More Gain, More Power - 2m S2S Madness

The Arizona Summit-to-Summit 10 Point Madness event provides a great opportunity to push the limits of 2m simplex and see what's possible over long distances.  Although I didn't set any new personal records on this trip, some great contacts were made and plenty of fun was had.

The yagi is a homebrew design made from U-channel aluminum, steel hardware, and arrow shaft elements.  The matching network is made from parallel 1/4 wavelength sections of 75 ohm coax to transform the 28 ohm yagi impedance up to 50 ohms.  Those coax sections are wound a few times through a toroid as a common mode choke.

The boom is about 8 ft in length when extended and folds down to 32 inches.  total weight of the antenna is about 2 lbs, and the pool cleaning pole mast adds another 2 lb or so.  

MMANA GAL file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AbS8...

Links to Parts:
- Mast: https://amzn.to/3lzIZOp
- Arrow Shafts: https://amzn.to/2YygPdT
- Threaded Arrow Inserts: https://amzn.to/303BpTA
- 3/8" U-channel aluminum: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-...
- 1/2" U-channel aluminum: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-...

HARDWARE:
- Nylon Threaded Rod: https://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.as...
- Aluminum Threaded Rod: https://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.as...
... more durable alternative
- Stainless Steel Threaded Rod: https://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.as...
- Aluminum Hex Nut: https://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.as...
- Nylon Washers: https://www.mcmaster.com/99872A200