In 2007 I moved into a new house. I didn't get the chance to put up any real antennas until the summer of 2008. I had already decided on a vertical, i addition to a small beam (MA5B) and a Windom (FD-4). I spent quite a bit of time figuring out which antenna to get, and I at last decided on the Cushcraft R8. Mostly because it had 40 and 30, and also because it is made up of halfwave endfed dipoles needing no radials. The only thing that kept coming back in reviews was the antenna "going banana" after a while if not guyed properly - meaning it started to sag to the shape of a banana. Of course the only people writing reviews, often seem to be the ones that have something to complain about, so I decided to give it a go. I mounted it on the apex of my roof, and used thin braided nylon flagropes as guys to "de-banana" it on two sides. Setting up proper guying on all sides was out of the question, and the nylon ropes I used are not very tight.
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| R8 - no banana. |
The antenna has been up for five years as I write this , and there have been no problems whatsoever. No "bananaing", no corrosion, no breakage, no nothing. I assembled it, put it up, and there it still is. The climate up here in Norway is harsh, ranging from severe rain- and windstorms, via hot very sunny summer days to severe ice-storms - and all in between.
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| The braided nylon "guys" |
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| Closeup of the matching box |
