An ultra high frequency (UHF) coupler possessing ultra wide band (UWB) characteristics ranging from hundreds of MHz to several GHz is desirable for the detection of the partial discharge (PD) pulses because the pulses propagate with rise time shorter than one nanosecond in a gas-insulated substation (GIS). Thus, the authors have proposed a log-periodic antenna for GIS PD detection. Various parameters of the coupler such as frequency bandwidth, coupler gain, radiation pattern, and coupler geometry were considered throughout the simulations. The experiments for the detection characteristics of the coupler were carried out in the mock-up GIS chamber. The results indicated that the detection characteristics of the coupler are dependent on the installation angle of the coupler, the position of the coupler in the hand hole and the existence of the spacer.