35 years of DIPOL

The history of DIPOL goes back to 1990, when a group of enthusiasts first started to manufacture analog terrestrial TV and radio antennas. Just as was the case with many other companies at the time, its first production plant was located in the basement of one of its founders. Today, DIPOL is a manufacturing and distribution company that consists of multiple divisions and cooperates with factories all over the world. DIPOL not only sells a variety of products and provides technical support to its customers, but also engages in wide-ranging training and marketing activities.

LOGO

DIPOL's logo has changed four times during the 35 years of activity. The first one, designed by Piotr Waśniowski, was used up until 1993, when it was replaced with a new design by Łukasz Kozak, which in turn lasted until 1995. The third, also by Łukasz Kozak, was kept until 2007. The current, fourth logo is the brainchild of Piotr Felszyński.

THE ANTENNA THAT STARTED IT ALL

Originally offered for sale at electronic bazaars, DIPOL's antennas quickly became a sales hit. The company was soon able to move from its basement to a building in ul. Ciepłownicza 11 in Kraków, where it continues to reside to this day. Even though the number of staff kept growing and the manufacturing technology improved, the demand was so great that the company often struggled to meet its delivery targets.

Right from the start, DIPOL stood out for its high-quality products, meticulously prepared for the market. Its flagship product in the 1990s, the ASP-8 antenna, was sold in a cardboard box. The image shows the packaging designed by Jacek Dembosz in 1991.

THE PLACE WE CALL HOME

The first company signboard.
According to the previous numbering system, the company had its office at Ciepłownicza 11 street (it's 40 now).
Note the telex, the tech hit of the early 1990s ;-)
and the six-digit phone number without an area code.

DIPOL ON THE INTERNET

The company quickly caught on to the potential of the new, rapidly advancing medium: the Internet. It created its first, rather simple website back in 1996. Today, www.dipol.com pl is an elaborate online store, as well as a business and education platform, available in 8 language versions and offering more than 2500 products backed with full technical support.

Changing website layout throughout the years

As social media became increasingly popular, we started promoting our company on various platforms. Since 2008, we have been running a YouTube channel where we publish video tutorials. In 2010, we decided to set up a second English-language channel to reach a wider audience. We have as many as 27,000 subscribers there!

On the Facebook fan page, we have been sharing information about new products and new videos since 2012, and answering users' technical questions.

Subscribe to our channel! We have over 16 million views!	Join us on Facebook! More than 4,000 people have liked us.

EUROPEAN AND GLOBAL EXPANSION

In the fall of 1991, DIPOL became an exporter. Initially, it sold its antennas only to neighboring countries, but its worldwide network gradually expanded over time. Today, the company exports products to 70 different countries across the globe.

Current export destinations

TRAINING FOR DESIGNERS AND INSTALLERS

The first training courses organised by DIPOL took place in the second half of the 1990s and dealt with issues related to the design and construction of television antenna systems.

Over the years, along with the expansion of the product range, we have steadily increased the number and thematic scope of the courses offered. The current training program includes CCTV, WLAN/WLAN, TV-SAT and GSM systems. You can also learn how to splice fiber optics. The certification of DIPOL training courses by global industry leaders such as TP-Link and Hikvision guarantees a high level of expertise in the courses which focus on hands-on training.

Due to the situation in 2020 and 2021, our company had to suspend the classroom training sessions. However, the desire to learn was stronger than the odds, and so we decided to conduct online webinars. We were the only provider of solutions for telecommunications systems that continued to train installers during that difficult time, using the possibilities offered by the Internet.

In 2024, our engineers from the Technical Department conducted 47 training sessions in 12 cities all over Poland. More than 500 installers attended.

More information and the current list of training courses for the spring 2025 edition is available here.

Signal Fire splicer – fiber optic splicing course
Krakow, April 2024

NEWSLETTER AND ARTICLE LIBRARY

Since October 1998, DIPOL has published a weekly newsletter, devoted to new technologies, telecommunications systems and various issues that may arise during installation. The online edition of the newsletter is published in 8 languages and delivered to 24 thousand subscribers.

The Technical Department also publishes many technical articles and examples of installations. The library is divided into sections, consisting mainly of articles showing how to correctly design and install telecommunications systems.

OUR BRANDS AND SUPPLIERS

Since the beginning of our business, we have been selling our own brand of equipment. The first products were antennas for terrestrial TV reception. Over time, the product range was expanded to include telecommunications antennas. Nowadays, the brand also sells antenna mounts, aluminum masts, connectors and splitters.
Our most popular brands are:

Signal – audio/video equipment, 19” RACK cabinets, GSM repeaters and much more
Ultimode – including patch cords, pigtails, fiber optic connectors and measuring devices
Netset – structured cabling
Triset – 75 ohm coaxial cables

We have been working with reliable suppliers from all over the world for years. The most important ones are:

Hikvision – supplier of CCTV products and solutions – In 2007, DIPOL became the first distributor of Hikvision products in Poland
Signal Fire – manufacturer of fiber optic splicers – we are the exclusive distributor of Signal Fire splicers in Poland
Sendun – brand of optical communication equipment and fiber optic splicers
TP-Link – supplier of wireless devices, routers, network transmitters, media converters and many others
Alcad – manufacturer of devices for the reception, processing and distribution of TV signals
Terra – supplier of specialized devices for the reception and distribution of satellite TV signals DVB-S/S2, terrestrial DVB-T and cable DVB-C
Sunell – manufacturer of CCTV equipment

You can find out more about our brands and distributors here.

WARRANTY

Over our 30 years in the market, we have learned which products are good and worth recommending to our customers. We are not afraid to extend warranties for the items we introduce to the Polish and the European market. Our warranty periods last between 1 and 15 years. The exact length is specified in the data sheet of every product in our online store. As of March 2019, the information is also published on the sales invoice for each product. The period depends on the type of equipment and its manufacturer.

DIPOL AT REGIONAL CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS

In 2010, DIPOL first took part in the popular Regional Seminars organised by Biotop. Ever since its first seminar in Wrocław 10 years ago, the company has regularly given presentations in many cities throughout Poland, training hundreds of interested industry representatives.

Targeted at the staff of design and contractor companies, its lectures and presentations have covered telecommunications equipment installation in multiple-family buildings in accordance with binding regulations. The lectures are usually followed by Q&A meetings devoted to TV and SAT, CCTV, and FTTX systems.

May 2023 – Regional seminar in Krakow

DIPOL SUPPORTS SCHOOLS AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES

Since 2013, DIPOL has actively supported technical schools and universities by:

publishing complete sets of teaching aids and materials that can be used in the curriculum targeted at future IT technicians,
granting discounts for the purchase of telecommunications equipment and installation materials for school labs,
offering training courses on the design, building, and configuration of telecommunications systems for teachers working in local vocational schools.

FAIRS AND INDUSTRY EVENTS

Since 1993 we participate in trade fairs organised in Poland and Europe. The first event was INFOSYSTEM 93 in Poznan. In later years DIPOL had its stands at the SAT Krak, Intertelecom in Lodz, Energetics in Poznan, and ALARM in Kielce, where it demonstrated its steadily expanding offer. In addition to antennas, the stand began to host elements of professional SMATV systems, CCTV cameras, GSM signal amplifiers and LAN/WLAN devices. From 2013 to 2024, you could visit us at the Energetab fair, held in Bielsko-Biała.

October 2011 marks a very special moment in our the trade show career. During the SatKrak trade show, we presented the first iteration of our Singing Robot, which entertained trade show audiences and presented our products (of which it was composed) between 2011-2017 :). In 2017, we showcased its successor, which continues to sing, talk, and compliment visitors at DIPOL's booths to this day.

In 2012, DIPOL first presented its portfolio abroad, at the ANGA trade show in Cologne. Together with our foreign partners, we have also exhibited in Romania and Portugal.

DIPOL has been appearing systematically at the ENERGETAB trade fair in Bielsko-Biała for several years.

DIPOL SUPPORTS THE DIGITALISATION OF TELEVISION

Between 2012 and 2013, analog TV transmitters began to be phased out and replaced with DVB-T equivalents. At the same time, DIPOL representatives traveled around Poland to take part in events known as "Digital Towns". Organized in the form of picnics, the events were designed to educate the public about the changes in TV signal reception. During the picnic, DIPOL staff answered questions about DVB-T technology and presented the company's portfolio, with the frequent help of the previously mentioned Robot and his loyal companion, the Digital Dog :)

The Digital Dog, its proud owner, and the Singing Robot during a "Digital Town" event in Tomaszów Mazowiecki in 2013.

AWARD FOR THE GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROMOTION OF HIKVISION PRODUCTS

In November 2019, a special gala was held to celebrate the first five years of Hikvision's presence in Poland. DIPOL was one of the three leading distributors (out of a total of 33) to go away with an award plaque given in recognition of its particularly fruitful cooperation and sterling contribution to promoting Hikvision products.

Here you can see all the awards we have won over the years of our activity.

PHOTO COMPETITION - AN ARTISTIC LOOK AT ANTENNAS

Since 2002, Dipol has organized an annual photo contest devoted to antennas, i.e. devices for signal transmission and reception. Photos submitted to the competition are often out-of-the-box, majestic, minimalist, and sometimes...funny. The jury is presided over by a well-known Kraków-based photographer, Paweł Zechenter, and the contest attracts between 300 and 400 submissions every year.

One of the accolades in the 2024 edition of the competition.
"We are broadcasting on the same waves" - Henryk Niestrój

THE WONDERS AND MARVELS

One of DIPOL's most interesting original solutions was an interface between a personal computer and a Casio electronic organizer. At that time (1991), the most popular data storage medium was the 5¼-inch floppy disk...

Another curiosity of the past - the AntiClock. Compared with traditional clocks, its hands were moving in the opposite direction, but still showed the correct time. Originally designed as an advertising gadget, AntiClock proved to be a sales hit in the 1990s.

F1 car made of multiswitches	Multiswitch Eiffel tower	The Robot - Senior	The Robot - Junior

For our marketing purposes, we built exciting installations consisting of products from our range. Some of them have achieved self-awareness and now attend various industry events ;)

PHOTOGRAPHS OF COMPANY CATALOGUE COVERS

From 1991 to 2020, we published a printed catalog. Updated twice a year, with over 130 pages, published in a total circulation of 5,000 copies.