[TowerTalk] X9 40 m add on kit

[sbest@cushcraft.com]

     Thank you for all your comments. Good and bad.
     
     ** Pete Smith (N4ZR) wrote:
     
     >     As far as the X940 being only a single element - our engineering 
     >     effort was lead by Danny (T93M) who designed both the X7 and the 
     X9.  >     He tried to implement a two element solution but it was not 
     >     significantly better than a single element and it degraded the 
     X9 >     performance on the other bands.  We were not willing to make 
     the 
     >     performance sacrifice on the other bands and we were not willing 
     to >     provide an inferior two element solution.
     
     Gee, Force 12 can do it (C4XL).
     
     ** Scott Bullock (KA1CLX) wrote:
     
     Somebody obviously put the cat out of the bag way too soon to have all 
     the advertising done for 2 elements. This should have been tried and 
     tested before it was printed for the general population. I liken this 
     to General Motors distributing sales flyers for a battery car that 
     goes 1,000 miles between charges. (suppose it could be done, but the 
     drawbacks would be tremendous)
     
     I'm just glad I didn't buy a few of these and put them up on my tower 
     planning to upgrade them to 2 el 40's later on. I think I would be a 
     little unhappy too!
     
     ** Jim Miller (K4SQR) wrote:
     
     So based on this, I feel betrayed and will try to sell the X9 and buy 
     a Force-12 with the 40 meter version included. 
     
     
     
     Pete, we could have done it too.  However, with the X9 configuration 
     optimized as a tribander, the 2-element kit did not offer significant 
     performance improvement over a single element to justify its price to 
     the amateur community.  It also degraded performance on the other 3 
     bands.  As for Force 12, I know Tom Schiller personally and respect 
     him for what he has accomplished with his company.  I will not involve 
     myself in comparisons between our products on this reflector.  The X9 
     performance and construction are both excellent and stand on their 
     own.
     
     Scott, your right.  A faux pas on our part - Art and myself included. 
     Spin control?  More like honestly talking to your customers.  Why do 
     people always remember and comment on your mistakes and never the 
     other great things you do?  Oh, well.
     
     Jim, too bad you feel this way.  The X9 is a fantastic antenna even 
     the X940 add on kit.  In fact, people using the X740 love it.  BTW, I 
     am sure you will be able to find a very happy buyer for your X9.
     
     Considering the performance and price difference between the 
     2-element and single element add on kit, this is the best thing for 
     Cushcraft to do at this time.  We could have gone ahead and sold the 
     2-element kit at the higher price.  Honestly, nobody would have ever 
     known the performance difference and everybody would probably have 
     been satisfied. Except me.  I prefer to do the right thing by my 
     customers.  Anyone that actually tries an X9 and X940 will be quite 
     satisfied.
     
     
     For the record, this will be the last official response from me on 
     this subject.  Our position has been clearly outlined and our 
     decisions have been made in the best interests of Cushcraft and the 
     amateur community. 
     
     
     73
     Steve Best
     Cushcraft Corporation. 
     
     

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