anyone do a homebrew OmniX?

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blueangel-eric

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I always wanted to try a OmniX but man the scanner and ham antennas have gone up in price in the last 5 years or more. I thought the OmniX was $70 5 years ago.

has anyone tried to build a homebrew version?
 

doublescan

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homebrew antennas

That's an interesting idea. I'll probably try that eventually, have to see what kind of materials it would take. That's an aircraft band antenna, if I remember the advertising. Or perhaps they also make an aircraft version. Either way, it'd be fun to try, since I've zeroed in on the comm aircraft band most of the time.
On another note, I copied an Antennacraft FM-dipole design last week, and cut up an old OTA antenna boom and made one. I believe it works as good as their FM6 outdoor antenna for FM, which I already have. The dipole isn't as directional as the FM6, of course.
 
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blueangel-eric

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That's an interesting idea. I'll probably try that eventually, have to see what kind of materials it would take. That's an aircraft band antenna, if I remember the advertising. Or perhaps they also make an aircraft version. Either way, it'd be fun to try, since I've zeroed in on the comm aircraft band most of the time.
On another note, I copied an Antennacraft FM-dipole design last week, and cut up an old OTA antenna boom and made one. I believe it works as good as their FM6 outdoor antenna for FM, which I already have. The dipole isn't as directional as the FM6, of course.

The OmniX is a multiband scanner antenna. http://www.dpdproductions.com/page_scanner.html#omnix It would be nice to build one on the cheap. god antennas are getting too expensive these days. no way am i going to pay over a hundred dollars for a scanner antenna. i always thought it would be neat to build or buy a scantenna that's made out of ham quality aluminum elements but dang that would be a $150+ antenna if you bought one new made like that.
 

coupster

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I would need a scratch n dent sale to be able to afford that one. Looks pretty impressive, but I can't justify it - I'm cheap
 

DPD1

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Sorry guys, but it has to be what it has to be. It's not cheap running a business these days. Since I started, virtually everything has gone up substantially. There's nothing I use that isn't way higher in cost than when we started. I would love it if I could make everything cheap enough to make everybody happy, but it's just not possible. People can't live off $1.50 an hour like in other countries. Bottom line, if you charged those prices here, you'd be out of business. This is a very small niche market, and there isn't nearly enough volume to make up for those kinds of low prices. If stuff like this sold in the thousands every year, that would be different... but it is far from that. Anytime I've raised a price over the years, I also tried to at least add something to improve the item, so it's a compromise. I think we have some pretty good quality items compared to a lot of the stuff out there, but there's just no way to sell it at overseas prices. I would hope that people maybe consider that it is going to a small US business, and not just into the bank account of a giant corp like RadioShack, that gets virtually everything made overseas. We're just trying to make a living like everybody else. This is not a business that will make you rich by any means, trust me.
 

blueangel-eric

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Sorry guys, but it has to be what it has to be. It's not cheap running a business these days. Since I started, virtually everything has gone up substantially. There's nothing I use that isn't way higher in cost than when we started. I would love it if I could make everything cheap enough to make everybody happy, but it's just not possible. People can't live off $1.50 an hour like in other countries. Bottom line, if you charged those prices here, you'd be out of business. This is a very small niche market, and there isn't nearly enough volume to make up for those kinds of low prices. If stuff like this sold in the thousands every year, that would be different... but it is far from that. Anytime I've raised a price over the years, I also tried to at least add something to improve the item, so it's a compromise. I think we have some pretty good quality items compared to a lot of the stuff out there, but there's just no way to sell it at overseas prices. I would hope that people maybe consider that it is going to a small US business, and not just into the bank account of a giant corp like RadioShack, that gets virtually everything made overseas. We're just trying to make a living like everybody else. This is not a business that will make you rich by any means, trust me.

That's unfortunate that the aluminum and other building materials has gone up that much. i remember buying the Ringo Ranger 2 ARX-2B for $55 back in 03 and now it's like $110 last i checked a few years ago. Thanks for explaining the situation. I would buy from you if i had the money. being on a fixed income buying anything over $50 is a stretch for me. though buying anything is a stretch enough as it is these days.
 

doublescan

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omni x

Thanks for your comments Dave, I can appreciate what it must take to stay afloat these days, with materials, labor, endless govt regulation and requirements of running your business. I'm in the boat with Eric. I'd love to buy one of those Omni X antennas myself, but the money isn't there right now for it. I would like to try building something like it though, as Eric said, but just because I enjoy experimenting with antennas. Hopefully the economy will come back soon, and we can all spend money on things we want, not just the essentials. Best of luck to you in the future, lots of superior items on the DPD website!
 
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