Jeff,
The Cushcraft R-7 is a great antenna for what it is, a compromise 3/8 wl,
counterpoise vertical. I've used them for years in a variety of locations
and they are very good performers. We recently ran a special event station
here for the Sharks Tooth festival in Venice Florida (look for us again this
year-Special Event Station K4S on 11 - 13 April 2008) and everyone was
surprised how well the R-7 worked, better than the Force 12 Sigma 5 at the
same height. Within an hour, everyone was using the R-7 since it won the
A/B test every time. I've used R-7's every Field Day for easy to put up,
easy to change bands without worrying about SWR, and gets out very well.
They will take 1.5KW as long as the SWR isn't too far off, and 800-1000w
with ease. The only design flaw in the R-7 is a mystifying random spike in
the SWR on windy days. It is due to the mounting bracket slipping in the
wind and grounding the driver portion as the vertical is compressed onto the
base. I solved this problem by placing a golf ball (my Titleist ball works
well) in the mounting bracket so that when the wind and weight sag onto the
mounting mast, it won't short!
Try one, you'll like it.
Jon Hamlet, W4ZW
Casey Key Island, Florida
"A little piece of paradise in the Gulf of Mexico"
> Who's Joe?
>
> I can't remember a single thing marketed to the amateur radio
> community that has had more outright silly things said about it. I
> have also learned that if I say "Cushcraft R7" on any ham reflector,
> I'll get five or six nonsense replies, guaranteed. God, how the
> appliance operators hate this antenna!
>
> I think I'm going to start buying these and refurbishing them.
> They're a cakewalk if you know antennas, and apparently a heartbreak
> if you do not.
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1334 - Release Date: 3/18/2008
8:52 PM
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|