Category: DX Commander

In this short practical series I’ll show you how to model your own antennas using the free MMANA-GAL antenna modelling software.

We start with a simple dipole and build up through inverted-V antennas, verticals, loops, loading coils, end-fed wires, phased arrays and more.

Each video in this series is under five minutes. No heavy maths – just practical modelling so you can understand what happens when you change antenna height, length and geometry.

In this first episode we:

• Download and run MMANA-GAL
• Set the program language to English
• Learn the X, Y and Z coordinate system used to draw antennas
• Model a simple 20m dipole
• Run the first far-field plot

This series follows my earlier deep dive video:

Why IS DX Hard? https://youtu.be/XL1ZbXjGA_s

because understanding take-off angle and radiation patterns is interestiunig before *and* after modelling antennas!

Later episodes will cover:

• Inverted-V dipoles
• Ground mounted verticals
• Elevated radial verticals
• Loops
• Loading coils
• Phased vertical arrays
• Yagi modelling

All example model files will be shared shortly.

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

If you want to follow the full series as it’s released, subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss the next parts.

Next episode: Turning this dipole into an inverted-V.

Feel free to listen, chat or just cruise. It’s just for fun.

What happens when you put a wire in the air and feed it energy? You can talk across countries. Across oceans. Around the world. This is amateur radio – a hobby built on physics, antennas and understanding. No internet. No mobile network. Just radio waves bouncing off the sky.

Most people think radio is old technology. It isn’t. It’s hands-on science, experimentation, engineering and human connection – still evolving more than a century later.

In the UK, amateur radio begins with the Foundation Licence. Training is widely available through local clubs and online courses.

If you’re curious, that’s how it starts.

* If you run a club, school or public event, feel free to use this video as a looping display.

Callum McCormick M0MCX
DX Commander

Free shipping on the DX Commander Expedition – here’s how it works.

For a short time, we’re offering free worldwide shipping on the DX Commander Expedition. The kit price remains the same – the saving comes from us covering the shipping cost.

If you’re in the USA, that saving typically offsets import tariffs.
If you’re in the EU, it takes much of the sting out of the 20% VAT.

Buy: https://dxcommander.com/product/free-shipping-expedition-portable-ham-radio-antenna-80m-6m-kit/

Please note: any local tariffs, duty, or VAT are collected by your courier at the point of delivery, in line with your country’s import rules. This is normal and something customers do every day — it’s straightforward and handled directly by UPS.

This free-shipping offer applies to the first 100 Expedition Kits only. Once those are gone, the promotion will automatically end.

If you’re watching this later and the free-shipping offer has ended, the DX Commander Expedition is still available to purchase at the normal shipping rate. You’ll find a link to the regular Expedition kit on the product page.

Same antenna.
Same quality.
Just without the free-shipping promotion.

https://youtu.be/xJnN5nAIFG8

100 Expedition Kits ready to be shipped.

For a short time, we’re offering free worldwide shipping on the DX Commander Expedition. The kit price remains the same – the saving comes from us covering the shipping cost.

Buy: https://dxcommander.com/product/free-shipping-expedition-portable-ham-radio-antenna-80m-6m-kit/

If you’re in the USA, that saving typically offsets import tariffs.
If you’re in the EU, it takes much of the sting out of the 20% VAT.

Please note: any local tariffs, duty, or VAT are collected by your courier at the point of delivery, in line with your country’s import rules. This is normal and something customers do every day – it’s straightforward and handled directly by UPS.

Once the first 100 Expedition Kits are gone, the free-shipping promotion will automatically end. The Expedition will still be available to purchase at the normal shipping rate.

https://youtu.be/UW1Xv-xvsZ0 – BUILD VIDEO
https://youtu.be/qS1OxcvYQCg – INVERTED L BUILD
https://youtu.be/xJnN5nAIFG8 – TOM’S PORTABLE EFFORT

Why do we really buy new radios? It’s rarely because the old one stopped working. We all have excuses – and that’s fine.

But sometimes, if we’re honest, we’re hoping a new radio might make us feel how we felt at the very beginning… when RF first surprised us.

In this video, I talk about what originally hooked me, why that first spark can never quite be repeated, and where the magic actually lives now. This isn’t about brands or reviews – it’s about curiosity, discovery, and why this hobby still matters long after the first radio.

I’d love to hear your story too. What was the moment that hooked you?

Most people think YouTube videos sound bad because of microphones, compression, or creators doing something wrong.

Often, it isn’t.

In this video I’m talking about the viewer side of YouTube – the things you control but probably never touch. Audio choices. Playback speed. Subtitles – including moving them so they don’t get in the way.

These aren’t tricks or hacks. They’re just tools that already exist, quietly improving the experience if you let them.

A small change to how you listen can make a bigger difference than new speakers, headphones, or blaming the algorithm.

Watch it properly.
Use the controls.
Enjoy the video.

Using antenna modelling and real-world experience, this video explores why long-haul DX depends so heavily on radiation angle, why low-angle radiation is difficult to achieve, and why antenna height matters far more than many people realise.

This is not about finding the “best” antenna. It’s about understanding what actually changes when we alter height, length, and geometry – and why frustration in amateur radio so often comes from using the right antenna at the wrong time.

All antennas discussed are practical, coax-fed, and easy to match at 50 ohms. Efficiency is not the argument here. The focus is purely on radiation behaviour and take-off angle.

Topics include:

– Radiation angle and take-off angle
– Vertical, dipole, and loop behaviour
– Benchmarking antennas at low angles
– Ground effects and coastal locations
– Noise on the low bands and receive-only antenna options

This is a stand-alone, long-form explanation intended to build understanding rather than offer shortcuts.

00:00 Intro
01:32 Radiation Angles
04:30 Benchmarking
05:17 Basic Propagation
06:20 Q/Wave Verticals
08:53 3/4 Wave Vertical
09:50 5/8 Vertical
10:55 1.75 Wavelength Vertical
11:28 Inverted L
12:17 Flat Top Dipoles
16:18 Inverted V DIpole
19:06 Z Shaped Dipoles
20:46 Current Distribution Verticals
21:17 Verticals by the ocean
22:44 Small Multiband Loops
26:30 Multi Wavlength Loops
28:29 160m MEGA Loop
31:02 Vertical Monoband Loop
34:23 EFHW Thoughts
35:25 Conclusions
37:45 Low Band Noise Options
40:04 Final Constuction Tips

Real-world antenna maintenance: I drop the tower on the winch, discover why one of the 20m elements has gone AWOL, and do a quick fix before getting it back up again. Nothing dramatic – just how antennas actually behave out in the field… because 8 × antennas and 2 × radios means 16 times more problems!

Filmed off-the-cuff while larking around, with a bit of colour grading for fun. If you enjoy the practical side of keeping things working, you’ll feel right at home.

Here’s the link to the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckcAraHP2dhzpa7uFJXKcs3QTwCvDZjgUs1MpCjNqUnAvdKA/viewform?usp=dialog

(Shout if it doesn’t work!)

Cheers, Callum

I often say "just run a vertical up a tree and throw some radials down" – but I realised I’d never actually shown it properly.

So in this video, I build a 20m tree-supported vertical entirely from scrap: old wire, abandoned radials, questionable coax, and whatever I could find in the workshop.

No spreadsheets. No perfection. Just get something in the air and test it.

Once it was up, I compared it directly against my main field vertical using a proper A/B WSPR test – same band, same power, same stations, swapping antennas every two minutes.

The result? Doing it "properly" still buys you margin and calmness on receive – but a tree canopy and a simple ground system do not suddenly make HF impossible.

Which is good news. Because it means if all you’ve got is a bit of wire and a tree, you’re not excluded from the game.

https://youtu.be/c845_k48EjI – The full ABABAB method.

Enjoy your radio — and try something for yourself! Callum.