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Reviews For: Cushcraft R9 vertical Antenna

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Cushcraft R9 vertical Antenna
Reviews: 19MSRP: 639.00
Description:
Vertical Antenna, 6 thru 80 meters
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00192.5
WA6ED Rating: 2016-01-18
Works great, nothing missing Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Works great, I made contact from Lake Forest, CA to Buffalo, NY on 40 meters the first night. I spent several hours playing around with an AA-600 analyzer making adjustments. It was very educational for me. A section in the manual on tuning would be really nice though.

I managed to break one of the smaller hose clamps by tightening it too hard. This was totally my fault. So be careful tightening the small clamps. I used Burndy Penetrox A zinc compound on the aluminum joints. One of the plastic parts had a hole too small. So, I had to drill it larger with a drill press and clamps. This was no big deal for me. But, this could have been a showstopper for some folks.

I had a used R7 without guying for over a year with no problem. Guying the R9 is required. Don't buy this antenna unless you guy it! If your antenna breaks and you did not guy it, do not write bad reviews here.
KK7DY Rating: 2016-01-11
Quality control? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I never got past Step One of the build because I was short so many critical components. I'm not about to spend weeks on the phone with MFJ ordering missing parts (stub end radials, capacitive hats, traps) that were missing from my kit. I just don't need the aggravation. I boxed everything up and am taking it back to HRO. Also, the plastic components don't stand a chance against the Arizona sun.
W4BZU Rating: 2015-11-09
VERY POOR Quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased an R9 for use at a customer locations HF disaster station. The first one failed during a ice storm. That I can understand, but the replacement that was ordered to get them back on the air has been a nightmare! When I received the "New" antenna and went through the parts list to check it off, we found one of the traps "ratteled" badly and it was also missing several other parts. I called MFJ/Cushcraft and they sent the replacement parts. Went back to work putting it together only to find that some of the brackets that were in the original box were the wrong size!. When I called them back I got the response, "Oh, must have been in the wrong bin". What the heck happened to good old quality control? When you pay this much for an antenna that is nothing more than a box of scrap parts, I would at the very least expect to get the RIGHT scrap parts! I can assure you this will be the LAST Cushcraft product I purchase!
IZ0GPP Rating: 2014-12-17
Updates Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After one year of operation i'm sad to report a damage due to the very poor materials used. The matching box failed (probably for the continous exposure to weather conditions, but it should be projected for that!) and it has been impossible to use the antenna anymore. I can say that the antenna system is absolutely efficient in terms of performace but the very bad quality of the materials used makes it a short term usage tool.
W2LGA Rating: 2014-10-02
Meets all expectations Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had this antenna over a year now .. Reports received are great and have made QSO's all over the world and US. Mounted 15' up and guyed (which is a must!!!) SWR's stay below 1.4:1 on all except 80 which is around 1.9:1. Overall very happy with the item and seems to work well with my IC746pro.
K2TTM Rating: 2014-01-09
Disappointed Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I put up my new R9 in spring hoping to add to the DX count. I took it down in September after about 6 months because my OCF Windom (6 - 80 meters) worked as well as, or better than, the R9 most of the time. There was also an intermittent very high SWR issue on 40 & 80 meters that I never got under control. Maybe it my location, terrain etc., or maybe it was unrealistic expectations from a vertical, either way, it's now down and ready to be sold.
JY5FX Rating: 2013-12-05
the best antenna ever Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
If you tune the antenna on 2meters above the ground before putting it up on your roof then you have the best vertical antenna just tune it before and read the manual 2 to 3 times
good luck
JY5FX
K4ROX Rating: 2013-10-04
No 40 or 80 or Customer Service Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bent parts on arrival, straightened them. Never could get 40 or 80 SWR below 6 to 1. Called customer service, sent pictures, sent a follow email. No help whatsoever. Not even a response to the last emails.

10 through 20 seems to work OK.
N1JAO Rating: 2013-09-23
did not end well Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
well they sent me a new mn9 and still no luck so hro did the right thing and swapped it out for a gap titan. electrically a disaster mechanically ok. time wasted and will move on

n1jao