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DIY: AMSAT Antennas

It is easy and inexpensive to build your own AMSAT antenna for ham-radio applications from scratch. With the proper tools, materials and techniques, the antenna that you build can provide excellent service for years to come. Most do-it-yourself antennas are based on the Yagi-Uda directional antenna design, which was developed in 1926 at the Tohoku Imperial University, in Japan. This is because the Yagi design is the simplest antenna that can provide the range required for satellite communication.

Things You'll Need

Foam-core board
Double-stick tape
Mailing tape
8-gauge aluminum wire
European terminal strip
6-foot coaxial cable
Combo square
Tape measure
Flat-blade screwdriver
Scissors
Needle-nose pliers
File
Permanent marker
Craft knife
Hot glue gun
Meter stick
Skewer
2 pine boards
Pencil

Instructions

- 1
  Drive down the screws on two of the terminals, cut off the tops, then remove both the screws and the metal wire contacts from the plastic housing.
- 2
  Cut two strips from the foam-core board, 2.5 inches by 30 inches each.
- 3
  Mark 2.25-inch rectangles with the combo square in the upper left corner of the foam-core cutouts.
- 4
  Cut out the rectangular markings with the craft knife.
- 5
  Cut out three 1.25-inch-by-30-inch foam-core strips, and laminate them with the double-stick tape.
- 6
  Cut out the bottom portion of the laminated foam to make a handle, and wrap it in the mailing tape.
- 7
  Poke the foam with the skewer to make holes for the antenna elements.
- 8
  Glue in the terminals in line with the holes, and wire the coaxial cable to them.
- 9
  Cut lengths of the aluminum wire, insert them into the terminals and secure them with screws.
- 10
  Test your antenna by connecting the coaxial cable to an FM narrow-band receiver and pointing it at the nearest AMSAT satellite.

Ham Radio