1296 Home Brew Yagi

Home Brew 1296 Antenna Build from WA5VJB Plans

Get on the Microwave Bands with you Icom 907 AA2SD - Recently I attempted to work the 1296 band with my Icom 907 . The IC-9700 is an all mode Tri-band transceiver, covering 2 m, 70 cm, and 23 cm. The ICOM provides 100W on 2m, 75W on 70cm, and 10W on 23cm.  The microwave band is new to me, and I am still learning the requirements for antennas and feed lines. To get started on my test,  I built this “Cheap Yagi” from easy to find materials. It was constructed from plans created by Kent Brian WA5VJB and placed in my attic with a rotor as a test.

The simplified feed uses the structure of the antenna itself for impedance matching. So the design started with the feed and the elements were built around it.  “This 1296 MHZ antenna is the veteran of several "Grid Peditionst' and has measured 13.5 dBi on the CSVHFS antenna range-Kent Brian WA5VJB ” 

I personally built the antenna with Harbor Freight welding rods, and a wood boom from Home Depot to match the exact specifications. The entire antenna cost me less than $10 in material. I was able to work KC3BVL in Philadelphia from Berlin NJ, and Mike WB2RVX, this is working with 10 watts from my attic placement.

Link to Cheap Yagi Plans

https://www.wa5vjb.com/yagi-pdf/cheapyagi.pdf

Link to WA5VJB Antennas

https://www.wa5vjb.com