Very interesting thema about DX QSOing with QRP transceivers!
I do like very much to build your HYBRID 3 ELE VERT YAGI (single support). I find it easy to build, light and clever antenna for a summit with so many possibilities for DXing!. I hope to have one on summits this coming spring.Thank you for openiing this post and that you give us new interesting for activating summits under a new prisma!
73 Christos.
I also like the look of Ignacio’s design for a 3 element vertical yagi effectively combining the elements and the guy ropes for the mast however this, like some other designs, I suspect are intended to be set up in just one direction and left there all the time. i.e. they are not practical when it comes to “peaking” a weak signal by turning the beam.
Despite that, in many case, when we are looking for particular DX from a summit, one direction is all we need.
73 Ed.
Hi All,
Great topic Ignacio!
In October 2021 issue of Practical Wireless there is article about VK6LW BDB antenna, which de facto is yagi using only wires.
For 20m band it claims 10.18dBi @ 20deg take off angle for antenna which is 10mtr high. as inv-V. Beamwidth 57.2deg -3dB. Antenna could be build also for 17, 15, 12 and 10 bands.
I think such antenna could be deployed at the summit which has medium to high trees.
Did anyone considered such an option?
Hello Ignacio
I was using the following antenna at the recent JA SOTA DAY.
I got the idea from this thread and made mine.
I used MMANA for trial and error.
It seems that the elements can be spaced tighter if you use a director rather than a reflector. (about 1/10λ)
Due to the low impedance, a tuner is placed in the feeder.
I am going to test the system at the next activation.
Thank you.
De Katsu JP3DGT
Hello Katsu San,
I am very glad to see there is a replication of this antenna.
Your new ideas are quite interesting. Thanks a lot for your detailed info and pictures. Please keep sharing any advance and results you get with your model.
I see you use coax feed and the transformer, while I use an open line feed plus the Z tuner ny the rig. Both things can work.
73 de Ignacio (looking for an S2S contact between our antennas!)
Hello Ignacio
Yesterday (2022/05/21~22) I did a test operation with JA/KT-014.
In this season, it is necessary to operate before dawn to target Europe from Japan, so I hiked in the pitch dark.
The result is not so bad, is it?
Outline of the test
Rig was operated with KX2 at 5W.
Antenna is in the direction of Europe.
I was able to communicate with France, Netherlands, Spain, and England.
Many calls were received from North America in the side direction of the antenna.
It seems to have broadband characteristics.
The beam seems to be working because I did not get any calls from New Zealand and Australia in the back direction.
After that, I switched to a handmade vertical antenna, which I usually use, and I was able to communicate with North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
I figured you must have made an early start. Many thanks for the experiment, which gave me my first SOTA contact with Japan. 
I did some quick tests when out with my contest group this weekend. I made a 15m half-square hung from 2x 5m poles. Due to the fact I cannot count, the original 1/2wave section was made too short which meant it didn’t look right. An extra length was added and it worked much better.
15m on Saturday afternoon was open to the Indian Ocean with many YB stations being heard. 10W from a K2 is never going to bust pileups when I could hear the YB stations working Europeans who all had 5ele beams at 20m and 500-1000W. But the principal reason for trying the antenna was to see how manageable the setup and deployment is. The contest site is 200m ASL and a strong wind was blowing making it similar to mountaintop deployment.
As soon as you have two poles two support an antenna you realise that you had better know where you want the antenna to point before setting up. With the initial measurement mistake, the antenna was best on 25MHz, with the extra length the antenna was on 22MHz. The K2 tuner pulled that down to 1.1:1. Once I found that 15m was open to Indian Ocean, I moved one of the masts to point the main lobes in that direction. Signals were stronger.
Best DX heard (not worked) was S79VU on Seychelles Islands who was very loud but also had a majestic pileup of loud Europeans chasing him 
Whilst experimenting, I also played with my Buddistick clone (an Up and Outer). I haven’t used it for a while but now the sun is waking up, it’s time to try it on summits again. I wanted to confirm the reports that you should point the single “radial” in the direction you want best performance. As soon as I tried on 15m I could hear the same stations as on the half-square. Aiming the radial at the Indian Ocean, YC0IBM (prefix?) came up by 1S point on the K2 meter compared to the radial broadside to him. 17m was lively too with assorted A6, A41 and 9K2 stations all being received at S9.
I’ll go and accurately measure and trim the half-square wires now I’ve found that it will be feasible to deploy on a summit and then see how well it works on transmit. For reference I made the classic 1/2 square with the feed elevated at the top corner and fed down to ground at about 45deg to the first 1/4 vertical section.
Thanks to Ignacio EA2BD and Katsushige JP3DGT for making me go and do some experiments.
Hello dear Katsu San,
thanks a lot for your time to experiment in the field, and for providing the useful data you got. Results are promising!
I rode with interest your data, it is interesting that you did a comparison with a vertical antenna. Perhaps you could run a A/B test while cqing with both antennas together (by means of a second operator running on antenna B) and see about differences in RBN spots…
I hope to be using the antenna here as well and see if I get a similar result.
Congrats for your experimentation!
Thanks dear Andy also for your time and tests, hope you can do some more trials and find a benefit for the effort of building a more complex setup than the standard wire on a pole.
I stay tuned for more feedback.
73 de Ignacio
