Category: DX Commander

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

Check Jonathan’s channel – he’s running Station 2.

Now fixed!

A deep-dive at what it really takes to run a Multi-2 contest station that might have to run for for 48 hours non-stop. We have two TS-990s, twin Acom amps, coax switching, filtering, bacon butties on the go – and the odd bit of coax madness thrown in for good measure.

In this short behind-the-scenes piece, we follow the team through Sunday at Holly Farm: Jonathan on 40 metres, Lee on 20, me juggling the 160 dipole, the 4-Square, and the frying pan!

You’ll see how we handled inter-station interference, tested the 4-Square’s front-to-back, and discovered what still needs improving before the next big one. There’s even a few drone shots of the towers and a cameo from my bacon burgers.

Gear Mentioned:
• Kenwood TS-990S x 2
• Acom 2000 & Acom 2020S
• Antenna Genius 8×2 Switches + OM Module
• 40 m 4-Square Comtek – DX Commander Signature 9 poles
• 160 m Dipole + Planned Vertical Upgrade

Huge thanks to Jonathan (G0MTN), Lee, and the team – and to DX Engineering for inspiration and support.

🎯 Next up: more filtering, phased Beverages, and a bigger 20 m Yagi.

🔔 Subscribe for antenna builds, contest prep, and the final tower upgrade series coming soon!

#hamradio #CQWW #M0XXT #DXCommander #contesting #amateuradio #SSB #CQWW2025 #BehindTheScenes

Continue Stress-Testing the multi-2 station. See how we get on 🙂