Arrow Antenna 6 El 162 MHz Yagi

[N1LF]

The Stainless Steel Solid Element Arrow Antenna for 162 MHz is a game-changer. Up until now, I've done most of my DXing on the weather band using either a 5/8 whip on my Yaesu VX-150 or a 5/8 J-Pole feeding my AirSpy HF+ Discovery. While both worked well, the 6 element Yagi is much better for nulling stations and digging out weaker signals underneath. Plus, this thing is built like a tank. It will survive almost anything extreme weather can dish out. Made in America by Arrow Antennas. Price including shipping was $204.00. A small TV rotor can easily handle it. Instructions for assembling the antenna below.

[Guest]

Where did you get a 5/8 wave whip for weather band frequencies?

[N1LF]

NOAA Weather / Railroad Band 160 - 162 Mhz J-Pole Antenna - KB9VBR Antennas (jpole-antenna.com)

KB9VBR makes a 5/8 J-Pole that performs well. It's made from copper pipe and they do a very professional job. It's cut for 162 MHz.

[WHJ]

I don't see the Arrow Antennas 6-element weather radio antenna on their web site anymore--just their 4-element version. I'd recommend instead purchasing the PCTEL MYA1506K antenna while they it's still available. It is also a 6-element antenna which has been discontinued. DigiKey still has seven left marked down below its $280.98 list price to $117.63 (plus $6.99 postage). See: MYA1506K Amphenol PCTEL | RF and Wireless | DigiKey

It comes with a graph showing the element lengths needed to for the desired frequency. I tested my first one and found that its front-to-back ratio was too poor to permit the desired reception. I redesigned it and its directivity was significantly improved:


The picture of the actual antenna shows it being tested before I modified the element lengths and spacings. Yagi's with evenly spaced elements are a poor design. The upgraded antenna received the distant station fine. I have installed three of them at different locations. The redesigned dimensions are as follows:


The antenna was obviously modeled for operation with the antenna 995"/about 83' high. Its pattern remains pretty much the same at lower heights. And while the antenna's instructions show the antenna's gamma match dimensions, it would be best to have a meter for tuning the match.

[WHJ]

After receiving my new MYA1506K today I reviewed my other modeled improvements and found that one used the factory supplied element holes and different element lengths and achieved about the same improved front-to-back ratio as that shown on the improved pattern above at the expense of creating four -20 dB side lobes. The element dimensions for that are shown below: