| KE7NJ |
Rating:  |
2024-09-11 | |
| Not a happy ending! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
April 2022:
It sounds like some have issues with this antenna over time. I just got mine, so will have to wait a few months/years to see how it lasts.
However, I am very pleased with the quality of the antenna so far... and with how easy it was to put together. I assembled it myself and only needed a little help from my son to mount on the mast. The hardware looked good and the insulator on the driven element is now fiberglass. The traps looked okay... will have to see how they hold up.
I've only operated once in the rain and didn't have any issues. I set mine up for the center frequencies and am able to work all of 15 and 20 meters under 2:1 SWR. I can operated 10 meters from 28.0 to 29.1.
I'm able to compare it to my OCF dipole on the air and, of course, it is night and day better. I'm very surprised at how quiet it is on receive. I'll be getting S4-5 noise level on the OCF dipole, then switch to the A3S and get only S1 noise level. Very pleased!
I'll update the review in a year about how well it lasts.
Update (March 2024):
Well, after almost three years the trap problems appeared. First, the SWR would go crazy (>5:1) on 10 meters when the antenna was wet. Then it started going south when dry. I followed the advice of other's review and rebuilt the traps. I found several of them poorly assembled... loose screws/wires, wonky connections to insulators, etc. It took me several hours to repair them, but I was successful in restoring the performance of the antenna.
I think the antenna will last a couple of more years, but I am already considering purchasing a different product.
Update (September 2024)
The repair/rebuild didn't last. Despite my efforts to make this antenna work, I failed. Perhaps it was me... or maybe the antenna... but I've had enough. Purchased and installed a new antenna... now a happy camper. |
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| M0XIG |
Rating:  |
2023-07-09 | |
| New A3S Antenna - Poor Quality |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Around 2006 I bought a second-hand A3S. I did not know hold old it was before I bought it. The antenna served me well, but in 2021 I began to have problems and eventually only operable on 20m and 40m. I decided to buy a new one, but none were available in GB at the time and only available to order. On MFJ website I was given a delivery of 9 days. I ordered one. After nine days I was contacted and told there would be a delay of another month. I made several further contacts after this time and was told the aluminium supplies were not available. I finally received the antenna in October 2022. Not wanting to installed over the winter period I waited until the end of April 2023. When I opened up the box, I found the fibreglass insulator and the two main aluminium clamps missing. I used the old ones I had.
I put the antenna together and it looked awful. It wasn’t straight and no matter what I did it ended up in the shape of a bow. When I connected my antenna analyser I was unable to get it to tune to any band. I dismantled it and looked on You-Tube where I found the article by Kevin Loughlin dated December 2018. It was then that I considered poor manufacture and lack of quality control. Kevin’s article describes loose screws and the fact that many traps were not put together securely, some did not have rivets. I looked at the new traps that I had been sent and found that the bend in the antenna was largely due to the traps not being manufactured straight.
I decided to open one of the old traps to see how to best do it, especially as it was suggested that the fittings needed to be drilled out. Having achieved this I could see that the old traps were better constructed, had been riveted and even had a resin poured over the winding and screws securing the coil to hold it all in place. It looked superior to the ones that Kevin had opened and as a result I opened all the old ones and cleaned out the spider nests and tightened any loose screws and put them back together. I added these to the new aluminium tubing and got it up on the mast. The result was good and I was back in business and on the air again.
In response to Kevin Loughlin’s report Cushcraft (now MFJ - also in 2018) said they would be improving their quality control. It is obvious by my experience that nothing has changed at MFJ.
In July 2023 I decided to have a close look at the new traps to see how they compared with the old and also how they compared with those Kevin showed on You Tube. When I placed one of the traps along a spirit level both ends could clearly be seen to point down away from horizontal. This was with the drain holes underneath as they should be. Once installed the elements ended up in the shape of a bow.
I opened the trap and noticed immediately how poor it was compared with the earlier design (prior to 2006). The insulating material had changed and had been shaped at one end to produce a flat surface to take one of the two screws. No rivets had been installed and one end of the fitting was loose and the screw to hold the can to the tube had been overtightened and no longer held firm. In my view the shaping of the insulator on which the coil was wound reduced its strength making it more likely to loosen and sag. I have an A743 40m extension and had similar problems but again used the old traps once cleaned out and tightened.
I have read the reviews by 2E0EIC, K7NNV and particularly K6BRN. Brian gives a full review which corresponds exactly with my experience. I have taken some photos of what I found and added these to my QRZ web page. If you are interested you can compare what the new antenna looked like when erected and how it is today only using the new aluminium tube but with the old serviced traps, as well as the difference in the old traps compared with the new.
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| W1JTP |
Rating: |
2022-07-25 | |
| A3 |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have an original A3 attached to the chimney of my two story home, maybe 4 feet above the roof peak. Went up in 1985 and still going strong! Good 1.0:1 SWR on 20 and 15 and 1.2:1 over most of 10 meters. Several rotors have come and gone, but A3 has performed great. |
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| VE3TMT |
Rating: |
2022-07-08 | |
| Still going strong after 15 years |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
It's been 5 years since my last review and the A3S still continues to do its thing. No issues with the antenna whatsoever in the 8 years it's been on the tower. I did replace the trap caps prior to installation and gave it all new SS hardware. The previous owner had it at least another 5 years. SWR is still spot on, 14.150, 21.200 and 28.400 all showing 1.0:1 SWR, and under 1.5:1 anywhere in the band's except the upper end of 10m. Small footprint, big performance.
Continues to bust pileups on the first or second call. Very impressed.
Update July 7, 2022 - the antenna has now been on the tower 14 years without a single issue. SWR is still bang on...the antenna just works. |
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| 2E0EIC |
Rating: |
2022-07-07 | |
| Very poor antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Lots of pieces were missing on opening box i had to contact mfj twice to get all the missing parts. The build quailty is very poor with the elements more than 12 inches out of square with each other, The traps were loose on the connection which was reivited. I disliked it so much that i never installed it on the tower so i wasted nearly £700 on a pile of scrap |
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| W3KKO |
Rating: |
2021-08-16 | |
| Very good value |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I grew up seeing dad's A3 atop his tower at home, and had an opportunity for some nostalgia with my first tower project. When picking up an early 80's Universal aluminum tower, I had the luck of the owner throwing in a similar vintage A3S for a song. He was the original owner of both, and said the SWR had begun to vary wildly. I figured what the heck, at least its nice aluminum tube! Sharpie marked the element sections and traps (later I engraved them), took it apart and brought it all home with the tower. Upon inspection, one of the balun's pigtails was frayed down to 1 wire...no wonder he had bad SWR. I did some online study and proceeded to rebuild the antenna, including redo of each trap with new hardware. Trap wires appeared to be enameled so I gently cleaned them and brushed on a coat of liquid electrical tape. Confirmed trap continuity, buffed the elements only where element connections would be made (I like the patina of the old aluminum), and no-alox'd the heck out of it while reassembling with new SS hardware. I installed the tower in November 2020 with the A3S at 42ft, and it performs wonderfully, with multiple new entities added since. Switching between the A3S, end fed wire and vertical loop shows its nice gain and F/B. The antenna has opened a whole new world even with 100W. Is it a 5+ element mono-bander, of course not. But for the money (even new), or if you can find one in need of some care, its well worth the investment. |
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| W0RDX |
Rating: |
2020-10-15 | |
| Good antenna for the money |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Well, lots said on the A3S. Personal opinion has 3 nit areas:
1. Traps need to be stamped or engraved so one can tell which trap is which as over time the poor labelling job fades away and then it is a pain in the ass.
2. U Bolts. Can't tell you how many of these I go to remove the nut to let the antenna down and you cannot remove the nut, end up torquing the nut and half the U Bolt off. Poor quality materials used.
3. Hose clamps. Have a trash can full of these that when you tighten them up, not overly tight, they pop and not longer work - have to dig out another and try it. Very poor materials. Best to buy a bag full at the auto parts store (SS of course).
4. Why are not the dimensions in inches instead of mixing feet with inches. Just use inches. Makes better sense when assembling.
Customer support? Isn't any. |
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| EI7HFB |
Rating: |
2020-01-06 | |
| Good antenna for dry countries with no wind load |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
After few years of having this antenna i decided to take it down as constant issues with water made it impossible to work on it even after spending hours on watertighting it
Antenna would perform better in dry country where space is not an issue and relatively far from any interference.
Weak point of it is the plastic separator of two arms of this dipole radiator. it is not UV resistant . require replacement if constantly exposed to light
i was always happy for few days having it up only until rain
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| K6BFL |
Rating: |
2019-03-20 | |
| Very good DXing antenna |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I have had this antenna for about 3 months now and I am loving it. It is such a step up from the wire antenna. I got this used and set it up. I needed new parts so I contacted cushcraft and they sent it right away. I have worked over 120 countries with this and have gotten hundred of EU from CO. I want to get the A743 40m add on but the reviews are not to good. I would recommend this and is very good. 73 de k6bfl |
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| K0DXV |
Rating: |
2018-11-04 | |
| Exactly would it should be |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
It's been a struggle to get a tower setup. Finally, with the help of my friend with a BobCat, I managed to get a free-standing 35 tower up.
For me there was no other choice than the Cushcraft A3S. For its weight, wind-loading, and ruggedness, the A3S was top of the list. Previously I had a TH3jr which I thought was very cheaply made. Having put up a tower finally, I wasn't going to cheap out on a beam.
Assembly was straight forward. The manual was very well written. All of the components were top quality and nothing was missing or improperly made. Each trap was wrapped in bubble wrap and clearly marked.
I've read where people have felt that quality has dropped since Cushcraft was bought by MFJ. I'm personally very grateful that MFJ saved this company. Clearly they have some issues getting properly trained employees and mistakes are made. But, what I have found, is that regardless of which division, MFJ always comes through. Whatever brand - MFJ, Ameritron, Cushcraft, or HyGain - I've never been disappointed in the service and support I have received. It was sometimes a little slow - but it was always successful.
The A3S is now at about 36 feet being turned by a Yaesu GS-450 rotator. The difference between the A3S and a 3-band trapped inverted V dipole at a similar height is just about exactly 2 "S" units. Level elements VS drooping elements along with a director and reflector really makes a difference.
It's well-made, of strong stuff using a great proven design that handles 1500 watts and is lightweight. It performs exactly like a classic tri-bander should. Even at only 36 feet, it's a big step up from a dipole.
So, if someone at Cushcraft/MFJ reads this -- Hey, thanks! I really feel like I got my money's worth in the A3S! |
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