Camden county amateur radio society georgia ccars inc. Most antenna simulation programs used by radio amateurs allow only to enter circular elements. Hurst amateur radio club uhf tape measure yagi foxhunt antenna. This morning, i ran across a couple more 3d printing projects for ham radio that i thought id pass along. This will be the director of the antenna and will attach to the front of the antenna. John portune, w6nbc any hams have made 2 meter lape hunting. Would like to play with yagi models in design software, using tape measure elements as wires.
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. Since ive built a ton of jpoles and wire antennas, ive wanted to build something different. Consider a yagiuda consisting of a reflector, driven element and a single director as shown here. This project is unusual, so its something that will certainly capture the attention of anyone, particularly a kid. Our results are optimised for gain, but others may be optimised for bandwidth. But it was getting a little bit scuffed and the cable was all ratty. So out comes the tape measure yagi from the garage. 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. Disassemble the tape measure by pulling the tape out of the case.
The antenna is useful especially if you want a portable antenna for back packing etc. 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 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 4039 times. During this session, well also be building a 2meter tape measure yagi using joe leggios, wb2hol plans. Simply download the yagicad program and put the tape measure beam design file in the same directory. Education software downloads yagi designer by goforth laboratories and many more programs are available for instant and free download. After a couple of failed yagis and the help of another ham on forums, i finally built a yagi that works. This page covers 3 element yagi antenna calculator. Are you looking for a project to encourage a new generation of ham radio operators. Ive taken what i learned from the gmrs continue reading homebrew 5 element vhf yagi. This antenna evolved during my search for a beam with a really great.
Most diodes have a band which shows which end is the cathode. It allowed me to optimize the antenna for the cleanest pattern combined with the best front toback ratio. This link is listed in our web site directory since sunday jan 26 2014, and till today tape measure yagi antenna has been followed for a total of 625 times. Each cad and any associated text, image or data is in no way sponsored by or affiliated with any company, organization or realworld item, product, or good it may purport to portray. I decided on a 3 element yagi built for gmrs that is directly fed with 50ohm coax. There is room for flexibility in the construction techniques you can use. What this software allows you to do is to designdraw an antenna using x,y,z. The best diodes for use in the antenna are rf pin diodes.
Some other useful sites with information on yagi design include, w4rnl antenna articles, gm3sek vhfuhf long yagi workshop and k7mem vhfuhf yagi antenna design design software written in javascript. About 7db tape measure yagi beam for rdf the resource is currently listed in in 3 categories. It uses the graphs and principles developed by dl6wu and printed originally in the german radio magazine vhf communications march 1982. The formula and basics of yagi antenna calculator are also explained with example. I am copying a design made by nt1k with a couple of changes.
The most interesting part of the software is, it can help you to improve your design by projecting the antenna radiation pattern and estimating the radiation resistance impudence at any given frequency. Wc7i provides a calculator for a 3 element yagi design. With yagicad it is possible to enter a base design from scratch or use one of a number of saved well known designs. Yagi antennas may suffer in performance if mounted elsewhere, like the center of the boom. This lightweight antenna is perfect to use for fox hunts or as a portable directional antenna for. The foxhunting receiver rox2a we used had a simple 3 element yagi with elements made of. The tapemeasure antenna is a simple, handheld 2 meter yagi. For more information on tape measure yagis, check out the following links. The calculators for other antenna types such as parabolic,horn,dipole and patch are also mentioned.
The 2 meter band tape measure beam antenna is a 3 element yagi with about 7. Tape measure vhfuhf yagi antenna one of the most fun amateur antenna projects is a pvc measuring tape antenna. A portable yagiuda antenna for use at 144 mhz 2 m, with segments of yellow tapemeasure ribbon for the arms of the driven and parasitic elements. To assist in the design i used a shareware computer aided yagi design program written by paul. Construction plans for a tape measure yagi antenna, used to find hidden transmitters and fox transmitters.
This antenna uses the g0ksc opdes design on both 40m and 20m to provide fullband coverage on each. The idea of using measuring tape is pretty ancient too and there is a successful manufacturer of motorized adjustable antennas. Tape measure beam work the oscar ham satellites or go transmitter hunting with this inexpensive portable dual band handheld tape measure yagi. This antenna is designed for twometer operations, which, for a newbie ham. The beam as provided in the kit is good for 2m but it has also been successfully scaled for use on other frequencies including 121.
The main category is antennas for vhf uhf bands that is about antennas for vhf and uhf radio bands. The tape measure isnt supposed to snap into the holder. So we started with the moxon antenna, then we made the 3 element tape measure yagi beam which was also successful. A yagi is a directional antenna made of up elements. This is where you input the center frequency in megahertz. These tape measure sections allow the yagi antenna, which is normally a large. Download yagi designer software for windows for free. 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. July 19, 2015 amateur satellite, antennas, ham radio amateur radio, antenna, ham radio, satellite, saudisat 1c, so50, yagi michael. 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.
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. It is quite possible, that other calculators deliver slightly different results. To assist in the design i used a shareware computer aided yagi design program written by paul mcmahon vk3dip. Simply twist the tape so it disconnects from the spring. If you are going to mount the antenna, set it up so the antenna will be forward of the mounts. Its an antenna built out of pvc pipe, a tape measure and a handful of hose clamps. Yagicad is a fully integrated analysis and design package primarily intended for vhf yagi aerials. It looks like the tape measure that i have is a little more than 58in.
This antenna is designed for the 2 meter amateur radio band. Yagi calculator is a program to assist with the design of long yagi antennas. Cheap and light portable 2m yagi 9 db gain for less than 9 pounds build in march 2006 by maik, m0run in february 2006 i took part in my first ever foxhunt and there i had the idea to build this antenna. The traditional 2m tape measure beam the plans that i offer on my site, a common one performed remarkably well receiving arissat1, as well as ao51 and so50. This design can then be optimised or scaled to suit particular requirements. Listed under the antennasvhf uhf category that is about antennas for vhf uhf bands.
Feb 07, 2017 the 2 meter band tape measure beam antenna is a 3 element yagi with about 7. Now its time to step it up just a little bit and fabricate a bigger antenna. The yagi, jpole and nvis dipole and a glance at antenna design using 3d em software brian mileshosky n5zgt high desert amateur radio club 15 feb 20. Today i want to share with you a great yagi uda antenna modeling software for amateur radio operator and enthusiast. The 2 meter tape measure antenna k4ive version are you looking for an easy kid friendly project. The foxhunting receiver rox2a we used had a simple 3 element yagi with elements made of steel tape measure. If you pull the tape past its end, youll find that its connected to a spring. The article was titled extremely long yagi antennas. Some are based on lookup tables, some completely hide their algorithms. To scale this antenna for any other vhfuhf frequency, read the arrl article. Which is to say you can use the plans to build a perfectly workable antenna, or, you can use the formula for a yagi antenna to modify the design. Driven element is excited directly via feedline, all other elements excited parasitically. Dec 08, 2016 the idea of using measuring tape is pretty ancient too and there is a successful manufacturer of motorized adjustable antennas. How to build a yagi antenna out of a tape measure ham.
The computeraided design cad files and all associated content posted to this website are created, uploaded, managed and owned by third party users. Jan 08, 2012 using the traditional 2m tape measure beam performs very poorly on so50 or receiving any cubesats with a weak downlink. It contains formulas you can use to calculate element lengths and spacing, as well as boom length. For completeness this is not the only diy tape measure yagi on instructables. Due to material, i decided on a 5 element yagi built for vhf since all i would have to buy is more 38. About tape measure yagi antenna the resource is currently listed in in a single category. This design is an adaptation of the wb2hol tape measure project. This lightweight antenna is perfect to use for fox hunts or as a. Measure and cut the four lengths you will need for this antenna cutting chart. The tape measure antenna is a home brew 2 meter antenna made out of pvc pipe and a steel tape measure. Simply download the yagi cad program and put the tape measure beam design file in the same directory. Hurst amateur radio club uhf tape measure yagi foxhunt. G0ksc simple to build, high performance yagi and quad. Since the design for the tape measure antenna is available online we are sharing with you the design for the 6 element moxon.
The flexible measuring tapes make it easy to transport, and the pvc comes apart to make it even easier to carry. In this article well take that design two steps farther. Yagi in the 1920s did not receive full acclaim in the united states until 1928. Using the traditional 2m tape measure beam performs very poorly on so50 or receiving any cubesats with a weak downlink. One of the things that i keep telling myself that i need to learn how to do is 3d printing. The wb2hol tape measure beam is one of the standards for transmitter hunting. 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. Building the wb2hol foxhunting beam by g3zoi updated 32005 the design of the wb2hol 2m tape measure yagi shows a great piece of lateral thinking, it is also is proven to be highly practical for foxhunts and ardf. If you decide you really need a yagi with more elements, here are the lengths of them. First, well reduce cost and then well add oscar sat ellite mode j capacity. I used 1ss103 pin diodes i purchased at a flea market. But the tape measure is far away from being circular. You will then be able to experiment with the design.
Simply rotate the tape till the tab of the spring can be slid through the slot in the tape. Free online engineering calculator to find the dimensions of a yagi uda antenna for a given frequency range and length. The spring will recoil into the case and the tape will be ready for trimming. Element lengthsdiameters and element spacing determine antenna behavior. If you would like to experiment a bit with this program, the yagi specification file for this tape measure beam is available for download here. Using the moxgen software the calculated dimensions for the elements were. One of the easiest and most fun amateur antenna projects is a pvc measuring tape antenna. In my case, my nephew and i used the plans from wb2hol, but we worked through the math to come up with element lengths.