Yagi Antenna

The Yagi antenna is a directional system. It was invented by Shintaro Uda in 1926. Hidetsugu Yagi assisted with its creation in Sendei, Japan. Now, they are more commonly referred to as beam antennas.

This system was designed for use as a stationary antenna. The rotor enables the user to direct the beam toward the signal they are trying to contact. The Yagi should be mounted as high up in the air as possible. This allows for better transmission and clearer reception.

CB Radios

Before there were cellular phones, people communicated with citizen’s band radios. While on the road, people would use their mobile CB to contact their home base station. The most popular antenna for homes was the Yagi, which was also called a beam.

It was quite the norm to hear “Breaker one oh, breaker one oh. How about it Old Grand Dad?” echoing through someone’s home. This form of communication made life easier as the person on the road could be informed of that forgotten grocery item.

During the times of the gas shortage, CB’s were important tools. Drivers would communicate with others to find out where the shortest gas lines were located. Yes, back then people were waiting in line for several hours just to fill up their fuel tanks. That was if you were fortunate enough to find a gas station that had fuel.

Ham Radios

Ham radio operators use a variety of Yagi style antennas on a daily basis. These antennas are capable of being pointed in whatever direction is necessary for the user to hit the satellite. Because of its ability to act as a beam, this system is widely used by amateur radio enthusiasts.

A lot of people don’t realize that ham operators provide many wonderful services. Years ago, they would communicate with each other and relay messages for people. This was very helpful. During wartime, families would provide the radio operators with messages for their loved ones. The ham would then relay the information to another ham in that country. Eventually, the loved one would get the message. This was a very popular thing for hams to do during World War II.