Saoirse DulipAlright let’s get building. Thread for the 2-element handheld Yagi Uda build.
So first thing is that the 3D printed pieces had some kind of twist in them. This meant that the arrow shafts wouldn’t go into them. So we break out the drill press and correct the issue.
Next we need to cut our arrow shafts to length. Firstly, I had to measure them out to millimeter lengths. Frustratingly I had no measuring table with metric units (WHY ARENT THEY STANDARD) so I had to get one.
We are also using Pipe cutters to cut our lengths.
I measured out the lengths and scored the shafts where the cuts are happening.
One last thing we have to do with the shafts after they are cut is remove some of their coating. The coating is anodized, so we have to remove it to get electricity flowing in it.
So we remove both the outside ring and then a Dremel is used to remove the internal paint.
All our shafts are done now!
Next we cut our shock cord to length. About 10 centimeters less than the shafts.
Okay, so some significant snags were hit, hence the lack of further updates. Ultimately, the 3D printed pieces started failing significantly. Further, I had issues trying to secure the shock cord to the threaded areas to hold it in place.
Ultimately, I was able to create a.. somewhat antenna. I was able to heat the repeater significantly better with it, but I am unhappy with how it came out. Therefore, I'm going to need to do a bit of thinking on how to improve construction...
Ok, so I spent a bit of time refinancing the antenna this morning and I am a bit happier about it. I forgot to mention that this build is using the following instructions: https://k6ark.com/2-element-quick-yagi/
The major thing I had to change was, I could not ultimately use the shock cord. It was causing significantly more issues for me than it's benefit. What I lose from this is portability as the elements don't swing down. But honestly, that's fine.
So, in lieu of that, I used some pliers and bent the threaded arrow shaft inserts a bit so they fit snuggly onto the shafts, then screwed all of that back into the 3D-printed holders. This gave the benefit of, now without the cord, I could tighten the elements down completely and they were not loosey goosey.
The next thing I did was use my hand drill from my Miniature Painting hobby to re-drill holes for my holding pins (as they weren't working with the printed holes). This allowed the elements to stay on the main boon.
Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) is.. around 1.8 (1.0 is perfect tuning) so I'm ok with that.
Anyway, without further fanfare, here is the antenna built.
Allpoints@SitaDulip Nice to see a home build and enjoyed the link. Also, I love the typo. Having seen the cost of some commercial gear it's not out of place.
@allpoints Haha, I totally missed that. I'll leave it for now. :)