| W7ZZT_NOW_W6DO |
Rating:     |
2003-02-04 | |
| Better than Expected! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I've been using the MA5V for 6 months now as my primary HF antenna. The Cushcraft was chosen to keep a low profile in the neighborhood. It is mounted only 12 feet high, attached to the eave of my roof overlooking Puget Sound about 1 mile away.
Here's my experience so far:
> I found assembly straightforward. I always read the instructiona a couple of times first. Parts fit together nicely.
> I used an antenna analyzer to fine-tune the resonators before installing the antenna. Experienced the same narrow SWR on 20 M as others have commented.
> Reception is better than transmission but it is hard to quantify. This is my only criticism.
> I've worked most states, Eastern Asia, Western Europe, Austrailia, and the Poles. Excellent for PSK. This antenna definitely works!
> The 6M add-on is useful for local V-polarized contacts.
It's unfortunate the quality of the antenna seems to be suffering. The MA5V is not a contestor or a big gun, but for the money and what it delivers, it's a good radio deal. |
|
| FIREFOX |
Rating:  |
2003-02-04 | |
| SAVE YOUR MONEY.....don't buy this antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Hi,
I've bought this antenna one week ago during the Hamfest "Radiant" in Novegro Milan; I started to assembly it and......
for the base assembly it's ok, BUT when I have to mount the ( 2 ) resonator parts....I discovered the "real" quality of this "alluminum rubbish" YES this is not an antenna, this Cushcraft is rubbish !!!! The two pieces doesn't fit in the upper tube right way, the machine screws mounted on these resonators doesn't match any of the nuts included in the box..... this makes me sick !!!
And last......all resonator coils are not weather protected...only some paint, already peeled when out of the packing.
So I've sent two e-mails to Cushcraft....and no answer !!!!!!!!!!!
Total: 360 € for some aluminum and fiberglass pipes and NO Customer Support !!! well done...... "Rubbish.....craft".
Electrically I don't know yet, but I'll post as soon as possible..
This is my opinion, SAVE YOUR MONEY and don't buy this product !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards.
Matteo. |
|
| KB0SJX |
Rating:    |
2003-01-30 | |
| Great Antenna/No Customer Service |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
1. Antenna is easy to tune if you READ the directions by adjusting the lengths of tubes on the resonator assemby. This is clearly stated on page 1 of the manual-
2. Assembly time was 3 hours. A lot of figuring out time. Building a second one would take half an hour, assuming enclosed parts were of correct size a diameter.
Quality control at Cushcraft stinks. My 20M resonator tube almost fit but not quite. Aluminum full of burs and most holes were drilled on only 1/2 the antenna mast needing additional drilling to complete the hole through.
Performance is ok- But most of my reports give a better RST back vs how I'm hearing them. Consistantly 2 S units or better. That's a bit odd but so is this antenna design- It plays very very well on 15M compared to other bands-
NO RFI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Awesome little feature of the huge balun-
I tried using Cushcraft's website to report warranty issue, email rejected after several tries-. Tried calling them, but you get this lame recording stating everyone is busy and to call back- No emails after a week have been returned. This company's service sucks- But this is a good antenna for the money.
The only downside is a very narrow 3:1 bandwidth of around 130KHz on 20 Meters. Blah-
It is also not "stealth" but very easy to take up and down for anyone. Even if most antennas are too much to raise and lower for those afflected with medical concerns, you may be handle this one without difficulty. .- But at 14 feet, it will not fit on a lot of apartment balconies etc...........
Save headaches of Cushcraft's inability to maintain QC and consider a Force 12 Sigma 5. The time you save in building the Sigma 5 vs this antenna can be used to fly accross country, play a long chess game, or watch the Superbowl- Maybe even enough time to lose a couple of pounds-
Way to time consuming but meets the needs of a 10-20 mter vertical without radials for those of us willing to run un-QRO- -
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|
| AB0UK |
Rating:     |
2003-01-18 | |
| A Great antenna...but read on! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Purchased the antenna about three weeks ago and finally got it up and the coax into the shack. In less than 15 minutes I had worked the Bahamas over 3000 miles away. It apparently is going to do DX much better than a Carolina Windom that I've had up for 6-8 months which has already died with a dead short in the Line Isolator.
Why a four rating instead of a five? The bandpass (2:1 VSWR) on 20 and 12 meters is skewed towards the lower part of each band. There are no instructions for adjusting. At this point to get it to the center of the bands it will have to come down and hopefully shorten what appears to be tuning studs in the ends of the respective coils. They were installed to the specs in the instructions. Why couldn't Cushcraft mentioned something about adjusting them in the instructions....which otherwise are good.
I was hoping to get away from a tuner but I guess it will be needed at least until the weather is warm enough to take the antenna down and try and adjust it. The antenna went togather well and the instruction were good except the lack of information on tuning. If you are looking to buy one it is a good buy especially with the recently reduced price. Beware Cushcraft does not tell you it may need to be tuned nor how to tune it.
IMHO, it is a good idea to add guys as well.
73,
Jim Harris, AB0UK |
|
| N2NQA |
Rating:      |
2003-01-04 | |
| ??6 meter kit?? |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have had my MA5V for about a year now and am 100% happy with the antenna,it still works good on 2,6,10,12,15,17,20 with my IC-746.
The only question I have is,is the 6 meter ad on kit worth buying?So far I see no remarks on the subject,cushcraft has them for 32 bucks shipped.
Again for a 200 dollar antenna it's hard to beat.
Enjoy 73 Tim |
|
| W5EFZ |
Rating:      |
2002-11-14 | |
| works great |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Decided not to wait for the 6M add-on. Assembly was easy and preset dimisions were pretty close.
Assembled and placed on a 10 mast to check tuning. Had to adjust the 17M out slightly and the 20M in about an 3/4 inch in. This allowed a max of 1.5 SWR across all portions of each band.
SWR does not reach >2.0 until out of band. /these settings are still holding after I mounted it on the tower at 25 feet.
The kit had some problems of quality. Missing 1
of 8 radial clamps, had to de-burr ALL drillings of the metal tubes. Other than the mechanical problems, I am happy with the antenna and recommend it as a good but.
73 W5EFZ |
|
| K3SZ |
Rating:      |
2002-11-01 | |
| Works well |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
So far I've been pleased with this antenna. I have it mounted at 20 feet above ground level and mostly in the clear except for a nearby palm tree. Racked up several more countries that I just couldn't work with my 67' dipole.
This is my first experience with a vertical antenna. I've resisted buying any commercial HF antenna for over 28 years but I must admit the MA5V exceeded my expectations. There are some instances when the dipole hears better but it's nice having a choice of antennas now.
The SWR adjustments were a little off for my installation. I made a one time adjustment to all the stubs and put the antenna up. I wasn't going to fret over trying to get a perfect match on all bands. If the SWR goes much over 2:1, I just engage the autotuner on my TS-570. Bandwidth is a little narrow on 20M but again, the autotuner handles this no problem.
Quality of the antenna was fine. I had no damaged or missing parts. The antenna is holding up well in the wind due to its low profile. Assembly was no problem and I am not mechanically inclined. |
|
| JL1KRA |
Rating:      |
2002-10-18 | |
| Effective length is shorter, JL1KRA |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
One of the huge typhoon over 100MPH attcked my R6000 and it was bended
30 degree at the base section. As the tempral replecement of the R6000,
I choosed the MA-5V with less cross section. SWR is wroser than R6000
especially in wider bands 14/21/28MHz. We have to accept this SWR at
shorten coils elements. My IC-729S without a tuner lower its
output to protect the final against the high SWR situation.
You should focus on certain frequency you use, adjustment of the element
by 1/4 inch step will lead you the best condition.
Lower part of this antenna is FRP material and effective
length of the vertical element is shorter than you imagine. But this
part allows the tilted ground element and consequently the antenna
beam pattern is optimised to lower elevation I suppose.
Construction of the antenna is easy, but there are a lot of fine splits
inside the drilling of aluminium components. I need extra minutes to remove
this. Mounted to 13ft mast pole, solo raising the MA5V is quite easy.
When I raised the R6000, it was kind of weight lifting challengement
due to its double weight and moment force.
You can not expect everything to this small $200 antenna. But
Appearently the antenna filled the gap between high performance vertical
and minimum mobile whip. It will give us opportinity to QRV from
limited space. With the commonly used TRX with tuner inside it will
satisty you enough. Although I am a QRPer who minimize power,
I feel I can enjoy the bands with the MA-5V
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|
| N8TEV |
Rating:      |
2002-10-17 | |
| great antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Just recieved it yesterday and couldn't wait to install it. Took me about 2 hours to put it together and another 1/2hr to put it up. Intstructions were clear and had all parts listed with a few extra. All the materials looked in good shape and good quality control. I put it up in the air and tested the swr, usuallable thoughout all the bands with the dimesions they gave in the manual. I will have to fine tune it to get it just right though. The only complaint I have is when you wind the coil(the 34 ft of rg58 around the form) they should of used a s0-239 contector instead of the pl259, this requires a barrel contector when hooking up your own coax. But overall signalls were fine and I managed a few contacts before going to work. I would recommend this antenna to anyone looking for a good price and being somewhat stealthy... |
|
| N7BNT |
Rating:      |
2002-09-26 | |
| An Excellent Product - Recommended! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this antenna to solve a space-restricted installation problem. I selected the MA5V based largely upon positive reviews here at eHam.net. Here are my own thoughts and experiences with the MA5V:
1. Construction: instructions were easy to follow, no missing parts, good quality materials. Took me about an hour to put it together in the family room.
2. Tuning: installed it on a 5' tv mast on my back deck. See below for tuning data. On 20m I centered the SWR envelope on 14250 (midway in SSB band) and use it on 20m SSB routinely without a tuner.
3. Installation: I have a 36' Radio Shack telescoping mast on the side of my house. I buried the bottom 3' of the mast. The MA5V is attached to the top of the mast, at about 33', and goes up 14' from there. Although it's visable, it's not an eyesore way up there.
Installation tip: I "guyed" the top of the mast (at 33') with 80-lb fishing line (non-metallic) and the 4 "guys" are almost invisible.
4. Performance: Well, it's a vertical. Low angle of radiation means local 20m QSO's are tough, but my first QSO after installation was a Russian station on 20m PSK. I run a 20m SSB net weekly with it and get good reports. I only need a tuner on non-SSB 20m (below 14150), all other bands need no tuner. I have an Icom IC-746 with an auto-tuner and the MA5V is truly a "plug-n-play" antenna with it.
5. Support: I had some installation questions and contacted Cushcraft tech support via their web page, and also (separately) contacted Ed, the Cushcraft amateur products manager, who hooked me up with Dave, the MA5V designer at Cushcraft. The response to my question posted to Cushcraft tech support via their webpage was disappointing and useless. The responses from Ed and Dave were prompt and excellent - these guys really care about their products and customers.
6. Satisfaction: I am very pleased with this antenna, I would not hesitate to buy another one or recommend it to my friends. Despite the disappointing tech support experience, I have to rate this antenna a 5 overall. You probably won't need their tech support, but if you do, find some way to get support other than their web page...
Doug N7BNT
---
Background: my MA5V is on a 33' mast fed with about 50' of RG-8X coax. There are three sets of readings: first, when mounted about 8 feet above the ground on a wooden backyard deck (before tuning) second, when mounted on the same 8' mast after tuning (if needed), and third , mounted on 33' mast (after tuning). At elevation, the MA5V is clear of any buildings, overhead wires, or any other antennas and is over 10' above the building roof. All SWR readings taken with a MFJ-259 SWR analyzer.
Freq - PreTuneSWR - PostTuneSWR (if any) - InstalledSWR
28000 2.1 2.5
28100 1.9 2.3
28200 1.7 2
28300 1.5 1.6
28400 1.4 1.3
28500 1.4 1.3
28600 1.5 1.6
28700 1.8 2
28800 2.1 2.4
28900 2.4 2.8
29000 2.7 3.1
29100 3 3.3
29200 3.2 3.5
29300 3.4 3.7
29400 3.5 3.9
29500 3.7 4
29600 3.8 4
29700 3.9 4.2
10m notes:
No tuning done
Resonant freq after assembly (8'): 28430
Resonant freq after installation (33'): 28450
-----
24890 1.2 1.1 1.3
24900 1.2 1.1 1.3
24910 1.2 1.1 1.3
24920 1.3 1.1 1.3
24930 1.3 1.0 1.3
24940 1.3 1.1 1.3
24950 1.3 1.1 1.3
24960 1.4 1.1 1.3
24970 1.4 1.1 1.3
24980 1.4 1.1 1.4
24990 1.5 1.1 1.4
12m notes:
Resonant freq after assembly (8'): 24800
Resonant freq after tuning and installation (33'): 28920
-----
21000 1.9 2.7
21025 1.8 2.6
21050 1.7 2.4
21075 1.6 2.3
21100 1.4 2.2
21125 1.3 2
21150 1.2 1.8
21175 1.1 1.6
21200 1.1 1.5
21225 1.1 1.3
21250 1.3 1.2
21275 1.4 1.1
21300 1.5 1.2
21325 1.6 1.3
21350 1.8 1.4
21375 2.0 1.6
21400 2.1 1.8
21425 2.2 2
21450 2.4 2.2
15m notes:
No tuning done
Resonant freq after assembly (8'): 21185
Resonant freq after installation (33'): 21280
-----
18068 1.5 1.8
18093 1.3 1.5
18118 1.0 1.3
18143 1.2 1.1
18168 1.5 1.3
17m notes:
No tuning done
Resonant freq after assembly (8'): 18128
Resonant freq after installation (33'): 18140
-----
14000 1.5 4.2 4.6
14025 1.2 4.0 4.5
14050 1.2 3.8 4.3
14075 1.6 3.6 4.1
14100 2.0 3.3 3.8
14125 2.5 2.9 3.5
14150 3.0 2.5 3.0
14175 3.4 2.0 2.6
14200 3.7 1.6 2.0
14225 4.0 1.3 1.6
14250 4.3 1.1 1.1
14275 4.4 1.4 1.3
14300 4.6 1.8 1.7
14325 4.7 2.3 2.3
14350 4.8 2.8 2.8
20m notes:
Resonant freq after assembly (8'): 14033
Resonant freq after tuning and installation (33'): 14261 |
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