Yagi question
 

I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Yagi question
 

How about a 7dB 2M Yagi for $7 -- less if you have some PVC and Welding Rods

See ARRL Article at URL:
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/9304054.pdf

You may need to be an ARRL member to read it -- if so get a buddy who is an
ARRL Member to get it for you.

73 - CL

"Nelson Blaha" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Yagi question
 

Had no problem viewing it, thanks! I'm still looking for ideas, though-
I think I'm turning out to be one of the "homebrew" hams. Would
clotheshangers even be able to handle the 50W of my radio? 5W?

On Jan 20, 9:23 pm, "Caveat Lector" wrote:
How about a 7dB 2M Yagi for $7 -- less if you have some PVC and Welding Rods

See ARRL Article at URL:http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/9304054.pdf

You may need to be an ARRL member to read it -- if so get a buddy who is an
ARRL Member to get it for you.

73 - CL

"Nelson Blaha" wrote in oglegroups.com...

I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Yagi question
 

Nelson Blaha wrote:


I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

You can make one out of anything nearly. Coathangers will work fine,
but most
I see are steel, not aluminum. Aluminum would be better. Steel
coathangers
will work ok, but they rust real fast. Power is no problem. Unless
there is a
weak link with the matching device, a coathanger yagi should handle
several
hundred watts. The matching device will be the trickiest part to
construct
using hangar wire and PVC. Would almost be easiest to design the yagi
to have a 50 ohm feedpoint with spacing adjustments, and feed with a
normal split
driven element. I'd add a coax choke for decoupling the feedline.
MK

Yagi question
 

There is a set of plans on the `net for one made of an old, broken
tape measure. The pieces of the tape measure are glued / screwed to a
length of PVC, and the Coax was soldered / screwed to the drive
elements.
If you have this stuff laying around, and you sound as you do, then
this would be a free-bee for you. My friend made a three element
version, and it worked surprisingly well with about 7 dB gain. With
the flat, razor thin but wide, flat elements, the pattern was very
direct. It looked a bit funny, but hey, the darn thing works like a
champ!

On 20 Jan 2007 18:57:00 -0800, "Nelson Blaha"
wrote:

I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Yagi question
 

Nelson Blaha wrote:
I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Others presented good ideas. Ya know, an old TV antenna would make a decent
yagi for 2m, and with people going to cable/satellite TV, you could probably
find one for nothing or only a few dollars. Remove the elements you don't
need, cut the remaining elements down to length, do a little rewiring as
needed, connect your feedline, and you're good to go. If you want vertical
polarization, redrill the boom-to-mast mounting holes 90° from original.

I once did something similar with a 3 element 11m yagi... in about an hour
or so including tuneup time, I turned it into a gamma-matched 6 element 2m
yagi. I used my VSWR-protected 2m rig's output indicator to indicate proper
tuning by adjusting for maximum relative forward power.

Bryan WA7PRC

Yagi question
 

"Bryan" wrote in message
...
Nelson Blaha wrote:
I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Others presented good ideas. Ya know, an old TV antenna would make a
decent
yagi for 2m, and with people going to cable/satellite TV, you could
probably
find one for nothing or only a few dollars. Remove the elements you don't
need, cut the remaining elements down to length, do a little rewiring as
needed, connect your feedline, and you're good to go. If you want
vertical
polarization, redrill the boom-to-mast mounting holes 90° from original.

I once did something similar with a 3 element 11m yagi... in about an hour
or so including tuneup time, I turned it into a gamma-matched 6 element 2m
yagi. I used my VSWR-protected 2m rig's output indicator to indicate
proper
tuning by adjusting for maximum relative forward power.

Bryan WA7PRC



When we got cable in the neighborhood my wife was threateing divorce over
all the TV antennas I would pick up off the curb during trash day.

Jimmie

Yagi question
 

Jimmie D wrote:

Bryan wrote:
Nelson Blaha wrote:
I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Others presented good ideas. Ya know, an old TV antenna would make a
decent
yagi for 2m, and with people going to cable/satellite TV, you could
probably
find one for nothing or only a few dollars. Remove the elements you
don't
need, cut the remaining elements down to length, do a little rewiring as
needed, connect your feedline, and you're good to go. If you want
vertical
polarization, redrill the boom-to-mast mounting holes 90° from original.

I once did something similar with a 3 element 11m yagi... in about an
hour
or so including tuneup time, I turned it into a gamma-matched 6 element
2m
yagi. I used my VSWR-protected 2m rig's output indicator to indicate
proper
tuning by adjusting for maximum relative forward power.

Bryan WA7PRC



When we got cable in the neighborhood my wife was threateing divorce over
all the TV antennas I would pick up off the curb during trash day.

Jimmie

Hmm... I envision stacked arrays! ;^)
Bryan

Yagi question
 

"Bryan" wrote in message
...
Jimmie D wrote:

Bryan wrote:
Nelson Blaha wrote:
I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section
of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Others presented good ideas. Ya know, an old TV antenna would make a
decent
yagi for 2m, and with people going to cable/satellite TV, you could
probably
find one for nothing or only a few dollars. Remove the elements you
don't
need, cut the remaining elements down to length, do a little rewiring
as
needed, connect your feedline, and you're good to go. If you want
vertical
polarization, redrill the boom-to-mast mounting holes 90° from
original.

I once did something similar with a 3 element 11m yagi... in about an
hour
or so including tuneup time, I turned it into a gamma-matched 6 element
2m
yagi. I used my VSWR-protected 2m rig's output indicator to indicate
proper
tuning by adjusting for maximum relative forward power.

Bryan WA7PRC



When we got cable in the neighborhood my wife was threateing divorce over
all the TV antennas I would pick up off the curb during trash day.

Jimmie

Hmm... I envision stacked arrays! ;^)
Bryan



I actually did very little with them. I didnt have my ticket yet. I put a
couple up in the attic for local TV that wasnt on cable. Still use them when
a storm takes the cable out.

Yagi question
 

Ok, here's what I tried. I cut notches in that 4' piece of PVC and cut
clotheshanger wire to the lengths found at this calculator:

http://www.csgnetwork.com/antennae3ycalc.html

This I stuck out my window on an aluminum pole (cinderblock walls are
bad). I'm suspicious of my wiring- I used very thin speaker cable to
connect a ground to the screws on my light switch plate, and to the
coax going into my radio. It doesn't perform half as well as my
current antenna- a mobile 5/8 dipole on the end of some eye-bar with
clothes-hanger groundplane radials. Guess I just need to wait until I
have some real coax, the speaker wire is probably the weak link here?
Maybe I was just pointing this yagi away from the station I was
listening to, I suppose it would be doing its job then!

Checking almost hourly for that license on the internet!

Nelson Blaha

On Jan 21, 11:06 pm, "Jimmie D" wrote:
"Bryan" wrote in messagenews:ItednTY6IOjx3inYnZ2dnUVZ_hmtnZ2d@gigan ews.com...



Jimmie D wrote:

Bryan wrote:
Nelson Blaha wrote:
I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section
of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Others presented good ideas. Ya know, an old TV antenna would make a
decent
yagi for 2m, and with people going to cable/satellite TV, you could
probably
find one for nothing or only a few dollars. Remove the elements you
don't
need, cut the remaining elements down to length, do a little rewiring
as
needed, connect your feedline, and you're good to go. If you want
vertical
polarization, redrill the boom-to-mast mounting holes 90° from
original.

I once did something similar with a 3 element 11m yagi... in about an
hour
or so including tuneup time, I turned it into a gamma-matched 6 element
2m
yagi. I used my VSWR-protected 2m rig's output indicator to indicate
proper
tuning by adjusting for maximum relative forward power.

Bryan WA7PRC

When we got cable in the neighborhood my wife was threateing divorce over
all the TV antennas I would pick up off the curb during trash day.

Jimmie

Hmm... I envision stacked arrays! ;^)
BryanI actually did very little with them. I didnt have my ticket yet. I put a
couple up in the attic for local TV that wasnt on cable. Still use them when
a storm takes the cable out.

Yagi question
 

I'm sure it's not much of a performer, nelson. If you're using speaker
wire as your feeder, it's going to be horribly mismatched. Your trx
expects to see 50 ohm on the antenna, and (though I'm not certain) I'd
be willing to bet that your speaker wire is either much higher or much
lower. At best, this will give terrible performance. At worst,
potentially blow up the output stage of your rig.
RG58 is the coax you need. It's cheap, sometimes free. It's the same
stuff old 10base2 networks used to be wired with, so a visit to a dump
will probably turn up loads.

Yagi question
 

" I'm sure it's not much of a performer, nelson. If you're using speaker
wire as your feeder, it's going to be horribly mismatched. Your trx
expects to see 50 ohm on the antenna, and (though I'm not certain) I'd
be willing to bet that your speaker wire is either much higher or much
lower. At best, this will give terrible performance. At worst,
potentially blow up the output stage of your rig.
RG58 is the coax you need. It's cheap, sometimes free. It's the same
stuff old 10base2 networks used to be wired with, so a visit to a dump
will probably turn up loads.


He did say he was using coax, the speaker wire was just a ground, which
won't really be doing very much at vhf, so that is not the problem.

73
Jeff

Yagi question
 

"Nelson Blaha" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail


Nelson, not about what you were asking but I have only know one other person
that had the Blaha name and he was Swiss. Are you?
Just Curious

Jimmie

Yagi question
 

On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 11:12:59 -0800, Fred Ferely wrote:
There is a set of plans on the `net for one made of an old, broken
tape measure.

Mylar?
I guess it would work best with the plastic, shack-on-the-hip 'radios'.
HI!HI!

Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
38.24N 104.55W | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
*** Killfiling google posts: http://jonz.net/ng.htm

Yagi question
 

My mother is way into the geneology stuff. Blaha is a very common name
in the Czech Republic. I'm glad to have an odd name, I don't know what
I'd do if I were a "Smith" or "Miller"!



On Jan 22, 12:30 pm, "Jimmie D" wrote:
"Nelson Blaha" wrote in oglegroups.com...

I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mailNelson, not about what you were asking but I have only know one other person
that had the Blaha name and he was Swiss. Are you?
Just Curious

Jimmie

Yagi question
 

Nelson Blaha wrote:
My mother is way into the geneology stuff. Blaha is a very common name
in the Czech Republic. I'm glad to have an odd name, I don't know what
I'd do if I were a "Smith" or "Miller"!


Hmmm, I wonder? ...

Regards,
John SMITH grin

Yagi question
 

Actually, I'm sorry to say Jeff was right. For the sake of experiment
I had connected with speaker cable more than just the ground.
Basically, I connected speaker wires to the contacts on my mobile NMO
mount. The NMO mount had coax running back to the radio. I knew
transmitting like that was a pretty bad idea (illegal anyway), and that
I needed to get a proper wiring eventually, I just wanted to see if I
could observe the directional effects of my yagi.

Oddly, though, my Alinco DR-130 came with a CB MAGMOUNT when I bought
it as a kid used. It even survived my keying it attached to that
thing, and I don't think it has any protection against high SWRs. I've
always wondered how my radio survived that. Maybe it didn't... I'll
have to test it when my license comes. I only think it works now
because I tried it a while back on MURS frequencies with a radio shack
scanner.

On Jan 22, 9:05 am, "Jeff" wrote:
" I'm sure it's not much of a performer, nelson. If you're using speaker

wire as your feeder, it's going to be horribly mismatched. Your trx
expects to see 50 ohm on the antenna, and (though I'm not certain) I'd
be willing to bet that your speaker wire is either much higher or much
lower. At best, this will give terrible performance. At worst,
potentially blow up the output stage of your rig.
RG58 is the coax you need. It's cheap, sometimes free. It's the same
stuff old 10base2 networks used to be wired with, so a visit to a dump
will probably turn up loads.He did say he was using coax, the speaker wire was just a ground, which
won't really be doing very much at vhf, so that is not the problem.

73
Jeff

Yagi question
 

On Mon, 22 Jan 2007 18:50:28 -0800, John Smith I wrote:
Nelson Blaha wrote:
My mother is way into the geneology stuff. Blaha is a very common name
in the Czech Republic. I'm glad to have an odd name, I don't know what
I'd do if I were a "Smith" or "Miller"!

Hmmm, I wonder? ...

Regards,
John SMITH grin

I'll admit to using Trebetowski when making restaurant reservations.

Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
38.24N 104.55W | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
*** Killfiling google posts: http://jonz.net/ng.htm

Yagi question
 

Yes, there is a way. Look up "Cheap Yagis" with your search engine. You
want WA5VJB's article published by the Clear Lake Amateur Radio Club in
Texas. Great plans. His antennas use eight inch copper tube, but I've known
people to make the antenna with welding rod, so substitutions are possible.

73 and good luck,

Bill Turner, W4WNT

"Nelson Blaha" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Yagi question
 

On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:37:49 -0500, W4WNT wrote:

His antennas use eight inch copper tube, but I've known .....

I'd like to see a 2M yagi made with 8" Cu pipe. :-)

Yagi question
 

"Caveat Lector" wrote in message
...
How about a 7dB 2M Yagi for $7 -- less if you have some PVC and Welding
Rods

See ARRL Article at URL:
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/9304054.pdf

73 - CL

Interesting article. Where (what) is the matching device? I must have
missed it.

HankG

"Nelson Blaha" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Yagi question
 

HankG wrote:
"Caveat Lector" wrote in message
...

How about a 7dB 2M Yagi for $7 -- less if you have some PVC and Welding

Rods

See ARRL Article at URL:
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/9304054.pdf

73 - CL


Interesting article. Where (what) is the matching device? I must have
missed it.

HankG

Wire clamps on the ends of the driven element that allow you to adjust
the length of the D-E for minimum SWR. See Fig. 1 and page 2, bottom of
column one.


"Nelson Blaha" wrote in message
roups.com...

I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Yagi question
 

here are two links for you to get you on the air fast
and 'on the cheap' ! (but are not Yagi design)

both of these can use copper wire you may already have,
or find in the recycle or trash pile.

half square for 2m (not a yagi but fast and cheap to build direct fed no
match)

http://www.cebik.com/vhf/hs.html

Moxon for 2m (again, not the yagi)

http://www.cebik.com/moxon/moxbld.html

similar gain as a 2 element yagi but takes up less space
and it is direct coax fed so no matching needed !

good luck with the project !

james (also used when making reservations)

Yagi question
 

On 20 Jan 2007 18:57:00 -0800, "Nelson Blaha"
wrotF:

I'm looking to build a 2m yagi, but I haven't got any money. Can I
make one out of aluminum coat hangers? I also have a 4-foot section of
1" PVC pipe laying around, and glue, tools etc.

Nelson Blaha
Call-sign in the mail

Here is another Cebik design.
http://www.cebik.com/vhf/32m.html
Wide band 6 element 2M Yagi. I built one using a fiberglass electric
fence post for a boom and 1/8" brass rod for the elements. Works good
for the price.

Mike kc9doa