[TowerTalk] HyGain And Cushcraft

[Jim Brown]

On 4/14/2026 10:11 PM, David Gilbert via TowerTalk wrote:
> Hy-Gain or Cushcraft antenna anymore when there are more modern designs 
> available?

Both companies made center-fed loaded multi-band HF dipoles that tests 
by N0AX and K7LXC c. a. 2001 showed to be excellent performers. They do 
not require radials. Their tests were done with all antennas mounted at 
ground level.

About ten years ago, I published an extensive modeling study showing 
that performance of these antennas benefits from being mounted on the 
non-conductive roof of typical residential homes. The improvement is for 
two reasons -- reduced coupling to lossy earth under the antenna, and 
lowering the vertical lobe by the increased height the antenna's current 
maxima.

Old hands here can probably tell us who did those two designs. They were 
the AV-series and R-series.

http://k9yc.com/VerticalHeight.pdf
Slides for talks at Pacificon and Visalia

http://k9yc.com/AntennaPlanning.pdf
Text version for NCJ, which was prepared by the editor but which ARRL's 
graphics department decided was too much work. It included a companion 
study on the height of horizontally polarized dipoles.

73, Jim K9YC