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Reviews For: Diamond CX 310A 3 Position Coax switch

Category: Antenna Switching, Phasing, Controllers

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Review Summary For : Diamond CX 310A 3 Position Coax switch
Reviews: 13MSRP: 83.95
Description:
Heavy Duty Wideband 3 position Coax Switch. Frequency: DC-800 MHz. Power: 1.5KW DC-30 MHz, 1 KW 30-150 MHz, 500w 150-800 MHz. Connector: SO-239.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/index.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00134.7
N5XJT Rating: 2020-10-15
A Good Quality Switch Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
No issues with this one - replaced a malfunctioning switch from "that company" with very good results. No inter-action or bleed over of any type. Handles 1kw with no problems or over heating. Well built and a solid "kerchunk" switch action. It's a keeper so far.
G4VRR Rating: 2020-09-02
Not Great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
These switches ( I have a three-way and a two-way) both look good and operate with a satisfying clunk that instills a sensation of confidence. Unfortunately, the unselected switch positions are not auto shorted from coaxial centre to braid / screen. Although two stars seems short shrift, this is the reason why I have rated it / them to "needs help". I have gone back to my trusty Daiwa switches which were engineered sensibly to short out the unused switch positions. What a shame and a missed opportunity by Diamond Antenna? Clearly I would not consider purchasing again in their currently marketed configuration.
N4SL Rating: 2020-09-02
Excellent Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Same comments as everyone else: very high quality switch, I replaced my old switches with these and couldn’t be happier.

Using them 1.8 - 144 MHz at 1500W for a year with no issues.

VE7REN Rating: 2018-04-09
exceptional quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
i own the cx-210 for 2 years and found the quality ,excellent. now i needed another position,and without any question,i ordered the 3 pole. heavy brute with good hard indent in each position.. don't waste your time on others.i like many diamond products. ide buy again
K6IOU Rating: 2017-02-11
Great Switch Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have 4 of these in daily use in the shack. I like the positive 'detent' action of the switch and the general overall solid quality.

I also have one Diamond CX210 2-position switch and like it as well.
KE6TDT Rating: 2016-11-24
Super heavy duty switch Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I compared the weight of this switch to a larger 4-position switch at HRO recently. The Diamond CX 310A 3-position switch was noticeably heavier. The surprised clerk agreed.

When switching it feels stout and audibly clicks between positions. The quality and workmanship of the Diamond coax switch appears top shelf quality and works very well. I highly recommend this switch to anyone who needs a 3 position coax switch.



N7SOC Rating: 2015-08-01
nice switch Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
a nice solid feeling switch that I bought because of the Diamond brand. However, all of a sudden I started having intermittent continuity with the antenna... switch? cables? tuner? transceiver? After a second exploration into the switch I discovered the broken connections on a couple of the so239 center pins. soldered them up and good to go again. good construction with silver contacts and 239's. would buy again but interesting to know that brand "M" is not the only one with faults. will still give 5 points for this; maybe I connected cables to it too often???
KH6DC Rating: 2010-08-22
Excellent Switch Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got this to use 2 rigs and analyzer with 1 antenna but then sold 1 radio. Still it's a great switch and well built, bomb proof. It's feels sturdier than the MFJ switch I got from a local ham which died and started shorting out the center conductor and shield. Will buy definitely buy another if the need arises.
KG6POG Rating: 2007-06-29
Great Value Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I had been using a Diawa CN-201, and it was great, but I had put up another antenna and needed a 3 or 4 way coax switch. I have two inputs in my radio and 2 in my Tuner, but with two dipoles a Titan DX a 6 meter beam and a Cushcarft MA5B I needed to make room for one more antenna anyway.

I read reviews on the other switches and decided to just go with a product I knew. I've run over 1 Kw through the switch and have touched it just to see if it was getting hot, but it was room temp.

Also as someone else has said I have not seen any loss with this switch, even when running high power.

For the money it's a great buy and works great.
TF3JB Rating: 2007-04-21
A great antenna switch Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased the Diamond CX-310A three position manual coaxial antenna switch. This switch comes with SO-239 connectors, can handle up to 1500 Watts on HF and works to 800 MHz. Other specifications are also good for this price, i.e. a low insertion loss, low VSWR and good isolation (60 dB or better up to 500 MHz). It cost me about USD 130 to import one to this country.

Having used this switch extensively now for over two months (experimenting a lot with antennas) I am pleased to report that it fulfills my requirements. To date I have mostly been using it on HF, but also on VHF with no problems there of SWR (which can be a problem with other brands). Switching it, there is an audible click and it is just a little bit stiff. But I like that; because you are in no doubt that you are in a new position. Also, I like to point out that the SO-239’s are well separated and mounted at different angles. This is important, because it means that there is good working space when you want to connect or disconnect your antenna plugs.

The switch is rather heavy (almost 600g) which is useful, because I keep it loose on the desk in the shack (although it comes with two predrilled holes for mounting). Using it like that, it is remarkably stable, thanks to wide rubber strips that are on its back and keep it stationary (and also from damaging the desk’s surface). As has been pointed out by another reviewer, there are only 4 mating positions on the SO-239 for the two small positioning tabs on the PL-259. I agree, that you need to take care when you are mating the PL-259’s. However, in my case this is something that does not bother me; once I was aware of this design it was not a problem.

For those hams working mostly above 200 MHz it might be advisable to purchase this unit with N connectors (about 35% more expensive here in Europe), since PL-259 connectors start to show losses above 200 MHz whereas the N connectors are of more quality and rated to 11 GHz.

In closing I might add that I like the overall design of the CX-310A; it is compact and has a feeling of quality about it. Nevertheless, I must admit that I wondered at first (when I opened the box) whether I would ever come to terms with the unusual light green color of the switching knob. Well, that has changed and today I would not have it any other way. I can highly recommend this antenna switch to all hams.