The main category is antennas for vhf uhf bands that is about antennas for vhf and uhf radio bands. Since the 2m yagi can receive so50 i know i could just make a second 2m version, but i figured i could use the 70cm version to work 440 on some sota work. This project is unusual, so its something that will certainly capture the. Listed under the antennas vhf uhf category that is about antennas for vhf uhf bands. Once you have cut the tape measure to length, put vinyl tape on the cut ends to protect yourself from the sharp edges. I want to make a 70cm to match my 2m tape measure yagi so i can use my secondary ht to make it easier to work so50.
A simple 4 element 2 meter yagi made from coathangers or. Nt1k refined the project by creating a nice set of instructions including drawings and parts lists. Jan, 2014 for completeness this is not the only diy tape measure yagi on instructables so also check out fn64s 2 m band radio direction finding antenna for vhf and manukas 70 cm band 433. Pvc cross 115 steel tape measure 34 or 1 wide 6 114 stainless steel hose clamps 5 of 1418 gauge wire solid or stranded electrical tape sandpaper electrical solder. The best diodes for use in the antenna are rf pin diodes.
For more information on tape measure yagis, check out the following links. Feb 28, 2015 i have seen tape measure yagi builds where people roll up the elements and velcro around the outside, and that would make it even more compact. It tends to be even more sensitive to polarity and spin of the satellite. Easily built from pvc, tape measure material, hose clamps and a short piece of coax. If you pull the tape past its end, youll find that its connected to a spring. Hurst amateur radio club uhf tape measure yagi foxhunt. Half inch dowel sections are used with screws to hold the tape measure section in place. Tape measure yagi beam antenna parts list 1 25 foot 1 inch wide steel tape measure 1 10 foot piece of 34 inch schedule 40 pvc tube 2 34 inch pvc. But i just wanted it to fold up enough to get it in and out of a car without hanging up on the door. Using the traditional 2m tape measure beam performs very poorly on so50 or receiving any cubesats with a weak downlink. Feeding a dualband uhf and vhf yagi antenna amateur. The formula and basics of yagi antenna calculator are also explained with example. This link is listed in our web site directory since monday feb 18 2008, and till today 7db tape measure yagi beam for rdf has been followed for a total of 4044 times. This lightweight antenna is perfect to use for fox hunts or as a portable directional antenna for.
Dual purpose, dual boom portable tape measure yagi for 2 meters and 70 cm. I modeled this with eznec and saw that it is a poor idea. The tapemeasure antenna is a simple, handheld 2 meter yagi. I reengineered the mechanical design to be super lightweight and super easy to build. Feeding a dualband uhf and vhf yagi antenna amateur radio. To scale this antenna for any other vhfuhf frequency, read the arrl article. A simple 4 element 2 meter yagi made from coathangers or other.
Simply download the yagi cad program and put the tape measure beam design file in the same directory. This link is listed in our web site directory since wednesday nov 26 2014, and till today tape measure vhf antenna has been followed for a total of 461 times. How to build a yagi antenna out of a tape measure ham. The tape measure antenna is a home brew 2 meter antenna made out of pvc pipe and a steel tape measure. There are plenty of plans online to build your own tape measure antenna, but no good step by step video that takes you through the process. The antenna is a 2 meter version based on the antenna designed by joe leggio wb2hol. How to build a 70cm tape measure yagi antenna youtube. Ham radio antenna all band tape measure radios pictures inventions diy tech board. Driven element is excited directly via feedline, all other elements excited parasitically.
Copper tubing, like the size for ice makers or evaporative coolers, could be used at slightly more expense. Are you looking for a project to encourage a new generation of ham radio operators. I folding for storage a particularly handy feature of this design is the dual boom. You will then be able to experiment with the design. It is widely used on yagi antennas including the television and broadcast fm antennas. These are the reflector and director elements for your yagi. The folded dipole is a standard approach to increasing the yagi impedance. Most diodes have a band which shows which end is the cathode. The driven element is made up of two pieces, so cut two pieces that are 17 34 inches long. Optimum length of yagi antenna as a function of number of elements arrl antenna book table 16. Quad antenna wikipedia a quad antenna is a type of directional wire radio antenna used on the hf and vhf bands.
It contains formulas you can use to calculate element lengths and spacing, as well as boom length. This will be the director of the antenna and will attach to the front of the antenna. Antenna developed for the us 2m amateur radio band 144mhz148mhz. I have seen tape measure yagi builds where people roll up the elements and velcro around the outside, and that would make it even more compact. Jul 19, 2015 dual band tape measure yagi antenna july 19, 2015 amateur satellite, antennas, ham radio amateur radio, antenna, ham radio, satellite, saudisat 1c, so50, yagi michael while i wait for my arrow antenna to arrive, i thought i would experiment and build a dual band tape measure yagi since i already had most of the parts on hand. My take on the wb2hol tape measure yagi radioreference. About tape measure vhf antenna the resource is currently listed in in a single category. The tape measure antenna will be used with the active offset attenuator in project 3. On the two driven element pieces, sand or grind away the paint from one corner. Radiation pattern for a four element yagi using greenblums dimensions fig 16. How to build a yagi antenna out of a tape measure ham radio.
Oct, 2017 in this tutorial we will look at how you can build a yagi beam antenna for 2 meter ham radio out of a tape measure and a few easy to find parts. This will be the director of the antenna and will attach to. After seeing a lot of articles written about making a three element yagi using pvc and a tape measure, i was interested but not excited about it. This page covers 3 element yagi antenna calculator. For completeness this is not the only diy tape measure yagi on instructables so also check out fn64s 2 m band radio direction finding antenna for vhf and manukas 70 cm band 433. Nevertheless, here are my tapemeasure beam observations. Most antenna simulation programs used by radio amateurs allow only to enter circular elements. Hurst amateur radio club uhf tape measure yagi foxhunt antenna 1 2 1 1 4 1 8 hairpin match 12 or 14 awg solid copper wire form to shape sand away paint solder coax and hairpin match to driven element on tape ends to bare metal view a 11 16 spacing 5 turns rg58 coax and wrap with tape center freq. Talk to satellites and the iss with ham radio ham radio crash course duration. One of the problems with a balun is the cost they tend to be more costly than some other forms of yagi impedance matching. Disassemble the tape measure by pulling the tape out of the case. The flexible measuring tapes make it easy to transport, and the pvc comes apart to make it even easier to carry. Firmly tape the coax to the spreader, boom, and mast. Optimisation of six element yagiuda array perturbation of ele.
The antenna is useful especially if you want a portable antenna for back packing etc. The tape measure antenna is a simple, handheld 2 meter yagi. Nevertheless, here are my tape measure beam observations. The grabcad library offers millions of free cad designs, cad files, and 3d models.
The 2 meter band tape measure beam antenna is a 3 element yagi with about 7. It is quite possible, that other calculators deliver slightly different results. But the tape measure is far away from being circular. One piece will be 41 38 inch and the second will be 35 18 inch. Hurst amateur radio club uhf tape measure yagi foxhunt antenna. Small aluminum tube or solid rod can be bought at home centers or better hardware stores. Tape measure yagi antenna 2m material needed tools needed 2feet of.
Join the grabcad community today to gain access and download. Simply twist the tape so it disconnects from the spring. I did this by inventing a foam board boom laminated with doublesided tape, aluminum. I am copying a design made by nt1k with a couple of changes. The long elements do need 2 meter tape measure transmitter hunting the two beams in the same plane, the pat a short length of. Cheap yagi antennas for vhfuhf by kent britain, wa5vjb edited by john maca, ab5ss editors notes. Silicon bronze welding rod was used for the elements but any material can be used. Jeffrey bail nt1k a simple yet effective 3el vhf yagi directional antenna that could be used for direction finding, sota, emergency communications and other things that needs an improved antenna for your handheld transceiver compared to its stock antenna sheet 1 of 3. What really blew my mind though was the fact that a homemade tape measure yagi fed by rg174 cable showed 1. The antennas described in this article were built as the result of several discussions between kent and a cuban radio operator.
I had at first thought to just drill extra holes in the existlng single. This project is adapted from a design by joe leggio wb2hol at. Cheap yagi for 70 cm build this cheap and easy satellite. I believe what you are asking about is similar to the antenna i use uhf and vhf on the same boom and used with a single radio. The holes are drilled in the boom to result in a snug press fit. Dual band tape measure yagi antenna july 19, 2015 amateur satellite, antennas, ham radio amateur radio, antenna, ham radio, satellite, saudisat 1c, so50, yagi michael while i wait for my arrow antenna to arrive, i thought i would experiment and build a dual band tape measure yagi since i already had most of the parts on hand. This lightweight antenna is perfect to use for fox hunts or as a portable directional antenna for public service events. Camden county amateur radio society georgia ccars inc. That was until i made a qso with k1maz nick while he was doing a sota activation. For completeness this is not the only diy tape measure yagi on instructables so also check out fn64s 2 m band radio direction finding antenna for. Tape measure foxhunt antenna dara thursday night group.
I used 1ss103 pin diodes i purchased at a flea market. The construction is similar to the tape measure beam except using solid elements which are remov. Dimensions are critical for antennas, and the dimensions are printed on the tape measure tape. Use metal tape measure as elements for easy foldingtransport.
A simple yet effective 3el vhf yagi directional antenna that could. Tape measure vhfuhf yagi antenna one of the most fun amateur antenna projects is a pvc measuring tape antenna. About 7db tape measure yagi beam for rdf the resource is currently listed in in 3 categories. The second group project is a tape measure antenna used for foxhunting. If there is any wind, forget trying to use the antenna.
First measure and cut some wire or rod to the dimensions we need. Some are based on lookup tables, some completely hide their algorithms. Like a yagiuda antenna yagi, a quad consists of a driven element and parasitic elements. Tape yagi camden county amateur radio society georgia. The resource is currently listed in in a single category. Feb 07, 2017 the 2 meter band tape measure beam antenna is a 3 element yagi with about 7. The calculators for other antenna types such as parabolic,horn,dipole and patch are also mentioned. Vhfuhfmicrowave misc antennas collinear array for 23 cm by f5jio 15. In this tutorial we will look at how you can build a yagi beam antenna for 2 meter ham radio out of a tape measure and a few easy to find parts. Since certain vhfuhf radios are so inexpensive i can use two at a time by connecting to each yagi separately to yield full duplex so i can hear the satellite or space station as i transmit. Yagi in the 1920s did not receive full acclaim in the united states until 1928.
This antenna is designed for twometer operations, which, for a newbie ham operator, is one of the bands available under the technician license in the us. Since certain vhf uhf radios are so inexpensive i can use two at a time by connecting to each yagi separately to yield full duplex so i can hear the satellite or space station as i transmit. Tape measure yagi beam antenna parts list 1 25 foot 1 inch wide steel tape measure 1 10 foot piece of 34 inch schedule 40 pvc tube 2 34 inch pvc cross connectors 2 34 inch. Vhfuhf quad antenna the information in this article has come from many amateur sources, the most notable was. Element lengthsdiameters and element spacing determine antenna behavior.
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