As I like building new antennas and always want to experiment with them, I wanted to try the new Yagi design by Justin G0KSC.
These antenna designs are especially good for noisy environments like mine, and the feedback af many radio amateurs was positive.
I had a look at all the designs and the closest replacement for my current 10 element DK7ZB was the 12 element LFA Yagi.
The gain was about the same but the F/B ratio of the LFA was much better.
After making a list of material to use, I went to our local shop and placed an order for all the aluminum I needed.
I borrowed a bending iron to make the loop. This was not as easy as thought .... see the bends that were incorrect.
The coaxial cable I am using is for heavy duty use, as I want to be able to run more than 1kW on 144 MHz for moonbounce use.
The coax is 1/2" Cellflex LCF12-50 and I use a 7/6" connector at the end.
This type of coax is much less flexible than normal types and the inner conductor has a bigger diameter.
I used a stronger and bigger type of cable connector to attach the coax to the radiating element.
As Cellflex coax is rugged and not easy to bend, I will use the Pawsey-stub for preventing radiation along the outer coax braid.
Here is a picture of the dipole after a few tries of bending the aluminum which was quite a tough job after all:
All the connection materials are made of stainless steel to prevent rust getting grip on the antenna.
Today (7-4-2012) all mechanical work has been done and now it's waiting for better weather to setup the antenna in the garden for testing.
On 14 april 2012 there was a VHF-UHF meeting in Budel the Netherlands. Justin G0KSC was there there to give a presentation about his Yagi designs.
I spoke to him about him about his designs and what I have build past years ... nice chat!
Justin giving the presentation:
Here are a few pictures of building the 12 element LFA of 7 meters long:
The VSWR was measured with a Diamond meter on maximum sensitivity .... WoW:
Some pictures of the Yagi in the garden .... it just fits :
An taking down the former 2m Yagi and replacing it with the "12-LFA" new wonder:
