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Reviews For: Cushcraft AR6 Ringo 6m

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Omnidirectional: verticals, mobile, etc

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Review Summary For : Cushcraft AR6 Ringo 6m
Reviews: 26MSRP: 107.43
Description:
Cushcraft Ringo vertical for 6 metres
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cushcraft.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
12264
K6PPT Rating: 2022-12-24
Works Time Owned: more than 12 months.
1/4 wave Actually works better than this
NO6B Rating: 2021-07-17
IMHO, not an antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Install this antenna, & you just might get the outer shield of your coax to radiate as much as the antenna itself. So should all the positive reviews be credited to the antenna, or the reviewers' coax? I couldn't put more than 20 watts into this "antenna", so-called, without the RF in the shack causing my computer to reboot. Replaced it with an Arrow ground plane & now I can go all the way to 100 watts with more transmit signal out & less noise to boot!

Seriously, if you're going to use this antenna please limit your operating to QRP or receive only. Using this thing at high power without a common mode choke will create a serious RF exposure hazard in your shack!
KC9QBY Rating: 2020-09-22
Tunes/works alright, cheaped out on some hardware Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Assembly was a bit tough because the screws used for ring assembly were too short. Go to hardware store and get Stainless Steel same diameter but slightly longer screws and add corresponding star lock washers. This eases assembly and speculate better for winter with its temperature cycling. Tuning arm to ring attachment U-shaped fixture will need to be bent to suit hole alignment to fit, especially if you tune adjustments take you to flattened part of ring. In my case I started with tuning stub 1/2 than longer than directions since you cannot trim a stub cut too short.....

In my case I used 51.5 as center frequency setting radiator as directed in instructions, but tune stub longer as noted above. I landed at tune rod directly adjacent ring-half assembly screw.
SWR:
50.3MHz=1.49
51.5MHz=1.26
52.5MHz=1.36
SWR@2.0 bandwidth frequency range = 49.6 to 53.8.
RigExpert Stick measured.
Done! No further tweaking.

Mount here up 18ft on fiberglass mast, feedline length about 80ft RG213.

Good simplex signal reports so far within 20 mile radius. More exploration ahead, particularly FT8 on band openings.
N2MDV Rating: 2019-05-03
I'm not at all impressed. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I put one up on my 6M repeater. VSWR's were a nice 1.2:1 on the TX FREQ, but for some reason, the MFJ 1/4-Wave GND-Plane that I've used before it worked much better. A friend of mine, about 20 miles north of the repeater, could no longer get into the repeater. And, I've noticed that I couldn't go as far with the Azden AZ-61 6M HT with the 6M Ringo, as I was with the MFJ. (Go figure.) I ended up getting rid of the repeater and 6M Ringo, before I moved out of state. I wasn't a fan of the 222MHz Ringo either. Oh well, I'm just not a fan of Ringos.
K4WEE Rating: 2017-06-28
Easy to assemble and gets the signal out Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just about all you could hope for, all the parts, easonable instructions, solid materials, and operationally spot on. 6 meters is magic because you never know she and if you can make contacts. I first thought the antenna was dead and then I managed to get into several pile ups. The antenna is mounted at 10 feet and is light enough to relocate if you want. This setup well out of the package, tubes slide together well, brackets hold tightly, and the ring is not that difficult to assemble although there is a bit of non-destructive and not unexpected twisting of the ring as it is aligned and bolted together. All and all it goes together easily and simply. Tuning required several iterations. I set for 52 MHZ and it tuned at 49. I shortened the tube length and also the stub. Cutting the stub is worrisome (maybe instructions should address how this affects frequency and which is priority tuning approach, tubes first, stub second which is the route I took.) tube shortening only didn't do much to raise resonant frequency thus I cut the stub. Used all my supplied epoxy on first stub cut thus used Duco on second effort. This solution tune up at the 50-52 MHZ range and although I would have liked to have extended into the FM range I am satisfied. A couple of points, two small packets of epoxy would allow ease of mind in cutting stub and sealing coax, and the addition of a small package of noalox would aid assembly for those without any. When tuning the ring, the ring can disfigure into an oval as the pivot pins tend to loosen as the rod is rotated. Several attempts and you get the feel. Once set, just back off the screw on the ring at the rod (slightly, if it falls out and it can if backed off to far) then just bump the the tuning rod ever so slightly as you search for the best sir and then set the screw. By replacing the tuning screw with a thumb turn screw also eases that adjustment and tightening. If you are not careful during final rod tighten you will disrupt the set resonance point.
K3TIM Rating: 2015-03-29
Easy Assembly - A+ Quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Cushcraft must have fixed problems mentioned in earlier reviews. Instructions were easy to follow and complete. All hardware was included, in fact some extra SS washers / nuts included in case one drops one or two.
Assembled per instructions, set lengths of tuned items per table. Final tuning for frequency first set the overall length of vertical to minimum SWR then very slight adjustment to the ring tap point. SWR is 1:1 at tuned frequency and rises as one moves from the tuned point.

Performance seems good, able to hit repeaters at 25 miles even though antenna is 4 meters above ground level.

All in all - the product exceeded my expectations. Would buy again w/o hesitation.

_..--
k3Tim / 6
KY4TS Rating: 2014-08-14
It works Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The instructions left a little to be desired, but I managed to get it assembled and mounted on a temporary mast for testing in about an hour. I was worried about the quality of the parts as it seemed a little flimsy, Bit it has been up on the room for about 2 years now and is still working. The adjustment ring was the most difficult to work with. When finally assembled, it looked more like a football than a ring, but it was working. The adjustment arm slips easily if not firmly secured. Overall I am happy with it.
N1RIK Rating: 2014-02-05
Seems to be ok Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been running an AR-6 on my 53.150 repeater in North Carolina for the past year. It seems to be doing an ok job. I wish I was able to put a higher gain antenna at the watertank site, however seeing I had to mount the antenna on a mast connected to the railing of the tank, a heavier antenna would most likely make the 19 ft. unstable, and I needed to get the antenna about that high to clear the top of the tank. I was not pleased that the antenna was shipped to me bent... which I didn't even open the package until after 30 days from date of purchase. I was able to get the antenna bent mostly straight, but I figured it most likely was bent before it was packaged. With that being said, it does duplex well running a 6 cavity reject duplexer with a full-size pass cavity added to both the receiver and transmitter... also running an Advanced Receiver Research preamp in the combination.

73s,
Bill N1RIK
53.150 -/offset (PL 100.0 hz) - Aberdeen/McCain, NC
NA7CS Rating: 2012-07-16
Sub Standard Quality Control Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I ordered an AR-6 and went to put it together tonight. Unfortunately, I am missing a lot of hardware from the bags.

First let me say ALL THE BAGS WERE SEALED WHEN I OPENED THE BOX. That should answer any questions about them maybe falling out. All but one screw (bolt) was missing, the lock nut was not included, washers were missing and a few other pieces of hardware were not included in the sealed bags.

This antenna was purchased new, still in the box with all bags sealed from a reputable dealer.

Having purchased Cushcraft products in the past, I have experienced first hand their quality and great performance. I currently have the AR-10 up that I purchased almost 20 years ago & it is still performing flawlessly.

I find it a shame that quality control has dropped since they were taken over. But then again, what else would I expect when they are run by the Mighty Fine Junk company.

This will be the last Cushcraft that I will ever purchase.
WA3UOO Rating: 2012-05-28
Works but not as built Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is a follow up to my previous post regarding this antenna. Having finally received the correctly formed parts from Cushcraft (which required two phone calls) I was able to construct the antenna per the assembly instructions. The instructions sheet by the way was dated 7/93, so I had no real concern about the various build dimensions like the overall radiator length or the 75 ohm matching stub length.

The antenna was assembled exactly as instructed and I have built a number of Cushcraft and other antennas over my 40 years as a ham. I initially put the antenna on a 10 foot mast at ground level to get an idea as to where it was going to resonate. It was no where near the ham band, rather, it was doing a great job at 58 MHz. Just a tad above the 6 meter ham band. After moving the tuning rod as far as it would move toward the furthest distance it could be adjusted in the counter-clockwise direction, I got it to an SWR of 2.5:1 at 54MHz; still not good enough for my needs.

I ended up up extending the vertical radiator by a whopping 13 inches to lower the operating frequency and get the impedance below 70 ohms. By the way, I am using a Rig Expert AA-230 analyzer which was previously proven on other antennas. After putting the AR6 on the house and completing the full installation, the final figure for the antenna was 1.1:1 and 49 ohms at about 52.5 MHz. The 2:1 bandwidth is actually better than advertised; also a bit odd.

I don't understand why I had to make such a compensation in radiator adjustment, but that is what it took to get this antenna to work acceptably in my particular installation.