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write your own review of the Cushcraft R-8.
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PY2JF
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 21, 2011 13:12
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I'm amazed by the results!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After reading every single review here for Cushcraft R8, Hy-Gain AV640 and Hustler 5BTV, I decided by R8. I needed a HF antenna and having some space limitations, vertical antennas looked the way to go to me.
After mounting, adjusting and installing in the roof, I started, after 30 years SK in HF, trying some dxing (my main use for this antenna). I have to say, I’m amazed by the results.
Today, exactly 18 days past from installation, I managed to work 107 DXs countries, with 52 unique. All this just using my FT-950 (100W) in SSB (80%) and PSK31 (20%). For all these contacts, 7 were pileups, and after the big guns leave, I could make all 7.
Well, as I suspected, is totally possible to have fun without spent a ton of money. Simple don’t expect it to be better than a directional antenna, it’s not, but it's totally worth. And change bands without deal with antenna switches great.
For those of you looking for this antenna, I made a complete YouTube review un-boxing, assembling, adjusting, installing and testing. The audio is in Portuguese language, but English subtitle is available just clicking in the CC (Closed Caption) button.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU2h_scaz_o
Hope you enjoy.
73 from PY2JF – João Roberto
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PY2ONU
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 26, 2011 05:36
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Good antenna
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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This antenna is a good, first because you have 8 bands in one antenna (very well for those who do not have in your house room for many and large antennas). Second this antenna is well built and have good pieces (i don't have problem with holes, screws, nuts, etc) and is easy to assembly. But i have a problem, i not could not adjust the SWR in all bands (6 meters 1.5:1 *** 10 meters 1.2:1 *** 12 meters 1.3:1 *** 15 meters 1.4:1 *** 17 meters 1.3:1 *** 20 METERS 2.5:1 *** 30 METERS 4:1 *** 40 meters 1.5:1) The 20 and 30 meters bands have bad SWR (it takes a AT)... I tried all day long to adjust but i was not able.... I think have wather in coils (this antenna have problem with wather, when its rains the SWR increases in most of bands).
I had a HY-GAIN AV-640, this antena is worse than Cuhscraft R-8 (built) but swr is great and does not change with the rain.
Regards
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W5WVO
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 1, 2011 06:31
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Like it very much
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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First, a caveat: Everything is relative to something else. If I were comparing this antenna's performance on 40m, for example, with a full-size 3-element yagi at 220 ft, there wouldn't be much of a comparison. The R-8 would lose handsomely and without shame.
But in my case, I'm comparing it to a low (15' at the high end) non-resonent sloper, force-fed at the antenna end through some hellacious SWR in most cases and matched to 1.1:1 or better at the radio end by the K3's superb antenna autotuner. This sorry excuse for an antenna and the R-8 share the two inputs to a manual A-B coaxial switch.
So first the performance. What I expected, especially on the lower-frequency bands, was that the R-8 would outperform the sloper on DX, and in some cases (where lobes lined up right) the sloper would outperform the R-8 on short, high angle propagation paths.
And that is exactly what I found. What I wasn't prepared for was how much better on long DX paths the R-8 was, especially on 40m and 30m CW. Differences of up to 3 or 4 S units were observed in many cases.
So it works. On all bands, as advertised. For a low-profile all-band vertical, a compromise antenna in most (though not all) cases, it works very well indeed. Right now I'm running a barefoot K3 into it, but an amplifier is planned that will add another 10 dB on to that.
Now, the assembly. First of all, don't even think about mounting this antenna without guys unless you live on the Moon. Order the guy kit. The ground anchors in this kit are clearly for lighter-weight duty than what I expected. If you live in a high-wind area, I would suggest procuring some better ones, and perhaps guying the antenna at two levels as was suggested to another buyer.
There was only one missing part and many extras. The missing part was a screw screw-up where they sent five 8-32 3/8" and three 8-32 1/2" screws, when it should have been four of each. A trip to Home Depot remedied that problem, though to get the 8-32 x 1/2" screw in SS, I had to buy a hex-key cap type rather than a Phillips head type. Other than that one screw, everything was in the box.
The shipping box was a mess, crushed and bent at one end and held together with copious amounts of shipping tape. Additionally, it had obviously been opened and re-closed prior to being shipped to me. Requiring inspection and sign-to-accept wasn't an option when I ordered; I found the box in my patio.
As a pro technical writer and illustrator, I found a lot to be desired in the assembly manual. Reading between the lines and using mechanical common sense are required. The antenna went together well, but considering I have a lot of experience doing this sort of thing -- as most hams do -- it should be expected to. An inexperienced antenna builder, however, is bound to get one thing or another screwed up and need tech support. Since Cushcraft was assimilated by MFJ, I have no experience with their tech support, so won't comment.
All in all, I give it a 4.5 for performance and a 3.5 for assembly manual quality for an average of 4. I won't comment on the rather bad shipping damage, since I don't know who caused it. But at the end of the day, it was (almost) all there, and I now have a pretty darn nice antenna to show for it.
I would recommend this antenna for experienced hams, not for first-time antenna builders unless they have experienced Elmer assistance.
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W5WVO
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 1, 2011 06:26
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Send this review to a friend
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Like it very much
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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First, a caveat: Everything is relative to something else. If I were comparing this antenna's performance on 40m, for example, with a full-size 3-element yagi at 220 ft, there wouldn't be much of a comparison. The R-8 would lose handsomely and without shame.
But in my case, I'm comparing it to a low (15' at the high end) non-resonent sloper, force-fed at the antenna end through some hellacious SWR in most cases and matched to 1.1:1 or better at the radio end by the K3's superb antenna autotuner. This sorry excuse for an antenna and the R-8 share the two inputs to a manual A-B coaxial switch.
So first the performance. What I expected, especially on the lower-frequency bands, was that the R-8 would outperform the sloper on DX, and in some cases (where lobes lined up right) the sloper would outperform the R-8 on short, high angle propagation paths.
And that is exactly what I found. What I wasn't prepared for was how much better on long DX paths the R-8 was, especially on 40m and 30m CW. Differences of up to 3 or 4 S units were observed in many cases.
So it works. On all bands, as advertised. For a low-profile all-band vertical, a compromise antenna in most (though not all) cases, it works very well indeed. Right now I'm running a barefoot K3 into it, but an amplifier is planned that will add another 10 dB on to that.
Now, the assembly. First of all, don't even think about mounting this antenna without guys unless you live on the Moon. Order the guy kit. The ground anchors in this kit are clearly for lighter-weight duty than what I expected. If you live in a high-wind area, I would suggest procuring some better ones, and perhaps guying the antenna at two levels as was suggested to another buyer.
There was only one missing part and many extras. The missing part was a screw screw-up where they sent five 8-32 3/8" and three 8-32 1/2" screws, when it should have been four of each. A trip to Home Depot remedied that problem, though to get the 8-32 x 1/2" screw in SS, I had to buy a hex-key cap type rather than a Phillips head type. Other than that on screw, everything was in the box.
The shipping box was a mess, crushed and bent at one end and held together with copious amounts of shipping tape. Additionally, it had obviously been opened and re-closed prior to being shipped to me. Requiring inspection and sign-to-accept wasn't an option when I ordered; I found the box in my patio.
As a pro technical writer and illustrator, I found a lot to be desired in the assembly manual. Reading between the lines and using mechanical common sense are required. The antenna went together well, but considering I have a lot of experience doing this sort of thing -- as most hams do -- it should be expected to. An inexperienced antenna builder, however, is bound to get one thing or another screwed up and need tech support. Since Cushcraft was assimilated by MFJ, I have no experience with their tech support, so won't comment.
All in all, I give it a 4.5 for performance and a 3.5 for assembly manual quality for an average of 4. I won't comment on the rather bad shipping damage, since I don't know who caused it. But at the end of the day, it was (almost) all there, and I now have a pretty darn nice antenna to show for it.
I would recommend this antenna for experienced hams, not for first-time antenna builders unless they have experienced Elmer assistance.
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NW3H
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 30, 2011 17:07
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182 countries worked so far....
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had this antenna for little over a year and a half. I really wish people would not review items after one week like some of our recent posters. This antenna is a solid performer that stood up to Hurricane Irene with no problems. You do need to guy this antenna because it is top heavy. On 40 and 15 meters this antenna is incredible. The other bands are good as well but for some reason 40 and 15 perform just a tad better then the rest. Have worked 182 countries in 18 months with this and a 1000 watt amp along with a IC-7600. The assembly is a little time consuming. If you read the instructions and take your time and make sure to tighten all the bolts you should be able to have it assembled in 4 hours or so. My SWR has always been 1.2 or less across every band. Add an auto antenna tuner and you will be flat. Mounted on military mast at about 20 feet with three guys wires. Buy the additional guy wire kit, it is worth it! The sensitivity of this antenna for a vertical surprised me. No radials to deal with makes it easy to tune and setup and low profile helps with the neighbors. No compliants at all. As for longevity I will leave another review in a couple of years to address that. Give it a chance, you will not be sorry.
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N6TAU
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Rating: 4/5
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Sep 22, 2011 07:33
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REDUX
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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My initial review was not very flattering of this antenna, mostly due to a broken match box, which by the way, was also poorly assembled and soldered.
My attempts to contact Cushcraft/MFJ via phone and email met with complete failure.
HRO was a different matter. I called HRO after failing to make contact with the manufacturer. They advised me to ship the bad unit back to them. Since they are less than a hudred miles from me, UPS delivered the box the next day, whereupon the service manager called me to tell me that they had contacted Cushcraft and that a new box would be forthcoming.
That was friday. Yesterday (Wed), I noticed a small brown box sitting at my doorstep when I arrived home.
Eagerly opening the box, I was disturbed by a rattle inside. Opening the box, I discovered hat the nut holding the SO-239 connector in place had come dislodged.
Tightening it back up, I installed the box onto the antenna and did an SWR check. Even though the antenna was only two feet off the ground and laying parallel to the ground, I got a reasonable match across all bands. When I say reasonable I mean 1:2 or 1:3. Mostly I was looking for anything that should something other than infinity since that's what I got with the old box. I was surprised to see it go almost flat on two bands, even lying on the ground.
Satisfied that I was likely to get a good SWR when the antenna was raised, I hung the antenna about 12 feet off the ground and ran 75 feet of LMR400 to the shack.
I checked the SWR again using an old MFJ SWR analyzer and got 1:2 or better across all bands.
plugging the coax into my TS2000, I fired up the rig to see what I could here.
At this point, my appreciation of this antenna changed dramatically. I had been using a long wire (receive only) in the interim just to be able to listen in. I no sooner turned the knob when a very strong CQ call came in. Naturally, I answered back. A nice QSO ensued, all on 5 watts.
All in all, with only a day of airtime, I am happy with this antenna. I still give it a 4 due to QC issues.
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N6TAU
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Rating: 1/5
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Sep 12, 2011 13:35
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Far too expensive for the quality of the product.
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought this antenna a few days after hurricane Irene stormed through the area. (just three days before the Labor Day weekend) Had been off HF for a few years and the storm kicked some sense into me. I ordered it from HRO (great service) and it arrived the next day.
I took the day off work and spent most of the day assembling it. That was not really an issue as I like to take my time when I follow other people's assembly directions. (measure twice, cut once)
Couple of things about the parts: Throw away the worm gear straps and get some stainless steel ones. I stripped a number of the soft steel bands and had to replace them.
I hate the clamshell type clamps used to hold the radials. It almost takes two people to hold everything in place to install them. I would like to see something along the lines of set screws for each element.
Anyway, assembly complete, I rented a lift to install it on my 50 foot tower (medically unable to climb tower) and with a friend, hoisted the antenna up to its final resting place, hooked up seventy-five feet of lmr400 and called it a day.
Along with a Ringo Ranger, the install only took a couple of hours, mostly getting used to the operation of the lift. After all that, we called it a day. My friend went home and I turned to other things.
Later that night I went down to the ham shack (basement) and plugged the business end of the LMR400 into my TS-820S anxious with excitement.
I was able to tune a coupe of stations in and listen, but it had been a long day so I pulled the plug and went off to sleepyland.
Next morning was Saturday and the YL was out doing her rounds. I went down to the shack and started scanning the bands. Nothing, not a thing on any band. I thought 'There should be something, somewhere, but remembered that there had been times in the past where all the bands were dead. I'd come back in the evening.
Later that evening, I was back at the controls. Tried a little tuning and discovered that the Kenwood 820 antenna tuner would only get a decent match on one band. At first I chalked it up to forgetting how to operate the 820 but then pulled the manual off the net and went through the initial set up procedure. Everything checked out alright but there were some anomalies, such as no output at all on 10 meters. I chalked it up to a radio that hadn't been used in a long time and might have been faulty.
Next came the TS-50 followed by the TS-2000. neither of the autotuners for these great radios could tune out the high SWR.
Finally (Yea, I should have done this first) I pulled out my MFJ SWR analizer and it showed SWR off the scale. I sent an email to cushcraft but haven't heard from them, in fact my email got bounced cuz their email server doesn't have me on a whitelist. Tried calling them a dozen times during business hour and never got anything other than a busy signal.
Looked at the reviews here (wish I had come here first) and read that a number of people had issues with the match box that comes with the antenna.
Since I couldn't climb the tower, a couple of friends climbed up and brought the antenna back to the ground, where I promptly pulled the match box off and opened it up. Not surprisingly, the big blue capacitor soldered in parallel had broken off and was floating in box, wedged between the circuit board and the box itself. I looked at the few solder joints that were visible and discovered that every one of them were cold solder joints, you could see the crystalline structure with the naked eye in bad light. I thought about pulling it out of the box but could see that I would probably have to destroy the box to get it out. I called HRO, you remember them? I bought the antenna from them. Talked to a nice fellow who patiently listened to my rant (not really a rant) and said he would call Cushcraft to see what could be done.
I give this antenna a low rating based solely on the quality of workmanship which I would describe as substandard at best. I seriously doubt that I would buy another product from the MFJ family after seeing this product. Maybe it's an anomaly but the reviews I've read suggest otherwise.
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W5KVA
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Rating: 2/5
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Aug 21, 2011 06:22
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MN8 Matching Network Intermittent
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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In addition to my earlier experience where two of these antennas were damaged in shipping, and where one antenna had parts missing, I later found another issue that was not immediately evident. The antenna would cut out with high SWR intermittently and I discovered that there was a broken solder connection from one of the RF coils to PCB in the MN-8 matching network. After repairing this, the antenna has been rock solid with performance as expected.
I understand Cushcraft/MFJ has recently addressed the weak shipping carton which contributed to the damages reported in shipping.
All said, MFJ has never responded to any of my emails concerning any of my issues, nor have they responded to my retailer who requested them to contact me directly for proper resolution to make me whole.
It is my opinion that MFJ's lack of response can only be described as "Mokusatsu" to which I am now hesitant to purchase their products.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokusatsu
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W5KVA
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Rating: 2/5
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Jun 24, 2011 06:53
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No Go Out of The Box
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Cushcraft needs to review their QC. I got two antennas out of the box new that could not be assembled. The first antenna had a defective fiberglass base sleeve and bent trap tubes, the second antenna had the wrong tuning stubs clamp plates, they were fabicated for 1/2" tubes instead of the 3/8" tubes. Emails to MFJ/Cushcraft were "Mokusatsu'd" And now I finally have one fully assembled and will test soon. When all the correct parts are at hand the antenna is not difficult to assemble and is pretty straight forward.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokusatsu
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KT6L
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 5, 2011 10:11
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excelent choice
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Replaced the R7 with the R8; very easy assembly but one must pay attention to the instructions. It is now mounted on my roof strapped to my chimney. Using a small saw-horse to support the terminal end I was able to "walk" the antenna up to vertical and by leaning against it to hold it in place, I was able to apply the U bolts to the chimney strap brackets.
It can be erected easily by one man. I'm not that big or strong but it can be done if you brace the base against a support so that it doesn't move then it's not difficult.
Its performance is superb; have worked every continent except Africa with only 100 watts, SSB, PSK31 and CW.
The instructions are very clear with high quality drawings - hard to beat. One of the best written manuals I've used for ham gear.
Received excellent support from Cushcraft/MFJ when I found there was one missing part - they got it to me the next day.
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