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You can
write your own review of the Cushcraft MA5B Mini Beam.
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M0TFO
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 29, 2009 03:49
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24 month review
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Ok now I have owned and used the CushCraft MA5B for about 24 months,thought I would add my own short review.
Most of this is covered within other reviews as the MA5B has inherent issues,first the build quality is OK,not great! the Jubilee clips are a non-starter to begin with,Don't even attempt to use the ones that are supplied with the antenna, get yourself some good quality ones from the outset.I constructed the antenna on my own in around 2.5hrs,this included spaying all the joints with spray grease and fixing it on top of my tennamast, greasing the screws heads on the black-box,and following most of the tips in the following reviews,One thing I would say "Don't use a light weight rotator" I killed two within 7 months and this was a right pain. Pay that extra and go for good brand and maybe a little over kill for the size of the antenna.
I'm not going to give spec for the antenna, as this can be found almost anywhere, I constructed the MA5B as per manual down to the nearest millimeter for the voice portion of the bands, I was prepared to make adjustments ,but the swr was spot-on within all bands, in fact it was better than the antenna spec.
It was a shame that the cheap light weight rotators had given up, as the antenna would of stayed in the air for 24 months without any problems, I think this maybe down to the design of the antenna as it has a tendency to "Windmill" in high winds,this is also covered in other reviews found here and how to reduce it. Forget the video's on u-tube comparing this antenna with a G5RV this is like comparing apples and pears. This antenna does work great and my logbook confirms that, any mini beam will be a compromise,but would highly recommend this antenna for people with small backyards. Read all the reviews to save you time and money six months down the line, this little antenna will serve you well and last many years. There are a few negative reviews but please do remember this antenna is not a StepIR,the only thing I would of done 24 months ago, was Buy two.My MA5B has survived at least 1kw and the traps have not died, but would not recommend prolonged power above 500 watts, it will be interesting how easy it will be to obtain parts for this antenna now MFJ have taken over CushCraft. So to sum I would give this antenna a 5 star for performance and a 4 star for build quality. 73 Rob M0TFO
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N4BAF
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 26, 2009 17:46
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Update on Antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I received a lot of feedback from my previous update so it motivated me to climb the tower and remove the black box. I found a lot of the coax ground connections inside the box wasn't properly grounded. I fired up the soldiering iron and re soldered the connections. Right now the antenna is receiving great again, I'm off tomorrow so I'll test it out on the bands. Thanks all for your feed back. I'll be on BSK31 most of the day and will try to work Europe on 17m ssb.
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OH1LA
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 2, 2009 03:00
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5
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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In the last four months I have had a surprisingly easy to DX stations, in particular the 20m Band. The antenna is 45 feet. In addition, I have a Yaesu FL-2100Z is a power of about 600W. Rare DX stations work. I had been through a hard time easily pileup. At the log is 3D20CR, FT5GA, TO7RJ, XV3RRC, 3D2GM, T30GM, T2G, 4W6AL, 3DA0JK and many others around 600 DX-station, mainly in 20m band, but also in 17m, 15m and 12m bands. I am surprised MA5B's effectiveness. I had, after all the years 1985-2001 in the same altitude, the Hygain TH6DXX that was a good antenna, but the large rainbow. Thank you for a small and a good antenna Cushcraft.
View images QRZ.com.
73 de Pekka, OH1LA
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N3JON
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 11, 2009 11:14
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How to repair a great antenna
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought a used MA5B Cushcraft beam.
All the bands had great SWR except 20 and 15 meters. I could not tune it to be resonant within band better then 5:1. My FT 990 auto tuner tuned it but something was wrong.
The previous owner had melted the plastic case of the matching network by heating the ferrite coils so they must have been running some power into the antenna (he said not more then 500 watts). I thought that was the source of the problem.
I called Cushcraft/Laird and they told me as of last week 8/1/09 MFJ will be building Cushcraft antennas. The MFJ support guy said it would be a few weeks before get parts and coming up to speed for support.
I tried replacing the matching network with a balun attached to element 1 (20, 15,10 meters) and it came close to 20 meters being resonant within band. I could get it in band with extending the 4 x-hats out another 8 inches. It had good SWR but it heard less then my G5RV JR and I got reports the G5RV had a stronger signal. It was also not directional. The Match network behaved the same as the balun, almost correctly, when only attached to the front (#1) element but both behaved really badly when attached to both elements.
It turned out to be the traps.
After I removed a screw from the our side of a driver element trap that had shown signs of arcing on the plastic on the end of the trap ( burned spots), and tighten a coil rivet inside a reflector trap, which was very short by driving a screw into it, I am now getting less then 1.5 on all bands and great performance and reports.
What did I learn?
1 The traps come apart. There are 2 plastic forms inside where thick solid aluminum wire (like ground wire) are riveted to the center tube on one end and on the other end go out the ends of the trap to a screw on the outside of the outer tube.
2 Each end of the trap has two screws one holding the thick aluminum coil wire to the outer tube and the second screw goes from the outer tube into the plastic coil form. This is where it arcs. This screw gets to close to shorting the outer tube to the center tube and can short the trap. This second screw has no electrical propose since it only goes into plastic. It could be removed. Cushcraft started putting in washers in later antennas to hold it further out. I made thick washers by making rings out of aluminum ground wire to hold the screw out further. You should do something to keep these 2 screws per trap screw from going in to far to avoid the arcing problem. This is a simple fix to prevent a big problem.
3 You can easily see if a trap is labeled backwards. By looking through the inner tube of the trap the shorter of the duel coils in a trap has it’s rivet half as far in as the longer coil. So the end of the trap with the short distance in rivet is the side that goes to the outside of the element.
This is a great antenna – not a tri-bander – but a good compromise.
If anyone has a spare trap that you like to sell let me know, and also feel free to email me if you have questions on these repairs.
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VE3BXB
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 2, 2009 18:18
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Very reliable Mini Beam with great performance
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I wish to say that I have owned this MA5B for about 3 years and using a light weight rotor is a big mistake. I had to replace my light weight type of rotor. The twisting of the antenna with high winds sure destroyed the old rotor. I would highly recommend the use of a stronger rotor rated at least 10 square feet or more. I know that the manual recommends the use of a light weight rotor but this is not a good idea.
One of the concerns that I have is that I have heard that some people are mentioning the limitation on the use of using no more than about 500 watts of power. I have never hooked up an amp with the beam and I am not sure what the real situation is regarding this power issue. It seems to me that the loading coils can be problem but I haven't heard of anyone actually melting the coils due to excessive power. I know in the manual that comes with the antenna, it states very clearly that the antenna is rated for 1000 watts but I don't think that I would take a chance on going more than say 500 watts.
Other than the power limitations and rotor issues being a subject of debate , I have to say that it performs very well.
I see that when I am using my G5RV wire antenna, there are times when I hear poorly when compared to the MA5B beam. It is amazing how much more you can hear and transmitt further compared to the wire antenna. I sure have no regrets purchasing this beam
For the money, it is a very hard antenna to beat.
If you are ever considering an antenna of this size, you won't regret it. Good job Cushrcraft
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G4YPV
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Rating: 5/5
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May 7, 2009 16:53
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Excellent so far
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Only had the beam in the air for one week so may be slightly premature but this beam has brought my IC756 PRO III to life. It's amazing what there is to be heard when I switch from the wire to the beam. Only problem is waiting for the council ordering me to remove it!
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W4HIJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 11, 2009 21:28
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Excellent and resilent performer!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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What can I say that hasn't already been said? This is a great little antenna! The only real beef I have with it is that it seems to be particularly narrow banded on 20 meters. If you set it up for phone you can forget using it for PSK on 14.070.
At least that's the case with the limited range of the auto tuner in my Yaesu FT-450AT. Maybe that's more of a indictment of the rig's tuner than the antenna but I have had broader banded antennas on 20. I still give it a 5 though because it does a fine job otherwise.
I don't remember the exact year I bought mine but I know it's been up at least five years now with no degradation in the performance. It has survived many strong winds and storms and keeps on plugging. I don't ever think about it or worry about it and that's a good thing to be able to say about an antenna.
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N4CQD
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 5, 2009 15:25
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Excellent antenna
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've been using the Cushcraft MA5B Beam for about 3 years, and it performs as well today as it did the day I assembled it. For a "Mini" beam, it delivers great signals, was fairly easy to put together and was light enough for me to carry and install onto the tower mast with no assistance at all. Cost was reasonable for a Yagi. Low profile and great performance.
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K0IYA
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 8, 2009 12:54
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Still Happy Six Years
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Having owned a MA5B for 6 years with no problems, I thought it was due some praise. With neighbors behind and both sides of me with LARGE trees a small yagi was required. Having qso'd with several hams in the UK and listening to there MA5B's and how happy they where, I ordered mine. After about 6 hours of putting it together, fine tuning and mounting to my 50ft. free-standing tilt over tower, it was up! (Tip: use a couple self tapping screws on the element sections to prevent wind-mailing) Now six years later with 317 countries confirmed and thousands of qso's, I am still happy with my purchase. With consistant very good-reports, front/back, side rejection and problem/worryfree operating it is easy to see this little antenna was a great buy! One thing not metioned that often is how really well the rotatable dipole 12/17 works. Only 3 days ago I was working EU on 17m and saw a dxpedition cluster sighting in the caribbean. I tuned to the freq. and the station was 3 by 3. I turned the dipole to the station and he was now 5/9! I am still amazed this antenna has such good gain. Many, many times I have turned the antenna to a station after first making contact and been told you came up 3 or 4 S units. I use a 811H amp. (Caution: I would not use over 1KW with this antenna)
For price, performance, durability and compact size no other 5 band Yagi compares. One suggestion, buy a bigger rotator than a TV type one. These cheap rotators will strip out in a year or so from normal usage and turning in the wind. Taking down a rotator is a big hassle. I now use a Yaesu G-450A after learning this lesson.
Note: Use the best coax you can afford to prevent loss. Also, NO RG58/59,etc. if using amp.)
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N0MUD
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 20, 2008 15:56
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Exellent Beam
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought my MA5B from HRO and I put the antenna together inside my home,put the hats on outside, I had a NON-ham neighbor and friend both put it up on the 30 ft tower because I am disabled and can't climb anymore. So if you scroll all the way up and take a look at the picture, it gives you the impression that the antenna should be mounted on the mast in a 45 degree angle. The same picture is on page one of the owners manual. I called John David spoke with him and Marina and I was politely corrected on the way I had mounted my antenna, so I contacted my NON-ham friends, they came back over, one climbed a ladder, while the other and me held the ladder while the other leveled the elements the way they are supposed to be. NOT at a 45 degree angle as the picture gives you the impression it is to be mounted.
After I got the antenna up and checked the SWS's, I have very low SWR's on all bands, which I am very pleased. I have a Cushcraft A-3 on a 60ft tower. I worked a Ten Ten contest and had the option to use either antenna at the flip of a switch. Because the A3 is so high I get more noise and when I switch to the MA5B my noise level drops completely right off. The MA5B is very lite and even tho I am disabled I can carry it with no problems. As I worked the ten ten contest the only complaint was to close to the mic. I had absolutely no complaints on the MA5B, after getting it leveled out like John David told me to do and he even admitted the picture does the antenna no shame and also said they do have to get a better picture. As I said at the beginning I built the antenna inside my home, carried it out to the back porch where my wife lowered it down to me and then I carried it to the front driveway and explained to my NON ham friends how I wanted it mounted and they did it like I thought it should have been because of the picture. No complaints from them when they had to make the adjustments because it was my fault. If you looking to buy one of these antennas try to find someone in your area that may have one and check it out. Even if you can't find one to use go ahead and buy one anyway because you will definately enjoy it. I use a Radio Shack TV rotor and it handles the antenna with no problems, it is NOT to heavy for the rotor so at least you don't have to put a heavy rotor on it unless you already have one then go ahead. As I mentioned I also have the Cushcraft A-3 and it just depends on which one gives me the best signal report and depends on the noise level between the two.
So 73s, go buy one you won't regret it..
Mike, NØmud
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