An introduction to the OWL Yagi

The OWL (Optimised Wideband Low impedance) Low-Noise Yagi is another development of Justin Johnson, G0KSC. Originally the OWL formed the basis of a DUBUS magazine article which found that low impedance antennas need not be narrow band and unstable in wet or icy conditions.

Generally, the lower the impedance of an antenna, the better performance (in respect of forward Gain (Gain) and Front to Back ratio (F/B)) can be achieved. G0KSC extended his development with focus on 12.5Ω versions of the OWL for very good reason; if a 12.5Ω OWL has its split dipole changed to a folded dipole, the feed impedance is transformed from 12.5Ω to 50Ω and thus any 'would-be' matching losses are removed and ohmic loss reduced to insignificance.

While the swapping of a split dipole to a folded dipole within a Yagi is nothing new (generally done on 50Ω split dipole Yagis to give a new, 200Ω Yagi), G0KSC also established performance could be improved further if the whole antenna (including its new folded dipole) was computer optimised as a complete unit. The results have been more than impressive and with the addition of thru-boom parasitic elements and a folded dipole place above/below the boom, light weight and portability have entered into the equation resulting in a excellent all-rounder.

Some of the key OWL Yagi benefits  are listed below:

• Closed Loop Feed System
  • The closed loop folded dipole system helps reduce the reception of man-made noise and static
• 50Ω Direct Feed - No Matching Loss
  • The OWL Yagi has been carefully Computer Optimised with the folded dipole in place to ensure a 50Ω feed-point. This ensures no matching loss and minimal resistive (Ohmic) loss
• High F/B ratio
  • as with the LFA, the OWL Yagi has an exceptional Front to Back ratio it has for a direct-feed, 50Ω Yagi. Get rid of unwanted signals from behind your antenna!
• Super Wide Bandwidth
  • While not quite as broadband as the LFA, the OWL Yagi has excellent bandwidth properties. This ensures very large portions of a given band can be used with little return loss
• Constant Impedance & 'All-Weather' Stability
  • Following the LFA the OWL is able to maintain impedance in wet weather and therefore will not de-tune like other antennas can

• Class-Leading Sky Temperature and G/T figures
  • For Earth-Moon-Earth and other weak signal modes, only the G0KSC LFA Yagi comes close to the OWL. Search for the VE7BQH G/T Table and compare the OWL with everything else.
• Super light-weight Design & Construction
  • Due to the mechanical requirements of the OWL (with thru-boom elements) the OWL is super lightweight and thus ideal for contest and field day operation
• Simple SWR Fine-Tuning Feature
  • No two locations for an antenna are the same. With this in mind the the requirements of the perfectionist as well as the every day user in our sights, the folded dipole of the OWL has adjustable end sections to allow for very simple SWR fine-tuning
• The Most Important Part of your Receiver has to be The Best
  • Your antenna is a part of your receiver and arguably the most important part of your station. You have spent thousands on radio equipment, make sure you don't short-change your set-up by choosing anything else other than the InnovAntennas OWL Yagi
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The OWL provides solid, stable performance from a compact, light-weight package. The OWL shares many benefits of the LFA Yagi and has a few very unique ones of its own. The shorter OWL models provide stunning performance for their size exhibiting extremely light-weight, compact  and high-performance antennas for both ham and commercial use. The ease of which the OWL can be fine-tuned along with its super light-weight package make it an ideal candidate for varied locations and uses. As can be seen from the SWR plot, of a 13 element 144MHz OWL across the page,  the OWL can stand on its own 2 feet as a performance innovator providing both constant impedance and exceptional levels of return loss too, and not just during dry weather!

Setup and installation is easy with only a simple choke balun (a few turns of coax at the feed-point) being required to complete the feed-line to antenna connection point. With a 50Ω driven element, matching losses are 'zero' while ohmic loss is at an absolute minimum. This means unlike many companies which present performance figures before matching loss, the InnovAntennas OWL presented figures are 'all-in' statistics.

If it is the best in light-weight, portable VHF performance you are looking for, the OWL is going to be hard to beat. Call us anytime to discuss your requirement we are always happy to help you complete your station!

Watch out for the X-Pol versions of the OWL for EME and satellite purposes which will be launched very soon!

InnovAntennas have a Patent Pending on the OWL style Yagi.

 There is a Patent Pending on the OWL Yagi - all enquiries to InnovAntennas Limited