I use Stuarts great design here: Ultralight Hiking Pole Yagi Antenna | KB1HQS
My walking poles are always with me and now have the mounts permanently attached.
The 146-3 Arrow elements are carried in a surplus telescoping pole bag strapped to the side of my pack with the telescoping Sotabeams Tactical Mini pole (for HF). Quick to assemble and very effective.
73
Geoff ZL3GA
I will try it this evening on my first activation in Connecticut!
Also I am thinking that using the Yagi with only the driven element is a…dipole?
On my last couple activations I have been experimenting with the RG-58 feed line perpendicular to antenna verse led straight back to handhold and there is a consensus that signal is stronger led straight back parallel to boom.
I’ll report back my findings on taking off the director and also using as a dipole.
Erik
KE8OKM
I haven’t heard about the contest but will check it out! Your right 6m could be fun!
Erik
KE8OKM
AB8CI and I will be activating The Pinnacle on Skyline for the contest. We are also discussing camping out overnight as well. My vote is for getting a backcountry permit and hammock camping somewhere near the summit.
Chris
K6ARK made a 3 ele without the reflector and had good results…
Will it work? Yagi with no Reflector - Antenna Design/Build/Test - YouTube - link here in case anyone missed it…
73, Todd KH2TJ
Hello how do you match the antenna ?
Best 73 Nicolas
Bumping this because I used that pack in anger yesterday to activate w4v/sh-030 (Blue Mtn). Due to time constraints, I did it as a drive up and parked at a trailhead about a quarter mile from the summit (normal entry point for me is one that is about a 2 mile hike). I was able to get the Arrow antenna, a thin pad to sit on, 1 of my two radios, a bottle of water, my 6m EFHW, a 2m j-pole, 15’ RG174 coax, 25’ RG174 coax, and my throw line in it.
It was comfortable to wear, but moved around a little bit. I wouldn’t recommend it for long hikes, but I’d consider it tolerable for 2 miles or less. I think it’ll be my dedicated VHF activation pack.
As for the activation, it was a bust. The summit is studded with multiple radio towers and is an RF QRM nightmare on VHF (especially 2m). It’s doable with a single band radio like an Icom IC-V8, but virtually impossible with anything touting “wideband receive”. I was testing my new TH-D74 (which has “wideband receive”) and brought my VX-7 along (hence the 6m EFHW). Needless to say, both were swamped by the QRM. I did hear a guy on 220mhz call to me, but I was using the D74’s rubber duck antenna for that and he couldn’t hear me well enough. I may have to build a j-pole for that band as it seemed to work better on the summit than 2m.
Chris
last year I loaded with a 6 elements yagi 2m boom mounted from my car to the summit of 2650m, I hope never will repeat.
I use the voice logging feature of the FT3DR. I respond to all QSOs with “Got you in the log at XX:XX” since I use the VOX feature.
Gotcha. My main 2m HTs don’t have a record function, but my TH-D74 does, so I’ll give that a try.
Chris
For lighting the original boom you can drill holes to remove material along the length of the boom.
73,
Chris, N7NAV
I cannot emphasize how highly I recommend doing this! With a drill press (ideally) and some time, you can lighten the boom by 40%. Here is Mike W8LID’s article on doing this: Dropbox - LidStick.pdf - Simplify your life
My only recommended adjustment to these instructions was an idea by RJ WY7AA to use a 1/2" bit, which increases the amount of material removed but requires more precise drilling.
I have used a 1/2" drill bit. You will want to use a drill press when using larger bits.
73,
Chris, N7NAV
Chris here is my SOTA/work BP I have the collapsible-boom Arrow in Purple bag shoved in side of largest compartment. I use a short piece of line to tie zippers together.
Here is Yagi on Cascade Mt W2/GA-10 on today’s activation!
Erik
KE8OKM
Purple Yagi
Very stylish 
73 Armin
Ha! I think purple increases dB by .001 I can tell you though, it helps differentiate from all the other Yagi’s strewn about I see on summits! 
I am looking to make my own arrow antenna for 70cm and 2m.
I have sourced some inexpensive arrow shafts (less than £2 each) and am trying to decide on a couple of other design choices that I was hoping for advice.
Will be using a 3/4 inch square cross section boom…but not sure what wall thickness. Is 1.25mm too thin…the pictures linked to above suggest a thicker wall. Could you confirm what wall thickness the arrow antenna uses please?
For the gamma match, i would like to use the same style as the arrow antenna…but i cant quite work out the design of the bnc connector block: Is the block machined and tapped to take a chassis mount bnc…I can’t see how the rear nut can be attatched to the bnc so assume it is screwed into a tapped hole, but equally i have never seen bnc connectors screwed into a tapped hole previously (as it would surely loosen with use).
Thanks for any help.
(Apologies for the thread hijack/resurrection …will post any progress updates seperately when i get properly started)
My Arrow yagi shaft measures out to 1.55mm wall thickness. I think 1.25mm would be fine as the Arrow shaft is frequently deemed too heavy for backpacking use.
I agree with your assessment that the BNC is screwed into a tapped hole. I can’t see any other way they would have assembled it. With sufficient torque and thread locker, it would be secure.
Chris
Chris
Just copy one of the many gamma matches that are well documented on the web.
Most of the ones i can find on the web use a piece of angle aluminium for the bnc. This is less functional for a portable antenna as the bnc is attached to the boom.
In the arrow antenna design the use of a machined block allows the gamma match to be held by the driven element, such that the gamma match, driven element and bnc are a single unit that removes from the boom in one piece, without any screws other than the threaded stud in the driven element.
It also looks cosmetically much better.
