Topband: 9 circle RX array combiner board

[VE6WZ_Steve]

Just like some guys enjoy woodworking and making furniture that they may not really need, I like to build radio things just for the fun of the project even though I may not really “need” it.  For three years I have been using the original 9 circle RX array kit that I bought from DX-engineering, and it has performed well, but I wanted to build my own and add my own design tweaks.

Using KiCad, I have designed and built a 9 circle RX array combiner with a 2N5109 pre-amplifier integrated onto the same board.

The phase/combiner circuit and direction switching is the same as that designed by John W1FV which was developed with the YCCC and marketed by DX-engineering (no longer sold). The pre-amplifier is the 2N5109 circuit developed and refined by Larry W7IUV.

I made a YouTube video to show what I did.  I know some guys may not like watching videos, but I spent my professional career writing technical papers and I have no interest in doing that anymore (I am NOT an engineer, I am a geologist).  I can make a video pretty quick and cover most of the basics.

In the video I describe the board layout and explain the basics of how the combiner works. I talk about the basic construction methods I use, but this is NOT a step-by-step "how to build it" project. If you want to build one of these, please carefully read and understand the great documentation that was provided by the YCCC (link provided) so you can build the transformers and wire things correctly.  This video is only meant to share what I did and provide anyone interested with the PCB file if they want to build their own.

On the YouTube page I have a link to the KiCad PCB file if you want to order your own boards (I order my boards from OSH park) and a link to an EXCEL file for a parts list BOM.

YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/utyJt_Clp3M <https://youtu.be/utyJt_Clp3M>

73, de steve ve6wz