| VE4EAR |
Rating:     |
2013-09-23 | |
| Works Well for 5 elements |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This antenna is a 5 element yagi and performs like one. Nothing magical here. I have had mine up at 60' in a horizontal configuration for 4 years and it has seen some very high winds, temperature extremes and plenty of snow and ice. So far it is rock solid.
Went together easily following the instructions supplied. However I did run into one snag. After assembly, the VSWR was very high on both bands. I started playing with the gamma matches and even using a network analyzer, I could not brink the match close to 50 ohms on either band.
I finally gave in and contacted Cushcraft. Exchanging emails and data led to the discovery that the phasing harness I was supplied with was incorrect. It was the correct length but the wrong cable had been used. I had been supply with what looked to be 50 ohm RG58. The proper cable is not 50 ohm and Cushcraft quickly shipped the proper harness. Once installed it quickly tuned on both bands. Perhaps thise that have had problems with matching had similar problems.
Cushcraft customer service was very responsive and quick. Providing factory design sketches aand ultimately the correct parts.
Best DX so far on terrestrial tropospheric paths is about 600km using 100W.
Ed
VE4EAR |
|
| K1MGY |
Rating:     |
2013-09-22 | |
| A solid antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Maybe there exist two versions of this antenna. I got a deal: take it down and it's yours. The one I inherited has been around a while; there is quite a bit of corrosion (cleaned nicely with Mother's metal polish and finished using clear Krylon). My version shows three 2M directors at the pointy end, after which there are 3 70cm directors followed by the 2M driven element, etc. In the CushCraft documentation for this antenna, there are two 2M directors, then an intervening 440 director, and then another 2M director, etc.
Having totally disassembled my antenna for cleaning, the manual and the actual drill pattern for element mounting on the boom were not consistent.
So I wonder if this has caused some issues with hams in my place.. and maybe this might explain the commenter who said he's getting awfully high vswr?
In the stock setup I am getting <= 1.2:1 vswr, and with a simple tweak it's even lower on both bands.
Here's the configuration of my beam: images.marketplaceadvisor.channeladvisor.com/hi/15/15147/cushcrafta27010s_unit1a.jpg
and here's what CushCraft's current configuration looks like: www.radioworld.co.uk/catalog/images/a27010x.jpg
|
|
| KW7K |
Rating:  |
2013-03-28 | |
| Disappointing Antenna |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I have had this antenna now for almost a year. The SWR was and is very, very high. Not only high on 2 meters, but 440 as well. After taking it off the roof multiple times, I remedied the situation by shortening the boom by almost 1.5 inches. Although this did bring the SWR on 2 meters to spec, the 440 range remains exceptionally high. The tuning stubs are useless when the SWR is well out of the acceptable range. After calling Cushcraft, their only response was to adjust the tuning stub. I have owned other Cushcraft antennas, and was unpleasently surprised at how poor this antenna perfromed right out of the box. Disapointing at best. |
|
| NT4MM |
Rating:      |
2013-03-07 | |
| 19 years |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
What can I say that hasn't been said already? This antenna sat up 35 feet for 10 years in Ohio, surviving winters with the only maintenance needed being some grease when I took it down to move it to Georgia. Has lived in Georgia ever since. I've used it at times for FM, others for sideband and CW. ON 2 meters, once you get to about 5 elements, adding more elements starts to matter less than elevation. You need to go all the way to 10 to get much significant difference, and after that 20, at least in my opinion. 5 has enough front to back for most uses as well. Now, if you've maxed out your reasonable height and still need/want more, then it may be time to start looking at bigger and independent antennas.
For 440, 5 elements if fine for FM. Really, sideband it is nice to have a few more - I prefer 13 or so ideally for 432, and such beams are not large on 440. That said, if you're like me and only operate 432 once or twice a year, this gets you on the air decently there as well, and has the 1 feedline convenience.
A great setup is to use 2 of these, or 1 and a good dual band vertical, through a quality antenna switch, to a dual band rig, with the duplexer between the antenna switch and the radio (this lets you add amps as well). You'll have both bands horizontal and vertical with one flick of the switch with only 2 master feed lines. If you're looking to get your feet wet on a budget beyond just working repeaters on this band, it isn't a bad way to go. |
|
| K7CB |
Rating:      |
2012-02-11 | |
| Great Antenna |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I've found this antenna to be a solid performer. I currently use it for FM work and can hit repeaters that my ground plane antenna can only marginally get in to. But then, that's to be expected.
As for "MAGNUM257" - I think your comments about KV4BL are funny considering you don't post with an amateur call sign, instead opting to use the model of a 10M/CB radio. I also couldn't help but notice the PDL-II beam shown in your profile. Makes me wonder if you're a HAM. :) |
|
| W8GTX |
Rating:      |
2012-02-10 | |
| Excellent for FM work |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've had mine for 11 years and it's still working fine. I've taking it down a couple of times to clean and inspect it. No problems. I once used it for about a year as my main 2m/432 SSB mounted horizontally. It worked quite well. Bottom line, easy to assemble, easy to mount, rugged after 11 years with 0 issues. Great antenna for general FM service compared with it's omni vertical counter parts :-)
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by N8GTX on 2005-02-13
I use this antenna for FM work on VHF/UHF. The antenna operates without a flaw (near flat match on both bands) and typical rugged Cushcraft construction. |
|
| MAGNUM257 |
Rating:      |
2011-11-04 | |
| Easy assembly, great performance. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
>>>KV4BL Rating: 0/5 Jan 22, 2008 04:14<<<
"Assembly Not USer Friendly Time owned: 3 to 6 months Bought this piece of $#*% several months ago. As I am not an avid do-it-yourselfer and my time is at a premium, I was most disappointed at the totally non-intuitive assembly. Again, I am NOT Bob Vila and they expect you to be able to recognize various sizes of nuts, washers, etc and instinctively know what they are so when you have to put a given size in a given place, you are ( I guess they expect) supposed to automatically know what goes where. I made my comments known when sending in the warranty card and I guess Cush-Craft didn't care as they never replied. Several months later, this crap is still on my spare room floor and will probably remain so until I get a chance to dump it. Cush-Craft could have at least separated the parts (washers, nuts, bolts, whatever) a lot better according to size, description, and stage of assembly. Not impressed and will not likely buy anything else from them. Have assembled antennas from other manufacturers like Arrow in the past without difficulty."
I'm sorry, but this guy should not be a HAM! :)
I had no problems with assembly (about an hour). Diresctions are so simple a caveman could do it.
ck
|
|
| W3TEZ |
Rating:     |
2011-03-14 | |
| works great, with a modification |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| very well constructed antenna, very pleased, but the only complaint i have is about connecting the 2 yagis together with the 3 way t connector. i tested the antenna out with my ht and noticed that when you have the 2 yagis connected together like that, it really kills your receive. local repeaters about 10 miles away were coming in like they were 150 miles at like 4 s units when they should be full scale. so what i reccomend which i figured out works very well is to run 2 seperate feed lines for each yagi and use an antenna switch in your shack. since running two seperate feedlines, i noticed a night and day difference and could hear many repeaters with a full scale signal on both 2m and 70cm. |
|
| KQ4XB |
Rating:      |
2010-11-07 | |
| Great Antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This is a great antenna. No problem hitting the Catalina repeater over 100 miles away with as little as 5 watts. SWR is low across the bands. Very easy to tune with the reddi-match. I consider the antenna easy to put together - 1 to 2 hours maximum assembly time. The antenna, while directional, still picks up signals from left, right, and back well (a plus for me). The only problem I've had is some corrosion on the reddi-match input. The input is aluminum and the connector is iron or steel. Be sure to apply silicon grease to this area as the manual instructs and it should be fine. Bought mine about 15 years ago (1995) - it serves me well. |
|
| K2FOX |
Rating:      |
2010-10-05 | |
| Great Antenna! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Just purchased the antenna last week, assembly took less than an hour. Directions were clear and easy to follow. All parts were included (had a few extra nuts and bolts). Very pleased with performance. |
|