Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Cushcraft R-5

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Cushcraft R-5
Reviews: 56MSRP: 539.99
Description:
HF Vertical
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.cushcraftamateur.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
14564.3
AB7E Rating: 2008-01-17
Worst antenna I ever owned Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I love vertical antennas and have used them most of my ham career due to neighborhood aesthetics issues. I owned and used an R-5 for about three of those years and was horribly disappointed. Mounted on a mast about 15 feet in the air where it could clear any surrounding structures, it worked marginally on 20m and sucked on the other bands ... and this was near a sunspot peak. I could usually hear the DX but the antenna efficiency was so bad it was really tough to work much. It was basically a 100 watt dummy load.

After the cheap plastic insulators started to fall apart in the Arizona sun and the decoupling stubs literally started falling off, I took it down and replaced it with two simple vertical radiators made from one inch diameter tubing and "guyed" with cheap nylon twine. One was about 30 feet tall for 40m and 15m and the second one was 16 feet tall for 20m. Both were fed against a few random lengths of wire on the roof of my house for a counterpoise. With a tuner, I was able to operate any band between 40m and 10m, including the WARC bands, with one vertical or the other.

The difference was astounding. I could immediately work DX much easier than I ever could with the R-5 and my DXCC band totals increased quickly. I fully realize that antenna comparisons are subjective unless performed side-by-side, but all you have to do is open up the little box on the R-5 to see where most of your power is going. I'll bet a remote temperature sensor mounted in there would be an eye-opener.

Do yourself a favor and put a small amount of your money in some aluminum tubing and a bit of radial wire, and the rest in the parts to make a simple homebrew tuner. Skip these lossy all-band, electrical half-wave commercial products.
K7DAA Rating: 2008-01-17
If I could only have one antenna... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
...this one would be it! I've used the R4, and upgraded it to the R5 with the upgrade kit that Cushcraft offered for WARC coverage.

I've mounted it two different ways over the years: a chimney mount on top of my 2-story house in Utah, as well as at ground level, mounted on the top 2 feet of a 5 foot steel pole driven into the ground. I did not have to retune the elements very much between the two locations, and got great results as both locations.

I could bust just about any DX pileup with South Pacific or Oceania stations running 100 watts. It was a far superior antenna to any vertical I had ever used prior to that. It always worked better than my G5RV on the same bands, or any dipole I could put up in the air (admittedly, not higher than about 35 feet).

Sadly, it's now been taken apart into its various sections, carefully bundled up in my garage, waiting for the day when I can move to a neighborhood that allows outside antennas (see my review of the PAC-12 to see what I'm using now).

I can't bear to part with this excellent antenna. So far, it's been sitting quietly for 5 years, waiting for its liberation.

That's how much I've enjoyed this antenna!
N2QQF Rating: 2008-01-07
NOt Sure Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have not had this antenna for long as I got it on a trade for another antenna and I am baffled. I hear so much about verticals and how good they are for receive as well as DX transmission but I must say mine isn’t that great. Now, I understand it is hard to beat a well positioned dipole which mine are up well above 70’ in elevation setup in a flat top configuration. I also have a 160 and 80 meter loop setup at roughly the same heights.

I have to say that at the moment my G5RV blows my vertical out of the water, hands down. To give some perspective on how I have my R5 setup. It is on my roof about 30’ off the ground setup on a tripod mount on a 10’ mast so, the total elevation is around 40’ +/-. I can’t figure out if this is the inheriting traits of a vertical but I hear stations about 2-3 S-units lower than on my dipole.

While I understand about a 20db loss for horizontal/vertical polarization this also applies to distant DX stations. I understand 20db because I experience the same traits with my Vertical loop vs. horizontal dipole. The same issues happen with Local and DX stations alike so I can’t figure out if this is normal and maybe I expect too much or is there an issue.

I will say that the SWR’s are perfect throughout all the advertised bands 1.5 or better. So with this said I will give it a 3 for OK because the SWR levels are as advertised and I guess I may be asking for too much with regard to a vertical and a full sized wire. Anyhow I guess it isn’t bad for a limited space antenna but I would certainly put up a dipole at an optimal height before purchasing a vertical.
VE3TES Rating: 2007-11-17
Great Performer!!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I just sold my R5, wanted to find an antenna that covered more bands, and I regret selling it. Other than the fact that I had to dismantle the unit 2 times once because the connection between the SO-239 connector and the match box became intermittent and the second time because the 4 bolts used to secure the vertical radiator at the fiberglass base came loose. I worked many stations using this Arial, used it with 100 watts as well as 500 watts in many rtty tests. It just keeps doing its job. If you can buy one, don't hesitate at all, you will never regret it !!!
W4VD Rating: 2007-01-03
Great Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I used one of these for a number of year from YS-land, (El Salvador) It served me well, placed 4th Worldwide in 1995 ARRL 10 meter contest with it and a AL80A.

Great for locations where space is limited. Covers all the bands it's designed for.
N0WF Rating: 2006-10-28
Between a 4 and 5 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Easy to assemble, tune, and install, modest performance, small footprint, bonus 6 meter coverage, no ground radials needed. Reasonable quality, beware parts are reported to be nla from Cushcraft according to a competitor. Don't despair, the internet has several maintenance and repair resources for known problems. Not a pile-up buster but you will be pleasantly surprised with what you can hear and what you will work with the R5.
KI4GYT Rating: 2006-08-26
Tunes very well! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got my R5 in trade for an old PC, and got it up today. Tuned per the instructions, it shows an SWR 1.2 or less on all bands from 10m to 30m, except 15m it's a 1.3 in spots. I have it mounted 10 meters up a pole in a clear spot between the pine trees around my QTH in Georgia, USA.
W8ATT Rating: 2005-02-14
Good 5 band Vertical Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have dipoles that cover 80 and 40m and use the R-5 for 20-10. The performance is very good and not as noisy as some verticals I've heard. Setting up took about 3 hours with my antenna analyzer but finally got all bands working together. I think thats the biggest con about the antenna is the setup but if you have an analyzer you can do it and it hasn't had to come down for 3 years now. SWR's are still averaging 1.5. For what it is it works very well covering 5 bands.
PA3EQO Rating: 2004-08-13
reasonable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I Had the R5 for about three years, then the swr got high on 15 and has always been high on 17. Couldn't get it right again. Everything seemd OK. I had cleaned it very thourougly. I think it had moisture in a coil or something like that. Before that it worked quit well even though the swr got really high after a good rain shower. I replaced the R5 for a homemade vertical (2x4.7 meter) with open wire (450 ohm) and that workes just as well, maybe even beter on 10, 12 15 and 17 meters. The big disadvatage with such a system is that you cannot use the build in tuner of your transceiver but don't forget that with open wire you can make good antenna's for little money.
W8AAZ Rating: 2004-05-27
Strong antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Got the antenna about 12 years ago. Was good quality and worked alot of DX. Even the South pole. Eventually had some unresolved problem with hi swr on 20m. Seemed to be moisture related. Dried out in the spring and was pretty good but in winter would act up. Could not see damage or a cause. Insulation on traps held up over 12 years. Just took it down. Fibreglass base insulator deteriorated and allowed the element to move around. THis eventually broke strap connection from matching unit. Could be repaired if you had some material to replace base insulator. Would have to be very good performance material as I suspect hi R.F. potential at that end of a half wave antenna. Otherwise after 12 years materials in good condition and of course stainless steel hardware like new. No more parts available at Cushcraft for this antenna! BUt used, in good condx. would be decent antenna. INspect inside matching unit! Did not seem to be affected for SWR much by rain or branches of trees. occasionally touching it.