Topband: 160m 8-circle BSEF array

[SJ W3TX]

I was evaluating the simplicity of the feed system for the 8-circle tx/rx
array (4 active elements per steered direction) compared to the 9-circle
array (9 active elements per steered direction)  in the 4th edition of
ON4UN's book Low Band DXing.

My thought process is this.  The 8-circle array uses a simplified
broadside/endfire feed to only four (4) of the eight (8) elements...that is,
four of the elements are left un-fed no matter which direction the array is
steered. I would anticipate that the four unfed elements would impair the
gain and FB pattern if left floating.  Would they impair the pattern if they
were unfed but grounded??

The difference in gain and FB is negligible between the 8-circle and the
9-circle.  But the 9-circles feed system is light years more complicated and
perhaps not worth the additional complexity comapred to a simple BSEF
network??

Your thoughts appreciated

73, Scott W3TX