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Driven element: The driven element is the Yagi antenna element to which
power is applied. It is normally a half wave dipole or often a folded dipole.
Reflector : The Yagi antenna will generally only have one reflector. This is
behind the main driven element, i.e. the side away from the direction of
maximum sensitivity.
Further reflectors behind the first one add little to the performance. However
many designs use reflectors consisting of a reflecting plate, or a series of
parallel rods simulating a reflecting plate. This gives a slight improvement in
performance, reducing the level of radiation or pick-up from behind the
antenna, i.e. in the backwards direction.
The antenna exhibits a directional pattern consisting of a main forward lobe and a
number of spurious side lobes. The main one of these is the reverse lobe caused by
radiation in the direction of the reflector. The antenna can be optimised to either
reduce this or produce the maximum level of forward gain. Unfortunately the two
do not coincide exactly and a compromise on the performance has to be made
depending upon the application.
Yagi antenna radiation pattern
The Yagi antenna also has a number of disadvantages that need to be considered.
In summary:
Reflectors - longer than driven element = Inductive
Directors - shorter than driven element = Capacitive
Number of elements in the Yagi: One of the main factors affecting the Yagi
antenna gain, is the number of elements in the design. Typically a reflector is
the first element added in any yagi design as this gives the most additional
gain. Directors are then added.
Element spacing: The spacing can have an impact on the Yagi gain,
although not as much as the number of elements. Typically a wide-spaced
beam, i.e. one with a wide spacing between the elements gives more gain
than one that is more compact. The most critical element positions are the
reflector and first director, as their spacing governs that of any other
elements that may be added.
Antenna length: When computing the optimal positions for the various
elements it has been shown that in a multi-element Yagi array, the gain is
generally proportional to the length of the array. There is certain amount of
latitude in the element positions.
The gain of a Yagi antenna is governed mainly by the number of elements in the
particular RF antenna. However the spacing between the elements also has an
effect. As the overall performance of the RF antenna has so many inter-related
variables, many early designs were not able to realise their full performance. Today
computer programmes are used to optimise RF antenna designs before they are
even manufactured and as a result the performance of antennas has been improved.
APPROXIMATE YAGI-UDA
ANTENNA GAIN LEVELS
NUMBER OF APPROX
ELEMENTS ANTICIPATED GAIN
DB OVER DIPOLE
2 5
APPROXIMATE YAGI-UDA
ANTENNA GAIN LEVELS
3 7.5
4 8.5
5 9.5
6 10.5
7 11.5
It should be noted that these figures are only very approximate.
As an additional rule of thumb, once there are around four or five directors, each
additional director adds around an extra 1dB of gain for directors up to about 15 or
so directors. The figure falls with the increasing number of directors.
Folded dipole
The folded dipole is a standard approach to increasing the Yagi impedance. It is
widely used on Yagi antennas including the television and broadcast FM antennas.
The simple folded dipole provides an increase in impedance by a factor of four.
Under free space conditions, the dipole impedance on its own is raised from 75Ω
for a standard dipole to 300Ω for the folded dipole.
Simple folded dipole antenna
The folded dipole is a from of dipole that has a higher impedance than the standard
half wave dipole - in the standard version it has four times the impedance.
However different ratios can be obtained by changing the mechanical attributes.
Another advantage of using a folded dipole for Yagi impedance matching is that
the folded dipole has a flatter impedance versus frequency characteristic than the
simple dipole. This enables it and hence the Yagi to operate over a wider frequency
range.
While a standard folded dipole using the same thickness conductor for the top and
bottom conductors within the folded dipole will give a fourfold increase in
impedance, by varying the thickness of both, it is possible to change the impedance
multiplication factor to considerably different values.
Delta match
The delta match for of Yagi matching is one of the more straightforward solutions.
It involves fanning out the ends of the balanced feeder to join the continuous
radiating antenna driven element at a point to provide the required match.
Delta match for dipole - often used for Yagi impedance matching
Both the side length and point of connection need to be adjusted to optimise the
match.
One of the drawbacks for using the Delta match for providing Yagi impedance
matching is that it is unable to provide any removal of reactive impedance
elements. As a result a stub may be used.
Gamma match
The gamma match is often used for providing Yagi impedance matching. It is
relatively simple to implement.
Gamma match for dipole - often used for Yagi impedance matching
As seen in the diagram, the outer of the coax feeder is connected to the centre of
the driven element of the Yagi antenna where the voltage is zero. As a result of the
fact that the voltage is zero, the driven element may also be connected directly to a
metal boom at this point without any loss of performance.
The inner conductor of the coax is then taken to a point further out on the driven
element - it is taken to a tap point to provide the correct match. Any inductance is
tuned out using the series capacitor.
When adjusting the RF antenna design, both the variable capacitor and the point at
which the arm contacts the driven element are adjusted. Once a value has been
ascertained for the variable capacitor, its value can be measured and a fixed
component inserted if required.
Yagi-Uda antenna is the most commonly used type of antenna for TV
reception over the last few decades. It is the most popular and easy-to-use
type of antenna with better performance, which is famous for its high gain
and directivity
Frequency range
The figure shows a Yagi-Uda antenna. It is seen that there are many
directors placed to increase the directivity of the antenna. The feeder is the
folded dipole. The reflector is the lengthy element, which is at the end of
the structure.
The figure depicts a clear form of the Yagi-Uda antenna. The center rod like
structure on which the elements are mounted is called as boom. The
element to which a thick black head is connected is the driven element to
which the transmission line is connected internally, through that black stud.
The single element present at the back of the driven element is
the reflector, which reflects all the energy towards the direction of the
radiation pattern. The other elements, before the driven element, are
the directors, which direct the beam towards the desired angle.
Designing
For this antenna to be designed, the following design specifications should
be followed.
They are −
ELEMENT SPECIFICATION
If the specifications given above are followed, one can design an Yagi-Uda
antenna.
Radiation Pattern
The directional pattern of the Yagi-Uda antenna is highly directive as
shown in the figure given below.
The minor lobes are suppressed and the directivity of the major lobe is
increased by the addition of directors to the antenna.
Advantages
The following are the advantages of Yagi-Uda antennas −
High gain is achieved.
Disadvantages
The following are the disadvantages of Yagi-Uda antennas −
Prone to noise.
Applications
The following are the applications of Yagi-Uda antennas −