GENERAL FAQ
Q: Do I have to use PayPal to make payment?
Q: Why won't the shopping cart system
work for me?
Q: How are orders shipped?
Q: How long will it take to receive my
order?
Q: Can I get something custom built?
Q: Do you make foreign sales, and how
is shipping handled?
Q: Where are DPDP products made?
Q: Are any of your products available
in stores?
Q: How do you handle returns?
ANTENNA FAQ
Q: What makes one antenna better than
another?
Q: Why do you say the LP is better than
a discone?
Q: Can the outdoor models be used inside?
Q: Can the indoor 'Blade' models be used
outside?
Q: Will I be able to hear stuff other
than what the antenna was designed for?
Q: How well will I be able to receive
stuff?
Q: I've seen other antennas for less
money. What about those?
Q: Will I only hear things in one direction
on the LP directional antennas?
Q: Do I have to have a rotator to use
one of the LP antennas?
Q: Why can't I mount the LP antenna horizontally?
Q: Where can I purchase pre-made coax
cables, with the connectors I need?
Q: Do I have to use PayPal to make payment?
A: No you don't... If you prefer to make a purchase using another
form of payment, please email
us. But, please be aware that PayPal no longer requires
you to keep an account or save your info with them to make a
purchase. You fill in your information just like other shopping
cart systems, and can then choose NOT to save your info in the
PayPal system at the end of the transaction.
Q: Why won't the shopping cart system work for me?
A: Make sure you're running the latest version of your browser.
Also make sure you have Java turned on in the browser preferences,
as well as have it set to accept cookies. If you still have
problems, please email
us.
Q: How are orders shipped?
A: Usually by USPS Priority to US destinations. Foreign
orders may be shipped in various ways, depending on the destination.
Please email us
for a foreign shipping quote. Don't forget to include your city
and postal code.
Q: How long will it take to receive my order?
A: Every attempt is made to get orders out as soon as possible.
However, we are a small company, and as such, we aren't always
able to do the instant 24/7 type of shipping that many larger
companies can. On occasion we will have a run on a particular
item and that item will become backordered, or have a short
waiting period before it goes out. If that's the case, a note
will be posted for that product on the web site. Once products
are shipped they usually take 3-6 business days to arrive at
US destinations. This does not include holidays or weekends.
It also takes longer for foreign shipments, depending on the
destination.
Q: Can I get something custom built?
A: It all depends... If the product you'd like falls within
the basic design of what we already offer, it may be possible
to create what you're looking for. Details of what you need
should be sent by email
to us so we can talk about it further. All efforts will
be made to fill a custom order, if at all possible.
Q: Do you make foreign sales, and how is shipping handled?
A: We try to sell outside the US, but it's necessary to contact
us regarding that, as it all depends on the country. Shipping
can often be an issue with parcels that are deemed 'over-sized'
by shippers.
Q: Where are DPDP products made?
A: All DPDP base antenna products are made right here in the
US by us. And when we say "made", we don't mean simply
designed by us, then out-sourced for manufacturing to China
or some other country... We mean that they're physically made
here by us. Some mobile product components do come from other
sources, but most also come from the US.
Q: Are any of your products available in stores?
A: Not at this time... All DPDP products are sold directly through
this web site, in an effort to try and keep costs as low as
possible.
Q: How do you handle returns?
A: Due to the nature of the products, merchandise is considered
to be in a 'used' condition as soon as it's installed. Therefore
we typically cannot accept returns based purely on whether the
customer simply likes something or not. Being a small business,
we cannot afford to have products "tried out", because
the product can no longer be sold as new once it has been used.
However, we will work with the customer to try and do everything
we can to offer support and bring satisfaction. If for some
reason the product is defective and a part cannot be sent to
repair the product, we will then accept the product as a return
to fix or replace. The customer is ultimately responsible for
any damage incurred during installation. Unauthorized returns
will NOT be accepted and returned to the sender.
ANTENNA FAQ
Q: What makes one antenna better than another?
A: There's two basic things that determine how well an antenna
will perform... The amount of elements it has (not including
ground plane or duplicate elements), and how closely it's tuned
to the frequency you are trying to hear. That's it! It doesn't
matter how fancy something looks, or what the claims are. Every
time you add an element, you increase gain, and the smaller
the amount of bandwidth an antenna try's to cover, the better
it will perform. Saying something is "25-1300 full coverage"
means nothing when it comes to performance... An antenna designed
to cover one portion of a band, will perform better than one
trying to cover everything. An antenna that has multiple stacked
elements (horizontally or vertically) will perform better than
any single element antenna. Any type of ground plane antenna
is basically zero gain. Same goes for a discone. A dipole is
slightly better, but still the same when compared to each other.
Those are all basically single element antennas. If you want
more performance, you have to use antennas that have stacked
elements, and also focus on the band/frequency you are operating
on. Yes, this means the antenna can be fairly big. It also means
you may have to use a directional antenna. Typically a directional
antenna is the only way you will be able to attempt maximum
performance. This is why the traditional TV antenna has always
looked the way it has. It's physically impossible for an antenna
to perform really well, cover all bands, be 100% omni-directional,
AND be small. Unfortunately, nature just doesn't work that way.
When looking for a good basic antenna, don't fall for gimmicks...
Look for quality. You may think you're saving a lot of money
by going with a $29.95 special, but if it falls apart after
a year, then it's not such a great deal is it?
Q: Why do you say the LP is better than a discone?
A: A typical ground plane or discone is basically 0 gain or
worse. There's a common misconception that a directional antenna
will only receive signals in the direction it's pointed, which
is why many people think they need a discone for wide-band omni
performance. True, directional antennas *can* be fairly deaf
to the sides and back, but they can also be designed not to
be. The DPD Productions LP antennas are designed to have fairly
good reception to the sides and back. This means you're still
getting 360 degree coverage with the LP. Plus, you get the added
gain in the direction the antenna is pointed. The common misconception
of: "I don't want a directional antenna because I won't
be able to hear stuff all around me" is not true.
Q: Can the outdoor models be used inside?
A: Yes, but they were designed to be used outside. If you're
an apartment or condominium dweller, you may want to consider
an indoor model. You could possibly mount an outdoor model in
the attic though, or on a balcony.
Q: Can the indoor Blade models be used outside?
A: If there's a protected spot outside where it will not
come directly in contact with the elements, you could probably
leave it there for fairly long periods without any problem.
The antenna was designed for indoor use though.
Q: Will I be able to hear stuff other than what the
antenna was designed for?
A: Yes... All antennas are capable of hearing bands other
than the one they were designed for... That's why advertising
an antenna as being 25 to 1300 MHz "full coverage",
really isn't any great thing. It's just a matter of *how well*
an antenna will receive multiple bands. Contrary to what many
manufacturers would have you believe, there is no such thing
as an antenna that has a high level of performance along a very
wide bandwidth (ie: 25 - 1300 MHz). Every antenna has high points
of resonance, and low points of resonance. Typically, the wider
an antenna is in bandwidth, the lower the performance will be
on any single band. That's why having antennas designed for
specific bands is always best. But even using antennas designed
for a specific band will typically still allow you to hear other
nearby bands. A good thing to do is decide what band you need
improved reception on most, and what bands come in fairly well
no matter what. If you live in a large city, the 800-900 bands
usually come in fairly well. Simplex type communications on
VHF are often more difficult to receive. In that instance, having
a dedicated VHF antenna would probably be good, since you would
get the best performance on VHF, but still be able to hear the
UHF signals.
Q: How well will I be able to receive stuff?
A: This question is almost impossible to answer. It depends
on how close you are to the transmissions, your elevation, the
topography, and many other things.
Q: I've seen other antennas for less money. What about
those?
A: No doubt, there are less expensive antennas out there.
But if you compare features and parts, you'll find in most cases
that the cheap antennas being offered by other companies don't
compare. For instance... Our Blade Indoor Models include RG8/X
cable... Most companies include off brand RG58 cable, if any
cable at all. The Outdoor Vertical Models include an N connector...
Most companies use the cheaper, less weather resistant UHF connector.
The standard connectors on all the DPDP antenna models are clamp/solder
type... Most companies use the cheaper crimp-on connectors.
All the DPDP outdoor models include mounting hardware... That's
extra on many other people's antennas. The simple fact is that
most $20-30 antennas you see advertised won't even make it through
a decent winter. The majority of these types of products are
produced by large corporations that have everything made overseas
by cheap foreign labor. It's virtually impossible to make a
quality product in the US, using US citizens, and still be able
to charge competitively low prices. Often people who own $5000
or more worth of radios say they don't want to spend more than
$50 on an antenna. In radio, you have to take the whole system
into consideration... Any system is only as good as its weakest
link. Yes, radios are more fun to spend money on, with all their
buttons and lights... But a good antenna and cable is just as
important. Plus, if you have to replace a cheap antenna every
other year, it's not such a great deal in the end.
Q: Will I only hear things in one direction on the LP
directional antennas?
A: No! The LP antennas don't function as if you are hearing
things through a tube from just one direction. You will still
hear signals from all directions, often times as good as a basic
omni type antenna would. The LP antennas just hear signals best
in the direction they are pointed. This type of antenna can
be designed numerous ways... In the design process, you have
a choice of making an antenna that is very directional, or one
that is directional, but still has good omni ability... The
DPDP LPs were designed to have respectable omni ability, as
well as improved performance directionally.
Q: Do I have to have a rotator to use one of the LP
antennas?
A: Absolutely not... A rotator can help if you want to
turn the antenna to hear best in the direction a certain signal
is coming from. Otherwise, you can mount the antenna in the
direction you are most interested in, and you'll still get decent
reception from other directions.
Q: Why can't I mount the LP antenna horizontally?
A: Configuring the antenna to be horizontal would be counter-productive.
Virtually all the signals you want to hear are typically polarized
vertically. Using an antenna that has opposite polarization
from the one that is transmitting, will usually lower the performance
quite a bit.
Q: Where can I purchase pre-made coax cables with the
connectors I need?
A: Try http://www.thewireman.com
They offer many types of coax and can custom make a cable with
the connectors you need.
