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Reviews For: Cushcraft R-6000

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Cushcraft R-6000
Reviews: 69MSRP: 310.00 (Street price)
Description:
6m, 10m, 12m, 15m, 17m, 20m; 3db gain; 1.2:1 typical; 19' tall
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cushcraftamateur.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00694
W0DXX Rating: 2010-12-31
Quality contol sucks Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I actually own two of these antennas. One for my primary station for 6-20 meter omni vertical and one for my remote mountain cabin. I have had good reports on most bands though I have not really tried it much on the WARC bands yet. Of the two I purchased new they were both missing parts from the get go. Trying to rectify this issue with Cushcraft in a true pain in the a**. When you open one up and your 80+ miles from the nearest hardware store hopefully you have something laying around the shack that may work. I do not run any power thru either one as I have read reports that power causes SWR issues. Will report again after the first year trial period is over. As for Cushcraft, better packaging and QC would never hurt.
F6CYT Rating: 2010-02-01
Without problem Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I am using a R-6000 since 2007.
It ist up a 4 meters mast on the ground.
4 guys hold in position the top of the mast
4 other guys hold the R-6000 just under the first trap.
The top of traps is protected from rain vith adhesive tape,and spray.
So at this date I never have problem and the antenna make even its job.
In comparison with may old tri-band GP In can't find default.
2EOAKG Rating: 2009-11-25
The Buisness Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got hold of my R-6000 on e-bay for about £100 with postage.Put it up about eight feet from the ground to begin with and got a 59 from a Cuban station on 20 meters using 100 watts.Raised it up to about 15 feet and it works like a dream.We had gusts of wind reaching 60 MPH recently and it swayed like a drunk,but it coped well,no problems with the wind with this one.Get one you wont be dissapointed.A terrific vertical.
K0CWO Rating: 2009-08-22
11 years and going Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I put this antenna up in 1998. I used Belden 9913 for the feed line. I remember that even with an MFJ antenna analyzer it was quite a chore to get this antenna to resonate where you want it to. After 11 years it still resonates at the points that I adjusted it for. During heavy rain it will detune a little bit but nothing the automatic antenna tuner in my rig won't take care of. This may not be the most efficient antenna, as my doublet outperforms it 90% of the time 20-10 meters. It is however a small foot print antenna that if you can hear them you can work them. I have had no issues with it since new. If I had to replace this antenna today, I'd take a close look at the Hy-Gain AV-620.
M0RJL Rating: 2008-06-29
Very good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Purchased this antenna used. Set it up to the instuctions. To make the traps water tight i always use self almalgamating tape. Tried the s.w.r. at 1.5 meters above the ground. S.w.r was very good. I worked 3 stations into Isreal and Algeria and also into much of Europe with just 100watt. The next day it was put up on the mast at 9 meters, s.w.r did not change at all. Other antennas i have owned have been a big problem to tune and have spent much time lifting the mast up and down to tune. Not with the Cushcraft R6000 though. I have only owned this antenna for a few weeks so far but i am very impressed with it. Have had no problems with the s.w.r going up with rain. I have also used my Ameritorn amp with it and have no problems with 400watts into the antenna. It's true what has been said about the R6000 if you can hear a station then you can work it. The reason i have give it a 4 instead of a 5 is because i want to see how it stands upto some strong winds. PS i also have a home brew 20mt dipole. The R6000 beats it every time. 40 & 80 meter i use the dipole but for all the other bands i use the R6000. Trust me if you are thinking of buying one, you will not be sorry.
W2OZO Rating: 2008-05-04
Great for DX Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought one that had been up for a few months then taken down & stored for 1 year or more. The club member I bought it from came to my home QTH helped me install it, and tuned it to perfection - all for $175 !!!

It has been up for just over a year now - and no complaints. I work primarily 20m and can work Europe with little effort. Have worked Central & South America; Canada; Japan; Australia; N. Africa; have worked many states (including AK & HI). (All barefoot w/ a TS450AT & TS 2000 LE)

If there is ANY drawback of this antenna, it is that it is more of a DX antenna - so unless the conditions are good for short skip - stations within 100 - 300 (+-) miles are tough to work because of the low take-off angle.

If I were to calculate the nunber of miles of DX vs. the cost - I could yank it down tomorrow and toss it in the trash and be way ahead of the game - BUT I WON'T!!! It is a great antenna! Buy one and have fun like me.
KE5CVM Rating: 2008-03-20
4.5/5 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought this antenna used. It works great! First time up made a contact with Japan on twenty meters. Takes very little to tune. I have gotten good signal reports. I have little space since I live in the suburbs and this antenna leaves a slim profile. Very happy with this antenna.
WD5FUN Rating: 2007-07-24
After a year I am still sold Time Owned: more than 12 months.
About a year ago I wrote a review of the R-6000 and stated that it is the best vertical that I have ever owned. I stand by that statement a year later. Even with the lousy band conditions we have experienced over the past year, I have worked hundreds of DX stations with just casual operation. It isn't a beam, but I can't put a beam up at my locations, so the R-6000 will have to do.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by WD5FUN on 2006-07-31

I just put up an R-6000 and must say that I am impressed with several things about it. First of all the quality of materials is way above average. Secondly it went together very smoothly. All the parts were there and all of them fit perfectly. I measured very carefully and found that upon testing without any adjusting the reflected wave was below the specs published by Cushcraft. The performance is greater than I expected, so I am a very happy customer. It is however a vertical and has all of the benefits and all of the drawbacks you can expect from this type of antenna. It is however the best performing vertical that I have ever had.
AB8XX Rating: 2007-07-15
Great Performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This was my first "real" HF antenna and has been up for 4 years. It is my main station antenna and works pretty well. I have it mounted about 10' off the ground and have a few guy lines on it for windy days. Usually I can work every one I hear with it. Mine is somehow resonant on 75m and have worked a few stations into Europe on that band with it. Earlier this year we had a nasty ice storm and there was an inch of ice covering the whole antenna but it is still standing!
KB6HRT Rating: 2007-07-02
Ground mount Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Just an update on my R6000 antenna, Have had an R6000 since 2002, but all mounted on the roofs of two different homes, brought a Gap Titan about a month ago for the extra bands and replaced my R6000 with the Titan and the Titan works well. I then replaced my Hustler 4 10-40m Vertical that was ground mounted. I found that the R6000 works better at my location ground mounted than the Hustler that it replaced and on 20m works better than the GAP to my amazement. I like all 3 of these antennas and to me all work well, but the R6000 works best ground mounted. All three antennas have great SWR on all the bands that I talk on 1.1 to 1.2. There are times in the day where a good vertical will work as well or better than my dipole depending on the direction of the incoming signal...........KB6HRT

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Earlier 5-star review posted by KB6HRT on 2004-10-24

Before moving to Sun City AZ in June of this year,
I sold my Hy Gain 620 antenna, After installing 2 inverted Vs that work well, I decided to install a vertical, I had a R6000 and switched to a Hy Gain 620 at my last QTH So went back to the R6000 because of it strong construction and its great performance. It took me about 4 hours to build. After installing the R6000 did a little fine tuning so all bands were 1.2 or better on all bands except 6 meters where there is a rise in SWR, but it can be moved to where it won't be a problem if so desired. This antenna works best on 10 through 17 meters and 1500 miles or farther for me, I have talked to all contantants with this antenna. On 20 meters it is down from my 20 meter inverted V by about 2 to 3 S units on most contacts. This antenna has very strong audio output so it make it very easy to make contacts with 100 watts EVEN WITH YOUR PREAMP ON. When installed properly this antenna is a Great antenna and will last a very long time and it is very well made! The R6000 is just 19 ft long so one person can handel it and thats an added PLUS.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by KB6HRT on 2002-05-02

Got the R6000 to day and started building it as soon as i got home took me 5 hours to build it lots of parts, that included installing a new mast on the roof next to my AC unit antenna sets at 20ft at the base, set it to factory spect and check all bands SWR on 15 & 20 needs to be moved a little for where I talk but all band SWR is very low 1to1 I have a good station ground and the antenna is grounded good with NR6 wire, The antenna preformes very well on 6 meters with the little bump in the SWR like the last reviewer stated it works best on 10 meters full band coverage. Worst band is 20 meters but still works well but down from my inverted V by 1 to 1 1/2 S units
about the same signal strength on 15 meters 17,12,10 meters it is better than my inverted V. This antenna is a keeper in my book.