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write your own review of the Mosley PRO 57-B.
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WD4LUR
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 24, 2010 11:05
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Excellent multiband yagi
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had my Mosley PRO-57B for about two years now. I believe it to be the best multi-band yagi I have ever owned. In the past I have had a Hy-gain TH5DX, Mosley TA-33M and a Mosley CL-33M. At one time I had a 10m 3 element monobander and a 15m 4 element monobander up and that was close to one of the sunspot peaks. Even then I didn’t work into Asia as well as I have recently during this sunspot low while using the PRO-57B. I’m not saying the 57B would be better than the 4 element monobander as I attribute some the recent successful contacts into Asia to my location that I am currently at. Both locations were about the same elevation above average terrain but at the new one when I am aiming towards Asia, it is pointing out over what is called Loyston Sea on Norris Lake. Maybe that helps. Anway I don’t know of any single multiband antenna that I would trade this one for except to move up to a Mosley PRO-96 or a monster quad.
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K5YY
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2010 16:03
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Just a great antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Just wanted to say I have had my 57B for about 13 years, exchanging a 204BA I had for it. Well, there is a compromise on FB and gain figures compared to monoband beams, but the ease of switching bands and the very adequate 2.5KW PEP coils made it a great choice for my subdivision lot and 38 foot Rohn 45 tower. I am not worried about normal modern amplifiers hurting the traps, tho did sell a Henry 4K Ultra and 5K due to fear or exceeding the trap ratings. I had the ice storms also turning the elements into "inverted U" aluminum but they sprang right up with thawing out. Try that with other cheaper, recent vintage beam materials! I have worked anything I can hear with this beam, and as I said, at 38 feet. Very satisfied with this "high potency" alternative to monobanders. Can not put up multiple mono band antennas and 100 foot towers as in past QTHs, so am impressed that I have not missed any DX 'new ones' with this 57B and now have over 300 countries on each band covered, including 10m and 12m.
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M0EDX
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Rating: 5/5
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May 17, 2010 12:34
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Besta antenna in its class
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have been looking for a big 5 band beam with real performance.
4 elements stepir was very expensive, so I researched further for the next best antenna.
It turned to be a Mosley Pro-57-B. Just 1 dB difference in gain etc. And no 180 degree mode etc. Well, see above.
I am in the UK. I ordered Pro-57-B, it took about 3 months to have it delivered. It cost me some £100.00 in customs duty, too.
The assembly of the antenna took some time with the friends.
Installation was also fun. Generally you can have it assembled and put up in one day. SWR was close to the advertised.
Have a look at the current photos at my web site www.m0edx.com
Performance. Well, in 2 words - BIG GUN !
Normally if a station is 59 on a distance of 5000+ miles, when you turn the antenna 90 degrees away from the statiion, the signal dissapears completely ! The gain is tremendous.
If compared to A3S, TH3, T8 etc basic yagis, it is nealy twice longer and havier. Hence the gain and real performance. To illustrate - the boom is 7.3 m, weight is about 42 kg. Need I say more ?
If you have space and finances, go for 4 element stepir - it is the antenna of the future. Otherwise mosley Pro-57-B is the best one then.
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WZ0O
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 28, 2009 19:12
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Great soFar
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Ok here is the story. I was going to buy a Mosley TA53 when a friend told me about a Pro57 B that was for sale from a SK's wife. I contacted the lady and we made a deal. (no I didn't steal it). Her husband had bought it 4 years ago and had never put it up. After I got it home and put it together I had to wonder if I had made a mistake as the antenna is ,as we say in the south a bigun.
WoW what a great product. First contact I busted a pileup on 17 to Guam then 3 JA's right behind that. This antenna hears very very well.
If you get one follow the setup instructions to a tee. I attempted to use a choke balun instead of the coax balun in the manual. As I live close to the water I was worried about the coax pigtail.
After I went back up the tower and changed the balun the antenna tuned almost flat, much better then stated in the spec sheet.
So-far this is a great antenna. Its big (24' boom) and built like a tank (93 lbs). It should last longer then I do HiHi.
I will give you an update next year.
73
Brad
WZ0O
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K8MFO
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 25, 2009 11:48
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Big Winner on Long Haul
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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In 1985 I was unlucky enough to have a “mini tornado” pass through my property, bringing down my 70 foot tower, and all antennas. My main HF antenna was a Mosley Classic 33 beam, which was a solid performer. When the tower hit the house, and Mosley was the first antenna to make contact. Interestingly, none of the elements broke! They were bent, of course,but not broken, and I was impressed that all of the stainless steel hardware looked just as good as it had 15 years ago when new. As a matter of fact, I still have a lot of those pieces and parts, and the traps have been recycled onto antennas of friends!
At that point my insurance company paid for the damage, and I had the choice of buying virtually anything that was on the market. For mechanical reasons, I chose the Mosley PRO-37, which was a new offering. I was delighted with the performance on the 3 advertised bands of 10, 15, and 20 meters. Shortly afterwards, we were authorized the use of 12 and 17 meters by the FCC. At this point I noted that the PRO-37 worked pretty well on those too bands too, as well as 6 meters. Out of the blue I got a letter from Mosley, saying that PRO-37 owners were being offered a reasonably priced “conversion kit”, providing “true yagi coverage” of the 12 and 17 meter bands. The price? Something like $20! Holy Smokes! How could someone resist a deal like this? I decided to call Gary Wurdack – K0VUW, the owner of Mosley, and we talked about the conversion, saying he had tested it personally. The converted beam would be called a PRO-57A. Based on Gary’s recommendation, I went ahead with the conversion.
I could continue to be very WORDY, but let’s get down to the bottom line. Perhaps I should mention that I am a very serious DXer, and a serious contester when the mood strikes. The DXCC Challenge is my primary interest – check my standing on the ARRL website if you are interested.
Let’s make the DXCC Challenge stuff simple. There are 338 current DXCC countries. Here is my current standing on the 5 bands covered by the PRO-57A. 20M – ALL 338, 17M -336, 15M -335. 12M – 331. 10M – 331. So, out of a possible 1690 countries on these 5 bands, I have worked and confirmed 1671 of them. The fact that I still need those 19 band slots has nothing to do with the antenna, but are propagation and politically related! I should also mention that I am using a Mosley S-401 single element antenna on 40 meters, and I have 336 of the 338 countries on that band too! In my opinion, the granddaddy of all DX contest is the CQ WW CW, traditionally held on the last weekend of November. WARC bands are not allowed, but I have been in the “BOX”, which means a top 5 finish on all 3 bands that are used, 20, 15, and 10. Oh yes, and the same with the S-401 on 40 meters.
Do I like the PRO-57A? Yes, I do very much. It is by no means equivalent to monobanders on all 5 bands, but it is a very good compromise.
I am very much aware of a book, doing comparison reports on triband antennas, which does not give high ratings to Mosley antennas. I have no idea of the testing systems used, and the most visible author has chosen not to respond to personal emails I have sent him, where I suggest that perhaps test results could have been flawed, or a particular antenna may have had a problem. . He continues to criticize “anything Mosley” on a prominent Internet reflector, which of course we can do in a country where free speech is a right! Likewise, this applies to me, and I have a different opinion.
If I had to do it again, I would DEFINITELY buy this antenna! I have used a lot of antennas through the years, as have perhaps several of the readers of this review. To put things in simple terms, my Mosley PRO-57A performance is on the same level as the Mosley CL-36, Mosley TA-36, and Hy Gain TH-6DXX antennas. Oh, but that’s only on 10, 15, and 20 meters! The PRO-57A stands alone in offering 12 and 17 meters!
One last observation – of course this is a compromise antenna. What are the “best bands”? In my opinion, those are 20 and 17 meters, but the rest are perfectly satisfactory also. I have no sophisticated antenna range, but I can guarantee one thing. If this antenna did not perform well, it would never have made it through the year 1985. Here we sit 24 years later, and I am still pleased with it!
This is an EASY 5 rating!
73
Don K8MFO Same call since 1958
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KS1S
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 19, 2009 06:09
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Still going strong after 18 years!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My Mosley PRO-57B was delivered to me on July 8th, 1991. Since then it has sat on top of 70' of Rohn 25G, fed with Bury8 coax in a conduit. Nothing has been touched or changed since then.
The purchase price back then was $567.95, plus $41.63 for freight. Prices have gone up just a bit since then!
This antenna provides SWR's of less than 2:1 for me on all bands ... tuned for the phone portions of those bands. Front to back ratio is very good, side rejection is excellent, and gain appears to be competitive with the best multi-band yagis out there. This antenna is very ruggedly built.
I have witnessed several severe ice storms up here over the years that have taken down power lines, poles, and trees en masse. At one point the elements of this antenna were so encased in ice that they looked like wet noodles...they were drooping that much. I was sure I would see damage or breaks to the elements. In fact, as soon as the ice melted, the elements sprang right back and were all perfect.
In the years this Mosley has been up, it has seen temperatures of minus 50F, winds of hurricane force, torrential rain and lightning, and blistering heat. All this time it has been teamed to an Alpha 87A putting out 1500 watts of power. It has never given me the slightest problem.
Today, this antenna exhibits the same SWR curves as it did when new. Physically, it looks no different than it did when it was first installed. It's an amazing antenna and one which Mosley should be proud of. I just wish this company did more advertising so more hams would know what a superb antenna it really is.
73,
Stan
KS1S
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KA5SMA
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 20, 2007 14:32
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So Far Works Great
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Just got my Pro 57B up on 40ft. tower about 5 days ago. Appears that is was worth the 2 1/2 month wait. My SWR on all bands is right on specs, however on 12 meters it is better than advertised. Have not had a qso on 12 or 15 meters yet so this is a preliminary review.
I put the antenna together by myself and it took approximately 7 hours over a two day period.
Except for a problem with a U bolt and a little confusion about the color coding on white elements, everything went well. Great mechanically does not sag like my OB9-5 did. OB9-5 was great but very seldom got reports over S9..(should expect 2 element on 17 ft boom, vs 3 elements(on 20) on a 24 ft. boom.)
Only made one Front to Back test on 17 meters with QSB was about 20 db.., front to side is tremendous...stations said I dissapeared altogether..
The antenna is built like a tank, weighs almost 100 lbs compared to about 65 lb for the OB9-5.
Examples of reports in the first week:
Ohio- 59+20
Washington- 59+20
IL 59+40
MS- 59+40
EA5- 59+10
JA-59+10
I had two different unsolicited comments, one on 10 meters and the other on 17 meters, that I was "the strongest signal on the band".
I was running 1500 watts at the time...from my QTH about 40 miles northeast of Nashville, TN.
All of this at very bottom of sun spot cycle..
Not sure why there has not been a review of Mosley Pro 57B in over 3 years? I know they have sold hundreds of them since then.
We have been sold a "bill of goods" about supposedly "lousy" traps.
Good job Mosley
73 and good DX
Mike Miller KA5SMA
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K9SV
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 10, 2004 10:01
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Still going strong
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After a freak Spring ice storm took down my 3 element Quad I decided to try something stronger to handle the nasty Midwestern Weather. I ordered the Pro57 from Gary at Dayton and put it atop my Rhon 25G tower at 60ft in September 1989. I have not had a problem with the Pro57 yet, 15 years and still a flat SWR curve on all bands. I am primarily a DXer and casual contester but also rag chewer. The overall performance of this antenna has been nothing but great. No regrets, I have never been disappointed with it. It handles the power from my Henry 3KD amp very well 1KW RTTY/CW no problem.
Drawbacks? None for me, not yet.
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M0CEL
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 22, 2002 18:00
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Great Antenna!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've relocated to the UK from Toronto and after about 3 years following receipt of the antenna it's finally up and running on a 12 meter tower.
The performance is very impressive and the build quality outstanding. Low SWR's as advertised. It weighs in at about 90 lbs, which gives some indication of the heavy duty materials used. This is certainly going to be up for the long haul.
The only caution I would give to anyone contemplating ordering from Mosely is that the lead time, at least in my case, was in the order of a few months. Having said that, I have to say that the end result is worth the waiting.
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K4RO
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 4, 2002 07:00
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Works well at this QTH
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is actually a review of the PRO-57A. Two of them, in fact.
I started with my first PRO-57A in 1991 at a location about 20 miles
south of here. It was at 80 feet, and it was my first HF yagi. I was
amazed at the performance, but band conditions were great, and it
was after all my first yagi. A year later, the antenna system was moved
to it's present location, now atop 100 feet of Rohn 25. The new
location is a ridgetop with wind gusts exceeding 50 MPH measured
at 30 feet. I don't know what the winds are at 100 feet, but the antenna
has survived ice storms and winds which have ripped shingles and
siding off of the house. This is a very rugged and solidly designed antenna.
I bought a second PRO-57-A (used) in 1998 and I installed it on a TIC
ring rotator at 60 feet, forty feet below the top yagi. Sometime around this
period, the tribander shootout report from N0AX and K7LXC was released,
indicating that the PRO-57 antenna was actually WORSE than a dipole
on some bands, and not much better on others. While I have taken some
ridicule from my fellow contesters following that report, the results speak
for themselves. The antennas hold their own against similarly equipped
tribander-stack stations in my geographic area. While I don't doubt that
Ward and Steve carried out their experiments carefully, my experience with
these antennas has been quite positive.
I have no way to measure gain, but the front-to-back seems comparable
with N4ZZ's stack of TH-7's at similar heights. The pattern seems fairly
clean and uniform. My antennas are in the clear, and the guy wires are all
Phillystran. The antennas have performed flawlessly since the day they
were installed. The only balun I use is a half-dozen #43 ferrite beads
over the coax at the feedpoint.
My budget doesn't allow me to put up a pair of the latest and greatest
tribander designs, and it's possible that I simply do not know what I am
missing. Perhaps these old trapped designs are "negative gain" and I
just don't know any better due to lack of direct comparison. Another possibility
is that the B and C models improved the WARC bands at the expense of 20-15-10?
The bottom line is that I seem to be able to hear and work what most of the
competitive contesters in my area are working, and I can hold my own on 20,
15 and 10 in DX contests and pileups from here. Needless to say, I am in the
top of the pileups on 12 and 17 meters.
In summary, I think the PRO-57-A is a very rugged antenna, with performance
which seems comparable to other large tribanders in its class, published reports
notwithstanding. For a great bonus, you can tune the boom of this antenna and use
it as a very effective radiator on 40 or 30 meters. For more details, have a look at:
http://www.k4ro.net/tcg/pix/40boom.html .
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