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write your own review of the Cubex Quads.
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N2QQF
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 13, 2009 17:31
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MK3 PT5 - OUTSTANDING
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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So, where shall I begin.....
Like most ham operators, I was contemplating between my choices of which antenna to buy. As we all know there are plenty of antennas out on the market with a lot of incredible claims; some true and some are way off the mark. I wanted to something that obviously had great performance as I recently purchased a second tower for my property (crank up / tilt over lattice tower) and this would be my last antenna for a while. I did some research and managed to narrowed my choices to a cubical quad and a SteppIR. While I liked the SteppIR I felt servicing it if something went wrong was out of my ability considering all the motors and the controller it had. I wanted something that I would be able to service and repair myself if needed in a relatively short time frame. I have a fixed tower now and I knew the second time around I wanted a tower I could utilize to service and maintain my antennas if needed with ease as opposed to getting cranes and climbing. Taking all this into account left me thinking that if a SteppIR malfunctioned I might need to send it back rendering my station useless until the repairs were completed. This is all theoretical of course but something to consider none the less. I decided after some reading and research as well as my concerns with servicing and repairs that I might want a Quad since the design is very simple to repair if there were to have any malfunctions and the antenna is tremendously effective and a proven performer.
I called Roger at Cubex to pick his brain a little about the Quad and the design concerns I had with wind load, icing etc... I first spoke with Roger about a week before buying the antenna and he really was helpful in explaining some of the upgrades that have been done since Tennedyne acquired Cubex. I had some reservations at first but after talking to Roger he made me feel comfortable with his product and eased my concerns. I decided to place my order about a week later and I received the antenna within the time frame Roger said it would arrive
I received the antenna in four boxes which were very well packaged and everything labeled very clearly which made it a breeze to get through. I had a friend KC2ILK assist me with the build which took us all day to build with a short break for lunch. We finally managed to get everything built and mounted on the tower with a lot of blood sweat and rain. The build was extremely time consuming as the antenna is very large and three dimensional as opposed to a 2D YAGI/BEAM. The most time consuming thing was running the wire through the spreaders and of course the mounting. The build was very easy in the fact that the material was of quality and all the directions were very clear and all the parts were clearly labeled. I must say I was very happy with the overall quality and have no complaints with either the service or quality of the materials used. The antenna is not difficult to build but it is time consuming and requires some ingenuity when planning to mount to the tower.
Now the meat and potatoes.....
The antenna performance is absolutely unbelievable! I compared the antenna against my TH6DX Yagi (6 element beam 24' boom) and I will say the Quad is far superior hands down. I was quite surprised how much better it really was. I can hear mobile stations running ham sticks all over EU that I could not hear with my Yagi with on air A/B comparisons. I receive quite a bit more because of the quieter characteristics of a quads versus a beam so I have improved my receive not to mention I also live in a very low noise environment to begin with so now things are just peachy. I have conducted a few on air comparisons and I am at least 2-3 S units better on the quad vs. the TH6DX. I will say I was completely taken back that there was that much of a difference. The F/B is much better overall with at least 25db maybe a little more overall. I work stations off the side 5-9 sometimes better and both antennas are at the same height. The key point is the quad does not need to be 70' up to get great performance. You can set it 35'-40' AGL and still get great results. The elements are full wave as opposed to half wave elements on the beam. I was quite impressed with the performance as it exceeded my expectations. I think I wrote enough but give roger a chance to show you what a Cubex Quad can do for you. I promise you will not be upset or regret your decision.
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VK5SW
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 22, 2009 22:42
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Great Performer
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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My 2 element HF Cubex Quad is up in the air at 10 metres and performs very well. It's about 3 S-points better than my multiband ground plane and is very quiet on receive. It seems that if you can hear it on the Quad you can usually work it. It gets through very well and anyone considering building one wont be disappointed as the materials supplied are of a high order and the performance is excellent.
www.VK5SW.com
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VK5SW
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 22, 2009 20:04
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Excellent Quality
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Firstly, this is just my opinion of the quality of materials used for the Cubex Quad and how they go together, not about the performance, as I have only just put it up on the tower...
I found that Cubex were responsive and reliable when corresponding with them by email...
I ordered heavier gauge wire than is usually supplied because of the strong winds at the radio qth and when delivered, everything was accounted for... The fibreglass spreaders went together easily, all holes lined up nicely for the bolts and wires... The aluminium hubs are a good idea and make the assembly straight forward... The materials used to make the quad are first class and look as though they will last a long time... So far, I'm very pleased with it...
You can see the assembly and installation of my 2 element, 5 band, HF Cubex Quad on my website at.
www.VK5SW.com
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73's - Rob...
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W8VZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 25, 2008 18:28
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Excellent antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I installed the 4 element 10-15-20 antenna and have been very impressed with the signal reports and its performance. It has been up one year and survived an ice storm. I got good support from the manufacturer for the few questions I had.\W8VZ
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W3RXO
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 24, 2008 16:16
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Love my Scorpion 88!!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Fantastic antenna. Easy to assemble, fantastic performance, outstanding F/B and side rejection. The only way I could be happier would be to stack them and put them up higher.
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NO9E
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 23, 2008 10:37
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Solid after 10 years
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My 2-el 5-band Cubex quad had no hardware problems in 10 years. I consider it an excellent buy as it provides 5 band coverage at monoband performance and low price.
Each band is fed separately through a quarter wave coax except for 20m where it is fed by gamma match for better bandwidth. A small ceramic capacitor for the gamma match housed in a pharmacy pillbox has no trouble handling high power.
SWR is generally below 1.5. It goes up to 1.8 on 20m edges. That created some losses with a solid-state amp but virtually none with a tube amp.
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K3MD
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 17, 2007 08:01
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Follow up
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Had change of heart, reinforced my 4L wide-spaced 3-band quad with 2 inch muffler clamps and no. 10 galvanized wire at each spider, replaced top of tower that was destroyed, tower now 30 plus square foot rated at 50 feet, replaced rotor with reinfored rotor doctor Ham-IV with unbreakable rotor brake, replaced balun with monster 5KW 2 to 1 balun available on internet, now the thing plays excellent, have beat W3LPL, N3AD, and others in the pile-ups. Do not allow an inexperienced op to load that originally supplied balun, it wil melt in mid-contest if overloaded. Have placed 10th, 8th, and 5th nationally multi-single in DX tests and 4th nationally assisted class in WPX CW using THIS antenna. This antenna is LOUD.
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VK4WT
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 24, 2006 22:23
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Cubex Quality
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have a 3 element, 4 band Cubex Quad that just went through a Category 5 Cyclone. The Quad survived without a problem but the tower sustained some damage from a large branch from an Iron Bark tree.
Wind gusts were reportedly in excess of 280 kilometres an hour, I had 9 large trees ripped out of the ground and numerous small trees either laid over or ripped out and blown away.
The elements are direct fed except for 10M which uses a 3/4 wave 75Ohm coax. No baluns or gamma matches, all bands are less than 1.5:1 where I need it to be. (12M wires are not installed)
The antenna is over one year old and previously I had a Cubex 2 element, 5 Band Quad and it worked flawlessly.
Well done Norman, you build the best Quads around.
Oh, and before I forget, it will soon have a fourth element added.
73's
Gary (VK4WT)
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NO9E
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 3, 2006 15:37
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Gets better with time!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is second review of 5 Band 2 el model after some 8 years. See my earlier review. No mechanical problems of any sort. Even ice loading did not seem to do the stiff wires any harm.
Before I used 1/4 wave lines, and could not get good SWR and F/B at the same time on 20m. Recently I changed it to gamma match using parts of toothbrush as spacers. Now all of 20m has SWR of 1.7 or lower, F/B is better and gain has improved. A small air capacitor handles 1.5 KW with ease. Now I believe that quads should be tuned as in the ARRL antenna book: with reflectors adjusted by capacitors and driven elements by gamma matches. This is much less frustrating and even less expensive than with 1/4 wave coax.
It is so nice to get up in the morning and hear stations that are 59 on the quad but not heard at all on a 70ft high dipole. Of course, the difference reduces to 5-15db later on.
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26ID101
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 28, 2005 09:28
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Small size - Big performance!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I use the Magnum 2CB (two element mono band) quad due to space limitations, however the performance is unbelievable for such a relatively small antenna. It's mounted at about forty feet & fed with Ecoflex 10 (another great product)& it drastically reduces static and other noise compared to a three element Yagi. Performance is claimed to be 7dbd gain, we'll all I can say is that I'm getting out further and pulling-in better (with less unwanted noise)than I ever did with a Yagi. Build quality seems to very robust although it's yet to survive a North East winter! Assembly was simple and SWR was acceptable for a pre-tuned element (I calculated my own eventually)The Cubex customer service are efficient & helpful. Oh, & Norm is a top geezer too - when do I get the extra 10% discount Norm??? Hi Hi, 73's
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