Yagi Cantenna (Yagi in a Can) 2.4GHz

[@AffordBindEquipment]

copper foil tape is also used in stained glass windows/art panels. It is wrapped around both pieces of adjoining glass and then soldered to hold the two together.

[@acidonyx]

You my friend just saved me around $100 US! I was just at Lowes pricing copper pipes tubes and rods for my own antenna. From what I'm seeing from the end of your video this will give me direct access to the AP I've been struggling to stay connected to. All for pennies on the dollar, and for a toilet brush can it looks a hell of a lot better than a 3 foot long monstrosity of copper piping!

[@changpuak]

Beautiful ! Just a small remark : BNC is useful up to 1 GHz (1.5 GHz). Using SMA may be more advantageous.

[@matiasmalato472]

Friend I use bnc in all my projects and the gain or impedance does not change .

[@maxxron]

It might not be a bad idea to have a known measurement on all the printouts to make sure the scale is correct on the finished print.

[@FistieSplinters]

I don't think he responds.

[@sinless1]

@@icraftcrafts8685 You are not understanding his question. When the template is printed, it is important to verify that the dimensions were not altered/reformated by the spooler and/or printer.

[@icraftcrafts8685]

@@sinless1 Ok I see now, apologies. Here are 2 links that may help: www.changpuak.ch/electronics/yagi_uda_antenna_DL6WU.php www.ab9il.net/wlan-projects/wifi6.html

[@allenshepard7992]

Thank you for covering insulating the driven element from the rest of the Yagi. I prefer insulating the front parasitic elements also but have no proof that helps. Once out of the air, the wave propagates down the metal at the same speed. Hope you make a 5 Ghz cantenna as well. Cheers

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

As a radio ham this is all very interesting, thanks for explaining in depth and so clearly.

[@nahuelagustinetcheverry4439]

I dont understand this: on minute 15:43 you are making contact between the center of the connector and the ground, is that okay? you are short-circuiting both ends of the conenctor?

[@jbx907]

im skeptic with the feed point,i thought folded dipole were fed in on center on one dipole element,so the element would produce one full 1/2 magnitude, feeding it that way could produce cancellation because of reverse directions, isnt the folded dipole 300 ohms, no 4:1 coax balun?

[@jta6241]

it seems you connect the centre wire to the reflector but not driven element

[@xsirfr1958]

I'm confused about the driven element. Is it a folded dipole? The short by the vias would seem to indicate so. But with center of BNC driving the center of the element, by symmetry, the current flows in opposite directions, and the fields should cancel. It doesn't seem right to me.

[@SpectreOZ]

Did I hear you actually state at 0:45 that the elements on the eBay commercial yagi were configured more for 150mhz than 2.4Ghz?

[@ramjet4025]

Andrew, another enjoyable video.

[@steveraby6023]

Fantastic build. Very impressive results.

[@mickthemick2085]

very good at giving full information and insight into the fundamentals of wifi... top marks mate... highly reccomended.

[@johnbobbitt6470]

Has anyone asked what the width of that copper tape is? It's sold in here in the US by fractional inches, of course. So...1/8", 1/4", 1/2", ECT. I figure yours would be in MM, so would you elaborate? Your ebay link for it in the description has gone out of service, I'm afraid. Thanks!

[@OldGamerNoob]

how much of an improvement would you get out of this pointing it into a parabolic dish, something like a used satellite TV receiver?

[@diy_geekofficial]

What's the name of that white plastic small screw sir?

[@markspc1]

Great design Andrew. I noticed that the driven element became a folded dipole when you soldered the copper with thru it, ingenues.

[@sarchlalaith8836]

How exactly do we use a template of we don't have one? Do you maybe have measurements?

[@marklimbrick]

no need for impedance matching then? Nrfl01, for example connecting straight to module with no balun.

[@chrisarmstrong2721]

Do you think you could also use glass for this project? and like the yagi gun could you just keep adding elements?

[@MatterMage]

Great video. How would the calculations change if you just drilled a hole at the ends of the element dimensions and wrapped wire around/through the plexi?

[@alex33834]

Sorry, but are the positive and negative poles shorted? The tape you weld it both above and below ...

[@chrisleech1565]

Another question regarding the center conductor of the RPSMA pigtail incorporating RG316?? from Ebay? I am assuming that you must prevent any short circuiting of the center lead with the element that is soldered to the shield driven element, as in drilling a hole large enough to allow the insulation of the center lead to go thru the plexi?

[@randyminnick5832]

The cantenna you built is mounted horizontally. Most routers have vertical antennas. Wouldn't the cantenna be have a higher gain if vertically mounted/polarized?

[@ajimaru87]

or can i use 3 soda can and put it together?

[@sumiullahhanif6259]

sir you don't mention this video distance and wide and how long size. please in from me. Also see how the elements collect all things also and how, where connection and that after the result and speed test where? please description all elements and connection

[@cyberlizardcouk]

not wanting to sound dim, but why do we short the earth to the signal on the SMA/BNC connector?

[@andrewmcneil]

Old video but pretty sure this was an open dipole feed. If you’re referring to grounding the waveguide then that is essential

[@RaviSaini-xq5yi]

I have a question if you can solve pls. I made a yagi antenna which i mounted on roof which capturing good signals, on other hand (receiving end) there is no antenna. So i want to know if there is any antenna that can receive the signals from yagi antenna and spread those signals to my mobile phone. I shall be very thankful to you if you solve my problem. also note, i do not want to use any wifi or any dongle. what i need is an antenna at the end which receives signals and spreads those to my mobile. Thank you.

Can you make a PDF with meassure of 400 to 900mhz for same type antenna???

[@jimkline9385]

i used a hard card board in stead of plexi glass can i connect the antenna directly to my router?

[@lubibubi6380]

I really don´t understand how this works because the sheets don´t tuch themself so there is no conection instead of the first

[@martinkaplan3606]

Andrew. Can I use copper wire instead of copper tape? In my country is difficult to find copper tape. If I put the copper wire exactly I the middle of each black line of the template will it work ? How about 2mm thick copper wire ? Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@andrewmcneil]

That will work yes

[@amishamanga2875]

what could we use to stick the copper wire onto the perspex?

[@sok8888]

glue of course.... hahaha

[@rogerramjuice2562]

In theory, could it be heated into position using short bursts of heat being careful not to distort the perspex?

[@mavamQ]

I'm curious, how the distance between the upper and lower elements affects gain. If you used two sheets of Perspex for spacing would it be better or worse. Is There an optimum spacing between upper and lower? I once had a long distance between my antenna and computer, I was afraid of the coax losses. So I disassembled a wifi dongle cut the antenna and mounted an N connector to match the N connector on my Yagi. I connected the wifi dongle directly to the Yagi. Then ran usb cable to my computer. It worked great, I used that for many years. It was all mounted on a boat in a marina. Also, it looks like there are only two lengths of foil, please post the lengths as printers often change the original size. Then I would make a quick template to cut the all.

[@aldrichcatipunan2566]

what if i will gonna use PCBoard, does it work?

[@SrbDroid]

This is Great!, but isn that a Short Circuit at the fiirst "Director"? the ground and the center pole are circuited together?, or is this common in microwaves?

[@Inertia888]

would I get the same results if instead of using plexiglass & copper tape, I printed the pattern on a PCB?

[@0JThomps0]

Instead of laying this on a flat plane like your perspex, could you possibly put it on a curved surface like a clear fluorescent tube cover or would that mess with the waveform?

[@Bryt25]

Unless you are building a helical antenna. google it.

[@MrHadzo]

Man makes my piece of wire for antenna a joke. You sure know your stuff here 👍

[@chrisarmstrong2721]

Fun idea, have you ever added a schottky diode (1N5711) and connect it to one of your antennas in order to capture power from received signal and the diode will convert the signal/power into DC power! you could even add a single led to the diode/ant and it should light up. Thoughts? Its called a rectenna

[@amazonmaroc9548]

Hello in antenna can be manufactured with PCB

[@Bryt25]

Or baking foil glued to cardboard and cut away.

[@thegreatmechanizedape8262]

good video. thank you. what wpuld happen if you had the driven element spaced laterally the same distance as you have the other elements. instead of the driven elements being speced the thickness of that peice of plexiglass(3-5mm), they were spaced the same distance as the elements are horizontally? am i making myself clear? sorry if not.

[@haakonness]

Did you solder the coax screen to one side, and the center lead to the other side which was just soldered together? You are basically making a short circuit, and so it is not an antenna, and you are breaking the output driver of the wifi card.

[@pijvestiemel]

Yep, i was thinking the same thing

[@FistieSplinters]

Does the can need to be metal? Can it be PVC or something plastic?

[@das250250]

You could glue two small plastic guides on the entry side to stop the perspex moving if dropped

[@OH8EFI]

Wow! Thank you very much for this video! Nice that you sad that cheap yagi antennas on ebay does not work! I was close to buy it! Now I'll just have to make a diy yagi like this! Thank you, times ten!

[@ElPasoTubeAmps]

I agree that those cheap WiFi yagi antennas off ebay don't work - I bought one just like it and it is junk - I am glad this gentleman told everyone about them.

[@IanS86]

I cannot download the pdf to properly print. With the current permissions I cant print it from the web either.

[@burritotrap]

+Ian Steedman I have the same problem.

[@igrewold]

drive.google.com/file/d/0BzmJxxD-Z4B6NTl2dHZnUDFZWEE/view

[@bradleyzorg]

Please give me a refresh on distance x y z and shape of antenna.

[@IsaPat]

Hi, What the config if i have tube 100mm diameter ?

[@mabbs2757]

Andrew the link for the Copper foil tape don't work how wide is it ? Thanks

[@efraimsalvador6630]

If I was planning to use sma connector, would it be male to male connector or male to female connector?

[@rogerramjuice2562]

Will you in future videos consider working with other frequencies i:e 700-800 MHz spectrum for lte 4g?

[@davidbass6780]

is this not compatible with 4g? What's the lowest frequency you can realistically get with this setup?

[@MajbourGaming]

andrew mcneil tell me which antenna is fablous for gian wifi signal and also qualitiy of that wifis best anteena?dish?parabolic?yagi?parabolic dish? kickstart biquad??? please help me

[@onedayillpay]

I have my supply sitting in front of me ready to do this. when you take your template down on your plexiglass you said Center your first element at the edge of your plexiglass. But later in your video I see you have it positions differently

[@andrewmcneil]

That's only because for most of the videos I make many prototypes filming over 3 or 4 days.Starting with the first element at the edge I found makes it easier to center the rest.

[@RobBob555]

andrew mcneil cant print template m8..page is strange ...can u upload it somewhere ? cheers

[@TheLeonmafioso]

One question, in Venezuela i can't find a cylinder with 90mm diameter. I found a 134a cylinder with 72mm of diameter, if i use it i will have problems using this template? Or what should i use?

[@andrewmcneil]

you will be able to fit the Yagi in but 72 mm is the absolute minimum diameter for 2.4GHz

[@TheLeonmafioso]

@@andrewmcneil yes, the thing is i don't know if make some interferences with resonances and other things using that diameter.

[@desiXX123456]

Thank you for this video Andrew. I am not that familiar with RF but followed everything you did except at 10:15 in the video where you drill the vias in the radiating element and put a copper wire through them. I was wondering why you did that? and why it was done only on that element and not others? Thanks again for the great video!

[@bxxj]

because its the driven (powered) element and must complete a circuit. all the other elements are passive and only direct the wave.

[@1noryb]

That makes it a folded dipole driven element, If I remember right. reason for this is to a) match impedance? b) 1/2 wave driven element in the space of a 1/4 wave? c) produces around 3db more gain?

[@stevecoakley2038]

I've never seen anyone connect the cable to the center of the driven element like that before. Does that actually work OK compared to the traditional ways?

[@chrisarmstrong2721]

Question, if you had to transmit 2.4 and or 5.8 wifi from one building to another over 10miles apart like me in setting up long range mesh network, what antenna would you use and please dont just say dish lol as thats expensive and stands out a lot! id like to try and be somewhat discreet as i may likely be using clients roofs and they would not like an isaw on the roof. Could a patch antenna do the job, perhaps stacked patch like the larhe one you opend up which was printed on a pcb but i dont understand how that works as it is not an active array and i was led to believe during my time in the army as a rad-op that you cant just add in another ant. So how do those stacked antennas allow for additional yagis/ patch antennas etc to use one cable and not increase power??? Really hope you understand what im asking and that you reply to this, i will look to find such a video you have done and comment there just incase you dont quite follow. Thanks again.

[@imstretchy5301]

Just to be certain I can use a standard USB cord to solder on for connection right...? I have a big gaming computer and I am always looking for improvements in performance.

[@randyminnick5832]

Negative. You cannot use a USB cable to connect to the antenna. The antenna requires a coaxial cable that has a center conductor and an outer conductor/shield. The center conductor transmits the RF signal to the driven element while the outer conductor is the ground connection (in this case, the completed circuit connection for the driven element).The USB is a universal serial bus connector and is used for an entirely different purpose.

[@tamistone2632]

Did you compensate the element lengths for the dielectric constant of the Perspex? What are the frequency bandwidth 3dB downpoints?

[@rossbrigolimusic]

Do you have a template for 1800Mhz? Would be useful for 4G LTE in rural areas.

[@압둘하미드이드리스]

How can I simulate it?

[@3rdworldtrillionaire46]

Pretty neat. I wonder, the plastic lid you put in front of the antenna to close it up and make it look neat, will likely introduce some RF loss. The lowest RF loss material you could use there is styro foam (mostly known and used as packing material) as it has very low density, RF goes right through it. Also in speaking of RF losses, the plexi glass material you used, might also introduce RF losses, perhaps comparable to using just FR4 circuit board material. For testing your antennas, you might want to consider getting a NanoVNA - about 150 Dollar on ebay. Then you can actually tune for maximum performance.

[@MetaJamm]

How you can use NanoVna for wifi antennas? They work at 3 times higher frequenicy than NanoVna able.

[@kenwhitcher3188]

Andrew, great video. Can you post the dimensions of the template. If you give one dimension, I can use that one dimension to determine the others. As a few others have mentioned, some printers may enlarge or shrink the PDF, making the dimensions change, thereby altering the efficiency of this antenna. Millimeters or inches, whichever is easier for you. Thank you.

[@TheLeonmafioso]

you should print in A4 paper, that's the configuration of the PDF document.

[@irinelbaciu3921]

Hello there! Can you put an aditional template with the right dimensions in mm? It would be a great help for those without good printers. Thanks

[@seejaybee]

So, if this works, it's just dumb luck since there is no matching from the balanced driver (ie the yagi) to the unbalanced load (ie, the co-axial connection to the router ...

[@nightmarearron6944]

Can you tell me the antenna suitable for satellite feed pot?

[@davidm3894]

How far can this pick up a wifi signal from, lets say it is not 100% clear site.

[@danvandertorre9280]

does Wi-Fi have a polarity ,and I wonder if the back of the can can be make parabolic to make the focal point in line with your folded die pole ,kind of like a catchers mit .good work its very hard to make Yagi's in 2.4 gig .

[@crackthec3319]

Hi ! May I know how to connect this antenna to a computer or modem ?

[@StefsEngineering]

Good job! nice and simple design. Can this type of antenna be used for transmission? (also with focused high Db "beam")

[@andrewmcneil]

Yes will work just fine

[@StefsEngineering]

andrew mcneil Thanks for the quick reply

[@i3130002]

What is the use of copper if it's not connected to anything?

[@antoninperbosc1532]

if you take a perfect isotropic radiator the global aim is to put in shape a field who look lyke to donuts / tore on a vertical antenna with a single radiator.yagi and other antenna use n elements 1 radiator where bnc or sma is connected and elements to put in shape the field. - if element is after (here in the pdf at your right handise) the aim is to act as a director element the goal is to focalise / reduc the angle.- element is before aim is to act as a reflector element a miror that must send back retropoagation in constructif phase. The best analogies is optical replace in your mind element with optical elements and isotopic antenna with a bulb lamp that you wana focalise in only one direction in conical shape. All elements must place at the correct distance and position in order to respect construc and destruct phases who are a fraction of lambda of the frequency. This why "antenna are cut / sized " for a special frequenc. as harmonic exist antenna can work on other frequence than the nominal frequency F0 but they this is not optimum and very depend of the frequency band.

[@i3130002]

@@antoninperbosc1532 completely new subject yo me. Thanks

[@antoninperbosc1532]

try to buy the book "Practical Antenna Handbook 5/e" Joseph Carr ISBN-10: 9780071639583ISBN-13: 978-0071639583ASIN: 0071639586or in pdf s1.nonlinear.ir/epublish/book/Practical_Antenna_Handbook_0071639586.pdf nota : i looking for the :Joe Carr's loop antenna handbook in pdf in order to take a look ...

[@burritotrap]

Can you please enable printing or downloading for the antenna template on google drive? Is it also possible to just use the yagi without the surrounding can? I want to use the antenna for travels when the hotel wifi is bad and i need to reach some other distant public hotspot.

[@jed2055]

Cu strips easily damaged while transporting. Scratch a strip and it's all over red rover. I would used large pvc water piping which solves ll the grounding probs and screw or push lids are bought off the shelf. All: Instead of asking thoughtless questions of Andrew, do your own research and learn something along the way. Sheesh!

[@DFFS91]

Hi nice tutorial! I have a USB wifi adapter with removable antenna, can use this as LNB for parabolic antenna connecting directly to the adpater ? thank you! and sorry my bad Eng

[@andrewmcneil]

Hi yes you could do that and it would also reduce loss so in theory should perform better.

[@luitniks2081]

wonder what wil happen when i use my ralink 3070 1000mw chipset on one of youre cantennas! i get a range of 3 kilometer with the standard 7 dbi omnidirectional outdoor antenna :p

[@MoTown44240]

Nice video. I like your Hakku soldering station too.

[@allthings2allmen]

Hey Andrew, This makes me wonder if one could make stained glass decorations that would also be wi-fi antennas? Obviously I don't mean a 'yagi' style, but a a mere basic wi-fi booster mayhaps? Stained glass workers use this copper tape to line the edges of glass before soldering together...I think it would be dead brilliant to make decorational wi-fi boosters. windows or not they'd still look cool & as long as they're made properly, they could hang virtually anywhere...minding the critical info for reception of course.

[@Bryt25]

It mght constrain the direction you need tho.

[@davidking8126]

How can I make the WiFi on my galaxy s7 stronger when I'm online

[@jokerjok2011]

is hard for make i want solution easy ?

[@antoninperbosc1532]

Hello, very interesting and well documented presentation, I gonna test your wifican antenna ! My pov about your realisation : - Black paint is not a good candidat because it increase the temp in the can and increase the thermal noise never a good for signal noise ratio. The best paint are shiny white paint (never use mat) this is the same raison that you must never wall outside an house with mat paint. - Take care about bnc connectors they could be very problematic and increase loose and noise or buy expensive connector certifié for your work frequency; for this reason every as soon as possible i always solder directly the wifi dongle (or SDR dongle ) directly on pcb with a shortest low noise wire and put dongle in metalic grounded box. This make some differents with sdr dongle. - If refer to pratical antenna handbook (the holy antenna bible) with an air core in your case plexiglass this kind of antenna must be less sensitv to "Electrical vector" than with a copper or Aluminium, it could be interesting to compare the 2 case copper VS air core antenna. - Have you be able to test with a vector analyser (minivna & co) ? Thanks

[@theunituk4119]

If I were to make the can slightly conical would that have the effect of slightly 'opening up' the signal. I would like to utilize the antenna for use with a UAV using an automatic following system but your comment on the cantenna being extremely sensitive would preclude it from being used because of the slight delay in the 'following' system may cause the signal to be lost. I have seen several posts here asking for dimensions of the template, could you please advise the distance between the first and second element in order to ensure correct scaling.

[@camaro92026]

Your yagi is 90 degrees off ! Why do you have it mount side ways?

[@tddavid4054]

updates on copper on both sides? Thank you

[@davidbass6780]

Does this work for cellular aswell? 4G signals in particular. And is the connection stable? Or does it introduce lag spikes or disconnects?

[@asdrty258]

No balun nor reflector?

[@andrewmcneil]

Reflector is the waveguide and waveguide is the balun

[@AmarildoAmorim]

Hello Mr. Andrew! Can I test this antenna with adapter chipset Ralink RT5370? It is a small USB kind internet adapter. Thank you!

[@lemperayam6146]

can i used copper wire instead copper tapes? and also can i used pvc pipe instead can?? thanks a lot, good work

[@bxxj]

wire yes. pvc is non conductive and thus will not (for the most part) affect/direct the signal. dialectric (non conductive) materials can and do play an important role in signal propigation. so pvc = no if you want the same performance characteristics

[@goodvolts]

Nice video. Question, Most commercial antennas appear to be Vertically polarized. Yours appear to be Horizontal. Am I missing something or does it not matter at this frequency?

[@paulnewcombe3373]

It dipends on the signal

[@The1wsx10]

thats really good. the perspex yagi idea (without the can) might be a good way to make one that could be robust and compact enough for a backpack. would the yagi without the can be a little less directional?

[@syberraith]

What are you using to design the layout and size of the elements?

[@wezleypaton3142]

Hey mate. I was wondering if the antennas you make are also able to assist in boosting the 4g/ LTE phone reception as the antennas I’ve bought don’t make any difference. Cheers in advance old mate

[@themadhack3r431]

These are for 2.5 ghz band for Wi-Fi. For 802.11 n/b/g ect. So no but you can find plans to make your own for LTE.

[@adrianw2972]

Andrew, in "The Wifi Gun Does it Really Work?" you said that shorting the reflector to the active element (center to braid) would cause harm to the active equipment - agreed, and reduce efficiency, also agreed. Yet you have done just this, shorting centre to braid since the two sides of the aerial are connected by the vias. I was anticipating the braid being connected to the can/reflector. Am I missing something?

[@dangerousdavid6787]

The vias in the driven element are being used to form a folded dipole, lowering the chance of messing up the tape by cutting it in half to form the two elements. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipole_antenna#Folded_dipole)

[@reed00112]

I reeeaaally wanted to make this, how come you disabled printing? Everyone here in the comments wants the template! Please enable it!

[@LogicBob]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

[@Nervous1985]

Hi, what toilet tube did you buy for the correct dimensions?

[@djfmitv]

It looks to be a basic white B&Q Steel Toilet Brush holder at £3.50 currently, so really inexpensive to buy www.diy.com/departments/bq-white-steel-toilet-brush/132204_BQ.prd?ecamp=Seapla&ppc_type=shopping&ds_kids=92700015947509140&gclid=CMfqrebCg9ECFQEG0wodtPMGWA&dclid=CI_j3ObCg9ECFa6m7Qod0kYEKw

[@Tokahax]

I'm looking in to methods of extending WIFI and internet connectivity from the main house about 500 ft/150m to a second building on my property, and researching Yagi prototyping before buying hardware for the second bldg. I have a large amount of scrap materials to use for this project, but I don't really understand the physics at work here to know what to use. How does the diameter and spacing of the elements effect the waves, and what is needed for 2.4 Ghz standard WIFI? is there wiggle-room, or is it very specific? Also, would I need to do anything to the router at the main house, or should the Yagi at the second building pick up the signal inside without a problem? Thanks for the content!

[@blee0518]

what application is that you use to scan wifi?

[@DrDiff952]

Another source for copper tape is a stained glass shop. If they teach you how to make stained glass, they have the tape you need

[@CT7ALW]

Well, the template is not secure because printer can shrink or expanded. I'm assuming you calculated the yagi for 2450Mhz, right? I'll use my yagi calculator to calculate the lenghs my self

[@antoninperbosc1532]

what about your test with your yagi calculator ?

[@shahidjawaid6137]

Mr. Andrew pls help us we are still unable to print template

[@andrewmcneil]

+Shahid Jawaid If you download it and then print it it should work

[@shahidjawaid6137]

+andrew mcneil ,There is no permission to download when I have check the detail i found viewer cannot download

[@andrewmcneil]

+Shahid Jawaid I have uploaded a new copy here is the link goo.gl/GJrrUX

[@shahidjawaid6137]

+andrew mcneil Many many thanks, now its ok i can download and print