[TowerTalk] 6 Meter 4 or 5 element Beam, Which One?

[Michael Clarson]

Jim: Assume you are interested in the weak signal portion of the band below
51 MHz. I have a Cushcraft 5 el 6 meter beam that is over 45 years old and
still working fine. Mine has one piece elements and boom. I've seen the new
ones, and they have 3 piece elements and boom. A friend has one he just
took down that has been up for 5 years and it looks almost new. As for
performance, its probably as good as one can do on a 12 foot boom. I've
used a Directive Systems 5 element (17 ft boom). Its built better (but its
a bit more of an erector set) and has better numbers. Didn't notice that
much of a performance difference but it was not a side by side comparison.
Directive also has a 4 element 12 foot long Yagi. I have no experience with
it, but it looks to be built better than the Cushcraft. Numbers comparable.

As for my "erector set" comment, I have used both a Cushcraft and a
Directive antenna for temporary use, and the Cushcraft is easier and faster
to assemble. I would prefer it to the Directive antennas for such an
application. But permanent install on a tower, the Directive antennas are
stronger. --Mike, WV2ZOW


On Tue, Apr 30, 2013 at 12:21 AM, Jim W7RY <w7ry at centurytel.net> wrote:

> I’m looking for a light weight 4 or 5 element 6 meter beam to mount above
> a small tribander.  What do you recommend?  The Cushcraft A50-5S is cheap
> enough and HRO ships them for free but I’m concerned with quality.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Thanks!
> 73
> Jim W7RY
>
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