Name: Cushcraft A4S
Brand: Cushcraft

20m – 10m

Bands

2 kW

Rated

Frequency	14 / 21 / 28 MHz
Bands	20m, 15m, 10m
TX power	2000 W (2000 W PEP (factory manual; one dealer's 'CW' label is a transcription error))
Modes	SSB, CW, AM, FM, digital
Connector	SO-239 feed (single coax, trapped triband design)

Connectors

feedpoint

SO-239

Estimated (unverified): introduction year (1980s lineage); current price (ITU revival pricing unannounced)

Four-element trapped tribander for 20/15/10 m on an 18.5 ft (5.6 m) boom - the step up from the classic three-element A3S Factory figures: 8.9 dBd forward gain, 25 dB front-to-back, 2:1 SWR bandwidth over 500 kHz per band 2 kW PEP rating; single SO-239 coax feed - no balun required per the manual, which recommends an RF choke of 8 turns of coax at 6 in diameter Longest element 32 ft, turning radius 18.4 ft, 37 lb (16.8 kg) - a serious rotator-and-tower commitment (one dealer page mistakenly lists the A3S's 15.5 ft turning radius) The fourth element is a dedicated 10 m reflector: roughly a decibel more gain than the A3S and a cleaner pattern, felt most on 10 m Production halted with MFJ's May 2024 shutdown; the Cushcraft brand was acquired by ITU Corp in April 2026 with manufacturing restarting in Indiana - per-model availability still settling

Strengths

The classic big-suburban-station tribander: four elements and an 18-and-a-half-foot boom buy real gain and a cleaner pattern than the three-element class, while traps keep it to one feedline and one rotator. The 2 kW rating handles any legal amplifier, and decades of these on towers mean assembly wisdom, spare parts, and used examples are everywhere.

Weaknesses

Traps are the tax: some loss, narrower per-band sweet spots than a monobander, and the usual aging-trap maintenance as seals and caps weather. Thirty-seven pounds on a 5.6-meter boom needs a genuine tower and rotator, not a roof tripod. And the brand is mid-handover - MFJ-era production ended in 2024, ITU's revived production is just spinning up, so new-unit availability and pricing are a moving target.

Verdict

For the operator stepping past entry tribanders, the A4S has been the default 'bigger' answer for decades: noticeably more antenna than an A3S, much less commitment than a monobander stack. Buy used with a trap inspection, or watch the revived catalog as ITU production comes online.

The A4S is the bigger of Cushcraft's two famous trapped tribanders: four elements on an eighteen-and-a-half-foot boom covering 20, 15, and 10 meters through one coax feed. The recipe is the same one that made the A3S a fixture of suburban towers (traps in the elements let three bands share aluminum) and the fourth element (a dedicated 10-meter reflector) is what your money buys: roughly another decibel of forward gain and a meaningfully better front-to-back, felt most on 10 m, with the factory manual claiming 8.9 dBd forward, 25 dB of rejection, and 2:1 SWR bandwidth past 500 kHz on each band. The manual asks for no balun, just a recommended choke of eight turns of coax.

The costs are the honest, well-known ones. Traps always charge a little loss and narrow the per-band sweet spots compared to a monobander like the Skywalker class; weather ages them, and a used A4S purchase should begin with a trap inspection. Physically this is 37 pounds of antenna with a 32-foot longest element, tower-and-rotator equipment, not roof-tripod equipment. For operators wanting tribander convenience in a smaller bite, the compact MA5B exists precisely because not everyone has the real estate.

The status line is unusually interesting right now. Cushcraft production stopped with MFJ Enterprises' shutdown in May 2024, and in April 2026 ITU Corporation acquired the Cushcraft and Hy-Gain lines with manufacturing restarting in Linton, Indiana. Which models return, at what price, is still settling as of this writing, the A4S sat in the current catalog right up to the end, which makes it a strong candidate for revival, but until listings firm up, the used market is where A4S hunting happens.