I have heard that aluminum or welding wire are the best materials for a yagi.but its hard for me to get these materials and they are too expensive.i am aware that using different materials will affect my performance, but i want to know what else i could use.i was thinking a simple coathanger or some threaded steal rod (3mm or so).so will these work at all? or will they just severley hurt my performance? if so, are there any alternate materials for this project (that are sort of cheap).if it helps, i plan on running no more thn 80 watts through the antenna, im transceiving on the 70cm band, and this is a indoor handheld antenna (its not going to stay outside and its not going to be mounted) P.SThese materials are for the ELEMENTS not for the frame of the antenna.but recomendations for frame materials are welcome also
everything you need can be found at a local hardware store, ACE Hardware, Lowe's, Home Depot or you can go to a larger scrap yardThreaded rod is more expensive than aluminum rodI would use aluminum tube for the radiating element, this will give you wide bandwidth that should cover almost the entire 70cm bandThe reflector and directors can be rodI would mount on a wooden dowel, broom handleLeave a handle at the reflector end so that you can grab the antenna for pointing it at the target.
