Antennas OTHER than Elk and Arrow

[K6LCS]

Yes, the Arrow Satelllite Antennas and the Elk Log Periodics are wonderful antennas for working the FM VHF/UHF satellites. But either cost over $125 ...

But how about spending about $100 LESS than the cost of an Elk or Arrow to get into the world of high gain?

Build yourself a tape measure beam! (Link on the ANTENNAS page at ...

http://www.work-sat.com 

I built one following those plans to the letter - and have worked the FM sats with it. Yes, I know it is not engineered to receive on 440 ... but it works.

Connected it to my FT-60R, and I heard the San Diego NOAA WX frequency for the first time ever with a handheld radio from my house in Jurupa Valley.

These are fun to build ... fun to show to non-ham friends ... and always a conversation-starter!

Clint

[KB2FCV]

I built the wa5vjb yagi(s) for my antenna. It's cross polarized and looks very similar to the arrow antenna, but with a $20 price tag vs a $125+ price tag. I picked up some 1/8" aluminum rod and 1/8" brass rod and all drilled into a 1/2" square wood boom. Cheap, easy and works great.

[WB6BYU]

Tape measure elements are great for use in the bush where you have to worry about
the elements hitting tree branches -I've built quite a few of them.  But the steel elements
have more loss than copper or aluminum, especially at VHF.

If I don't plan to use an antenna while running through the woods, I also prefer the
WA5VJB technique, using #8 aluminum ground wire for the parasitic elements and
#12 solid copper house wire for the driven element (so I can solder to it), assembled
on a length of PVC pipe.  (I rotate the driven element around the axis so the short
side is in front of the long side - that is easier to build.)

The half-folded driven element steps the feedpoint impedance up by a factor of 4,
just like a regular folded dipole, so if you are designing your own antennas you can
aim for 12.5 ohms to get a 50 ohm match or 18.75 ohms for 75 ohm feed.

http://wa5vjb.com/references.html


[edited to add]  $20 for an antenna?  That seems high.   Radio Shack used to sell
40' of the aluminum wire for $6, and I've got plenty of scrap PVC pipe and wire around.
But I guess some folks would rather have their pipe look clean...

[KB2FCV]

[edited to add]  $20 for an antenna?  That seems high.   Radio Shack used to sell
40' of the aluminum wire for $6, and I've got plenty of scrap PVC pipe and wire around.
But I guess some folks would rather have their pipe look clean...

I stand corrected. We made about 24 of these for a club project. I found my spreadsheet I made of the cost breakdown. The cost per antenna was $17.30 soup to nuts - that is everything right down to the epoxy to hold the rods in place.

[W9GB]

$20 for an antenna?  That seems high.   Radio Shack used to sell
40' of the aluminum wire for $6, and I've got plenty of scrap PVC pipe and wire around.
But I guess some folks would rather have their pipe look clean...

YES, that is correct.

Commodity prices, whether Agricultural (corn, beans) or Metals (aluminum, copper) have INFLATED substantially over past 10 years.  I have not seen Alumnum ground wire, at a Radio Shack (at that price), since the Millennium started.

SCRAP is a GOOD SOURCE, but around here --
trucks roam towns and neighborhoods constantly on the Hunt of Scrap Metal for $$$.