Few months ago I have decided to resurrect my 20 year old HyGain DX-88 vertical antenna again. It was a very good idea.
I have been able to participate in the European FreeDV nets every second Thursday. I have been able to talk to exotic places now that 15, 12 and 10 meters have been open for several week. Below is a screenshot taken November 1st, showing 20 to 30 MHz. I don’t remember the last time I have seen so much activity on 12 and 10 meters.
It is also a superb antenna for receiving the ham bands. The screenshot below shows a comparison of the DX-88 to my home made PA0RDT miniwhip between DC and 10 MHz. We can clearly see that the DX-88 is tuned for specific bands (80 and 40 meters) whereas the miniwhip has a pretty much flat response over the whole range. The DX-88 attenuates signals outside the ham bands, but it will deliver much stronger signals on 80 and 40 compared to the miniwhip.
The antennas compare similarly on higher frequencies. Above 22 MHz the miniwhip starts to become very quiet as you can also experience it for yourself on the Wide-band WebSDR at the University of Twente. However, the DX-88 receives many signals not heard using the miniwhip.