The Home Depot Antenna by:  AI4JI  
   
    This antenna is the result of the need for a high gain (10dBi) 2 meter Yagi that is simple to build and very cost effective.

    This antenna can be built from parts obtained at Home Depot for approximately $27.00.

Items needed:
  1 each, Square Tube, 1/16” thick, 1” square by 48” long, aluminum
  2 each, Aluminum Channel, 3/8” by 96”
  1 each, U-bolt
  1 each, piece of scrap plastic or plexi-glass, 2” x 6” and Ό” thick.
  Nuts, bolts, or pop rivets
 As an extra, I added an SO-239 connector to mine; however, it is not required.

Note:  All measurements are in cm or mm due to the precision gained from a metric tape measure.
 

From one end of the square aluminum tube, measure up 2cm and mark that with a Sharpie marker. That is the base line for the Reflector.

Make a mark at 32.7cm for the Driven Element.

Make a mark at 55cm for the first Director (D1)

Make a mark at 97.2cm for the second Director (D2)

Measure 2 more cm from your last mark (99.7cm) and cut there to remove the unused, leftover boom material.
 
Take the 96" aluminum channels and cut them to the following lengths:

Reflector   1.04m (104 cm)     mark half way at  52cm
Driven       97.9cm                 mark half way at  48.95cm
Director 1  94cm                    mark half way at  47cm
Director 2  89.3cm                 mark half way at  44.65cm

Mare sure you mark the center of each element for proper alignment.
 
Place the elements on the boom, carefully drill 2 holes and secure with whatever you have handy.  I used aluminum pop rivets.

Do NOT drill and rivet the Driven Element, we will address this shortly.


 

  For the driven element, I took a scrap piece of 2” x 6” x Ό” plexi-glass and I centered the driven element on the plexi-glass.  I drilled 4 holes through the element and plexi-glass and secured the element to the plexi-glass with some 8x32 screws and nuts I had in the scrap bin.  I did not use pop-rivets because I did not want to shatter the plexi-glass. 

  Once the Driven Element is secured, carefully cut through the center of the aluminum, creating 2 Driven Element pieces.  (See photo)

  Take the driven element assembly and center it on the boom.  Make sure the edges of the elements line up with the marks you made when measuring.  Drill two holes in the plexi-glass and through the boom, ensuring the holes are far enough away from the elements so as not to cause a connection when screws, bolts or washers are used to secure the assembly to the boom.
 
 

  I happened to find an SO-239 socket laying in one of my parts drawers, so I decided to use that.  I took a round file and ground out a little spot on one of the driven element channel sides.  When I got it down enough for the SO-239 to fit nicely, I drilled 2 holes in the channel, corresponding to two of the SO-239 mounting holes.  I used 2 pop-rivets to secure the SO-239 to the driven element. 

  I found a piece of 14 gage solid copper wire and I soldered a terminal lug to the end of it.  I then bolted the terminal lug to the other driven element’s mounting bolt.  With a couple of simple bends, I aligned the 14 gage wire up with the center solder tab of the SO-239 and soldered it in place.

I found the balance point on the boom, marked it and drilled 2 holes for the u-bolt to secure the antenna to a mast.  (Seen behind the SO-239)

 



 
The Completed Yagi, ready to go.
All material on this page is copyrighted © 2006 by AI4JI
All Rights Reserved.  Copying or Reproduction of this material or design is
strictly forbidden without the prior, written consent of AI4JI.