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[Towertalk] Cushcraft MA5B

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Subject: [Towertalk] Cushcraft MA5B
From: ve4xt@mb.sympatico.ca (Kelly Taylor)
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 20:15:43 -0600
This is still the antenna and towers reflector, right? :=)

Just thought I'd pass on an experience with the MA5B, Cushcraft's
reduced-package yagi.

I fell perhaps a little hard for the CC salesman's pitch at Dayton this year
and ordered one from WB0W. I have a 30-foot tower at the moment. Soon, I
hope to put my 50-footer back up, perhaps adding a section or two, but in
the meantime I needed a small antenna that would outperform the
ground-mounted HF6V that has served at this location for a number of years.

Assembly was easy, if a little time-consuming, but what antenna isn't? The
boom is all of 7.5 feet long and the longest of three elements is about 17
feet. It's
not light, at least for its size. There are substantial traps, cap hats and
a matching unit that mounts to the boom. It appears to drive the centre and
forward elements in some kind of phased or otherwise coupled arrangment.

Construction is typical CC HF yagi fare.

The antenna does 20, 15 and 10 with gain, and does 17 and 12 with
performance similar to a rotatable dipole.

Performance: can't do F/B or gain numbers, but by the seat of the pants,
this does
outperform the HF6V in several ways. On a surprise opening to India on 20m,
the antenna quieted most of the bedlam from the US enough to let me hear the
VU2, even at the peak of the pileup. Didn't work the VU2 but didn't turn the
amp on either. Did later crash through a monster pileup on 20 to 9k2gs
barefoot on the fourth call, so it does work.

F/S is also quite good, even at this low height and even on 20.

On 15 meters in CW SS, I was able to maintain a high run rate for an
extended period. On 20, I could establish rate and generally work anyone I
called. Neither was a given on the HF6V. Signals on 20, 15 and 10 are about
2 S-units higher than the HF6V in the direction of the MA5B.

I realize this isn't a Magnum Multi-Monoband Elite Force Sigma Strike Force
Classic or anything, but it does appear to perform as advertised. For a
reduced-size (and really tiny, too) antenna, it does work quite well. I
think the $249 (Dayton pricing) was well spent.

Hope you found that interesting. If you didn't, hope you found your delete
key OK.

73, kelly
ve4xt

ps: no offence intended to any other antenna manufacturer.


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