14-5 Thursday night contruction night - tape measure antennas

[vk3vsm]

Tonight’s project had us building tape measure antennas — one of the best “bang for buck” antennas in amateur radio. I have used them in the past to chase LEO satelites, they work a treat.

It was a real joint effort:

• Kevin brought the tape measures and PVC pipe
• Ray brought his 3D printed fittings
• I brought the design

We ended up with a pretty good assembly line going, with Scott, the two Kevins(KPH and KFM), Ray, and Jacek all working on different parts of the build so we could all walk away with an antenna by the end of the night.

Tape measure antennas are essentially just another form of Yagi antenna — the main difference is the elements are made from flexible tape measure steel instead of aluminium rod.

Electrically they work the same:

• Reflector at the back
• Driven element in the middle
• Directors at the front

The beauty of tape measure antennas is that they’re cheap, portable, durable, and flexible. Unlike aluminium elements, they bend instead of snapping, making them ideal for portable operating, fox hunting, field days, and general experimentation.

A great hands-on club project and another good excuse to make use of our clubrooms, get people building, learning, and having fun with radio.
Attached is the design we were going by