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Reviews For: Cushcraft R-7000

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Cushcraft R-7000
Reviews: 75MSRP: 389.95
Description:
40-10M 1/2 wave vertical. 80M add-on kit available.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cushcraftamateur.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00752.9
NI0C Rating: 2001-01-11
Mine has worked for over four years-- Gets out! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased my R7000 in November 1996 and with the help of my son, put it in the back yard on top of a 12 foot pipe. One section got bent slightly in putting the thing up (Next time I would enlist a third volunteer to assist during the installation.) I ran it barefoot for about a year, then started using an AL-80B amplifier and the MFJ Differential T-Tuner. It seems to work best on 40 meters (I've worked 39 zones with the R-7000 on that band). Performance on 15 and 17 meters has been rather poor. I've run 700 to 800 watts on all bands (except 30m of course) and not had any difficulty with traps. I always adjust the antenna tuner at low power, before engaging the amplifier. I just ordered a Butternut HF-2V so that I can enjoy 80 meters.
W8KQE Rating: 2000-11-11
GAP beats the pants out of this thing. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I had the 7000 for about 5 months, after which I decided it just wasn't performing well at all. I decided to take a gamble and purchase a GAP vertical, and to my surprise, the GAP just trounced the Cushcraft handily! I also had some trap problems with the Cushcraft. I have since taken down the 7000 and kept up the GAP. Due to restrictions, I cannot put up large HF antennas so I am now currently using a Mosley TA-32 Junior 2 element tribander and the GAP. Oftentimes, the GAP actually matches the performance of the Mosley at 30 feet. Amazing for a vertical. I will never buy a Cushcraft vertical again.
K4TBN Rating: 2000-10-19
good news, bad news Time Owned: more than 12 months.
First the bad news; Cushcraft's Quality Control Department (if there is one) needs some help as the 20M trap was defective out of the box and the replacement 20M trap failed after a month. The good news: I use the R7000 on a motorhome and it works good. I mount it on a mast clamped to the ladder on the rear of the motorhome. I transport the antenna flat on the roof with the radials sort of folded up against the antenna and tied with Velcro strips. If we are going to be in a campground for more than a week or so, I string about 100 ft. of wire to whatever is handy and feed it with a SGC230 tuner. On 10 and 15, the wire usually beats the vertical, and it's a toss up on 20. On 40, the wire always wins.
KT8DX Rating: 2000-09-08
Mine Works! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Mine was one of the first ones out. I assembled it according to instructions, and its worked flawlessly. My complaint - it leans. Annoying but what the heck.

Now, I recommended one to my neighbor, and he put one up. His experience is similar to most of the people here - very bad. Burned traps, variable tuning (sunspots?) and LOTS of TVI.

My 2 cents.

Bob
MI0CML Rating: 2000-07-08
Bad Design Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The antenna works great (except for limited bandwidth on 40) however, after a few days of moderate winds 20-30 MPH, the screws on the traps work themselves loose. This usually happens on trap CT-1. At this point the antenna either fails or becomes intermittent, displaying an SWR of 5 or so.

Another cause for concern is that the bottom trap takes all the weight for the upper mast and other traps and this can become deformed very easily.

This is a great antenna while it lasts, but it lasts only about six months.

I am compiling a file of such problems, would anyone who has had similar bad experiences please contact me by e-mail.
WA9PIE Rating: 2000-07-08
Bad design = JUNK Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The only reason why I didn't give this a big ZERO is because I had a tuner and used less than 200 watts (so I actually made some contacts with it). Beyond that, I had BIG problems with tuning. I used the 80m addon kit. The 80m addon kit seemed to de-tune the antenna and it was not possible to get 15m to dip below 3:1. Cushcraft finally sent me an updated R80 and it was no better - but I gave up complaining about it. Finally, I sold it to some poor fellow on eBay (but UPS destroyed the POS before it got to him). Overall, the quality of the HF antenna products of Cushcraft seem to be going downhill. Talking to them directly leaves much to be desired also. Take a look at the other similar models on the market (or get a Mosley like I did).
K2MME Rating: 2000-05-02
Forget it with power Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I just replaced an R 7000 with a Gap Titan. The 7000 did not do well with power. I first blew "things" in the black box and later a trap. Happened with 1000w max.and vsr under 2:1. Cushcraft customer service was great at replacing both items under warranty. That was my first try at a small apartment sized antenna after 40+ years of big towers etc. The vertical 1\2 wave does ok but the Cushcraft was not a reliable antenna design.
Howie k2mme
WA0QMP Rating: 2000-05-02
Changed my mind Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I want to change my initial rating from 4 to 2. I did work 193 DX with it, but had lots of intermittent tuning problems. When Cushcraft said there was a $117 modification kit available, I took that as them admitting the R-7000 had design flaws from the start, and want me to pay for it! I threw it in the garbage, and installed another vertical brand, but will use the new one a while before commenting on it. My radio dealer also admitted they received complaints about the R-7000. I will never buy a vertical again that uses "traps." (My new antenna brand has no traps.) The traps seem to be the big problem with the R-7000. I was not going to invest $117 more dollars into it, so I junked the R-7000 and bought a different "trapless" brand.

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Earlier 4-star review posted by WA0QMP on 1999-11-18

I had been off the air a long time, and didn't know what to get, except that I wanted an antenna that looked good, and wasn't very noticeable in back of my house. Burghardt in Watertown, SD recommended the R-7000 and I gave it a shot. I qualified for DXCC in considerably less than a year, and now total 170 DX, with my used Knwd TS-450S. Instructions were good. I added a nylon rope as a guy. This one guy rope seems to do the trick. I have been quite happy with it, and busted several pile-ups.
W2EH Rating: 2000-03-21
I bet you never put 800 watts CW into it on 24.950 Time Owned: unknown months.
I have installed this lousy piece of aluminum exactly to specifications, and operated it with a VSWR of 1.3:1 on 24.950 mhz SSB. Each time the trap marked CT1 flashed over across the insulator under the weather cap, leaving a nice black & yellow carbon path of distruction. This antenna should only be used at 200 watts or less. I am giving mine away to a local friend who will do just that. What a waste of $360 this effort was. Try 12 meters with 800 watts of CW for 45 seconds key down and let us know if it's still a 5 rating OM.

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Earlier 0-star review posted by W2EH on 2000-01-19

Well, it finally blew on 12 meters SSB, and I am taking back my initial rating of 4. I was on 12 meters, running 700w peak of ssb when I saw the vswr shoot up to 4.8:1 on my RF Applications wattmeter. I took the vertical down and opened up the 12 / 10 meter trap by drilling out the dimples in the aluminum trap shell, and upon removing the contents of the trap, I found a 1/16 inch deep by 1/4 inch wide carbon trough between the outer part of the trap insulator and the center piece of tubing. After digging out all the carbon and drying out the inside of the aluminum tube where moisture was found, I put the antenna back together and it worked.
This design does not deserve a 1500w peak power rating, and it is all over the band with respect to resonance if it rains or snows. Please forgive me for my initial 4.0 rating.
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Earlier 4-star review posted by W2EH on 1999-11-29

I assembled the R-7000 in 45 minutes. It is mounted on a 12 foot CCA treated 6 x 6 about 120 feet, horizontally from the house ( this is important & mentioned in the manual ). Since I had enough Andrew LDF-2-50 hardline to spare, I use it to feed the vertical. The only adjustment I had to make was to extend the top section to cover the low end of 40 CW. ( It just made it ). I use a Yaesu FT-990 and Commander HF-2500, but limit the output power to 1KW on SSB and 800W on CW. On 15, 17, 12, and 10 meters it works long haul into Japan and Asia with good reports. My only concern is that moisture ( i.e. RAIN ) shifts it's resonance aboutb 100khz. I do not operate beyond the 2:1 VSWR bandwidths, and have not blown any traps or the MN-7000 to date. I believe it is a fine antenna, if used correctly and you are not expecting too much out of it.
WB8DDI Rating: 2000-03-06
Excellent Value Time Owned: unknown months.
I've had the R-7000 installed for over two years without any problems. The antenna is mounted on a pole 8 feet off the ground & 20 feet from surrounding objects. I did have to make multiple tunning adjustments, but was able to get the SWR under MFG's specs. I have been running 800 watts into the antenna without any problem. The antenna has servived multiple ice storms & wind in excess of 70 MPH without any problems. I believe that this antenna is a great value if you: 1. Mount the antenna at per specs, 2. Take the time to tune the antenna properly.