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Reviews For: Cushcraft A50-5S 6 Meter Beam

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Directional (Yagi, quad, etc.)

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Review Summary For : Cushcraft A50-5S 6 Meter Beam
Reviews: 24MSRP: 169
Description:
5 element 6 meter beam 50-54 MHz, 10.5dBi gain, 24 dB F/B, 1000 watt rating, 12 foot boom, 11 lb, 2.9 sg ft wind surface area
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cushcraftamateur.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00244.3
VE7DXG Rating: 2005-04-24
Works great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have 3 of these. I just took one down after about 4 years of service as I sold my QTH. It performed flawlessly, and withstood the weather just fine. Just today I cleaned up the bugger in the back yard and noticed that I assembled it 4 yrs ago using the dimensions for Vertical mount. Nevertheless the SWR was good (<1:1.4) and I worked about 250-300 grids with it (stopped counting after VUCC). So, before you put it up, RTFM!
I also use a pair of these stacked (I think it's 9'9" spacing) connected with 75 ohm coax and a simple "T" connector at the /P QTH. It performs EXTREMELY well for contesting. It's a little hard to compare antennas on 6m, but I firmly believe that two A50-5Ss will do better contesting than an M2 6M7 (I have four M2 Yagis for other bands and love them). I guess you will still have the horizontal beamwidth (I find the stack covers ~40 degrees) but you're putting more juice on the horizon.
I originally bought one because a saw one at a buddy and it's real fast to put together/take apart for /P operation. The telescoping elements also allow me to carry it on the roofrack and expanded it to full size in under 5 minutes with just a nutdriver for the hoseclamps. I used to use a homebrew before and it was more like a 20 minute job and always lost a few nuts in the snow when roving.
The reason why I decided to write this review is because I heard some guys talking about this antenna at a hamfest, and they were saying nasty things about it. I outscore those guys every contest with it...
I don't know about the 10+dB gain in the specs, but I don't care! It's easy to transport/set up, it's sturdy and it works! It works GREAT.
KB0FHP Rating: 2003-05-16
Good Antenna! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought A505S at HRO, Wilmington last night at 5, was home by 6. Started putting it together at 6:30. Finished assembling the antenna by 8:30. No problems - not a single bit of cursing. This from a guy whose wife hides the tools from him.

First try, tuning the antenna was tonight. SWR was 1.3:1 at 50.125, with 1:1 at 50.900 Mhz. Tweaked it to 1:1 at 50.900. Took 10 minutes - first try. Put the antenna up about 15 feet on PVC mast temporarily before I put it on the roof.

Excellent instructions. COnstruction was easy. First contact was Scanton PA - about 150 miles away. Signal was 6 S-Units over my usual signal, measured by same person. Old antenna was 6M loop up 18 feet. I am pleased - and waiting for the next opening. I will write more when I use it awhile.

73 de KB0FHP
KG4LFZ Rating: 2003-05-03
Great! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought this beam in January. I finally got my tower up in March. This beam sets at 36ft above the ground. Today I just worked my first station on it, WA4DOS EL86, and he was S7 and I was about the same on him, then we he faded to nothing, my S meter was not moving but I could hear him very well. This beam is a good hearing beam. If I had the room on my tower I would stack two of these. This beam is a wonder antenna. I plan to work many more stations on it. 73
Ed K4XXX
WL7M Rating: 2002-01-11
Great 6M antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Worked all states on 6 meters in 30 days!! A great antenna, well constructed, lightweight, and has withstood 125 mph wind gusts at 55 feet! 73, Joe WL7M Fritz Creek, Alaska