|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
|
You can
write your own review of the Cushcraft MA5B Mini Beam.
|
N1IZE
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Nov 20, 2008 13:16
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
EXCELLENT ANTENNA
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
I decided to follow-up all the critques I wrote and use this time to step back and be appreciative.
I want to formally thank those 30+ hams I wrote to prior to me purchasing the MA5B. They wrote and critqued the antenna, but I needed a more personal take on their experience. All responded both the pro's and cons who I wrote and spoke with.
Some were even so gracious as to give me their personal landlines and I called them. They sent me pictures and gave me user data, which was useful to me. Don't get me wrong I did not get in touch with every good review, I balanced it with those that had some negative comments and experiences. I too appreciate their candor concerning their use of the MA5B.
My final decision if you look at all the reviews I wrote was to let everyone know how GREAT an antenna the MA5B is. I love the antenna, it works great and I have better signals no matter where I talk whether in country or abroad. The antenna may not be 10db gain on the bands and it is dipole on 12-17mtrs but for the size, price and most of all performance- It puts a kink into those beams costing 3x's more and having maybe 2-3 db more gain. Please feel free to write me I have pictures of my set up etc... I thank all the hams again for ur input- (actman81@yahoo.com)
|
|
K9CHP
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Nov 11, 2008 06:10
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Recommended!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I have a Cobra Ultra-Lite, multi-band which I will keep using for 40/80/160m but now, only as spare for 20-10m, as the MA5B performs so much better! I can switch between the two antennas at a flick of a switch and in many cases, the DX I can hear and work with the MA5B is in the noise level or worse in the Cobra. Sure the latter is a little lower and non-directable etc. but at the end, it is what you hear that counts and the MA5B is a world of a difference. And I can bust my way through some pile-ups barefoot, as I don't have an amp (should I say yet?). THe MA5B is well built, easy enough to put together, no parts missing and directions were clear enough for me. Putting it on the mast is definitely a two person job, not because of the weight but the size and momentum it can built while erected are better controlled by four hands.
I have it mounted on a Radio Shack rotator and it seems to be doing the job quite well.
Just looking at my DX log since I got the antenna up 9 days ago and it is amazing. I have QSOs with places I never reached before and conditions have not improved that much (the proof is in switching back to my old antenna and not hearing these stations!)
While the MA5B is actually bigger than what it may look like in pictures, it passed the XYL test (she said, that's as big as it gets, but it is up there:))
I certainly am happy with the MA5B and can recommend it strongly if you need a smaller sized directable antenna.
I have a picture of it on my website www.K9CHP.net
|
|
EI6GRB
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Sep 17, 2008 08:38
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
A brilliant antenna
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I puchased my MA5B only 2 weeks ago but am amazed at how good this antenna is.
It took about 6 hours all in all to build it, erect it and then tune.
This antenna must have more gain that Cushcraft claim because it is such an improvement on previous antennas I have owned. For example on my wire inverted vee dipole a s5 becomes a s9 on the beam.
The MA5B is perfectly resonant on all bands straight out of the box. 20m has swr under 2 from 14.130 to 14.300. You can lengthen the part of the front and back element after the traps to bring the frequency down a little if you want it lower into the cw portion.
It is a nice size for my small back garden and fits in quite well. No complaints from the xyl or neighbours anyway!
In the past 2 weeks with this antenna I have made a lot more contacts than normal and have found it easier to bust through a pile-up. I really recommend it.
|
|
MW0KIK
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Apr 29, 2008 04:14
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Good Mini Beam
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I had this beam up at a previous qth, but after moving I have slowly grown my antenna farm from 2m 5 ele, to a 6m 3 ele, then to an MQ26 and now I have replaced the mq26 with the ma5b.
The ma5b is significantly better than the mq26 in terms of real gain and in terms of swr bandwidth.
I have made a few tweaks:
* removal of the 2nd element as this is simply a dipole for 12m and 17m. As I dont work these bands I thought it prudent to remove the element to reduce the amount of aluminium in the air.
* I also added some machine bolts to the elements and boom to stop windmilling of the elements.
This is the best mini beam I have tried and have had a few.
If space is an issue - go for this it cheap and performs well for its size.
73
Leigh
|
|
KG9Z
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Apr 8, 2008 05:49
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Super Performance
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
I have the MA5B up at 40 feet on a Rohn 25G tower. What a great performer for its size! I would of given it a Great! rating but I encountered a problem after about 6 months of use. SWR was good on all bands. The 20M wasn't really where the instructions said it would be by measuring the elements but OK. (The only band you CAN adjust). However the SWR jumped on ALL bands after some use.....after verifying to feed line was good, the network box was removed and fed the 20/15/10M element direct with a Array Solutions balun. Bingo! Worked like a champ....so I fed the 17/12M element with a second balun and ran both feeds to a Ameritron RCS-4 remote antenna switch. This certainly solved my SWR problem. I have NOT determined why the network box fail. Does not seemed to be a moisture problem....or even any burning. (Ran a Ameritron AL-811...400 watts out)
Still a great performer and highly recommend if you can not put up a full size beam. Scotty KG9Z/8
|
|
VE3PTC
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Mar 31, 2008 10:10
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
fb antenna.
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
easy to assemble, although the manual is missing some info, on element lenghs. i was very surprised at the swr plots, taken with the antenna on a 5' roof tower. its quite excellent, and with the exception of only the lower ssb part of 20m, i never have to use an atu !
as regards performance, its a 2 element beam on 10,15 and 20m, and works well. i would say as good as my 2 element hex beam, although that antenna had gain/fb on 12 and 17m.
some reviews can be misleading, when comparing antenna's. the ref antenna should be a half wave dipole, for the band you try. of course, if you are testing against an antenna like a g5rv, you will be very delighted, with the apparent gain, in some directions, over the g5rv. no doubt due to the "null" points that this type of antenna has.
my antenna "farm" consists of a 170' centre fed dipole, with bal line, and a 24' vertical wire dipole, again fed with bal line, which works very well on 10m, thru 17m. even against this antenna, the ma5b shows well, and overall, i'm very pleased with the antenna, and its performance.
|
|
WD9IDV
|
Rating: 3/5
|
Feb 29, 2008 23:22
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Don't Run More Than a KW.
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I have had this antenna for a few years now.
It is a good antenna but it is not designed to handle more than a kilowatt.
Have burned out MT1 traps twice on element 1. Used about 1200 watts on SSB. Heed my advice and don't use too much power. Always seemed to melt traps when weather was either raining or snowing.
Also, the matching network is poorly put together.
Bad solder joints and crappy coax. I have rebuilt it with RG-213 coax.
Overall, it does perform nicely given certain restrictions. Will be replacing soon with a Mosley TA-63M.
|
|
WY4J
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Nov 23, 2007 11:15
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Best Little Yagi on the Market
|
Time owned: 6 to 12 months
|
Read all the reviews before purchasing it and all I can say is, that I was not let down. Actually, the performance is better than I would have ever expected. In my 32 years in amateur radio, I have owned many antennas and for its size, this one ranks at the very top.
This is a great little yagi with a tiny foot print. It will break any pileup on the first or second call. Incredible performance from such a limited size antenna. One sure proof of its performance is that even on 17 meters where only one element is active, I can never end a QSO without 5 or 6 stations calling me.
The only one thing I would have like was that it was a bit more broad on 20 meters since the most you get is 100 kz.
After much thought, I ordered a Steppir but I am crossing my fingers that it will perform as good as this little antenna.
You will not go wrong putting on up.
|
|
W2YM
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Nov 3, 2007 19:07
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
GREAT ANTENNA
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
I can't help it I think this little Beam is just GREAT. I talk all over the US and other countries. Hard to believe this is a small antenna with the reports I have been getting from other people. I only have it 25 feet off the ground. Also it survived the Oct. storm of 2006 which looked like a war zone here in Western, NY. I said to myself if this can take that storm it can take anything. Covered with ice and snow bending from the weight of the ice and snow and it survived. UNREAL, I can't say enough about this antenna. Tree's and branches were falling down and the MA5B stayed up. I don't believe the gain it states in the write up on this antenna I think it is way better then what it mentions. I give this Beam a 5+ for everything (performance, strength, etc, I can't say enough about this little antenna. :0) Mark W2YM 73's.
|
|
N3JPU
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Oct 23, 2007 07:21
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Surprised!
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
I wanted a small direction HF antenna to put on the tower, but it had to be small enough that the mast on the tower could support the beam 10 above a large 6M yagi at 70+MPH. There were several options but the MA5B was ½ to 1/3 the cost of the other options. Plus it was all aluminum tubing (and relatively beefy). So I took a chance.
Assembly was rather easy. As with all my antennas after assembly I put a few coats of clear Krylon on the entire antenna. Then up it went on the tower at 70 agl. I do not spend a lot of time on the bands with work and home priorities but I have been very impressed with the performance I see when I am on the band. On at least 4 occasions over the last month I have jumped into pile-ups on 20M and 17M with DX stations running one contact after another at a quick pace, on these occasions when the DX replied to me they took the time to ask what I had for an antenna since the signal was so strong.
I would except that if I had a big yagi on these bands but was shocked that I was being asked this with a little MA5B. What a testament to the performance out of this. Now I will say that I do run 500W sometimes, but I think that this little antenna really comes into its own at 70.
The only issue I have had is that the rear boom section rotated in the hose clamped junction. This was caused by large hawks that like to sit on the MA5B. I have since pinned these two junctions and all has been well.
Pictures at www.mitchelson.org
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
