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Reviews For: Force 12 C3SS

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

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Review Summary For : Force 12 C3SS
Reviews: 43MSRP: 1229
Description:
6 Element Tribander on 12' Boom
Product is in production
More Info: http://force12inc.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00434.7
N6PSE Rating: 2004-05-16
C3SS is not a 5 band antenna! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Force 12 claims on their website that this is a five band antenna "As a bonus, the C-3SS also has gain on 17 and 12 meters (use your rig's tuner to match it) for full 5 band coverage".

I found that this antenna does not resonate anywhere on 12/17 meters with swr below 3:1.
I asked Tom Schiller (Force 12 President) about this claim, he said that the antenna resonates on 17 meters with some gain off the back of the beam. He suggested that I add 9ft of coax to my feed length. No improvement. This antenna is worthless on 12/17 meters. I replaced a perfectly good KLM KT-34A with this antenna with the intent to get some performance on 17 meters with a small turning radius. It does not meet the purpose that Force 12 said it would. It is a very good antenna on 10, 15 and 20 meters. No complaints there! If Force 12 marketed this antenna as a tribander, I would give it a "5", but since they make claims that it cannot fulfill, it gets a "3".

It is easy to put together, fit & finish is fine. Pictures in the manual are very poor.

I recommend this antenna as a tri-bander on 10, 15 and 20 meters but it is useless on 12/17 meters.

Paul/N6PSE
W9RPE Rating: 2004-04-07
Excellent Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my C3SS up for a little over two years now on a 30 foot tower. The antenna itself is at 35 feet. Overall it is the best antenna I have ever owned and worth every penny. Assembly is easy as the antenna is pre-assembled, marked and disassembled before it leaves Force12. It goes together with rivets, rather than screws, which insures nothing should come loose. I only hope they have made improvements to the photo copied manual in which the pictures were very difficult to see and not very much help. The step by step portion was fine and I had no trouble assembling the antenna. When I lower my hazer to raise and lower the latest dipole experiment I always check the C3SS and it still looks as if I put it up yesterday. Up here near Chicago the antenna stands up easily to severe t-storms, snow, wind and ice..no problem. SWR as advertised. My Knwd TS-2000 will not tune it for 12 or 17 meters, but my TS-850 will with no problem. Excellent directivity, fb ratio and rejection off the sides even at 35 feet. My only plan for it is to replace my current mast with a 20 foot mast this spring to get the C3SS up to 40 feet. If you are looking at an antenna it this class and want one of the best...buy it!!! Oh..I amost forgot..it looks nice too.
W7CO Rating: 2004-02-29
Excellent Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had my C3ss for about 9 months. It is on a 40' tower. I find it to be an excellent antenna on 10-15-20 meters. Construction was easy as was getting it on the tower.

Not so good on 12/17 and I don't think it should be advertised for those two bands. That said, I am very pleased with operation on the other 3 bands. I drive it with a Yeasu FT920 and AL 811 amp. I can always work anyone I can hear.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by W7CO on 2003-07-12

I have had my C3SS up about 4 months now. It is at 40' on a tower. Using an old Ham M rotator I have had for years. Rig is Yeasu FT920 driving an AL811 amp when necessary. I live in Washington State and have worked into all the states. Recently we had band openings into Europe, Asia, ZL and VK land. Usually only takes one or two calls to bust into the pack. The only change I might make is to take it up another 10' next year. I didn't have any luck tuning 17 and 12 mtrs. But this has not caused me any difficulties. All in all I am satisfied with this antenna.

73's Mike W7CO
VE1MC Rating: 2004-02-29
A Best Buy Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Previusly I had a Cushcraft A4S for 10 years or so that was down more than it was up. The traps were terrible and the antenna quality was worst. My friend KF2HC recommended the Force 12 C3SS to me and I have not been disappointed since. It has been up for 3 winters now on a 40 ft tower. I am only a few miles from the ocean & we get our share of winter gales & salt spray. The C3SS has performed flawlessly to date. The SWR is flat on 10/15/20 mtrs & the internal tuner on my IC 756 takes care of the mismatch on 17/12 mtrs. Installation was not problem, the only thing is I now have a pop riveter that I'll probably not use for anything else again. No traps, what a blessing, Force 12 has my vote.
NX2R Rating: 2003-09-27
Big results in a compact size Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had this beam up for only two weeks so this may be a little premature. If so I will update my comments at a later date if required.

To begin with this C3SS replaces a Cushcraft MA5B.
(You can see my review for that beam). I thought and still think the MA5B is a great antenna for its size. Having said that I was looking for more performance. My pal K7JIM who also has the force 12 suggested I try this as an upgrade.

My first impressions are that this gem far exceeds my expectations as well as the beam it replaces. Band conditions havent been very good lately but despite that I have made many contacts with super signal reports the likes of which have not been received prior to installing the Force 12 beam.Working DX ( what little is available )is a piece of cake.

If I may digress for a moment I wish to acknowledge my best friends help. K7JIM who gave me unlimited assistance and support physical and mental.Thanks Jim!!!

The photo copies that were criticized in some reviews have been replaced with clear copies.

The quality in my opinion is VERY GOOD. All parts fit as expected. I had no trouble following the instructions. A word of caution is needed here. Read the instruction and go SLOW. There is always a rush to get it done and that leads to mistakes.

Those that encountered difficulty installing the rivets may very well have not followed directions as written. Loosely install all rivets on the section being worked on first. This aligns all the holes while the element is still loose then and only then pop them.
Some things that could be improved. A parts list in my opinion would be helpful in inventorying the received shipment as well as being helpful in ordering parts that may get damaged.
The Force 12 balun I purchased is a much shorter version than previously supplied.

The problem is that after cutting its wire leads to the recommended lengths there is only one area that it can be installed on the boom. That in turn places the so239 connector in between two screw studs that have jumper wires connected to them. When the pl 259 cable end is connected to the balun so 239 the metal is dangerously close to the screw electrical connections. Coupling or a short could ensue. I solved this by jury rigging my balun installation to prevent this.

A longer balun would be a simple solution.
All parts were there as was an ample supply of rivets.

My installation is only 22 feet up on a home brew push up pipe support. The MA5B was also installed here.

This in turn is only 12 feet from the rear of my house. Despite the fact that some coupling occurs due to its close proximity to my house I was able to adjust the antenna to get acceptable VSWR readings. This seemed to affect 20 meters only.

In conclusion this is a great performer that despite its larger overall size is less noticeable
than the smaller Cushcraft. The smaller element diameters and a less shiny finish contribute to this illusion.

My e mail and phone contacts with Force 12 have been responded to positively and promptly.

I had to wait 6 weeks for mine to be built but is well worth the waiting.

This ius a super performer with the added bonus of NO TRAPS.
K3XT Rating: 2003-08-09
Disappionted ... Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
C3SS antenna purchased with Force 12 B-1 balun

Pros:
Mechanically the antenna is excellent, heavy-duty hardware throughout.
Great performance on 10-15-20 meters bands, SWR curves as specified.
Replaced Cushcraft MA5B antenna to get flatter SWR curves and better 20m performance. The C3SS did provide this capability.

Cons:
First, you would expect with an expensive antenna ($579 US) that everything should be included to assemble it, minus common simple tools. Not so, you will need to make a run to the local hardware store to purchase a pop riveter ($25 US). So what is the big deal you say? Well, what if you live in a remote area or a foreign country that does not have local hardware stores. It is an unexpected surprise that should not be; a pop riveter should be included with the antenna. Without a pop riveter you cannot even begin to assemble this antenna.

Second, as in DU3HF’s review the black and white photocopies for antenna assembly are next to worthless. They look like 5th generation copies.

Third, even though the manual states that you should not have to drill any holes to insert the rivets, I had to drill numerous holes to assemble the elements. Before drilling I triple checked the measurements on the antenna verses what was stated in the assembly manual. To connect the elements requires two rivets; many times the two rivet holes did not align.

Forth, this is a triband yagi (10-15-20m) that sort of works on 12m and 17m. I concur with W9DJ’s comments that 12m & 17m are nothing more than poorly matched dipoles. Also read K7JIM comments as well. What is interesting to note on Force 12 web site is the C3SS has specifications for 5 bands. And so your impression is that it is a 5-band yagi antenna. After you have purchased the antenna and open the manual you will see on page one, it states that this is a “triband Yagi”. This antenna replaced a Cushcraft MA5B mini beam. The MA5B on 12 and 17 meters equaled and in many cases received better signals than my wire antenna. Compared to the C3SS the wire antenna is always better on 12 & 17 meters. Again, not what I expected.
G0VQY Rating: 2003-05-04
First class Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've only been using the C3SS for a very short time but early indications seem to say that this antenna is well worth having. I've been using the Cushcraft A4S for a number of years now which has served me well. I can honestly say that the C3SS is on par if not a little better than the A4S. you also have the added bonus of no traps and elements that aren't going to become loose and fall off. I highly recommend this antenna.
W0SA Rating: 2003-03-13
Excellent! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this antenna to use in Barbados as a DX-pedition antenna , choosing it for its size when built and small box size for taking as luggage .
It assembles in a morning .. I agree with others that the photos in the manual could stand upgrading . The antenna went together without a hitch tho .
I mounted it on a 2 " waterpipe at 18 feet only . I fed it with RG-8X and 300 watts for 10 - 15 - 20 ; 100 watts with a tuner for WARC 18 and 24 mhz . SWR was under 2:1 for 10 - 15 - 20 .
I entered the ARRL SSB contest and worked DX outside of the contest , using the call 8P9NX .
I made 4000 qso's in the 10 days of operating .

This antenna gave very impressive results in my opinion . Despite the contest-qrm , I had 2700 qso's in 12hrs of operating , and rarely had to change freq because of qrm moving in on top of me . Outside of the contest , many excellent reports , many pileups . The signal on the 18 and 24 mhz generated pileups as well .. a tuner was certainly needed on these bands tho .
Small antenna , big signal !! An excellent antenna ! W0SA / 8P9NX
W4ACW Rating: 2002-05-17
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great performance.Nice trapless design.Small profile.Built to last.It is not a small compromise antenna!!.I bust pile ups with ease on the first or second call.I have it on a tower at about 60' and plays execellent.No complaints.Great customer service.Pricey but well worth it.I will buy another Force 12 in the future.I feel they have the best designed antenna systems out there on the market!... Order early as some customers wait up to 8 weeks as they are all pre-built and tuned than disassembled before delivery!
AA6GZ Rating: 2002-04-23
Outstanding Beam Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I dont have to say much about this antenna. Worked about 150 DXCC since September 2001 when I put up the C3SS. I thought I didnt have the room for a bigger antenna. Turns out I could have went with the the full size C3 or an XR31 but Im very pleased with what this beam does. I have an SB-220 amp and never run it yet. 100 watts talks to everyone. I feel like one of the big guns out there running lots of power. In a pile it dont take long for me to work someone. Most of the time within 3 tries. Outstanding performing antenna.

Carleton - AA6GZ