When I was in the Air Force our helical SATCOM antenna got trashed. We put
together a pair of Yagis made of 2x2s and solid ground wire and a phasing
harness. When we first put it together we thought we had really messed up
but then we reversed the connexctions on the harness we were able to get a
solid signal. later the antenna was improved on and the crossed Yagis became
our antenna of choice. New and improved version was made with aluminum rods
and a fiberglass boom and the driven element became a folded dipole with a
hairpin match. We were in the middle of an operational readiness inspection
and the SATCOM guys got special recongnition for adapting to the situation.
The antenna does have its limitations comared to the helix. The helix is
significantly more broadbanded.