Handheld Directional Antennas For Ham Radio?
Nancy W asked:
I was wondering if there was any possibility at all that i could get a directional antenna that would go on a handheld ham radio. I f there is nothing, then what would my other options be? Under $50 please.
I was wondering if there was any possibility at all that i could get a directional antenna that would go on a handheld ham radio. I f there is nothing, then what would my other options be? Under $50 please.
May you can take a look here.
It can be done, this is generally something people use for Foxhunting, or perhaps I should call it hidden transmitter hunting, since there are no members of the canine family involved, unless some of the operators bring their dogs along for an outing.
Depending on the frequency of your HT, the size may be a bit much, for a truly directional antenna like a yagi or a quad.
At 70 cm the half wavelength for the driven element would be comparatively short, while at 2 meters it might be a bit unwieldy. I was looking at an article in the August QST just now about a moxon built for 10 meters, which is a smaller directional antenna, reportedly with 11.3 dB gain over the theoretical isopole.
It was written by Allen Baker, KG4JJH, and appears on pages 33-36 of the magazine. He includes dimensions for bands down to 6 meters.
You can also use a delta antenna, or a regular circular loop, which would be smaller, and it would at least give you bidirectional lobes, rather than the omnidirectional radiation you have with the ducky antenna.
Check the ARRL sites, eham, QRZ.com, or google foxhunting or radio direction finding, and see what plans come up.
D’oh!!
I found a portable 2 meter yagi from MFJ at $55.00. The link is attached
AB9BD