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| Reviews Summary for Cushcraft XM240 Big Thunder 40 meter Monoband |
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Reviews: 10
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Average rating: 4.4/5
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MSRP: $999.99
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Description: Cushcraft's XM240 monobander utilizes rugged Big Thunder hardware that
combined with high strength aluminum tubing affords the antenna
outstanding wind survivability. Phillystran boom trusses are used in the
XM240 design for extra boom stability. The feed system is a 50 ohm direct
feed with dual driven elements. VSWR is flat accross the band. A high power
1:1 balun is included.
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More info: http://www.cushcraft.com
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write your own review of the Cushcraft XM240 Big Thunder 40 meter Monoband.
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PY1BR
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 2, 2009 08:50
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Great antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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After 9 years I moved to a new QTH where the X240 is already installed and working as before, excellent performance. Although the previous QTH was close to the sea its mechanical parts are in excellent conditions. I still live in a big city so this antenna is the best we can have installed in a top of a building. Before install the XM I was working with a simple dipole. Now a new horizon is opened. It seems like with the dipole no propagation at all and with the XM the opposite.
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N0HR
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 26, 2007 11:07
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Make some noise on 40!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have found the Cushcraft XM240 to be a great way to really make some noise on 40 meters. Performance seems pretty good when compared to other antennas I've used here, and for its size, you can expect to outshine a stack of full-sized 3 elements. However, I'm happy with the performance. Once properly adjusted, SWR was great across the band.
Mechanically, the antenna has a few issues to consider. First, the hose-clamp approach to holding elements together could be problematic. Second, some of the lengths did not seem to be exact.
I had great luck with Cushcraft support.
Check out my full review (and post one of your own) here:
http://www.n0hr.com/HamRadioReviews/products/92.html
Overall, I'm pleased with the XM240 and would buy another.
73
Pat
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W4MY
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 16, 2007 13:56
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Very Good Performer
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I have waited to review this antenna for about 9 months just to have some observations on its durability.
Minus.
This is a big antenna and putting it up a half wave length is no small matter. I pay close attention to small mechanical details as a crane costs $270 plus $90/hr over 3 hours. The original truss assembly was wimpy. I saw failure in 2-3 years. I built a new steel truss bracket and boom clamps as the aluminum ones provided were inadaquate. I re-built the coils just for good measure as these are a known source of problems. (they were OK, though)
Plus
Awsome RF performance. F/B is good. Front to side is even better. I have no instruments to measure, but I'm working further, sooner than my piers around here with wires. Well worth the effort to improve the mechanical design
Do I wish CC would make some common sense mechanical changes to this antenna ... Yes
(thats why the 4 instead of 5)
Would I buy this antenna again if a tornado took it out? ...Definately Yes
One other note. I was short parts when I bought it (whats new?) and pressed for time to have it together as I promised it to the club for Field Day use. I told CC of the dilema and offered to pay Fed-Ex next day charges to hurry up. They came through (a surprise) but did in fact charge me after all (no suprise)
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VE4MM
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 13, 2005 15:54
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Excellent!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Purchased new.
Mounted on a Roof-tower on roof up 30'
Easy to build, good quality and came with balun.
Performance is also GREAT!
Top Marks to Cushcraft!
Michael Mark, P.Eng., BSc EE, Life Member ARRL, VE4MM
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W8BYA
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Rating: 2/5
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Sep 24, 2005 20:21
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Take a careful look
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is a replacement for a 402CD that was destroyed several years back in a bad wind storm.
First things first, this antenna is built much better than the old 402CD. The hardware is way superior. CC gets a pat on the back for this.
My major gripe with CC is the following. When I was assembling the antenna and I took a good look at the loading coil assemblies, I noticed one of them had a large section of heat-shrink tubing cut off right where the self taping screw was. I thought it was pretty shotty for them to let that slip by as the WX would have rendered the coil useless after a short time. I removed the screw to take a closer look and I was horified to see that the solid wire used for the coil did not have any of it's thick red insulation removed. This mean't that no contact was taking place between the tubing and the wire without the help of a screw. The wire was loosly bent in the shape of a hook around the screw and luckily the screw threads "bite" into the insulation a teeny bit just enough to make some contact. This is VERY poor !
I checked the other 3 coils, and guess what, one of them did not make contact from one side to the other. I took apart every end of each coil only to see that they missed removing the insulation everywhere. It took me several hours to carefully sand off the insulation, re-loop the wire ends, re-seat the screws and then goop RTV over all the connections. I then luckily had some 1-1/8" heat-shrink tubing to cut up and slipped some over each end of every coil.
Once the repairs were made and the antenna was in the air it worked fine. Shame on Cushcraft for letting something this important slip by.
Also, the antenna works fine at 81' at my QTH. BUT, please, don't expect some crazy number of dB F/B ratio like they say in the manual or sales ads. You will 99% of the time see about 10-15 dB F/B not 25-30 dB as they claim. At least I don't on this one and I never did on the old 402CD.
Moral here is check those coil connections before you go to the trouble of getting this monster up in the air. Hope this helps someone.
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W6DXO
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 30, 2004 19:50
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Excellent Value
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After living with all manner of wire antennas for 40M I was fortunatre to get the XM240 up this month. Results so far have been excellent. What a difference!
My XM240 sits at 85' (13' above my SteppIR 3 element beam).
SWR is well within the published spec, and the F/B and forward gain numbers seem good as well.
I needed a relatively small footprint 40M beam that was reasonably priced and that would deliver--the XM240 fits the bill perfectly!
73, de harry, W6DXO
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G4RCG
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 23, 2003 09:50
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Intermittant High SWR
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had the XM240 now for 3 years and its preformed great up until earlier this year when the swr started going crazy for no reason, put a bit of power throught the antenna and it seemed to "rf weld" the problem. After a lot of messing around changing the balun, renewing the pl259 connector,the coax to the switch box, stripping all the elemnets down and rebuilding it back up to find that the problem still existed. The only thing that I had not touched were the loading coils, these are "sealed" (not) with shrink wrap. So took the driven element apart again and looked at the wrap which appeared fine,I checked to see if there was continuaty between, there was not, so when I cut the wrap away from the coils and looked at the screw that holds the coil end onto the element it was covered in white corrosion, I cleaned all his away and made sure the electrical connection was good, now the antenna is working 100% again. I informed cushcraft who were pleased that I had told them of the problem,
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KC2HZW
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 10, 2003 21:31
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Packs a Punch!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After working 40M on a trap dipole, I purchased this antenna new. Construction is HEAVY duty, with triple walled elements and beautiful castings. This antenna should last a long time. It goes together quite quickly; a pair of sawhorses will make assembly easy. I spent a bit of time deburring the tubing, otherwise assembly was straight forward. A generous use of penetrox will make assembly a piece of cake and will make it much easier to take the antenna apart in the future should it be necessary. Naturally, this thing is pretty large so it goes without saying that several people will be needed to move it around. Planning first will save headaches!
Performance on the air is excellent. It seems to be pretty quiet and bandwidth is per Cushcraft specs with SWR less than 1.5:1. Front to back ratio is good for a 2 element beam. If you have the space this antenna is worth the price!
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W5JON
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 24, 2003 16:47
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Great Performance
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Performance is excellent, F/B very good. Easy to assemble with very solid hardware, except I was a little diappointed that all element sections were held together using only "hose clamps", I drilled and also added stainless steel srews and locking nuts at each joint. Given the size and effort to install, it would be very difficult to replace a loose "hose clamp", $5.00 worth of screws/nuts could save a lot. John W5JON
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PY1BR
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 13, 2002 12:56
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Just outstanding performance
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I had mine for more than a year now (in fact two years). It’s mounted on a 26 feet tower in the top of a 17 floors building. Since the first day this antenna gave me the impression that it would be the real difference while doing DX or contesting. It’s a great antenna in my opinion. The XM-240 is an evolution of the old model 40-2-CD. The XM-240 has a better mechanical design. The RF performance is the same. Therefore, it’s really a successful project. Many friends were astonished with its performance during the first nights in the 40m band. It’s amazing how a simple trapped two elements can do if compared with dipoles, verticals, etc. Almost every DX contact I make people ask me what type of antenna I am using. This antenna is the real plus of my station.
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