a DX Commander Antenna from the car and just had a chill-time, chatting and reminiscing with folks. See what you think! Callum.
PS – Telford and District Amateur Radio Society (TDARS) have a website: https://tdars.org.uk/

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DX Commander Youtube

The Infamous Cold War British Army 9×9 Radio Command Tent

The Infamous Cold War British Army 9x9 Radio Command Tent


The design of the 9×9 Command Tent is (in my opinion) a work of art – and it fits on the back of the original Land Rover Defender. Flaps down. Enjoy.
I found the instructions! https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a74ef8640f0b65c0e845b01/20150319-FOI2015_02935_tent_enclosure.pdf

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DX Commander Youtube

Planning Tower Upgrade and Relocating the Old Coax Switch Box

Planning Tower Upgrade and Relocating the Old Coax Switch Box


Designing a 5m extension for the tower and I’m re-commissioning one of the old coax cabinets – and other stuff…