As some of you may remember from my previous articles, I have always been a wire antenna kinda guy. In fact, you could say I’ve been the poster child for “100 watts and a wire.” But I stalled out between 100 and 200 countries DXing. I started asking, “Self, what can we do to get moving forward?”
Of course, in our hobby, everyone is an expert and more than willing to give you advice. The first and most popular suggestion was to put up a 70-foot tower and a tri-band beam. Others recommended a hexbeam, which still required a tower. And still others recommended ground-mounted verticals like the Butternut HF9V—a proven choice that has yielded amazing DX results for decades.
Having always prided myself on successful wire deployments, I also considered a 160M loop. I had the trees and the real estate to put up to 540 feet of wire, so it was a possibility. But I did not think I could get it high enough in the air to effectively improve my DXing ability.
I became intrigued by DX Commander antennas, available exclusively in North America through DX Engineering. They are in essence ground-mounted verticals that use precision-cut wires to give resonance on each band. In my simple way of thinking, it worked like a vertically oriented fan dipole. I decided to find out which version would work best for me.
In the midst of my research, I came across a used DX Commander Signature 18 Nebula eXtreme HF Multiband Vertical Antenna that was pretty much left for trash. I saw such great potential— potential to acquire one of the most popular brands of antennas AND do so for very little out of pocket. And in true Troy fashion, the 59-foot Nebula was the biggest antenna DX Commander makes.
That meant I would not only have to sell my wife on the idea of a ground-mounted antenna with radials, but also one that required guy wires. After a little dream building and some negotiation, she saw the benefit of this over what we had. And I agreed to remove one of the five wire antennas that were currently up. She is such a great supporter of my hobby and hair-brained ideas.
Over the next couple of months, I would completely inventory and evaluate the used kit I was resurrecting. I determined I would need some new mast clamps, some shock cord as it was completely gone, and some wire as I did not know the precision with which they cut the elements.
I also opted to have a Nebula replacement mast on hand since I did not really know the true condition of the one in the used kit I had acquired. It looked okay, but with thin wall fiberglass, you never know.
Although I have lots of rope, I thought it best to go with new guy rope and earth anchors. So, all in all, I would be into this project for about $300. Not bad as long as it all came together like I thought it should.
By this time, winter was setting in here in northern Ohio, so nothing would happen until spring. I spent the winter watching countless YouTube videos on construction and use of the antenna. I also used this time to give fair warning to the team I would need to get this up.
Spring came and went. It is always a busy time for everyone, and we could not get the antenna in the air. Finally, we made plans for late summer. We waited for the heatwave to pass and set the date.
In preparation for the antenna party, I emailed the instruction manual to the install team a couple of weeks out, reconfirmed that all necessary parts and tools were present, cut the radials and installed connectors, and made sure the grass was cut fairly short before we began.
This antenna is definitely a multi-person installation. But even so, I highly recommend doing as much of the preparatory work as possible before the day you plan to erect it. I also kept all the “spare parts” I purchased separate on the chance we did not need them and they could be returned.
Aside from the actual antenna supplies, I made sure to have coolers full of water on hand. A club member brought biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and my wife prepared lunch. I had everything taken care of and we were ready to have the big day.
In the next article we’ll discuss the actual erection of the DX Commander Signature 18 Nebula Antenna.
Until next time, 73!
