Category: DX Commander

Phase 1 of the 160m vertical project is underway… and as usual, it didn’t quite go to plan! In this episode, we:

– Lay the main mast down and test-fit a 9m extension (Signature 9 pole)
– Work out how to physically clear the surrounding trees (with a bit of improvisation!)
– Start thinking about the loading coil approach for a shortened 160m vertical
– Look at how the existing ground system (from the 40m 4-square) might be reused
– Discover some interesting behaviour in the mast under wind load…

There’s a mix of practical field work, a bit of problem solving, and yes… some questionable tree surgery decisions along the way. Technical highlights:

– ~19m existing mast used as a base for a shortened 160m vertical
– Planned loading coil (~30 turns on 4” former) to compensate for missing length
– Shared radial field (~800m of wire already in the ground)
– Top-loading effects from existing Yagis (unexpected bonus!)
– Early testing reveals guy rope stretch issues → likely move to Dyneema

This is very much an experiment in progress – real-world antenna building, not textbook perfection.

If you’ve ever wondered: Can you get away with a short 160m vertical? How much does top-loading really help? What actually happens when a mast starts bending in the wind? …then this one’s for you.

Next steps:

– Swap guy lines to low-stretch Dyneema
– Decide: taller mast vs loaded vertical
– Finalise coil tap points and feed arrangement

73, Callum.

Last week I put the 20m Yagi up… but I cut a couple of corners. This time, I let you into the real process – no shortcuts, no tidy 10-minute edit. Just proper fault finding in the field.

We start with a suspected mismatch and work methodically through the system:

– Testing the feedpoint and patch leads
– Checking continuity with a basic multimeter
– Isolating sections of coax and the choke
– Swapping components and chasing intermittent faults
– Eventually tracking it down to a dodgy section of coax / connector

In the end, I rip it out and replace the run with fresh Ultraflex 7, build a temporary choke, and get the antenna back on air – all the way over the pole into North America and Australia.

Moral of the story? Test everything before it goes up the tower… but if you don’t, this might help!

If you enjoyed last week’s longer format – this one goes deeper too.

Next up: 160m vertical… and I suspect that’s not going to be straightforward either!

Callum.

Beaming USA (initially). This is up at 62-ft / 19m high. 2-elements.

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…