2 Meter 6 Element Yagi
I claim no originality with this antenna other than its method of construction.
The dimensions and inspiration come from the following web site:
http://www.hamuniverse.com/2ssbyagi.html
I chose 2.5mm aluminium welding rods for the elements and a 20mm x 3m long garden stake for the boom.
In order to make the boom the required length for all six elements it was necessary to make up the length with a short length of PVC water over flow piping.
Originally I thought that the garden stake was made of a solid length of plastic, however when I came to drill the holes for the elements, I found that it was a thin metal tube covered in green plastic. A permanent ink pen was used to mark out along the tube the positions for the six elements.
In order to insulate the elements from the boom, I found that the plastic tube from inside a Mr Muscle lime scale cleaner was the perfect size for the aluminium rods to slide in with a snug fit.
As my version of this antenna was to be used for portable operation, I wanted it to be quick to assemble/dismantle. This meant that the rods would need to be secured in a way that could be released reasonably quickly and yet be firmly secured in place.
To stop the elements from sliding from there centre positions and yet still allow for quick assembly/disassembly, I slid one half of a block connectors brass insert over one end.
Using the fine point of a hot soldering Iron, I melted the end of the pipe into a flange by inserting the tip of the iron into the tube briefly.
This was done both ends of the tube after inserting it into the hole drilled in the boom and slipping the modified brass connector one side.
A PVC pipe connector was hot clued to the end of the boom at the point where the driven element was to be placed. Another type of connector block with pins on one side was used to make the fixing points for the driven elements.
Using thick copper wire from the centre of some odd bits of coax, pins were put through the side of the tubing and soldered to the ends of the connector blocks, ready for the connection of the coax feeder. The reflector element was placed at the end of the plastic tube extension which was pushed onto the connector on final assembly.
Finally the antenna was tuned to resonance by carefully trimming both sides of the driven element.
A PVC pipe connector was hot clued to the end of the boom at the point where the driven element was to be placed. Another type of connector block with pins on one side was used to make the fixing points for the driven elements.
Using thick copper wire from the centre of some odd bits of coax, pins were put through the side of the tubing, ready for the connection of the feeder. The reflector element was placed at the end of the plastic tube extension which was pushed onto the connector on final assembly.
Finally the antenna was tuned to resonance by carefully trimming both sides of the driven element.