Making a CB SkyLab design into a Ham Radio Tribander! 

How many commanders can a DX Commander command of a DX Commander could command commanders?

I had a commercial built one for 11 meters in the 80s. Worked well.

The Starduster was my first base antenna when I was 14 years old

a true work of art... If I had space for one I would buy the "big one"

Glad to see you are thinking about the 18meter pole with wideband CB or multi band version

Cracking Video Cal.. Good to see you back in the workshop & building stuff. Looking forward to part two. 👍

This is a great project Callum! I remember seeing the "starduster" as well as the "super scanner" on the rooftops of many homes here in Oregon. My dad had an avanti pdl2 and the avanti 5/8 wave vertical ground plane on our rooftop. The huge ice storm of 1979-80 rendered the total destruction of the pdl2, not even repairable. The vertical was arched over from the ice load but straightened back up when things thawed out.

The Starduster was one of the few commercially made antennas that didn't have a DC ground to the radiator. It has a low angle of radiation and it had good frequency range. It compared well to coaxial and 5/8 wave antennas. Supposedly it was rated for about 800 watts. I ran one with an Alpha 374 amplifier, with 3 ceramic tubes and it seemed to work alright, but when I took down the antenna, the RF had arced through the RG-213 coax to the mast pipe and melted the cable's jacket about a quarter wavelength down from the feed point of the antenna. The antenna was still working fairly well though.

I always learn some useful things when I watch your builds. I''m keen to see how this one flies. Your DX50 looks very tasty, it was good to see it's construction. 👍😊

Great video! This is a beast of multi band antenna. Built nice and Stout off the top of a proven system. British built to last ! You never cease to amaze us sir!

You're a genius!! Looking forward to the first test and on air results!!

Looking forward to the rest of it, cheers from across the pond

Great work Callum, always appreciate it Sir.

I love the way this is turning out for a prototype, the testing will be exceiting to how it performs. 73 Vic de KE8JWE

That's pretty cool Callum! Cant wait to see it on the air! My favorite part of Ham Radio has always been experimenting with antennas. 👍

Great video. The skylab antenna does very well in mmana-gal. Can't wait to see this antenna in action. But first things first. The building proces 😍😍

So, the radials are the guys? That's bloody clever!

Gave a thumbs up prior to the premier... looking forward to this one!

Thanks, Cal - wonderful project this Skylab design!

Very interesting. Can't wait to hear the results.

"And I'll let you google it". Best laugh I've had today.

Brilliant engineering Callum 👍

You forgot ‘Thunderpole’…. That was all the rage in the 80’s

Callum be verry carfull befor you somthing bad a bad the starduister, myn standig 18 jaar 19 meter boven in the air !!!! best antenne ever!!!!!

interesting, and perhaps add 6m and 4m as well

Best video yet !!!

Callum, I bought one of those 59 foot fiberglass poles from you specifically to build this antenna. It’s arrived and I’m ready to start. (Nicely made, alarmingly quick shipping!) I see you used 3m of wire for each of the ground radials, but no mention for what lengths you used for the 28 MHz and 24 MHz vertical elements especially the 21 MHz bit with the fold over (total length of wire and approximate fold over length?) I might be contacting you by email for the plastic spacer between the plates if I can’t bodge one up. Thanks, Dave K2CZH

just found you love what you are doing.

I am really looking forward to the results from the build as this is a concept I also thought about when my antenna farm was constrained to a roof too small to hold a 40m dipole. I didn't have a proper pole to try it myself and share the results but I'm sure you'll tinker enough to make the bottom part work without having too much interference from the line to the top part. Also I am really looking forward to you making a self-supported DX Commander antenna of any type without guying, as I have a great location for it and will most likely get one to put on top of a building with height 45m AGL with strong winds.

I think that is called a Proper Job :-)

we have been looking forward to this :)

Callum: “I’m taking a day off work.” Also Callum: building an antenna and recording it. 😂

Like it 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meter. I want one.

Nice work!

I'm expecting a positive result!! Jack K5FIT

Love a bit of prototyping! Glad you are putting this together as I asked you about sticking 2m/70cm on top and maybe a little fairy on the tip for Ghz. Raspberry Pi strapped to the base of the mast and a run of CAT6 back to the shack would make an awesome setup for us SDR listeners! Would have taken my Foundation License this month but my energy company has robbed all my money. Keep up the good work fella!

Unlike metal parts and their shavings, the nylon does not conduct heat, so all the friction heat is in the drill bit, I am unsure of why not just build verticle dipoles, I assume the angle of those radials makes the take off angle lower?

would be interesting to use radials that are 3/4 wave long as well as a 5/8 vertical using your fold over for impedance matching. would like to see this for 10/11m. thanks for the heads up! wish you good dx! \/

you’ll need to have tuned angled lower elements… the original star duster was a single band with a band width of 26.965-27.405 here in the US.

i do noth oderstad ,wha you dis noth in alumiuim? on your breins working verry good!!!!!!!

One day I hope to be able to afford a DX Comander

Very interesting too bad i would upset my property management by putting one up same with the half square

Very curious if this works. I've made a similair antenna in the past but I couldn't get it right. Hope to see you get it right so I will know what went wrong on my side.

Here's a stupid question for ya....why are 3 radials enough when elevated, but many more are needed if they're laying on the ground (or buried)?

DX Commander, Sir! , do you subscribe to the theory about jumper cables, needing to be a specific lenght?. When attching other components to your radio system?. maybe you already have a video on this subject and can point me in the right direction?. when you have time avail. for example I have 3 very solid well made jumper cables, at the 1 meter lenght . hanging lossly in a loop behind the radios, as i hoked us several ofther items inline. I am speaking in relation to the 10 and 11 meter bands. I thank you for your time and help. Cheers from Maine USA ! 73s

Sirio Antenna GP2745 Ground Plane 27-45 MHz Base Antenna

So it's a different type of a DX commander basically

So could we do 2m and 70cms?

Would it make sense to use a straight ground plate to keep the coax going straight down?

Why not just make the BOSS out of PU reducing the weight at the poles most vulnerable point

Help. Where is part 2 ?

ARRGH No Cal...Not a 2 parter LOL

lol 103” each I got one

Great, not going to believe me but this is the concept I was going to share with you once I buy and get the classic, but I just imagined for vhu and uhf, hope it works, saludos XE2GRC

I think you must have Bromsgrove RadioShack bugged literally I was talking to a few members about this on Friday evening . before you released any of the videos.🤔