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Reviews For: Cushcraft AR-10 Ringo

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Cushcraft AR-10 Ringo
Reviews: 22MSRP: 79.95
Description:
Cushcraft AR-10 Ringo vertical , 1/2 wave monoband for 10 meters
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cushcraftamateur.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00224.5
W8ZNX Rating: 2009-06-23
great antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
over 18 years and 2 sets of feed lines later
my ringo still works very well

don't know about vk3ptt probs
mind
i have no way of knowing
how they are beeing made now
but my old ringo is a one great antenna

mac
N0FPE Rating: 2009-04-17
no problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Mine went together 10 years ago without a hitch. Has been working fine ever since. I didnt have "shim" mine..dont know what that means. works as good as the day i put it up. And so does my 6 meter version.
VK3PTT Rating: 2009-04-17
POORLY MADE Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
EACH SECTION OF ALUMINUM TUBE HAD TO BE SHIMMED OUT TO MAKE IT FIT TIGHT, VERY POORLY MADE.

----------------------
Earlier 0-star review posted by VK3PTT on 2009-04-15

Each Tube of the Antenna had to be packed out to make it fit tight...
AI4SU Rating: 2008-12-05
SIGNAL PRODUCER & GOOD EARS Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
After using the antron-99 for over 10 years I finally decided to replace it with the Cushcraft AR-10.
First of all the instruction is easy to follow, user friendly and the figure pictures makes the assembly steps even more easy to follow. You can almost assemble this antenna just by looking at the figure pictures. I assembled this antenna in about 30 minutes. Once assembled it resemble the maco v 5/8 wave without the four radials elements.

The antenna produce a great TX signal and is very good for DX as well as local contacts because of its low angle radiation. The SWR is good across a wide section of the 10-meter band. ANOTHER GOOD THING I LIKE ABOUT THIS ANTENNA IS THAT IT HAS GOOD EARS. It can receive weak signals very well. So I rate this antenna to a “5”.

For those who live in a high wind area, insert a fiberglass rod into the three bottom section of the antenna tubing. Make sure the rod have no breaks in it but is one piece that is the same length as the three bottom sections. This part of the antenna bends the most with strong wind. The fiberglass rod will give the antenna more strength to endure strong winds.
KE4ZHN Rating: 2008-04-29
Great vertical for 10 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna was given to me by a fellow amateur about 10 yrs ago. It sat for years in my garage till I decided to toss it up in the air for some 10 mtr. work. I mainly use it for working some local hams within 60 miles of me and it works great. It will dx quite nicely when the band is open and it has a reasonable swr curve allowing you to cover a nice slice of the rather large 10 mtr. band. I only had one minor problem with it which was easily fixed. The hardware that attaches the tuning rod to the center stud of the SO-239 utilizes a galvanized flat washer and stainless nut and lock washer. When this gets wet, the dissimilar metals react and cause a corrosion problem thus making the swr sky high. The simple fix is to clean up the corrosion and replace the flat washer there with a stainless one. Other than that its been a great working stick thats very light and it handles the winds very nicely.
K4JC Rating: 2008-04-29
Solid and reliable! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Mine started life as an 11 meter Ringo (AR-11). It was mounted on the roof of a CB shop sometime in the 1970s. In 1993, long after the CB shop had become a beauty parlor, I walked in one day and asked if I could buy it. They said, "Take it down and it's yours!" Who could resist such an offer? After 15 or so years in the coastal Florida sea air it was still in pretty good condition. I disassembled the Ringo and cleaned it up with some steel wool. I also replaced the hose clamps, as well as the top cap with a plastic chair leg tip. I also made a new tuning stub. Reassembled the Ringo, tuned it to 28.400 MHz, and WOW! Great SWR, and worked the world with a Radio Shack HTX-100 and 25 watts. I kept the antenna for over 10 years before passing it on to another ham, who as far as I know still uses it. Not bad for a 30-plus year old antenna!

A previous poster took points off because the antenna isn't fiberglass. Who needs fiberglass? A few coats of clearcoat and you're good to go.
KD0AFM Rating: 2008-01-27
Great antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Nice antenna. Went together easy. Instructions were clear and concise. Mounted it on my chimney (had some doubts since the chimney has a metal cap and spark arrestor but it was the only workable place on my house). This puts the base of the antenna about 30 feet off the ground. I have a Kenwood TS120, the antenna is fed by 50 feet of RG8 through and MFJ 941E tuner. The antenna had a 1.2:1 without the tuner on the first try. E-skip was up the day of install. Made 4 contacts as I was checking the SWR! Very pleased with my purchase.
K5III Rating: 2007-03-03
Great Antenna! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought mine used off ebay at a good price. It went together easy enough and surprisingly broadbanded. It would say it works well for what it is and a good performer but I can't honestly call it a 5 since I think a fiberglass antenna would be more durable Like other have commented, I haven't figured out what the open stub is for. Many of these have been up for years and it is a good antenna, well worth the investment.
N5MDM Rating: 2007-01-19
Works Good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Works good on 10 meters, can also be adjusted for 11m. SWR easy to adjust, make sure you put the tuning ring on correctly. Easy to put together. All parts were there, none missing. Nice 10m vertical, has held up real good. No issues. N5MDM
K3ROJ Rating: 2007-01-14
Nice antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Received my AR10 from someone who couldn't get it it work and had a high SWR. He ordered a different type of vertical (A99)? and gave the Ringo to me. It is very easy to place the tuning rod on the wrong side of the circle and after redoing it, my MFJ analyzer showed it right on with the 7 inch adjustment. Nice to have a DC grounded vertical just for 10 meter FM, 29.6 MHz. I work them all and if the band is open, Wow. Can't figure out what the open end coax stub does but I suppose it shortened the circle down?