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Reviews For: Mosley Classic 33

Category: Antennas: HF: Yagi, Quad, Rotary dipole, LPDA

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Review Summary For : Mosley Classic 33
Reviews: 33MSRP: 620
Description:
Heavy Duty 3 Element Tri-bander 1 Kw. Yagi
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.mosley-electronics.com/amateur.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00335
KC9NCS Rating: 2009-11-01
Can't Beat A Mosley Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I came into possession of a Mosley Classic 33 in April of this year from another Ham who'd taken it down, rebuilt the traps and tested it, then just gave it to me for free. I have no idea how old the antenna is. When I received it it appeared in like-new condition.

I finally put the antenna up a few weeks ago on top of a ROHN HDBX-48 at 50' and have been in DX heaven since. October 25th, my second contact was in the British Virgin Islands, S7 was the signal report. Yesterday I reached Scotland, the UK and Germany, at S7, S9, S9 respectively. This morning I reached Northern Ireland on 14.238.5 with 100 watts and an S9+10 signal report. I couldn't possibly be happier with the results of this antenna.

My HF rig is a Kenwood 940SAT with 100W and a Kenwood MC-60 mic (with a few daiwa switches and meters inline to switch from the Mosley to a vertial and a wire.)

I have near perfect resonance in 20M, good resonance in 10 and 15. Also tunes right up in 12 and 17 and have made contacts on 10/12/15/17/20M since it's been up.

SWR Results are as follows:

10M 1.2 @ 28.410
12M 1.9 @ 24.950 (Tunes to 1.1:1)
15M 1.5 @ 21.300 (Tunes to 1.1:1)
17M 2.0 @ 18.140 (Tunes to 1.1:1)
20M 1.0 @ 14.225 - 14.300

I spent about 4 hours re-assembling the antenna, measuring everything 3-4 times to make sure it was set right and put the antenna analyzer on it before hoisting it up ontop of the tower. It was well worth the effort based on the results I'm seeing and the contacts I'm making.

Knowing what I now know about this antenna, if I had to buy it, I'd consider it worth every penny. I couldn't be more pleased with it.

The only thing I'm not entirely sure of at this point is how well the rejection is working on 20M. I can hear pretty well "through the backside" on 20M, when I turn the antenna at its intended target there is a significant signal difference though. Would appreciate any feedback from any Ham with experience on 20M and rejection with this antenna to know if my experience is typical, or if I missed something putting it together.
W1LDD Rating: 2009-08-23
Battleship Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the CL33 from a local ham(Thanks Jerry W1JFT). The antenna was on his tower since 1995.The antenna is in great shape due to it`s design. This is a heavy antenna with very thick wall elements and S/S hardware. Performance is excellent due to the wide element spacing. If you have a chance to buy one new or used, buy it!
N4UE Rating: 2009-08-17
WOW!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Before I wrote this 'review', I called up Mosley TA-33 in 'reviews'. There sure were a lot of variations of this beam!
(the original instructions state "TA-33"), no Jr or WARC.

I bought this beam from a chap back in Ky, who, because of his subdivision, only put up the Ref and De. And those, he painted flat black (along with his tower) to appease the neighbors! ha Been there, done that, LOST the T-Shirt.....

Anyway, the Dir was new. Fast forward 10+ years. This antenna has been lying on top of a bunch of tower sections, so at least it wasn't in the dirt (and bloody FIRE ANTS!!).
So when I got ready to put it up, I completely disassembled and SOSed the entire antenna, one element at a time. Disassembling the traps, I found that the plastic coil forms had cracked and the coils were about 3/16" longer than new. I could have ordered replacements, but some careful work with a plastic mallet and my favorite professional super glue, they were back in shape. EVERY connection was carefully cleaned and 'anti-ox' was used at every joint. In addition, extra self drilling screws were added on each joint. After reassembly, the antenna was coated with Krylon 'clear' to keep out the Florida 'sunshine'.. ha ha

I had asked for 'advise' on this very site about using a coax balun and / or 'un-grounding' 1/2 of the De.
I recieved MANY replies... 1/2 telling me I MUST use the ground strap, 1/2 saying do NOT use the ground strap, etc. I now have a coax balun at the feed point.

The way I built the final version is this...
At the feed point of the De, I included a 'jumper' (no-oxed) that will allow me to ground and un-ground the 1/2 of the driven element. It's tied up, so it can't short, etc.
I WAS going to put a relay there, so I could get an instant A/B comparison, but I ran out of wire!
At present, I would have to climb to the 90' level to connect the 'ground'. That's OK, because it's within easy reach above the rotor...

How's it work? (the bottom line).....
For comparison I have:
A. a 5 band 'Fan" dipole (20M thru 10M), looking North at 50'. This antenna is close to the house. This antenna is homebrew, but has been a great performer for many years, it is fed with new RG-6 Quad cable.
B, the TA-33 which is at 90+ feet in the back yard aprox 70' from the house. It is fed with new 5/8" CATV hardline. I make my own adapters.

Turning on my Icom 761, and with both antennas pointing North, I can tune in K1MAN, on 14.275. Using a high quality coax switch, I switch from the Fan to the Mosley. When K1MAN is coming in weak but Q5, with an S-Meter reading of S-0 (I know all about S Meters and their 'relative' readings. However, my Elecraft XG2 gives an exact S-9 reading on the 50 uV setting. My 756 PRO is identical.)
Switching from the fan to the TA-33 provides the same benefit as engaging the preamp. Several S-Units.
I demoed this to my gf this weekend and she was astounded at the difference.
Yea, the TA-33 is higher, etc, but it just flat works EXCELLENT!!!

ron
N4UE

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by N4UE on 2004-05-20

I picked one up for cheap from a chap back in Ky. He had only used the DE and Ref, and had painted those flat black to make it 'less noticable'. After getting settled here in Fl, I went through it completely, Sanded off the paint, de-oxit on all joints, new hardware, etc.

Here's my installation starting from the shack:

A short jumper of 9913 to the rig of choice (<3 feet). Then to a home-made adapter to 5/8" CATV coax. Out to my 90' tower. Just above the rotor, another adapter and 9913 to a balun of 8 turns on a 6" form, right to the feed points.

Results? Amazing! Although I spend most of my time on VHF, I have only had ONE DX station not come back on the first call, but he did come back on call #2. 100 watts, no amp.

Swr (since so many guys 'worry about it)?
Here are just specific points on each band:

20M.....14.1.....1.3
15M.....21.3.....1.0
10M.....28.9.....1.6

The SWR was very close to 1.0:1 somewhere in the band. No problemo! On my main HF radios, this 'mismatch' means nothing. If desired, a push of the internal tuner brings it to 1.0:1 ANYWHERE on any band, even 6M!!!!

Nice antenna and great performance. Easily turned with an Alliance HD-73......


ron,

N4UE
AI4HO Rating: 2009-07-13
An Oldie and a great one! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my CL-33 over a year, its been up on my tower right at a year. With my 756 ProIII, and my AL-811H, its a combination that can't be beat. I got this antenna from a SK estate, the classic 33, a Ham M rotator and controler, at a very, very reasonable price. The Mosley had been lying on the ground since shortly after my friends passing. I got it in mid May, so I guess it had been on the ground for about 6 months. Brought it home, cleaned it up, found the 20 meter trap was broken, so a quick call to Mosley, and about 3 weeks and somewhere in the neighborhood of $70-80 later I had the new trap. Not much to say about that part of it as the trap went on with little trouble. At this point I might just add, this antenna is every bit of 35-40 years old, yet once the new trap was on, and I had a tower/antenna party, that old Mosley was as if it were new. My friends and I did take the time to make sure that every thing was right and tight.

Took the extra time to make any adjustments to the traps, got the lowest SWR possible on 10/15/20 meters. One nice thing about this antenna, is that it will tune up on 17/12 meters with the ATU in my ProIII. I must say, I seldom run any power when using this antenna. I've found that usually I can run barefoot and work em if I hear em! Today, the 13th of July 2009 was the first time in at least 6 months that I had to use any "power", on 20 meters.

About the only other thing I wish this antenna had, or could add would be the 40 meter add on kit. Unfortunately, this model Mosley does not support this feature. Not that it matters mind you, but it would be nice to be able to have that option. If/when I replace this antenna, I would definitely purchase another Mosley, maybe get one that I can put the 40 meter kit onto it. Like it says on top, this is an oldie, but its a great one! Hope to hear you on the bands!



73 de Mark
W3LZK
KA5ROW Rating: 2008-12-08
Impressed Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Traded Hy-Gain Th-5 for a Mosley CL-33 and it is great. I completely reworked the antenna and I was impressed by the heavy construction. And the way the traps were designed. I liked the idea of pre drilled holes for the element assembly. No having to measure the length of the elements. One set of holes for CW and the other for phone. I wish they would advertise more in QST as they did years ago. Now there was nothing wrong with the Hy-Gain. But the Mosley was easier to assemble
WA0IIH Rating: 2008-11-01
A Timeless Classic!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Having been a fan of mosley products for 40+ years when it was time for my first beam antenna there was no other option what would be going up on my tower. The classic 33 has been around since the early 60s, and is built like a battleship and functions like a true performer. It was very easy to put together and nothing but the best components were supplied. This antenna is a real work horse and the reports I get confirm the quality that went in to this antenna. It was well worth the time waiting for it to be built, all mosley antennas are made to order, mine took about 1 1/2 months and was hand delivered by gary jr, the owners son. I live in st. louis, so the mosley factory is is about 40 min away. I give this antenna and mosley electronics a 150% rating!!!!! Great people and a great company to work with. My antenna was up and running on october 16, 2008, my wifes birthday. Tnx for a super product!! 73s, Shawn Daniels, WA0IIH
NE4EB Rating: 2008-10-21
Impressed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My prior experience with multiband yagi's includes Telrex TB5EM, Cushcraft A3 and HyGain TH7DXS.

My brand new CL-33-M was put into service on October 18, 2008. It sets at 40 ft. on a Rohn 25G tower with non-conductive guy cable.

My experience with Mosley Electronics has been top notch from start to finish. I had been triband shopping for several months before making the antenna decision.

A call to the Mosley factory one afternoon put me in touch with the President of the company. He spoke to me for a solid 30-minutes patiently answering all of my questions.

My order took over a month to deliver, but that was made clear from the very start as Mosley has been busy with military orders.

The antenna comes in two boxes. You start seeing the quality before you even open them up.

All the parts are heavy duty aluminum and stainless.

I received the antenna on a Friday, with my tower crew scheduled to arrive the following morning. I was VERY STRESSED at the thought of working into the nigh time hours trying to figure out how to assemble and tune this antenna. My fears were calmed about 30 minutes into the project as all of the design philosophy, color coding ad pre-drilled holes started making perfect sense. You don't even need a tape measure to assemble this antenna! Everything is already done for you.

I cut mine for CW.

My 2:1 SWR bandwidth is as follows:

28.000 - 28.500
21.000 - 21.288
14.000 - 14.180

The 20-meter curve is a bit less than spec, but I attribute this to it only being at 40 ft. or maybe some tress. I dunno. I have been making a lot of QSO's up into the .200 to .300 portion of 20 meters where the SWR is over 2:1, and have been getting booming reports from all over the country and Europe. On CW, it acts as a flame thrower too.

The quality build of this antenna is truly impressive. I'll post a one year update next Fall.

73 John
K4DTC Rating: 2007-05-17
Great Antenna Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I had a CL33 about 25 years ago that I bought used. I liked it so much that, when I recently got back into ham radio, I bought another one. Both were used, but they are rugged and last forever. They are just a great antenna. They will take any kind of wind and ice, and it always does a great job. If you find one that is in good shape, don't hesitate to buy it. The only down side is that they will not work on the WARC bands. 73!
KD5ZEF Rating: 2007-04-27
Fantastic Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I bought mine used from a ham who relocated to a restricted neighborhood for an unbelievable price, along with the HAM-M rotor. It's almmost as old as I am! After a good cleaning I assembled everything. Assembly was a piece of cake and the construction is top notch.

It's elevation is at about 38ft and it works very well. It's an antenna I can point to the station and work 'em. I don't have long wait times in a pileup when working phone dx, either.
REMOVED_LBB6W Rating: 2007-01-22
WOW! Great antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this antenna at a yard sale for $100. I had a choice of KLM, Hy-Gain, and several other brands. I have no way of knowing how old the antenna is, but when I called Mosley and described the feedpoint connector (Type N) the guy said "We haven't used that type of connector for 30 years."
The connector was so badly corroded that I had to buy a feed assembly. I also replaced 2 traps and all the plastic trap covers and end caps. I guess I put about $300 into the antenna, but WOW-- I am impressed!
The first weekend the antenna was up in the air, at about 40 feet, I worked all states in the CA QSO Party. Subsequent DX contests proved the performance stateside was not a fluke. A "Clean Sweep" in the 2006 ARRL SS was like shooting fish in a barrel. Only 100 watts did the job.
When Mosley designed this antenna, they designed it to last a lifetime (or maybe more than one lifetime!).
***A REAL WINNER***