[Antennas] Elevated Cushcraft R-7?

Sun May 15 08:02:03 EDT 2005

 I'm sorry but I totally disagree with you on antenna height. In my direct
experience, any vertical I have used has ALWAYS performed MUCH better when
elevated off of the ground. I am using a Butternut HF6V, the base of which
is 30' off the ground with 4 tuned radials per band (40/15 are shared). It
had lousy performance at ground level and marginally better at 10' and 15'.
Once I got it 30' up it really showed a huge performance gain on the bands
40-10. I have found that 30' high dipoles work better on 80m than the
Butternut.
Getting it higher does a couple of things. It decouples the antenna from
the ground, which is usually poor and lossy. It also gets it out of the way
of obstructions. 1/4 wave height seems to be the magic number.
That said, I have used the Cushcraft and it is no match for the Butternut.
But higher still works better, unless you are on the seashore or in a salt
marsh!
Mike, W1NR
-----Original Message-----
From: antennas-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:antennas-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Gary Smith
Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2005 6:27 AM
To: Dennis L. Wade; antennas at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Antennas] Elevated Cushcraft R-7?
Generally speaking, verticals work better closer to the ground. When you
get them more than 10 feet in the air, the radiation pattern of the antenna
begins to change. Don't waste your time; closer to the ground (10 feet or
less) is better. As for the R-7 itself, I've never used one, but I have not
be a fan of Cushcraft over the years. Their antennas that I have owned have
been poorly constructed, showed lousy workmanship, and have been marginal
performers at best.
73 de Gary
WA1TJB
--- "Dennis L. Wade" <dwade at pacbell.net> wrote:
> Good evening,
>> 	I've acquired a Cushcraft R-7 antenna from a garage sale. It
appears 
> to be complete and in reasonable condition. I knew nothing about it, 
> but after reading some reviews and the assembly/instruction manual, 
> I'm interested in experimenting with it.
>> 	Since its a half-wave design, it doesn't require a ground radial 
> system. I am interested to know who may have put their R-7 at some 
> distance above ground, say on a TV mast on a roof, and if you feel it 
> was worth the effort to get it up in the air.
>> 		Thanks,
>> Dennis
>> --------
> Dennis L. Wade
> KG6ZI
> Carmichael, CA
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