Been looking for the 220R but no one has them in stock. The 220 is though in a few places. The R that much better? I emailed Diamond but no reply.
Diamond D220 vs 220R ?
- Thread starter bearcatrp
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I was going to buy the D220 but found out it was recently replaced by the D220R, and that's what I bought. From what I can see the only difference is the top vertical element, which would be for the lower end of the frequency coverage. The overAlso the dBi claims are a little bit lower in the newer D220R. For a scanner receive only antenna it's unlikely you would ever be able to detect a differece. The overall lenght of the D220R is 7.9 shorter. I have mine on a 6" magmount on top of a file cabinet in my office. It does not need a metal ground plane.
It makes an excellent dual-band aircraft antenna!
This stainless steel antenna is 35.5 inches (0.9m) (with a 8.5 inch maximum diameter). The mast and mount is not supplied. Weight is 1.2 lbs.(385g).
The D220 terminates to a 50 ohm male UHF [PL259] type connector. This will fit directly into PO type mounts, thus making it appropriate for some mobile applications. Click here to view package
For a complete review of this antenna please see CQ Magazine January 2006.
The Diamond D220R mini discone antenna receives solid from 100 to 1600 MHz! It can also be used for transmit on 144, 430, 904, 1200 MHz (under 50 watts). Gain is 2.15dBi (144/904/1200MHz) and 3.4dBi (440MHz) VSWR <1.5:1. The discone design offers the best performance possible in an omni-directional antenna.
This stainless steel antenna is 27.6 inches (0.9m) (with a 8.5 inch maximum diameter). The mast and mount is not supplied. Weight is 0.8 lbs.
The D220R terminates to a 50 ohm male UHF [PL259] type connector. This will fit directly into PO type mounts, thus making it appropriate for some mobile applications.
I plan on using it my house until spring. The use it on camping trips.
I found a Video showing the D220R
Saw that while searching for one. Bummed I cannot find one. May grab a plain 220.
The top element is about a 1/8" stainless rod, held in with a set screw. You could make your own, or replace it with one already available from another antenna.
Is the bottom elements the same as the D version?
According to the documentation for the D220 yes:
[source]
DX ENGINEERING
Order or Technical Related Email
dxengineering@dxengineering.com
Phone Sales
1-800-777-0703 / 1-330-572-3200
If I could find a cable with the correct ends already made, would order the 220. Since the 220 ends with a male, need a female on one end and male on other end. Already picked up a jumper.
My mag-mount has a SO-239 on it's base which mates with the PL-259 on the antenna's mini-mast. On the other end of the cable it's a PL-259, so I just use a SO-239 to BNC male adapter. You can find mag-mounts with the right stuff on both ends, or a cable made up however you want it.
Have looked at 5 websites today. All male male or female sma. Don’t want an adapter if I can find the right cable. Need about 15 feet.
As I said, you can get exactly what you want made up for a resonable cost.
I emailed DX about making the cable I want, plus to make sure the D220 is actually in stock. Been away from anything coax for a good while so not sure what’s good and what is not. Does look like coax has changed in the last 20 years though.
Didn't you discuss your needs with them? 15' won't make a difference.
I just need a little extra for when I take it camping. Will attach it to a 10 foot metal pole against my camper.
Did you try HRO? i got both of mine from them. They work Great. Mine are up on an Metal housing on the roof.
HRO was out of stock in all there stores. Been emailing DX Engineering to get the right cable I needed. They helped allot so placed my order with them.
Is the same rule about coiling coax still bad these days? Used to be years ago but thought I would ask.
Is the same rule about coiling coax still bad these days? Used to be years ago but thought I would ask.
I'm suprised Scanner Master doesn't carry the D220R or at least show it available for ordering. I think it would be a good seller!
prcguy
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The Discone portion of either version of the 220 is very small and would be in the range of 300-400MHz on up not including the top whip. Not sure what the top whip is tuned for but they would be idiots to tune it in the UHF or higher range where it would interfere with the lower Discone section. At the very least the top whip covers some of the VHF frequency range but the cone elements are too small to provide a good ground plane for the VHF. A similar top whip on a metal pie tin would work better for the VHF range. I also think the gain claims for the D220 are numbers they pulled out of a hat.
If I had a D220 series Discone I would throw away the top whip and only use it for UHF through whatever its top frequency range is. I currently have a similar tiny Discone from Maxrad and on 800/900MHz its performs about 10dB better than a Radio Shack Discone in the same range because the larger Scanner Discones radiation pattern shifts upward away from the horizon above 400-500Mhz and performance is poor up there. An ideal Discone setup is one I have with a larger Discone covering the 100 to 500MHz range, then a smaller one covering 500MHz to several GHz, both feeding a diplexer to a single feedline.
If I had a D220 series Discone I would throw away the top whip and only use it for UHF through whatever its top frequency range is. I currently have a similar tiny Discone from Maxrad and on 800/900MHz its performs about 10dB better than a Radio Shack Discone in the same range because the larger Scanner Discones radiation pattern shifts upward away from the horizon above 400-500Mhz and performance is poor up there. An ideal Discone setup is one I have with a larger Discone covering the 100 to 500MHz range, then a smaller one covering 500MHz to several GHz, both feeding a diplexer to a single feedline.
Below are the specs on the D220R:
"The Diamond D220R mini discone antenna receives solid from 100 to 1600 MHz! It can also be used for transmit on 144, 430, 904, 1200 MHz (under 50 watts). Gain is 2.15dBi (144/904/1200MHz) and 3.4dBi (440MHz) VSWR <1.5:1. The discone design offers the best performance possible in an omni-directional antenna.
This stainless steel antenna is 27.6 inches (0.9m) (with a 8.5 inch maximum diameter). The mast and mount is not supplied. Weight is 0.8 lbs."
In order to transmit at 144MHz and considering this is actually intended to be used for mobile amature radio, wouldn't the VHF performance be acceptable if not better? All I know without getting technical as I'm not qualified to do so, for me it performs excellent as a VHF/UHF aircraft antenna and that's what I bought it for, so I'm happy. Regarding actual dBi, I don't have the means to formally test it and from what I've heard just about every manufactures dBi claims are bogus so I don't worry about it. My needs are not that critical.
"The Diamond D220R mini discone antenna receives solid from 100 to 1600 MHz! It can also be used for transmit on 144, 430, 904, 1200 MHz (under 50 watts). Gain is 2.15dBi (144/904/1200MHz) and 3.4dBi (440MHz) VSWR <1.5:1. The discone design offers the best performance possible in an omni-directional antenna.
This stainless steel antenna is 27.6 inches (0.9m) (with a 8.5 inch maximum diameter). The mast and mount is not supplied. Weight is 0.8 lbs."
In order to transmit at 144MHz and considering this is actually intended to be used for mobile amature radio, wouldn't the VHF performance be acceptable if not better? All I know without getting technical as I'm not qualified to do so, for me it performs excellent as a VHF/UHF aircraft antenna and that's what I bought it for, so I'm happy. Regarding actual dBi, I don't have the means to formally test it and from what I've heard just about every manufactures dBi claims are bogus so I don't worry about it. My needs are not that critical.
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