The ubiquitous TV antenna.
Example of a Yagi TV aerial.
The Yagi antenna was invented by two Japanese researchers in 1926, namely Hidetsugu Yagi and Shintaro Uda.
It is more correctly called the Yagi-Uda antenna however Mr Uda seems to have slipped off the credits somewhat.
It is an example of a subtype of antenna known as the "beam antenna" but having established that its on almost every roof in the UK, why does it interest us at Rustyice Solutions?
In recent years, telecommunications has gone through a revolution with mobile communications becoming the greatest driving force behind this. Whether you like it or not all mobile communication and by definition all radio communication requires an antenna for reception and transmission of the signal. This antenna has largely become hidden from the view of the consumer with form and function of equipments dictating that an antenna can not be visible from the outside in most equipments but they are still there and play a fundamental part in everything that we do in the mobile communications world. So what does the ugly old rooftop TV antenna have to do with todays sleek 21st century devices you may ask?
'Quite a lot' is the answer. First, lets look at the technicals of the Yagi antenna itself.
Yagi with folded dipole driven element.
The Yagi antenna is usually made up of a single driven (dipole) elelment and a reflector along with a number of parasitic elements whose size and spacing is determined by the frequencies which one wishes to receive or transmit. The size of the dipole is usually half of the wavelength (?) of the centre frequency or, if a folded dipole is used, the total length of the conductor is equal to almost 1 x ?. It is directional along the axis perpendicular to the dipole in the plane of the elements, from the reflector toward the driven (dipole) element and the parasitic elements which are also known as directors. Typical spacings between elements vary from about 1/10 to 1/4 of a wavelength, depending on the specific design and performance requirements. The lengths of the directors are smaller than that of the driven element, which is smaller than that of the reflector(s) according to an elaborate design procedure. These elements are usually parallel in one plane, supported on a single crossbar known as a boom.
Laptop USB Yagi antenna
Many of the higher end wireless networking manufacturers use emulated yagi antennas in their products today however we are sure you will agree that the coolest gizmo to get yourself a wifi signal where everybody else just simply can and will not be able to connect is this example of antenna technology at its finest over there on the left. In all, we believe, a perfect example of how technology might surge ahead at great speed every day but there really is no escape from good old fashioned antenna theory when you want to get yourself connected on the move.
At Rustyice Solutions, we have many shared years of experience in the field of HF, VHF, UHF and even SHF radio communications. If you or your business needs help getting connected on the fringes of reasonable reception via off the shelf products why not give us a call. We are sure we will be able to bring our considerable experience to bear in getting you connected. Of course you could always go for the item below which, it is said can connect to a wifi network at a range of 10 miles but youre as likely to get the jail as get connected so maybe you should just leave it to us.
The (Day of the Jackal) YAGI sniper rifle
