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K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

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Phil Kane-2

K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

I am contemplating replacing my B&W Wideband Folded Dipole with
a Cushcraft R8, the successor to the R7, as my "main" HF
antenna. The B&W is best described as a resistor with wires -
about 10% efficient although it does cover all amateur bands
from 160m to above 10m equally badly. I will have to retain it
for operation on 80m and 160m, though.

What I am curious about is whether the KAT100 can compensate
for the limited bandwidth of the R8 on the lower bands, and how
well the R8 holds up in windstorms (we don't get much ice
here). I expect to be feeding the antenna through about 50
feet of good quality 50-ohm cable.

Real world experience appreciated.

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane
Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon

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DW Holtman

Re: K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

Phil,

I love on a small lot and this forces me to use something other than a full
size Yagi on a 100 foot tower. I owned an R-7 for about 12 years and it
performed great. Over the years (after 9 or 10 years) the way its
performance, degraded. It got to the point where I had to take it down,
clean all of the connections three or four times a year and it would work
again. Well I traded it and bought an R-8. It is now about a year old and
works fine. It does not have the traps that the R-7 had and I suspect it
will last a long time. I live in Salt Lake city where we do get strong
winds, but have never caused a problem.

It is sort of a compromise antenna. But for what it was designed to do it
works great. I also have about a 70 foot longwire antenna I use for
shortwave receiving on my R-390As. It usually brings signals in a little
stronger than the R-8. I'm going to convert it into an inverted "L" so I can
start getting out on 80 meters.

Hope this helps.

Best,
DW Holtman
WB7SSN

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Kane" <[hidden email]>
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:54 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

>
> I am contemplating replacing my B&W Wideband Folded Dipole with
> a Cushcraft R8, the successor to the R7, as my "main" HF
> antenna. The B&W is best described as a resistor with wires -
> about 10% efficient although it does cover all amateur bands
> from 160m to above 10m equally badly. I will have to retain it
> for operation on 80m and 160m, though.
>
> What I am curious about is whether the KAT100 can compensate
> for the limited bandwidth of the R8 on the lower bands, and how
> well the R8 holds up in windstorms (we don't get much ice
> here). I expect to be feeding the antenna through about 50
> feet of good quality 50-ohm cable.
>
> Real world experience appreciated.
>
> --
> 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane
> Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402
>
> From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
> Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

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w7aqk

Re: K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

In reply to this post by Phil Kane-2

Hi Phil and All,

I have used an R7 for many years, and it has performed very
well. I was always able to load it effectively on 40 meters
across the band, even though I had it set for the CW
portion. Other bands are not a problem at all. The K2 ATU
does a very nice job. I did have some problem on the higher
end of 40 meters using the ATU in the FT-1000 MP Mark V.

Just recently I also added an R8 here, and I am currently
using it with the K3. If anything, the R8 seemed a little
easier to load on 40, even with other rigs. The K3's ATU
has no problem loading the R8. I assume the ATU in the K3
is reasonably similar to the K2's ATU. I haven't actually
tried using the K2 on the R8 yet, but I doubt there would be
a problem. 40 meters would be your only possible problem
band, and if you want to be a little extra cautious you
might consider setting it for the middle of the band--around
7150 khz or so. I think that would probably be something I
should do as well, just to make life easier.

Dave W7AQK

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Kane" <[hidden email]>
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 4:54 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

>
> I am contemplating replacing my B&W Wideband Folded
> Dipole with
> a Cushcraft R8, the successor to the R7, as my "main" HF
> antenna. The B&W is best described as a resistor with
> wires -
> about 10% efficient although it does cover all amateur
> bands
> from 160m to above 10m equally badly. I will have to
> retain it
> for operation on 80m and 160m, though.
>
> What I am curious about is whether the KAT100 can
> compensate
> for the limited bandwidth of the R8 on the lower bands,
> and how
> well the R8 holds up in windstorms (we don't get much ice
> here). I expect to be feeding the antenna through about
> 50
> feet of good quality 50-ohm cable.
>
> Real world experience appreciated.
>
> --
> 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane
> Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402
>
> From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
> Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>

Doug Person

Re: K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

In reply to this post by Phil Kane-2

Phil,

The R8 has been discontinued for some time so I assume you have a line
on a used one. There has been some issues with getting parts for the
older Cushcraft verticals. I've had most of the so-called no-radial
verticals and the Cushcraft is more or less the middle of the pack. I
found the GAP Titan to be superior. Not too great on 80 but decent
performance on the other bands. My current choice of these types is the
Hy-Gain AV-640 and AV-620. The AV-620 is available from R&L Electronics
for $269 - which is, in my book, a bargain ( I have no association with
them - just passing on my observation). The AV-620 covers 20 through 6
meters and is very well built. You can download the manual from Hy-Gain
to get a good sense of the antenna.

73, Doug -- K0DXV

K3/100 #77

Phil Kane wrote:

> I am contemplating replacing my B&W Wideband Folded Dipole with
> a Cushcraft R8, the successor to the R7, as my "main" HF
> antenna. The B&W is best described as a resistor with wires -
> about 10% efficient although it does cover all amateur bands
> from 160m to above 10m equally badly. I will have to retain it
> for operation on 80m and 160m, though.
>
> What I am curious about is whether the KAT100 can compensate
> for the limited bandwidth of the R8 on the lower bands, and how
> well the R8 holds up in windstorms (we don't get much ice
> here). I expect to be feeding the antenna through about 50
> feet of good quality 50-ohm cable.
>
> Real world experience appreciated.
>
> --
> 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane
> Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402
>
> From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
> Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>
>
>

Doug Person

Re: K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

In reply to this post by Phil Kane-2

Phil and all,

Sorry, I was thinking of the R7 - the R8 is still in production.

73, Doug -- K0DXV

Phil Kane wrote:

w7aqk

Re: K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

In reply to this post by Doug Person

If the R8 has been discontinued, then that is a recent action. The last
time I checked various dealer websites, the R8 was still for sale.
Cushcraft had them on display last year at Dayton. I wonder if you aren't
confusing it with the R7, which has been discontinued for several years--at
least 7 years or more.

Dave W7AQK

----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Person" <[hidden email]>
To: "Phil Kane" <[hidden email]>; "Elecraft Discussion List"
<[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 8:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2/100 + KAT100 + Cushcradt R8 Vertical

> Phil,
>
> The R8 has been discontinued for some time so I assume you have a line on
> a used one. There has been some issues with getting parts for the older
> Cushcraft verticals. I've had most of the so-called no-radial verticals
> and the Cushcraft is more or less the middle of the pack. I found the GAP
> Titan to be superior. Not too great on 80 but decent performance on the
> other bands. My current choice of these types is the Hy-Gain AV-640 and
> AV-620. The AV-620 is available from R&L Electronics for $269 - which is,
> in my book, a bargain ( I have no association with them - just passing on
> my observation). The AV-620 covers 20 through 6 meters and is very well
> built. You can download the manual from Hy-Gain to get a good sense of
> the antenna.
>
> 73, Doug -- K0DXV
>