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write your own review of the Cushcraft R-7.
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K7ABV
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 11, 2005 21:26
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works for me
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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use this antenna from a portable location, only during the summer...have worked 180 countries with it and 200 watts..not a beam, but works fine for a portable location only up 8 feet from the ground...
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K9AUB
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Rating: 4/5
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Mar 1, 2005 14:20
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Excellent!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've used a Cushcraft R-7 for 8 or 9 years now, at 3 different QTH's. I run mine at 20' elevation. It's probably the best multi-band vertical I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot of them. There is a bit of tuning and adjusting to do at first to get the SWR down on all bands. It takes patience to go through one band at a time, 10 thru 40 in that order, to get them all right. An MFJ antenna analyzer is invaluable here. Once adjusted, it pretty much stays adjusted. Mine has seen 60 mph steady winds, with occasional 80 mph wind gusts, not to mention a few Illinois ice storms, and it stayed up just fine. It's held up to 800 watts output with no problems, but don't try this unless you're willing to adjust it to get the SWR down. You can blow up any trap antenna if you pump power to it with a high SWR. For QTH's near saltwater (Hawaii, etc.), ANY and ALL bare aluminum antennas will be eaten up from the salt spray, and so will the R-7. No surprises there. (I lost a HyGain 14AVQ in Hawaii near the beach in less than 6 months. It looked like a Swiss cheese when it came down.) To cure this problem, get the antenna adjusted and then spray coat it generously with clear plastic Krylon spray paint. The antenna will hold up just fine near salt water if you do that. Like all verticals, it's a great DX antenna, and comes within a fraction of an S-unit of matching a full-sized 1/4 wave vertical with a good ground system. My only regret is that Cushcraft doesn't still make the R-7.
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WB1BPV
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 7, 2004 09:41
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Bonus - Unadvertised coverage - 6M !
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My Dad(WA1PFS)purchased the R-7 new almost 20yrs ago.I used it as well as a G5RV for cw and have a logbook full of worldwide cw contacts.The R7 has weathered horrendous winters as well as 1 hurricane in the northeast.It never toppled(mounted on the side of the house), never had to climb on the roof to make adjustments.Occassionally had difficulty tuning it up after a bad storm, but that changed within 24hours usually.SSB contacts have been 57-59 reports.I have recently used my FT817 on it and even with lousy conditions as we have had this year, made some decent DX with 5watts.And yes, it does give me a 1:2 swr on 6 meters.Great antenna, but not as good as a beam :).If you can find one at a decent price, jump on it!
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VE1MC
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Rating: 2/5
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Feb 28, 2004 23:44
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Not Impressed
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned the R-7 for 10 years now & find it impossible to get an acceptable SWR on any band without a tuner. Yes, it is high enough off the ground & not near any objects that should affect the SWR. The fibreglass insulator is of poor quality. Performance is fair, however if you have the room a multiband wire dipole (such as the Alpha-Delta) would work as well. If your space is limited and a vertical is your only option then consider Force 12 as it is a better product.
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KC5DFP
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 15, 2003 22:18
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Outstanding Vertical
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Hello.
I just put up a “pre-owned” R7 three weeks ago, which replaced my Cushcraft MA5V, which I have for about 2 years now. My primary interest was to be able to use an amplifier without an external tuner and to get on 40M. Well, this antenna did exactly that. It covers the 10M~30M bands under 2:1 SWR, where 40M has about 120Khz bandwidth (2:1). I do want to mention that the highest SWR bandwidth of the 10M~30M bands is 20M: at 14.000MHz the SWR is 1.7:1 as is on 14.350 MHz, and everything in between is naturally lower. All higher bands, like 10M have a “just about flat” SWR across the entire band!
Assembly was easy, as was tuning. The antenna is ground mounted on a tilt mast so tuning was completed in about 1 hour. Tuning the lower bands like 40M had no effect on higher bands whatsoever. I now have the ability to go anywhere without a tuner and use my amp (I’ve got 120 KHz where I can use the amp, otherwise I go barefoot using the tuner in my Pro II).
As for signal reports, all I can say is if you have an opportunity to pick up one of these antennas for a reasonable price do it! I’ve picked up 1-2 s-units on both transmit and receive over my previous antenna. It’s not a beam, but it’s an outstanding vertical!
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ZS6VJJ
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 9, 2003 04:14
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Good antenna, could be converted into R5
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have bought 10 years old R7 instead of a new R6000 I used before. R7 provides better SWR and, my main concern, it is very simple to use in a holiday location as after releasing only one clip it cold be stored in two sections. This operation takes me 3-5 min.
As I have got 40 m inverted-V antenna I decided to make R7 a bit shorter. I took away 20 m and 30 m traps and added 36 cm 19 mm in diameter tube to the length of the 17 m trap. I have got less than 1,1 SWR on all bands and 270 kHz bandwidth on 20 m.
Just perfect.
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WB9YCJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 3, 2003 05:16
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Champ !
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I live about 10 minutes from the ocean.
Its been up for seven years and no problems. Combined with skill brings plenty of DX.
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V73GOD
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Rating: 1/5
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Jun 3, 2003 00:31
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Built to Die Young!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Living on Kwajalein means corrosion and the Cushcraft R-7 was not up to the task. Within 3 months, it was crusty and after a year, it's toast. The leads of the capacitors in the matchbox rusted off!! I wondered why the tuning was going nuts on it. The dis-similar metals (where the screws meet the aluminum) just wasted away where the ground plane is. The stainless muffler clamps ate their way through the aluminum mast and she was broken in two. There was so much crud on the capacitance hat, it was white. If you live on an island or near salt spray, do NOT buy this antenna unless you want to get one every three months. Technical support is a cruel joke at Cushcraft. Just not made to last.
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KJ7XJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 27, 2003 19:22
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It works well!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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There hasnt been a review on this in awhile. I wanted to get in my 2 cents worth. Im using a second hand R7 purchased off Ebay from a ham in the midwest. You can imagine the winters its been through, and now its surviving its first rainy winter in the Northwest. Ive had it up now for 6 months at about 30 feet. Ive worked all over the world. This is my second R7, I origionally bought a new on in 1992 while living in AZ, and I also had it up about 30 ft and worked all over the world. Both antennas measued to the specs tune in flat on every band. I need my tuner on 40 for voice (It is set up for CW now). Overall both of my R7s have worked flawlessly, and if you can find one that is in good condition, I would reccomend it! Talk to ya DE KJ7XJ
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K4EQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 9, 2002 15:58
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I'm Satisfied!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I realize that the R7 is no longer in production and few will read this, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents worth about this vertical anyway.
My R7 was purchased about ten years ago and I have used it at three QTHs during this time. No, it's not as effective as a beam antenna, but it does a great job for a vertical. The last time I checked my DXCC totals for just the R7 (that was several months ago), it was close to 250 countries. Not bad for radiating "equally bad in all directions" as the vertical haters like to say. Hi!
At the first QTH it was mounted on a tripod on top of the garage. At the second it was on an 8' mast section attached to our second floor deck. At the third QTH it was on top of 16' of mast which was attached to our back porch.
The only problem I ever had with the R7 was a trap section that failed after about four years. I purchased another one from Cushcraft and have had no further problems.
I'd still like to put up another yagi sometime, but the R7 performed far better for me than I ever expected. I've been very satisfied with it!
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