3D Printed Parts

For VHF and UHF Measuring-Tape Yagis

Element Holders


Michael Hart KC6MEH.  His e-mail for questions is kc6meh-at-gmail-dot-com.

Measuring tape elements can be attached to the PVC pipe boom with screws, hose clamps or even tape.  But southern California transmitter hunter and radio-orienteering enthusiast Michael Hart KC6MEH has a more elegant solution.  His two-piece 3D-printed element holders have plastic loops on top so that the tape elements can be folded and secured for transport, as shown below.  There is one version of the holder for the driven element with feedline connection and another version for the director(s) and reflector.

The element holder ZIP file is here.  This archive contains STL files for the parts and close-up photos.  For the 3D printing, Michael used PLA material and 100% fill.  Screws are 6-32 x 3/4 inch.  He has used the antenna in competition and the 3D parts worked just fine, even after storage in a hot car.


Assembled director/reflector element holder by KC6MEH, with steel tape elements folded in.  The driven element holder is the same except that it has a "hatch" with cover for attachment of the coax.

If you have already built your measuring-tape yagi using another element mounting method, but would like to add holders for folding the elements, Michael has a solution for that.  In the photo below is a folded-element holder with a loop that mounts around a half-inch PVC tee or cross fitting.  Michael glued his loops in place using shoe glue.  Alternately, you can drill a hole for a rivet or screw.

The loop ZIP file is here.  This archive contains STL files for loops of 28.25, 28.5 and 29 mm diameter.  Michael writes that 29 mm was the best for the pipe fittings in his antenna.


These loops by KC6MEH fit over the PVC tee and cross fittings and hold the folded elements for transport.

Receiver Holder

It's awkward to hunt hidden transmitters on foot with the antenna in one hand and the receiver in the other.  Mounting the receiver to the boom of the yagi creates a one-piece assembly that is easly to hold in one hand while running or trotting.  It will definitely make you a faster hunter.

Michael Hart's two-piece receiver cradle fits most handi-talkies and secures them using their metal belt clips.  The high walls make it less likely that you will unintentionally press the transmit button. 

The receiver holder ZIP file is here.  It contains STL files for the parts and close-up photos.  Screws are 6-32 x 1-1/4 inch.


Receiver holder/cradle by KC6MEH, mounted behind the reflector of the tape-measure yagi.

Handle and Attenuator Enclosure

A significant problem with two-meter RDF yagis is how to hold onto them while beating the bushes for hidden transmitters.  A hand around the boom is a awkward and it introduces body capacitance that may affect antenna performance.  An extension of the boom behind the reflector as a handle solves the hand-in-the-antenna problem, but it is even more awkward because the entire antenna pulls the hand down at the wrist.  Most pre-teens simply cannot hold a three-element two-meter yagi this way long enough to find a radio fox.  The solution is to mount a non-metallic handle at the balance point of the boom.  It keeps body parts out of the field of the beam and avoids torque on the wrist.

One of my yagis has a handle made from wood.  It works well but 3D printing offers a way to make a much better handle.  The handle can also include an attenuator enclosure.

In the photo below is a handle and attenuator box that I found on Thingiverse.  The box is designed to hold the KC9ON active attenuator board.  It mounts on a 1/2-inch PVC pipe boom.  Holes are for 4-40 x 1-1/4 inch machine screws and nuts.  Here is the link to the design files on Thingiverse.


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This page updated 21 July 2025