RF Systems DX10 Antenna - update

Well I am the first to admit when I am wrong, and in the case of the DX10 antenna I think I was a little unfair as since my last post I decided to give it a fairer test. In the sales blurb about it 12 years ago I read it can be used indoors. This is just not true. It is a useless antenna indoors on all its operating range of LF to HF. It simply picks up all the noise, amplifies it and throws it at your receiver. It was misleading to advertise it in this way and at £200 I disagree with the comment RF Systems make in the leaflet about it being low cost. If you want an indoor antenna, make a small loop for a fiver. That is low cost and will null out, to varying degrees, much of the noise.

But mounted about 3m above ground and outside the noise field of the house, it is rather good and although I have only had it up for 24 hours I don't think it will be coming down again in a hurry.

On medium wave (both broadcast and maritime sections) it is superb and outperforms my indoor loops for those bands. And an the 15 and 17mhz broadcast bands it is smashing as well.

I have updated this paragraph as I realise this antenna is also extremely good all the way through the LF beacon band and down into the VLF portion of the spectrum. I have tuned my DX394 with it all the way down to 1khz and it is a superb performer an all the eerie and unusual VLF utility stations. I think the excellent performance in this area only became apparent once I had securely clamped the metal base of the DX10 onto the aluminum washing line pole. Whilst simply hanging from the washing line the LF performance was mediocre at best.

On HF on all the lower bands, broadcast and utility, it is just as good as my tuned indoor loop but of course I don't need to do any tuning or rotating to nul out the noise from inside the house, so it is a pleasure to use, and I can hop around from frequency to frequency checking for the best one quickly and effortlessly.

The only area where the indoor loop seems better is on 6mhz where, for instance, Gander Volmet has a lower noise floor and is thus more readable on the indoor loop. But that's when indoor noise is low. I haven't tested it when the indoor noise floor is S9 with plasma TVs and pcs from next door all emitting their dreadful din.

So there you have it.

Here is a photo of it on a wet June afternoon here in England, with Bradley, my Jack Russell watching the proceedings!