Radio and Electronics Cookbook

81

A simple 6 m beam

Introduction

The attraction of building your own aerials is an abiding feature of our hobby. You can buy almost any shape or size of aerial, but one you have made yourself can often work every bit as well as a commercial device costing ten times as much.

The design

This aerial, designed for use on the 6 m band, is essentially a two-element Yagi, with the elements bent in order to reduce the physical size. It is known as the VK2ABQ beam, and was designed originally for the 20, 15 and 10 m bands, principally because of its space-saving qualities. It is made using a wooden frame and wire elements, and is ideal for portable operation.

Tools ready?

The beam is shown in Figure 1. The driven element is the one whose centre ...