Topband: My new 9 Circle works great!

[VE6WZ_Steve]

Indeed it is John, W1FV who is the father of the 9 circle array and published his good work in NCJ.
Together with the YCCC they produced kits which were marketed by DXeng.
Here is my history with the array:

6 years ago I purchased one of these DXeng kits and was impressed with the results.

3 years ago, I redesigned John's antenna amplifier to include an antenna bypass relay.
My new board geometry to use a 180 deg F connector and screw terminals for the ant and ground to simplify construction.
I published a YouTube video on the new design, and in the video notes I provide links to the PCB Gerber files, and all of John’s original documentation.
https://youtu.be/dl-crM5Kb6A <https://youtu.be/dl-crM5Kb6A>

2 years ago, I redesigned the combiner board and integrated a 2N5109 amplifier on the PCB.
Gerbers, BOM, and documentation included in the notes of the video:
https://youtu.be/utyJt_Clp3M <https://youtu.be/utyJt_Clp3M>

1 year ago, I redesigned the combiner board again using small MuRata chokes at each antenna input to eliminate the need for the outboard feedline chokes.
This is the board I am using now.
Gerbers, BOM, and documentation included in the notes of the video:
https://youtu.be/lVW1CmrzP7c <https://youtu.be/lVW1CmrzP7c>

I do not sell boards. I have no interest in any commercial endeavour.  My desire is to share my projects if others want to build them.
If you do build one of these, please read all the documentation included with each video.
It is very easy to upload the Gerber files to a PCB vendor and get boards made.
The PI4CC group asked if they could sell my boards to those that don't want to get their own made and I agreed
I have no involvement with them.

For these arrays, and other RX antennas that provide DC power via the coax feedline (bias-T) I strongly recommend that the PCBs be thoroughly cleaned of flux and a conformal coating be applied.
My experience is that residual solder flux can attract debris and moisture and lead to noise issues.  This is especially true at the F-connectors that have 12v DC on the centre conductor.
Use a good flux remover and tooth brush followed by a water rinse and apply an acrylic conformal coating.
In this (unrelated) video at 8:00 is show how I clean my boards: https://youtu.be/_HvBf_tnjEg <https://youtu.be/_HvBf_tnjEg>

Why youtube videos? Why not write a paper? 
I am aware there are those don’t like YouTube videos.
In my prior life as a scientist in the Oil and Gas exploration business for 35 years all I did was write papers and build powerpoint presentations.
I don’t want to do that anymore, but making a video is easy and fun to do. I share videos about building radio stuff like guys make videos about making furniture.
more videos here: https://www.youtube.com/ve6wz <https://www.youtube.com/ve6wz>


73, de steve ve6wz

> On Dec 6, 2022, at 12:46 PM, John Kaufmann via Topband <topband at contesting.com> wrote:
> 
> Here is additional information on the 9-circle low-band receiving array.  It
> was originally designed for operation on both 160 and 80 meters.
> 
> It was based on a couple articles I wrote for NCJ in the September/October
> and November/December issues in 2011.  The design was turned into a set of
> electronics kits that were produced and sold by DX Engineering in
> collaboration with the Yankee Clipper Contest Club (YCCC) and myself.
> There were a few changes made in the DX Engineering implementation relative
> to the NCJ design, the most significant being a reduction in the circle
> diameter from 140 to 120 feet.  This reduction had negligible effect on 160m
> but it improved the 80m performance and also allowed the array to produce
> "usable" performance on 40m.  
> 
> The DX Engineering kits eventually sold out and were discontinued after
> that.  However, there are still a few direction switch box kits left over
> that you can order from DX Engineering:
> https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-yccc-switch.  You can also download
> a copy of the system user's manual from DX Engineering:
> https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/instructions/dxe-yccc-switch.
> pdf.   The manual has a lot of technical information about the system,
> including circuit diagrams and beam pattern calculations, as well as
> assembly instructions for the DX Engineering kits.
> 
> More recently, PI4CC has produced 9-circle PCB's that you learn about here:
> https://www.pi4cc.nl/tech-info/rx-array/.  VE6WZ also created his own
> version of the PCB's and he will share the info with you, or he may chime in
> here.  You can learn more about the VE6WZ system on his qrz.com page.
> 
> Disclaimer:  I have no commercial interest in or affiliation with any of the
> sources of electronics mentioned above.
> 
> 73, John W1FV