[TowerTalk] HyGain Antenna Quality control issues

[terry burge]

Hello Doug and tower talkers,


My experience buying Hy Gain by MFJ Hy-Tower was similar with missing hardware. For the most part the instructions have not been updated in a very long time except for the changes to the base section. I was surprised to see no improvements to the three or six ground rod placing. If they are 8 foot they should be 16 foot apart for proper lightning strike dissipation. Twice the length of the ground rods. I have also purchased a Cushcraft A148-T20 2 meter beam (now MFJ) and as best I remember that went together just fine. But email and unanswered phone calls concerning the hy-tower concerning missing parts did not leave me with the feeling they cared about their customers.


Neither did when I bought some parts for my Ameritron remote switch and my old Tailtwister rotors. Trying to get the right part numbers from their own line catalog proved to be an expensive mistake ending up with two remote switch mounting plates instead of the switches I tried to order for the 8 position switch. Happy  to say that time I managed to get them on the phone (after a long wait) and got the right numbers. 


For my tower I have considered side mounting a TH7DXX or TH11DXX half way up but have held off just because of the bad feeling I hold towards them. May end of buying from DX Engineering their tribander or perhaps Mosely. Would really like the 5 band capability 10-20 mtrs.


Once upon a time both HyGain and Cushcraft made great products but with MFJ running things I feel their quality control is non-existent.


Terry

KI7M


> On March 30, 2018 at 8:00 PM "N4IJ ." wrote:
> 
> 
>     I had read that after MFJ bought HyGain that quality had suffered. Is that
>     the experience of any recent purchasers? I bought one from DXengineering
>     the beginning of March.
> 
>     Hy Gain LJ-203
> 
>     Both inner thick wall boom sections were not swaged enough for the two
>     outer sections to fit over the swage. MFJ acted quickly and sent
>     replacements. The replacement tubing had one of the sections drilled wrong
>     (90 degrees off where the Beta match connects to the boom. I drilled
>     another hole and fixed it.
> 
>     One of the middle element sections had a couple of cracks in the swage the
>     tip section slides into.
> 
>     All of the element sections had four (4) slots instead of the one I am used
>     to seeing. That would not be so bad, but the tip sections were actually
>     smaller than they should have been and the 4 slots are required to squeezed
>     enough to retain the outer section. The tip sections are not a proper fit.
>     Since the hose clamp was the only mechanical support, I had to put yet
>     another small hose clamp (two in each element side) in order to keep the
>     tip section from flopping around.
> 
>     The larger sections were the same way, but I ended up putting a aluminum
>     pop rivet in each swage prior to the slots to make it solid. Also used the
>     provided hose clamps.
> 
>     The driven element is supposed to be drilled for the beta match/coax to
>     connect. No holes anywhere so I measured and drilled myself.
> 
>     The vibration damping rope is supposed to be 6 ft long in each tip section.
>     Only 24 ft of rope was supplied, so I skipped it on the director tips.
> 
>     The antenna is finally together and I think it will be ok - but a lot of
>     issues.
>     I saw comments from a LJ204 buyer complaining of the sections not being
>     solidly telescoped too.
> 
>     Positive: customer support
>     Negative: quality
>     Doug, N4IJ
>     _______________________________________________
> 
> 
> 
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