Blade Antenna for 2.4GHz

In this video I will show you how to build a blade antenna for 2.4 GHz. this antenna is a modified antenna I found in a book from 1947. It works better than I thought it would with gain around 9db and best of all it is omnidirectional. Based around a dipole antenna each section is ¼ wavelength (25mm).
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[@irepairapples]

Love your videos, Just made the 4 blade antenna for my phantom vision was only getting 500 feet with standard ones, Now with just one one the phantom getting 2000 feet these are super antennas thanks. I will be making another one for the another side of the phantom this should get me double the range

[@hoggif]

I really like your videos and the practical approach they have. I made one of these for my RC controller, I used heavier wire (hard to bend) and soldered some copper tape for the sleeve instead of tubing. A couple layers of heat shrink under it helped to get some distance between layers. Works like a treat so far, but I've yet to test any long range to indicate a real success.

[@jayrphilslam4700]

i tried to make the 4 leaf one for my syma x5c-1 transmitter and it worked. from my range 30 meters up to 100 plus meters. thanks for ur tutorial. :D :D :)

[@bcn23]

Great job, as usual. Would be nice to watch you building an easy but powerful panel antenna. Thanks for the video!

[@danutaishleash7334]

I love to watch your you- tube presentations. I think that you are brilliant. so please continue.. small town U.S of A

[@mrjohnbaseley]

Great instructions! Just finished for my 3DR drone. Will test tomorrow.

[@mae5637]

did it worked? is the tommorow good or bad?

[@psacentralcoast6970]

Can’t wait to make this one epic Antenna!

[@elevenonethree]

Curious if you would revisit this design over your current test equipment. We saw decent response over netstumbler, but would be nice to see the measured frequency response

[@treetopflyer8952]

NICE. Thanks for sharing!

[@mrjohnbaseley]

Extended range of my 3DR solo drone from 500mtrs to 1.2km !! Thank you very much.

[@TuMundoAndroideMania]

I wanna know that too

[@captain120679]

Hi, how to you connect the blades to the ground plane? My transmitter is telling me antenna error because the is no connection between ground plane and signal(blades) as per Andrews instructions...

[@Cydrafy]

Sorry for necroing an old vid, this type of antenna works well for my 4G mobile wifi (i look for a compact powerful antenna for my 4g mifi). Thank you Sir McNeil for shedding some light on this particular powerfull antenna. Adds significant DL speed: 4G mifi using internal antenna: 2 - 3 MBps 4G mifi using standard biquad (reflector less than 1 wavelength square) 3-4 MBps 4G mifi using this 4 blade antenna (sloppy soldering job, no balun, soldered directly to sma female bulkhead) 4-5 MBps Yes, MBps not Mbps Pros: really powerfull RX antenna (tested indoors, my neighbors house (including mine) are made of bricks taller than mine, 2 of which are 3 floor house), compact form factor, easy to build (i can build it less than half hour, eventhough im poor in soldering) Cons: somewhat fragile, needs case or serious reinforcements (epoxy putty or hot glue) as im planning to put this in my relatively small sling bag during my commute or daily activity (needs to be train commute proof) The SINR of the biquad and 4 blade antenna didnt have significant difference, but the 4 blade antenna crush the biquad in download speeds, any thoughts ?

[@darkangle51714]

Great job andrew....

[@carlosdavila4164]

excelente video saludos desde Colombia my brother

[@zunlocking8256]

Hello Andrew, thanks for all of the videos. I hope you can stumble upon a 1080p camera in the future! Do you remember the title of the 1945 book which you found this Blade Antenna in? I would love to give it a look. I had a query regarding the blades, if they are 50mm (exactly) and we then attach them to the driven element (say 1mm thickness) will that not make the blades too long and change things for the worse? I was wondering would I be better to make my blades 49mm long? I am awaiting my RG402 to arrive in the UK (very cheap) but I cant seem to find reasonably priced SMA connectors, taking inexperience into consideration and wanting to experiment with a few sets of Male/Female and then maybe RP-SMA male/female its suddenly looking expensive - what would you recommend? One last thing, I assume this design would scale to 5Ghz using the same ratios found in your other dipole videos? Thanks

[@daletec]

I made this antenna and it performs very well. I'm going to make another one at 28.8 mm and see how it compares to this one.

[@captain120679]

Hi, is there a connection somewhere between the leaf and the ground plane tube?

[@davidb8466]

Thanks Andrew, well done ,work and experimenting, you take out the guessing of the dimensions . Am going to try a thinner sort of brazing wire , will it be as good as copper, it being alloy ? Thanks Dave

[@BuildBreakFix]

It is called a Non-polarized Bi-plain antenna. NASA and RUSSIA used them in the space programs to link there satellites and such in orbit. They had a directional value to them that helped in maintaining a signal with the craft from the ground. If the signal was sent via like a polarized antenna the signal would not have a smaller target window have a greater chance to drop the signal!

[@sakij67]

Hi Andrew, Thank you for your video, so simple omni antenna with amazing 9dB! Became my favorite. I have some questions. What is the main purpose of Blade antenna? Is it good for standard home wi-fi network - routers, or some special purpose. Can I use instead of this coax cable, direct connection to PCB with tinny coax.

[@bje1189]

Very good instruction again on how to make the antennae but no information on the application of this antennae . What do you use these antennae for . Can you suggest antennae to receive mobile broadband signal to improve reception in remote areas

[@deelee3462]

Hello, Iv watched your videos and interested in these DIY projects. Where or what book would you recommend to learn about antenna design? Which wifi antenna have you experienced that is the best thus far in terms of performance size unconstrained. Also if one looks at a standard COAX cable lets say for a TV. Does the outer jacket or the shielding play a critical role in the operation of an antenna. Like how a battery has +/-. Does an antenna have a simmilar feature? Around 9:00 you mention it was a ground? so the outer houseing of the connector is the ground while the inner core of the copper is the positive? Im sorry I am new to electronics and dont want to burden you with so many questions, but would love to read into the intricacies of this.

[@monocle209]

Is it possible to procure a dualband (2.4 and 5) antenna in this form factor?

[@oljobo]

Great! Thanks!

[@mountainfanatic]

How are they compared to cl&spw circulary polarized antennas in terms of signal strength/range? Are they linear or cp? Can you maybe make a video where you compare it to other antennas?

[@MrBobWareham]

Sorry to bother you but do you have a part number for the screened cable you used or full description please thanks Bob

[@Brazonthefly]

Andrew, would a BiQuad antenna on the RX be a good match for the Blade antenna at the TX, wanting to use for 2G4 FPV.

[@webmaster5910]

Hi Andrew,can i use rg174 coaxial cable for Lblink-wn150ah? I appreciate your work,thanks.

[@robertmort5994]

So it breaks the laws of physics by having 9dB gain and being omnidirectional!? Very clever; should be a Nobel prize in this!

[@andrewmcneil]

So you’re saying you can’t have an omnidirectional antenna that has 9dB of gain without breaking the laws of physics? Do you know how wrong you are?

[@robertmort5994]

@@andrewmcneil I know how right I am. An omnidirectional antenna has 0db gain by definition. Only a directional pattern can give any more.

[@andrewmcneil]

@@robertmort5994 LOL

[@SublustrisRU]

Hi Andrew, why do you use 25 mm as a ¼ wavelength ? for wifi channel 6 (2,437 Ghz) ¼ wavelength is 30,77554370127206 mm (accoring to (300/2,437) /4 = 30,775 мм) in free space, and 29,236 mm in copper.( ((300/2,437) /4)*0.95 = 29,23676651620846 )

[@eneoroberto]

(300 * 095)/(4 * 2.437)

[@AinolUser]

I'm actually confused about the connection. Why doesn't the other end of the V shaped copper antenna make a connection to the ground(the outer braid of coaxial)? While the copper V is soldered independently to the inner core, the the braid is soldered independently to the metal tube. To my mind, there isn't any connection happening between ground and inner core. Can you kindly explain.

[@badmofo350]

The only tübe I have for the ground plane is aluminum tubing. Will that work?

[@MikeDesertHunterHale]

I know you don't answer many questions but, here goes.... Does the increase hold true for the 5.8 GHz bandwidth too? and do you have directions for the dimensions or the antenna for sale.....???? Thanks for your work....

[@jojomoor]

about Your dipole antenna with a 25mm driven element, what would happen if the driven element would be cut off by a couple of milimeters?

[@dilshanperera01]

hi nice tutorial.. can you tell me the gauge of the copper to use?i have 1mm is that good?

[@Ronnievdrunen]

Such a simple design, have to try this! Small question, does the tube needs to be soldered on both ends to the braid of the cable?

[@andrewmcneil]

Ronnie van Drunen No you can just solder the top and it will work the same.

[@piyushpoptani7507]

Can i use coax cable used in tv set top box to make this Antenna and can i use it for fly sky reciver and transmiter (fs-ct6b)?

[@skippickens1843]

With the amount of gain on the four blade antenna, why not use the four blade on both transmit and receive ?

[@10ring]

Great DIY videos. I have a TPLink TL-WN722N, with removable SMA dipole(?) antenna. Can I just cut off the outer covering of the top half, and solder on 'wings' to the center wire as seen in this video? Thanks!

[@andrewmcneil]

10ring Yes that would work.

[@rjrodrig]

so the blades are only soldered on the coax center conductor. the ground braid does not touch the braid right?

[@TechPriest88]

Hi is it possible to connect to my wifi with my phone if i was too boost the signal and direct it using a directional antenna say... towards your local pub about half a mile away? I would presume there would be transmitting issues from my phone? If it is possible what is required to do this? i am a keen engineer so i would be interested in this as a diy project trying this out. Regards.

[@elypelowski5670]

Is this antenna more powerful than your 2.4 GHz bi-quad omni ?

[@talalzahid84]

So which one is best among this blade antenna, biquad, and panel antennas to be directional antenna?

[@rezganger]

Very interesting! What % of copper in the wire?

[@veepee78]

Can someone explain me what's the meaning of the metal tube? That cable shell is conductive so I dont understand what's the difference with tube on or off?

[@alleneggemeyer8478]

Callum, I couldn't find your video that you referred to. Did you ever make it? Also, in regard to the veepee78's question, I understand that the sleeve is the other half of the antenna but, how is is it electrically different than the braid alreading running down the coax that the tube is soldered to? Thanks.

[@nyeleskettes]

This guy is not responding to vide comments for a very good reason: He just talks about length like you could reproduce but you wont be able to then he does not have any f evidence of these antennas working. No impedance measurements, not SWR no directivity. He only shows a random screen of some ISSR reading of something (no one knows).

[@ugomancz]

Hey, maybe silly comment, but would this work as a bluetooth antenna? Since it´s 2.4GHz it should right? Thanks :)

[@NACHOXVALLE]

Hi Andrew, i hope u'r enjoyin' your Monday! Look, i need your help, if you have the time, of course. I've been recently contracted for fix a truely bad setted wifi big hotel network, & all was fine, the network is running well now. But the 4 routers & the 10 repeaters (it's a seven floor building) are TP-Link...., with their original little antennas...... I'm impressed about all you've posted, & this video has impressed me more. The thing here is that i use to build a little more sophisticated antennas, but, as you well know, many times this sophistication does not the difference, & how you show us here, many times the simplicity does it much, much better! Several questions for you; 1° it seems you're using here RG58 coaxial, i'm right or wrong about it? If i'm right, your model it's not "bad affected" by the 75 Ohms RG58!, ain't it?, 'cause everybody talks about 50 Ohms coaxial as the best choice (RG213, for an example...) 2° question; which could be the result if a build your model, but multiplying x10 the size of it?, would this make any difference?, or the size do not affect the results at all? I do this question 'cause we're talking here about a big hotel, which walls contains lots of iron & other heavy materials..., u know. For now the wifi network, as i've said, is working fine, but there are a few rooms in which the signal has serious difficulties to arrive. I made several tests with my antenna & the stuff runned much better, but i really have not the enough time now to build them (the vacation's season starts in 20 days here...., uffffffffff), & i guess that your model could really work better than mine, made them in a fraction of the time. 3° What do you think about to sold a wire to ground for your antenna model? Thx a lot for your preciouss time Andrew. Cheers.

[@NACHOXVALLE]

I've wrote stupidly..., hehee..., i'm sorry, RG58 IS 50Ohms resistant, i don't know what i was thinking.... Look, i'm experimenting with your model, but with 2,03mm galvanized steel wire, no ground soldered (ground independant) 'cause here in my country the special coaxes that you use are now extremely hard to get.... (terrible financial crisis, import/export issues, & so on...) & guess what? IT WORKS!!!!!!!!! Of course, if i get the RG402, or at least RG58 coax & make the device exactly i'm sure couldl get better results, 'cause now, with my poor materials, i'm getting some nearly to 6dbi.. I'll post a video for you to show all that i'm talking here, &, of course, MILLONS THX FOR SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE! I'll wait for your answers about the questions i've done, of course when you can. Cheers.

[@NACHOXVALLE]

Ignacio Valle ...please forgive me..., another question..; what kind of paint do you use for your antenas? Thx for your time!

[@andrewmcneil]

Ignacio Valle Any Acrylic-based paint will be fine

[@NACHOXVALLE]

andrew mcneil Thx a lot Andrew. I'll keep on learning & experimenting from your knowledge (i hope you keep it always open!). I'll post a video for you in a couple of months with all the tests that i can do. \o/▲☼\o/▲☼\o/▲☼

[@nielsandersen6164]

Nice antenna! Can you explain the purpose of that brass tube? Unlike the common cheap dipole antennas where the tube is used as the lower half of the dipole and is only connected to the braid at the top, yours seems to be soldered to the braid at the top as well as the base. Except for greater diameter how does it contribute to the characteristics of this design?

[@kavindugilshan]

I have the same question . I think it was a mistake. Because in the next video when he use a parabolic reflector to this antenna he puts a heat shrink tubing not to short the metal tube . And he says if you leave the tube shorted to ground the antenna doesn’t work properly. But my question is even that tube shorted to ground , when he tested the antenna it performed very well 😬😬

[@AlMisly]

Hi, can i use it for 4g/lte router ?

[@alextvmantvman3894]

multiply by velocity factor .95 makes it close to 30mm

[@DiscoverRajivVlogs]

Many guys saying it's working 😀 great then. Can I use simple wire instead of that coex wire for connection??

[@roylecopters]

nice video , any reason why it wouldnt work on 5.8ghz ?

[@fotoamgamgfoto3695]

is it better than the Omnidirectional Biquad Antenna for 2 4GHz

[@thejswaroup]

ARE U sure that quater wavelength will be 25nnn. ??? because its 30 mm. will it work . made one . but just waiting to test it !

[@kingcanabis9515]

I got a drone mini on 2.4mhz and the entenas really sort and dont come out the transmiter will this work

[@iainsquelch6223]

Great video. Question. It appears as if Andrew is soldering both ends of the copper ‘blades’ to the center core of the coax. I would have expected one end of the blades to be soldered to the center core and the other ends soldered to the shield. Can anybody help to confirm what the connectivity of the copper blades are relative to the coaxial cable.

[@captain120679]

I have the exact same question 👍 did you solved this out?

[@user-2uf2kr2c]

Hi, which one is better for wifi, the omnidirectional biquad or this one? Regards

[@lazharbelhadi6556]

you are amazing man but this method is working for antenna of modem internet 4g ?

[@mikehoffman9119]

How do you do this on PCB antenna's?

[@aldrinvargas2593]

Will this work for the nodeMCU ESP8266 wifi deauther?

[@argentosebastian]

I'm looking for some advice and probably my idea doesn't work but won't hurt to ask. I recently bought a DJI mini 2 drone. The phone holder is made of 2 metal rods that are the antennas. I like to sit in my car, not so much reflection of the sun on the screen, and fly it from there. The question is, the fact I'm sitting in a car would that make the signal weak? If I put a metal rod in the roof of the car with a wire connect to the antenna of the remote control, would that help?

[@aldrinvargas2593]

Can i get the ebay link of that semi rigid antenna please.

[@vikashchoudharay1]

What is Thicknesses of copper wire?

[@danielhealy6529]

andrew does the outside of the coaxil need to be grounded with the inside of the coaxil (with the cylinder solder joint at 6:16)

[@z08840]

I believe he wanted to make a sleeve (or bazooka) balun - it's a quarter wavelength sleeve over the coax, but connection should be made only on bottom side - such balun works as a ground plain. Or if it soldered only on the top - it would work like a second pole of the dipole... But I don't see the point to solder it on both sides...

[@jpval3484]

What kind of paint is used for copper wire?

[@johnstone9523]

Hi just found your Chanel I am trying to find a day build mobile phone booster at my caravan where I can only get one bar Thanks john

[@yessauce9971]

Hi, I am a bit new to antenna building and I'm a bit confused on something. What exactly is the purpose of the 25mm ground plane tube you mentioned at 2:43?

[@andrewmcneil]

It makes the antenna capacitive and also acts as a balun

[@muhammadirfanataulawal7630]

What is the beamwidth of this antenna?

[@user-ro4qr9kn2h]

Where can I put this antenna transmitter or reciver

[@DaBurntToaster]

would there be a difference using 5ghz?

[@stephenborst3535]

Mr. McNeil, what kinda of coax are you using ? RG-213 ?

[@Rota35]

Coaxial Cable RG402

[@petrusda5409]

Can i Build it on my Rc Transmitter ?.

[@affiqaghani126]

Hi, can I know what is the diameter of the copper wire used as antenna in this video ? sooryy. :)

[@anasalamri8320]

+Affiq A Ghani 20 SWG

[@JohnDean1973]

What the name of the book?

[@kavindugilshan]

Looks like this antenna is better than omnidirectional biquad antenna .

[@hoi9694]

Mantap bro

[@rrobinson3738]

I'm ignorant of antenna design but why wouldn't a parabolic bend work as well as the flat bend?

[@prototipgmd1281]

How much is the coil?

[@blind1337nedm]

how does MIMO fit in with this?

[@tizi2003]

+andrew mcneil Whats that red stuff on the antenna at 11:15?

[@aldrinvargas2593]

10.4G Heinz Tomato catsup

[@lotusgc2642]

sir can i request you to write materials name please

[@BillyNoon]

Any ideas on increasing bluetooth reception range for a tablet Andrew ?

[@Tsnafu]

Try it on your FlySky transmitter, and if it works, get them in your shop. I'd buy one... PS, any idea how to improve the FlySky receivers?

[@piyushpoptani7507]

Have u found any answers about using it in flysky reciver

[@captain120679]

Hi Andrew, thanks a lot for all your informations! I just built the 4 blade antenna. But it doesn't work my transmitter says the antenna is defective. I think it's because its open, I mean the is no contact between the ground plane and the signal/blades(open circuit) . Did I missed something? I watched your tutorial quite a few times and I can't solved this out. Thanks a lot 👍👍👍

[@andrewmcneil]

No it is supposed to be open as it is based on a Hertzian dipole. I don't sell these but a few people have made them and sell them using my instructions and they have had good feedback. What transmitter are you using? Is the transmitter limited to only work with a shorted design as a safety feature to stop you turning it on without an antenna connected.

[@captain120679]

@@andrewmcneil thanks a lot for your answer. My transmitter is an frsky X10s, for aeromodel. Yes it seems all my antenna have a connection between ground and signal, as per some antennas you have tested, like the frsky 8db patch antenna, or the cheap 5db black tube antennas.

[@Kenwaldek]

i never seen that sort of coax cable, do you have any name for that or link please?

[@Ronnievdrunen]

RG402 semi ridget

[@Kenwaldek]

Ronnie van Drunen thxs for that

[@berkahtamsar]

What kind of cable Semi riggid RG***???

[@BaldyOldGitt]

+CAA ID RG402

[@ahmedibrahim-nz8xk]

can u tell me that software name that ur using for signal test

[@andrewmcneil]

+ahmed ibrahim www.vistumbler.net/

[@ivan868]

9 dB gain - do you measure it?

[@andrewmcneil]

Network analyser

[@timoliver8981]

absolutely guna try this... i'll post my results :)

[@jjooyycc33]

first I want to say this is good video Iam in the midle AND I want to try it :) I want to give you ONE more old advice :) it is from my grand father witch was very good radioamater (Iam low and high voltage elektric man or how to say that in english :D) So I go back to advice :) if you brushed tube to be able solder there dont do it by twisting but by put inside outside same like at sex ;) REASON : "skin efect" ;) at high freq its very very important if I dont explain it well write me maybe I try it again and beter :)

[@DarkrickNetwork]

i would like if you can make more wifi patch antenna different

[@alextvmantvman3894]

why 25mm 1/4 wavelength is 124mm/4=31mm

[@andrewmcneil]

This is a dipole a dipole is 25mm 1/4 wavelength in free space your confusing it with a cloverleaf.

[@alextvmantvman3894]

so what is the formula for dipole 2.4 GHz? 25mm is 1/4 wavelength of 10cm or 3GHz. but the title says Blade Antenna for 2.4 GHz.

[@alextvmantvman3894]

I made it with 30.5 mm sides for WiFi,works perfect!

[@alextvmantvman3894]

with 2.4GHz WiFi.

[@10ring]

Alextvman Tvman Could I cut the top off of the SMA antenna that came with my TPLink TL-WN722N, and just solder on 30.5mm wings to the center wire?

[@konradwiniarski]

Andrew, you did not answered for the question: why 25mm not 31..or 29..?

[@konradwiniarski]

Mohammed Neckbeard Thank you.

[@ronidoria8789]

Butterfly wings antenna XD

[@rapsod1911]

I build this antenna but result is very bad. Worst than factory antenna. Only difference is I used copper tape instead of ferrule.

[@rapsod1911]

I am not saying that antenna design is wrong but my antenna doesn't work. I did everything as shown on video with exactly same dimensions. Only difference is ferrule and cable. Cable is standard one used for 2.4Ghz.

[@andrewmcneil]

rapsod1911 Can you take a picture so I can see what you have made?

[@rapsod1911]

drive.google.com/file/d/0B2FZO107cTE9dFhmX1lMRWI0QWs/view?usp=sharing

[@rapsod1911]

drive.google.com/file/d/0B2FZO107cTE9TVpSMkI3bmgzNGs/view?usp=sharing

[@dipendraraikut]

facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153286669012272.1073741853.816437271&type=1&l=b7f6962c06 After the modification here are the pictures

[@demetroy69]

you do know you can buy these on ebay and other places made professionally for a few buks i wouldnt waist my time mate go back to your cool stuff lol

[@andrewmcneil]

Sorry Chris but over 50% of my subscribers subscribed to see antenna builds for 2.4GHz and 5GHz and you can't buy these on ebay you can buy cloverleaf antennas on ebay but the best ones cost more than a few buks. I know these videos are not for everyone though. :-)

[@NACHOXVALLE]

Unfortunatelly, or happyly, U.S. & West Europe are not the whole planet, there are billions who lives with 3 bucks per day.... Whatever, i've bought antennas for more than a few bucks that does not work like this 4Blades one at all. &, With all respect, i think that if you don't try this your words are totally out of sense. Most of this world's people confuses the verb (& the market rules) with the empiric reality.