CQ
REVIEWS:
The Cushcraft ASL 2010
Log-Periodic Antenna
BY PAUL CARR', N4PC
W ell, spring vaca
was a
ties, I
welcome
had
been
renet trom my classroom du-
looking forward
tion
finally came. and It
to
this break
becauseit would givemeachanceto assem-
ble
ga
peri
evaluatethesystem.Herearetheresultsofthat
evaluation.
What
and
rage was the new Cusncratt ASL 2010 log-
od
buil d a n
ic system. Si
Is
A
ew
nce
an
tenna.
then I have
Wa
iti
ng
had
in
my
lime to
Log-Periodic Antenna?
A log-periodic antenna is a treqoercv-moe-
pendent
antenna system. These antennas are
capable
fewyearsago.
bandwidth of better than two octaves. This is
accomp lished bythechoiceofelementlength,
spacing. and phasing.(All of the elements are
fed simultaneous ly.) The element lengths vary
from slightlygreater than a half-wave length at
the lowest frequency to just less than a halfwave length at
sulting
impedance
nal
4:1
ohms
bahJn an
of
bandwidths
gain
results.
that were impossible a
This
the highest frequency. The re-
is about constant, and
impedance
Now
particular systemhas a2:1
the
IS about 200 ohms. By using a
of approximately 50
for a few specifics about
nomi-
cusncratrs design.
The completed antenna rea
M
ec
hani
beam
diameter of 2 inches. T
38 feet. and t
The
inc
area
be
am ac
hes, a
ca
lly, t
boom
he
cepts
nd
the tota l weight is 55
he
lengtho
turning radi
a
speci
mas
fications for the
118feet,wit
he
longest el
us
is 19.25 feet.
t diameter of 1.5-2
ha
eme
pound
dy
10 take on Ihe world. Is anyone listening?
he
highest quality stainless steel, whiCh
come
to
expect
from Cushcraft.
boom
nt is
is of t
we have
Assembly
s. The
The
The
and it covers
The antenna consists of eight elements in a
log-periodic dipole array. The antenna is fed
through
balun
The
The electrical 2:1
as specified
32 MHz. As I indicated earlier, this is a
erty of the log-periodic design. I used an MFJ
259 to make SWR measurements
spectrum and on
ASL
ASl20
a single
matching
beam
2010
10is an
20,
IS rated at 2000 wans.
by
ew
product
17, 15,
50
ohm
unit (mounted on the boom).
bandwidth
Cushcrafl is from 13.5 MHz
eac
h of the
12,
coaxial cable
fromCus
and 10 meters.
ofthe antenna
ama
hc
ratt,
to
a 4:1
to
prop-
ac
ross the
teur bands.
wi
nd
loading 10.1square feet Allthe hardware
As you can see from the picture, the antenna
Never
spectrum. The mostvariation inSWR
on
20
at 14.0 MHz, and the minimum of 1.3:1 was at
14.25MHz.TheSWRresultson
amazingly flat.
the entire
The published gain figure
6.4
ligures
comparing the results
tennas,
rated front-to-back ratio is stated to be
dB. Ifound no place thro
where I
did
meters. The maximum SWRof 1.7:1was
dBd
withOut
the SWA e
xcee
d 2:1 across the
occurred
10meterswere
never exceeding 1.4:1 across
band
It is extremely difficult
(see fig. 1).
acalibrated
I received with other an-
lor
the
antenna is
to
verily
antenna range, but
gain
Ifeel the gain figure is about right. The
ugh
t
en
this information was in
out the s
acc
15-
pect
urate.
20
rum
As you can see, there afe enough paris here to keep you
busy
for ar
reasr
a day. Please note
"91 West Point R
26 • CO •
oad
August
, Jacksonville, AL 36265
1995
thatlhe
flower pots ere not included.
Say
You Saw It
In
CO
has a very
highpar
ts c
ou
nt. Your
success
de-
pends
tory of thepartsand
on your
ab
ility to
org
do
an
accurate
anizethe
pa
rtsfore
inve
asy
n-
accessib ility during the construction phase. If
you are working alone during the initial con-
structionphase, allowabout
ble
the elements
There are seven
tion
give you
will ie! you
tions are written. T
with the
the
and
two locking
sion hose
man
cen
the n slop. All that is
ual. Assemble the
pract
become
end
ter
sections
sect
sc
clamps.
and
ice
working with hand tools and
he
ion for a
rews
the boom.
steps
used to the
boom
made
predete
and
Place the plast ic
one
liste d in the instr
boom
is inthree sections,
so
necessary
lighten the
da
vto
assem-
first. This will
way
they willslip into
the instruc-
rmined length
is to place
comp
end
uc-
res-
cov-
ers, and you are finished.
uct
The elementconstr
the longest element.
overlap
ment length is
surement
tinue the element
the instruction sheet. Verify the element lengths
at least twice .
Now
intendto fully assemblethe antennabefore you
placeiton
the booklet. I have a
er, and I
Follow ing is
Carefully measure
spec
you have a
chose
ified
and
the mast, follow the instr
how
on
the diagram. The total ele-
dependent
assembly of the elements. Con-
construct
decis
to
depa
to
accompl
ion is next.
Caref
crank-down/t
rt from the instructions.
and
ully
on the
ion as
ion to make. If you
ish theinstallation.
mark the locatio n of
Beg
measu
proper
spec
ilt-over tow-
in with
re the
mea-
ified in
uctions
in
Th
ings will go
KE
4U
AK,
puts
ea
sier
and
fasterifyoucan coerce some ttien
the finishing touc hes on some connections. while Harold.
the handiwork
location. Turn the antenna rotor so that it will
sp
di
lay the
pro
per
direction when the tower is
Mo
unt the
proper
as
into helpingyou out. Here Ralph,
longest
alignmen t. Follow
element,
W4ZS,
byplacing
supervises
and
check
the next
for
each
Next
move all t
element and the boom-to-mast
mount
2.0
a:
15
~
<f>
the
he
assembly
boom-to-mast
components
bracke
tomem
bracke
t. Then
ast
t.
tilted to allow installation.
the
mas
mounting hardware.
t, verify all the steps, and tighten the
Mo
Fig.
unt the
1-
These
boom
are the
to
two
that t
place
SWR
longes
he
the
t elements. After you are satisfied
eleme nts are in the pro
phas
ing straps in
curves for each band
my
from
OTH.
per
acco
as
I derived them
rdance
position.
with
1.0
':-::----;-:'-:-
14.0 1
(A) 20 METERS
20
a:
~
1.5
4.1
---;-!-;:---,-!-::-
requen
F
cy
-
-:+::--.,.f;~
14.414.2 14.3
14.5
1.5
(0)12
24.94 24.99 25.04
METERS
Fre
qu
ency
25.09
25.14
1.0
18.069
(B) 17 METERS
1.
5
0:
~
18.
en
1.0
21.0
(C) 15 METERS
11
8 18.168 19.068 19.118
F
requency
en
21.3
cy
21.1
21.2
Frequ
21
.4
20.068
0:
1.5
~
en
1.0
2.0
28.0
21.5 Fre
(E) 10 METERS
28.5 29.0 29.5 30.0 30.5
quency
28 • CO •
August
1995
Say
You
Saw
It
In
CQ
3" (
7.
6e
m)
I-
T~
I
46-318
117.8
"
cm
)
ff
f2\
I ,
(11,
38'
58
m)
..
'
I
I
k
!.
• •
Be
~
"
.
33'-3.5"
(10.15
.
m)
,I
38"
(96,5
em
)
33"
(83.8 em)
3
•
16-1;2" -
(41.9
em)
.
M:
~
2
8'-
3,2
(8.
62
'-3.5"
24
(7.4m)
5"
,I
m)
"I
28-1
(72.4
\
12"
em
l
I
24·518"
(62.5 e
4'
=@
m)
l'f
20'·1
(6.39 ml
18'-3.5"
(
5.
57 m]
.
1.5"
-I
'I: I
~~
21-1
(
54
/4"
em)
~
18-1/
(46.4
_I
,
4"
em
I
)
16'·2,7
(4.95
5"
m)
-I
7
[ 3"
1
1
8
13'
-10
.5"
(4.23 m\
""it.
f
(78,m
l
0::.
....
v ...
..
c:.
..,
..
It I...
Fig.2
rn
The
overall configuration
and
element description for the CushcraftASL 2010 log-periodic antenna.
AUQu
st
1995 • CO • 29
100KHz
to
2.06GHz,
1CXXJ
AA(IFJWl.SB{
USB{WFM
T
ootl
a
very
cal
&
VRJ
lockou
S
ignal
meter. Steps
<kNm
EEPROM mem-
cry, BNC
CIa
coYl.'fage
economi-
pice
. BAJ
,Search
t
and
Streng
to I
W19Is
jh
KH
ant
en-
al
z.
TRID&NT
_"""
$449-
the instruction booklet. You
three elements in pl
between two of the element s. Raise the mast
to
the
proper
Rotale the
er the antenna so that the assembly can
completed
and
tern
Recheck allhardwareandelements,Mountthe
matching network and connect the network
output to t
ma
and route t
tenna to itsverticalposi tionandc
er elementalignment. Make any correctionsas
necessary, You are now
tests.
vertical position and visually
eerreor-to-toon
assembly
Continue
phasing
untillhe
tchi
ngnetwork(be
lines in a lon
anten
he
antenna. Connect the
he
coa
ac
e. and phasing lines
180
by
naiscom
sure to lea
x to the sha
now
alignment.
degrees
placi
gestto
pletelyasse
ck
ready
should have
ng
the elements
shortest pat-
veadriploop)
. Raise the an-
hec
for preliminary
checklor
. and
co
ax to the
kfor prop-
mb
low
led.
be
Specifications
Frequency
No
, of elements
F
orward
-
Front-to-beck ratio
2:1 Bandwidth
Power rating
3
dB
Boom len
Boom diameter
Longest element
Element center
Turning radius
Mast size range
em)
Wind load
Weight
Be
gain
am
gt
width
h
ce
ForThe ASL 2010
13,5-32 MHz
8
6.4
65
dBd
15-20
18,
2000 watts
18 ft, (5.48 m)
2.0 in. (5.08
as
1.25 i
19.
1
.5-2
10.1t
55 lb. (25.5 kg)
dB
5MH
deg
z
E plane
cm
n.(11.58 m)
n,(3.18cm}
25
ft,
(5.86 m)
in. (3.1
2
t.
(,93 m2)
)
8-5.08
na
coereccc
Size
we 1
bocsed flYusc in
USA Call
Toll
am
hour.; aday, 7
days aw
:5
1I2'Dx
40z..
free
Canada.
7~
r1
'lW
CeU
in USA
eek.
.
<K
24
x I
fax
-ACE-
C!C
1
800
10707
IntematJonal:317
E.
C
OMiO
~
A
'
~
445
1
06th.
642
FIShers. IN
711
5 Fax 3
III
7717
46038
17
849 8794
~
Test Results
I have
although
desirable.
received . I feel t
nd
a
ba
nd
benefit if you are interested in multi- band contests s
around antenna with good perform
maximum flexibility,
would be
Iwould like to add aword aboutthe
ical
try we
winds
do
made
band
a plus is the fact that you have instant
-change
uch
stabilityof the be
do
thatare seen other
exper ience tremendous rotating winds as-
many
conditions have
I am well pleased with all resul
cap
as t
he
ha
rd to
not experi
tests on auue
he
antenna performs great.
abilities. This is a
CO World-Wide. For an all-
I feel that this antenna
bea
t
am
ence
.Inmy
great
places
part
bands
been
:however,we
lessthan
de
ance
mecha
of
mecoun-
straight-line
. and
ts
finite
and
n-
TabJeI-ASL
antenna under such ccooncos. and I am
the
I
happy
winds
sailboat, I would report that she rides well in
the water,
If
a mathematician by protession, and
geometry to be especially pleasing. My
shares my opinion. She remark
ttlO
ha
d.
through the years !
T
Corp
03108
10
report
with
I may insertan aesthetic observation, Iam
ug
ht it was the prettiest antenna Ihad ever
and
he
ASL2010
, 48 Perimeter Road .
no
she
(phone
20
10anfenna
that theantennahandled these
pr
oblems, II I were
has
603-627-7877 ; FAX 603-627-
seen plenty
is maoutactueeo by Cusncratt
spec
Manches
Ifications ,
de
scribing a
I find the
ed
that she
of
antennas
XY
ter, NH
L
ORClE
2\
ON READER SERVICE CAFlO
Optimize
Know
Eve/uete ,'e!fon cheng
WINablg(JfJ
CAPMANprovides
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socia
do
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your
end
HF
bends
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D'foct
Whs
/ about changing the a
operation!
fo
r skeds
makIng them.
answ91'5Ina user friendly menu
padcage wffh OOIItuf-..n8ltNe heJp
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ted with thun
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nt
enna?
drtven
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color gtllphlcs
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ders
torms. I have observed
C\.AL'NCO
"'LlNCD
~~
Standard
Azden
1764).
The retail
RECTRONICS
NEW
.
HF
+ 6
7i~
~-;'\'-:
OX·TO
Meters
Ameritron
Comet
price
W
ith
of the ASL 2010 is
INC.
OR-130
.
i
OJ-582T
S8OO,
Daiwa
MFJ
Late
model
All
Ray's
the
used
most
gear
wanted
Amateur
Telex
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gladly
taken
accessories
Electronics
Hygain
in
trade
1701-G North Main Street, High Point, NC 27262
io
rd
Local 910-883-6038
e
rs
1·800·845·5338
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FAX
910-883·1464
~~
i
30 .. CO .. AUQust 1995
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