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Reviews For: Cushcraft R-3

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Cushcraft R-3
Reviews: 5MSRP: 249
Description:
Remote tuned (control) 3 band vertical -- 10/15/20
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cushcraftamateur.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0054
WA6LOS Rating: 2012-07-22
Worked DXCC and WAZ with this antenna in the 90s Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The R-3 antenna was mounted outside the window of my 2nd story home office/hamshack with the tip about 6 ft above the roof. Worked DXCC and WAZ in the early 90s with a JT1 giving me a 5-7 with about 375 watts of output from my linear. This antenna works when mounted well above ground!

I just resurrected the antenna since I now live in a CC&R home. Tried to work a 9K2 with 100 watts and antenna only 7 ft above ground an hour ago, but no joy! I need to resurrect the GLA 1000B again! Also, need to put the R-3 a little higher.
KH6P Rating: 2009-10-16
Excellent 1/2 wave vertical Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned this antenna since Cushcraft first put the R-3 on the market. With my IC-751A running 100 watts, I can work anything I can hear on 20 CW. The antenna is low profile, making survival in strong winds a sure thing. It does take a while to change bands, but the high efficiency is worth the wait. For a 10 through 20 meter vertical, it performs very well.
N4VBH Rating: 2007-07-27
Excellent value! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
While the R3 is not the only antenna you will need, it is a great antenna for 10 thru 20 meters. Unlike competitors, it is more efficient and doesn't require a tuner. It has a variable capacitor built in that is remote controlled from the shack.

There are also modifications available for the R3. Since the parts are no longer available, a recent conversation with Cushcraft revealed that the matching unit can be replaced with one from a R5 or R7, expanding it's capabilities and performance a little.
KE1L Rating: 2001-07-30
Effective - and it does do WARC Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got to use one of these at Field Day this year. It did the job quite nicely, and its narrow bandwidth helped keep the other stations out of my receiver, especially on 20 meters, where it tunes most sharply. I made over 150 QRP contacts in about 10 hours of operating using the R3 - not too bad.

The R3 works just fine on the 17 and 12 meter bands - it tunes continuously from 20 to 10 meters. However, since it was designed before those bands were available, they're not marked on the meter on the control box - you have to find the right spot yourself.

The remote tuning is slow (it takes a minute or so to move from 20 to 10), so this is not the antenna for someone who likes to change bands in a hurry. And the tuning on 20 meters is sharp enough that you need to retune if you move more than 30 KHz or so; this may or may not be an issue for you, depending on your style of operating.

Compared to the multi-band verticals that are available now, that use either traps or multiple tuned elements to handle multiple bands, the narrow-band tuning of the R3 is either its blessing or its curse.
WB9YCJ Rating: 2001-07-29
Start of somethings better Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Slow tuning and slow qsy from band to band.
Tuning control box remains in shack.
No warc or 6 meters like the R-7, etc.
Otherwise O.K. in other respects but I am mo' happy with R-7.
R-3 now difficult to find on used market.
Supersided by R-4, R-5, R-7, R-8, R-6000, R-7000