What’s not to love about vertical antennas like the Cushcraft HV-4E?
Vertical antennas offer an omnidirectional signal pattern, take up very little space, and are easy to install. They do not necessarily require support structures such as trees and buildings, but it’s a good idea to guy them to prevent wind damage. Functionally, they have a low angle of radiation, which is favorable to DX. Evidence suggests that vertically polarized antennas are better for short-range (ground wave) communications.
The Cushcraft HV-4E arrived in a relatively small box, barely 38 inches long and weighing about five pounds. My UPS guy looked happier than usual, given that he’d lugged some huge boxes to the porch on past trips.
Editor’s note: MFJ, a longtime manufacturer of ham radio products, ceased production in May 2024. DX Engineering still has many MFJ products in stock, including the HV-4E and other Cushcraft and Hy-Gain items, as well as MFJ branded devices.
What Is It?
Cushcraft’s HV-4E Vertical Antenna is an economical, 19-foot low-profile antenna designed to improve operating efficiency and bandwidth on 40M.
On 40M, the antenna is a center-loaded vertical. On 20-10M, it’s a top-loaded vertical. The power rating of this antenna varies from band to band with a minimum 1 kW SSB, 400W CW/digital.
The HV-4E uses parallel end resonators for automatic band-switching instead of series traps. According to Cushcraft, the high-Q top-loading resonators deliver less loss and higher gain on 20, 15, and 10 meters. Center loading on 40 meters improves efficiency and lowers the center of gravity, making the HV-4E easier to handle and increasing its survivability in strong winds.
Optional accessories include a tilt mount that lets you lower the antenna to a convenient height for tuning and maintenance.
Of course, you’ll need radials—a minimum of four for portable operation and eight or more for a permanent installation. MFJ 1932 Ground Radial Kits have two sets of four radials with ring connectors, or you can make your own.
The MFJ 1901 Portable Ground-Coupled Antenna Base is a handy mounting plate for Field Day or POTA activations.
It’s Always Something
As some early reviews mentioned, the antenna has an issue with the coil assembly.
It looks fine at first glance, but there’s a hidden problem. The coil lug connections were soldered right over the unprepared enameled wire already inserted into the lug. Given the size of the coil wire, the end should have been sanded with fine-grit sandpaper and tinned lightly with solder before it was inserted into the lug.
To be safe, you should redo all eight connections.
Construction
Other than correcting glitches, the assembly took little time and was fairly easy to accomplish with the included directions. It’s primarily small hardware installation and assembling the aluminum tubing. Plan on about two hours in addition to the coil repair.
When choosing a location, mount the antenna in a clear location above or away from buildings, towers, feedlines, utility wires, and other antennas. Always mount this antenna so that it is out of the reach of adults and children.
You’ll need some type of support on each end of the antenna while you build it. A pair of sawhorses works well, keeping everything within reach and making spoke installation much easier. Assembly can easily be done by one person. But when the antenna is ready to be mounted or moved, it’s a good idea to get some help to avoid possible damage to the antenna.
Tuning the antenna will take time—more than you might expect. Be sure your radials are in place before you begin. After the initial build, this antenna’s normal resonant frequency is at or below the bottom of each amateur band. Checking the results can be done with an SWR meter, but an antenna analyzer or Vector Network Analyzers (VNA) will make tracking changes much easier. Stand about 10-20 feet away from the antenna so your body will not detune it.
You adjust tuning by changing the length of the top section starting with 40 meters, then 20, 15, and 10. To raise the resonant frequency, you must trim a small amount off the inside end of the capacitance spokes. This requires temporarily dropping the antenna down to a level where you can pull, trim, and reinstall the spokes. The optional tilt base makes this job much easier.
Refer to the chart for initial antenna measurements and approximate the amount of spoke to be trimmed for each band in the instruction manual—it’s a good starting point. I found the information fairly accurate, and it may save you some time and additional trimming.
Getting on the Air
The first install was on a 10-foot pole in the backyard with two elevated 1/4 wave radials per band.
However, I found the antenna behaved better at ground level with eight radials I made to the MFJ 1932 kit specs. The antenna and radials were attached using the supplied U-bolts to the top of a three-foot piece of steel mast, driven into the ground. Eighty feet of RG-8X 50-ohm coaxial cable connected the HV-4E to a Yaesu FT-710 HF/50 MHz Base/Portable Transceiver in the shack.
I tuned the antenna for lowest SWR mid-band on 40-10, yielding readings of 1.3:1 or less. An unexpected bonus was that it was also resonant on 11 meters. Dust off your old CB radio and give it a try.
While on the air, I made several Kansas QSO Party contacts. I also snagged the Z36T DXpedition in North Macedonia. Not bad for a 19-foot antenna at ground level.
Impressions
Four bands, compact antenna, surprisingly good performance—it brings to mind one of the classics, Hustler’s 4BTV. Interestingly, if you look at the HV-4E page on the MFJ website, the ad compares these two antennas. I won’t discuss the merits of traps vs. parallel resonators or center loading. You can decide for yourself.
At one-third the weight of the 4BTV, the Cushcraft HV-4E is a great choice for a vacation home and could be used for POTA/BOTA activations with careful handling. You can reduce the length to about seven feet by loosening the aluminum elements and sliding them out for transport without disturbing the coils. But realize that with the lighter weight, metal parts aren’t as robust as those found on other Cushcraft verticals.
I was pleased with the on-air performance of this vertical antenna. It’s small, lightweight, easy to assemble, and effective at what it was designed to do.
It should also blend well with foliage when antennas need to be heard on the air, not seen.
