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Reviews For: Diamond CR8900A

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

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Review Summary For : Diamond CR8900A
Reviews: 18MSRP: 110
Description:
A 10m/6m/2m/70cm FM Quad Band antenna. This antenna can handle up to 60 watts FM.

This antenna is approximately 50 inches (1.26m) high and weighs 18 ounces (490g). The antenna is silver and black. There are two center coils and a base coil. The connector type is UHF (for PO mount). This antenna is not recommended for a magnet mount. Includes an Allen wrench for tuning.
Product is in production
More Info: https://www.diamondantenna.net/cr8900a.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00183.8
BRANDRE Rating: 2012-04-11
A good quad bander Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this when another quad bander I had developed an early life failure. (This is not the place to bash it or even mention it.)

The CR8900A is a good quad band, no complaints, and I was able to get very good SWR's on 70/2/6 and a decent on 10 which very rarely use.

I have it on a K400 Mount, was on a Saturn Vue - the mount would only fit on the read deck and then very low but it performed well. I am now on a Ford Escape where it can mount very high and it does work better there. I have places in my regular route that I lost certain repeaters in the Vue that are there in the Escape with the higher mount. I also have a dual band 70/2 on the other side of the back deck which is the preferred antenna for really tough 70/2 operation - but it is not fair to compare a really great 2 band to any quad band. I work search and rescue and Emmcomm, nearly all on 70/2 so I need the backup antenna. I have run this on a tri-mag on the roof of the Vue with mixed results, probably because of the lack of proper grounding at the antenna. I do not recommend this.
WG9U Rating: 2012-04-03
Very Adequate Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I read the various reviews here and decided to try the antenna due to the mixed responses. When ordering, I also purchased a KS-400 mount for my mobile installation.

There are couple of items that need to be noted prior to listing my findings. First, I always install 1/2" silver plated copper mesh grounding straps in my mobile installations, and in this case it is quite critical for the 6m and 10m bands. While the screws and plate for the KS-400 did a fine job, the additional grounding strap definitely helped on the afore mentioned bands.

Secondly, it was necessary to trim the whip portion of the antenna to bring the VSWR into acceptable tolerances on the 10meter band.

The installation was simple and made even simpler using the KS-400 mount and low loss coax that accompanied it. I actually mounted this in the center of the trunk on a VW Jetta TDI, instead of to the side. Using an MFJ-269 I quickly and easily tuned 6m i.e 52.5 MHz (published range 51m-54m) to a 1.5 VSWR. Respectively, 2m and 70cm findings were below the published typical VSWR. 10m was a bit of a small issue as I was only able to achieve 1.8 VSWR at 29.6 MHz with the whip fully down in my configuration. After trimming the small whip approx. 3/16" of an inch (which the instructions advise you not to do), I was able to achieve 1.1 VSWR at 29.6, which was also below published VSWR for 10m.

I immediately took my FT-8900 and the new installation on a 350 mile road trip the next day and was very pleased with the overall performance of the antenna. 2m & 70cm radio reports were excellent. I was unable to test transmission quality on 6m due to a lack of repeaters in the area and/or discernible activity on the band. I did initiate a QSO on a 10m repeater and the antenna seemed to work fine from the signal report I received.

Obviously, a quad band antenna is not going to perform as well as a single band counterpart; however, I find this one to be very acceptable for the task at hand.

I would rate the CR8900A as excellent for 2m & 70cm, good on 10m, and unrated/untested on 6m. Overall I am pleased with the antenna, although the installation is only several weeks old. It will be interesting to see how the installation holds up over time.
MW0LEW Rating: 2010-10-15
MW0LEW Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I HAVE USED THE CR8900 WITH MY FT8900 2 OR MORE YEARS,ALWAYS USED WITH TRIPLE MAG MOUNT AS IT IS TOP HEAVY, ON MINE I FOUND THE LOWER WHIP COULD BE 1 INCH LONGER TO TUNE 6 METERS BETTER ,I FIND LESS FLUTTER ON VHF/UHF THAN SOME OTHER WHIP TYPES WHEN CAR IS MOVING , GOOD AERIAL (EXCEPT FOR PRICE)
MD0MAN Rating: 2009-11-09
Great antenna, no problems at all. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had this antenna for 4 years now, originally on roof rack of Ford Escort Estate, now on front driver side of Vauxhall Frontera.

If it is mounted correctly with a good ground connection, as the instructions say - the only part of the antenna that needs tuning is the 10m stub, I had to snip about 1/2" off to resonate it when on the Escort.

Works very well on 2m / 70cms, I'm yet to be mobile when there's an opening on 6m, but over the past few years have worked numerous European stations from the Isle of Man on 10m.

I couldn't have asked for a better multi-band antenna.

Matty
MD0MAN

PE1OID Rating: 2009-09-02
swr and cr8900 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hello,
i also bought a cr8900 but i'm not so hapy with it ,
the swr on all bands are hihger 1:3,5
it's a pitty that diamond din'd wrote the manual not in englisch , unfortunaly i cant read japanese :-)
but i can't get the swr in the right direction
so i think i will put it a side and wait for a better one for 10/6/2/70 .

is there somone woh got it working on all bands?..

Greetings from holland
pe1oid Jan
KB3CS Rating: 2008-02-27
works fine on my vehicle Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have a 5-inch dia. mag mount placed just off-center in the middle of my Subaru's roof rack. Off-center because of a reinforcing rib running down the center of the roof.

The worst-case VSWR is 2.5:1 at the low end of 6m (below the repeater part of the band). The 10m VSWR is nearly 1.5:1 across the repeater portion of the band and better than 1.8:1 except the CW portion.

The 10m tuning is sensitive to the length of the stinger at the top even though the resonance is broad. One quarter inch more or less moves the curve significantly but once you find the right spot - lock it down.

Parked at the top of a public garage, this set up works very well. Repeaters 30 miles away are S-9+. If you want to duplicate my set up, the mag mount is an MFJ-335BM (NMO) with an Opek NMO-8 NMO to UHF-F adapter.
NA0AA Rating: 2007-10-25
Useful compromise Time Owned: N.A.
I don't find this antenna to be a super VHF/UHF performer, although once I installed matching counterpoises for 6 and 10, I managed to get an acceptable match and all 4 bands work w/in specifications.

I have mine roof rack mounted and I'll give it credit for being reasonably robust - mine gets whacked on tree branches on a regular basis and only the very tiny stinger has been deflected in the least.

I'm going to keep mine for the forseeable future - I like a single feedline option in my mobile.

I would suggest that this antenna is VERY dependent on proper location - the manufactur says trunk lid and I hope it does not need as much work as I had to put into gettting a match.

2E0KPX Rating: 2007-07-13
SWR Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've only had the CR-8900A up and running for a few hours now in conjunction with the CR-8900R and it listens very well. Am I correct in reading that this antenna requires NO extra tuning except only on 10m?
I ask this question as there are allan wrench screws the whole lenght of the antenna and wondered if these were tuning points!! I've never been convinced with antenna's (multiband) that are pre-tuned and require no extra tunning. The only downside to this antenna is the non-recommendation of a magnet mount.
I don't have a choice and have to use one as I'm not prepared to ruin the paint work nor drill holes in the body of my car to obtain a lower SWR.

Anyone have any ideas?
Regards
M3LQ