Products & Product Reviews

New Product Spotlight: WiMo X-Quad and Big Wheel Antennas

In its constant pursuit to find the best ham radio products from around the world and make them available to operators in North America, DX Engineering is thrilled to announce the addition of several stellar products from WiMo that we’ll be highlighting in OnAllBands in the weeks to come. Based in Herxheim, Germany, WiMo is one of Europe’s largest suppliers of amateur radio gear.

DX Engineering carries WiMo-manufactured Kelemen trap dipole antennas; EAntenna verticals, rotatable dipoles, log periodic antennas, and Yagis; and InnovAntennas multi-band HF beams), as well as branded WiMo equipment, such as the QRM Eliminator—a simple signal phasing device that reduces or removes noise interference for dramatically improved HF reception. What do hams say about the QRM Eliminator?

Five Stars: “This unit is excellent at removing QRM and is well worth the price! The unit is well built and the clear instructions make the installation easy!”

Since we’re entering “antenna installation/repair season,” let’s start with two new powerful antennas from WiMo to put on your must-have list.

X-Quad Antennas for 144-146 and 430-440 MHz

A refined version of VHF and UHF cross-polarized Yagis, WiMo’s lightweight and short-length X-Quad (well-known in Europe as a multi-element quad) comes loaded with special features made with amateur operators in mind: switchable polarization plane (horizontal/vertical/circular right/circular left/diagonal); high gain compared to other antenna forms due to its stacked elements, boom length, and compact design; end-boom or mid-boom centered mounting capabilities; and usefulness in operating satellites. The X-Quad can be optimally used for the desired polarization by simply changing the feed. All secondary elements (directors, reflectors) are active, which allows for its small profile. The X-Quad’s elements are all electrically conductively connected with boom and cable outer sheath, eliminating interference from static charges. These well-built split-boom antennas feature aluminum boom and elements, and stainless steel hardware.

Developed exclusively for WiMo, four models of mast-mountable and weatherproofed Remote Polarization Switches (for 2M, 300W or 800W; and 70cm, 200W or 600W) allow users to easily select planes on the X-Quad and third-party cross-polarized Yagis for maximum convenience and performance. Selectable polarization planes are horizontal, vertical, right-hand circular and left-hand circular. These mast-mountable, weatherproof relay boxes come equipped with Type-N connectors, mast clamp, and required 4-pin plug for the control cable. 

Big Wheel 6M, 2M, and 70cm Antennas

These omni-directional, horizontally polarized antennas make an ideal companion to deploy along with a directional beam antenna to make sure you don’t miss that rare contact that may otherwise be lost. Great for weak signal work in SSB, CW or digital modes, they are constructed from stainless aluminum and stainless steel hardware. These unique antennas come in 6M (50-52 MHz, 1,000W, 141.7″ diameter), 2M (144-146 MHz, 500W, 47.2″ diameter), and 70cm (430-440 MHz, 200W, 13.4″ diameter) versions. Users can expect gains of around 3dBD (vertical stacking of two Big Wheels will help you achieve gains of approximately 5dBD with a monoband power divider or coaxial phasing harness that connects two same-band antennas to one coax feedline). Antennas feature low-loss Type-N connectors. Enter “WiMo Big Wheel” at DXEngineering.com for more details.

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