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Delay Line 

 
For a single or two-band Eight Circle Array, the required

 electrical

 length of the delay line is based 

on the distance between each of the two adjacent elements on the circle. As shown in 

Table 3

, the 

calculation of the electrical length of the delay line is 95% of the physical distance between adjacent 
elements or adjacent element distance times 0.95 for a single band or two band array. The electrical 
length is then multiplied by the VF of the coaxial cable being used to determining the correct 
physical length of the delay line. The result is the correct physical length for the Delay Line in the 
right column of 

Table 3

 

Careful measurements and the use of 75Ω coaxial cable with a known Velocity Factor (VF) is very 
important. We strongly recommended the use of DX Engineering 

DXE-6UF-1000

 High Quality, 

Low Loss, 75Ω F6 type 

Direct Bury Coax 

"Flooded" Coax. The DX Engineering 

DXE-6UF-1000

 

75Ω coaxial cable has a nominal VF of 0.85. Keep in mind that solid Teflon® or polyethylene (PE) 
dielectric coaxial cable has a VF of approximately 0.66. Foamed coaxial cable cables typically 
range anywhere between 0.75 and 0.90 VF, depending on the ratio of air-to-dielectric material in 
the cable core. If you do not know the VF of the coaxial cable you are using, you must directly 
measure the electrical length of the coaxial cable you have with an analyzer or obtain cable with a 
known VF.  

 

Table 3

 shows delay line length calculations based on the dimensions for the three most common 

Receive Eight Circle Arrays. 

Note:

 

These calculations are in decimal feet, not feet and inches. 

 

 

Band Coverage 

Desired 

Optimal Eight 

Circle Array 

.327-wavelength 

Radius in Feet 

Adjacent Element 

(Endfire Cell) 

Quarter-

Wavelength 

Physical Spacing in 

Feet 

Factored 

0.95 

Electrical 

Length 

in Feet 

Delay Line 

Physical 

Length in 

Feet 

 (0.85 VF) 

160 meters only 

(1.830 MHz) 

175.64 

134.43 

127.71 

108.55 

80 meters only and 

80 +160 Dual-Band 

(3.800 MHz) 

84.58 

64.74 

61.50 

52.28* 

40 meters only 

(7.200 MHz) 

44.66 

34.17 

32.46 

27.59 

Table 3- Specific Delay Line Length Calculations for single band arrays  

and a 160m/80m dual-band Array.   

 

 

For Example

:    An Eight Circle Array intended to be optimized for 160 meter only operation has 

an optimized .327-wavelength radius dimension of 175.64 feet, and Adjacent 
Element Endfire Cell spacing of 134.43 feet. The 0.95 factored electrical length is 
127.71 feet. Multiply 127.71 by 0.85 (the VF of DX Engineering 75Ω coaxial 
cable) to determine the physical length of the delay line. 

 

 

The correct physical length for this delay line is 108.55 feet, or 108 feet 6-5/8 inches. 

 

An Eight Circle Array intended for frequency coverage over a 3:1 ratio, such as 160/80/40M, 
cannot use the standard 95% calculation as detailed above. 

Содержание DXE-RCA8CB-SYS-4P

Страница 1: ...E RCA8CB SYS 4P U S Patent No 7 423 588 DXE RCA8C SYS 4P INS Revision 0b DX Engineering 2018 1200 Southeast Ave Tallmadge OH 44278 USA Phone 800 777 0703 Tech Support and International 330 572 3200 Fa...

Страница 2: ...10 Vertical Element Feedlines 11 Typical DXE RCA8C SYS 4P Receive Eight Circle Configuration 12 Delay Line 13 Optimizing the Array 13 Theory of Operation of the Receive Eight Circle Array 14 System D...

Страница 3: ...tter signal to noise ratio Reduced susceptibility to high angle signals compared to phased Beverage antennas as well as superior performance over EWE Flag Pennant K9AY antennas Switching console selec...

Страница 4: ...mpression Tool for 75 coaxial cable connectors DXE SNS6 25 Package of 25 Snap N Seal Connectors for 75 F6 coaxial cable Additional Parts Required Not Supplied with the DXE RCA8C SYS 4P One additional...

Страница 5: ...troller eight DXE AVA2 Active Matching Units for your vertical elements and one Delay Cable with F Connectors installed These units interconnect and work together using factory default settings to con...

Страница 6: ...ontroller unit should be mounted as shown in Figure 3 with cover upward and the control and coaxial cable connections downward to prevent water from entering the box The stainless steel base of the Re...

Страница 7: ...connections are labeled G A B C D The terminals use the same connection letters and are connected G to G A to A B to B C to C and D to D On the RCA8C 1 the green connector is a two part connector as s...

Страница 8: ...ol Line Lengths Minimum Copper Wire Gage AWG Length 24 1 000 feet 22 1 500 feet 20 2 000 feet Active antenna circuitry needs a good voltage supply to operate properly When supplying power to an active...

Страница 9: ...mitting antennas 1 10 wavelength of the lowest transmitting frequency This is possible provided the active units are powered off at least 5 ms before transmitting An optional sequencer such as the DXE...

Страница 10: ...s than 5 8 OD A good ground system improves the array performance and enhances lightning survivability It is important that the ground system is identical for each active antenna in the array You can...

Страница 11: ...use 75 feedline to the operating position from the DXE RCA8C 1 unit Do not use amplifiers combiners filters or splitters that are not optimized for 75 systems All element feedlines must be 75 and can...

Страница 12: ...the chassis mounting nut allowing the connector body to rotate and fracture the mounting tabs on either installation or removal of the connector F connectors require modest torque typically 6 12 inch...

Страница 13: ...Figure 8 Coaxial Cables are shown in various colors for clarity Shown with optional DXE RPA Receive Pre Amplifier DXE RFCC Receive Feedline Current Choke and optional DXE CW9S Control Cable Power con...

Страница 14: ...na and set the receiver to the narrowest selectivity you expect to use Receiver noise power is directly proportional to receiver bandwidth going from 2 5 kHz selectivity to 250 Hz selectivity reduces...

Страница 15: ...s a clean stable pattern with high directivity over wide bandwidth W8JI initially developed and used this array in the 1980 s This array started appearing in the 1990 s at larger more advanced low ban...

Страница 16: ...broadband active elements this array has unbeatable performance across a single band The Eight Circle Array upper frequency limit for a clean unidirectional pattern is slightly above where the array i...

Страница 17: ...rimary benefit Antenna gain is a secondary advantage As frequency increases the fixed array size becomes electrically larger in terms of wavelength The increased electrical spacing produces higher sen...

Страница 18: ...uctors regardless of element design for a given style of element The effect on pattern depends almost entirely on how much surrounding objects absorb and re radiate signals if the undesired structure...

Страница 19: ...mity to Transmitting Antennas The AVA2 Active Matching Units with customer supplied vertical elements or the DXE ARAV4 8P Receive Antenna Active Vertical with Relay active elements and your transmitti...

Страница 20: ...of 327 wavelength This pattern achieves the best Receiving Directivity Factor RDF which is a figure that compares the forward lobe gain to the average gain of the antenna array in all directions inclu...

Страница 21: ...lowable side lobe levels as represented closely to the pattern 35 wavelength radius shown in Figure 9 For example an array built to cover 160 80 and 40 meters has a highest frequency of 7 3 MHz and a...

Страница 22: ...atterns in Figure 10 were generated using EZNEC and show the effects on the patterns when varying the radius of the array These patterns are not to be viewed as pointing in a default or particular dir...

Страница 23: ...are using you must directly measure the electrical length of the coaxial cable you have with an analyzer or obtain cable with a known VF Table 3 shows delay line length calculations based on the dimen...

Страница 24: ...imensions rather than operating frequency which allows for the use of a single delay line for optimum directivity over a very wide frequency range This results in phase being correct for a rearward nu...

Страница 25: ...e Array is sized by multiplying the free space wavelength at 1 832 MHz of 537 feet wavelength times the optimum pattern circle radius of 0 327 wavelength which yields an optimal circle radius of 175 6...

Страница 26: ...2 26 66 13 172 8 345 6 319 3 0 604 3 500 70 29 35 14 91 8 183 7 169 7 0 604 3 650 67 40 33 70 88 1 176 1 162 7 0 604 3 800 80M only or 160 80M 64 74 32 37 84 58 169 2 156 3 0 604 7 200 40M only 34 17...

Страница 27: ...e pulled inward C Shorted Open conductors due to water Check feedlines and control cable D Zapped by lightning pulse or RF overload Make sure units are at least 1 2 wavelength on the lowest frequency...

Страница 28: ...Active antennas and any transmit antennas If that distance is less and high power is used then the Time Variable Sequence Unit TVSU must be used to interrupt power to the AVA2 units 2 Damaged Receive...

Страница 29: ...s disconnected from the Receive Eight Circle System relay unit If measured voltages are not between 10 to 18 Vdc on the selected line a resistive short or open circuit problem exists in the control li...

Страница 30: ...of that antenna may not be receiving power Retest for DC power at the antenna end of that feedline If 10 to 18 Vdc is found then the Active unit may need to be serviced or replaced New AVA2 units are...

Страница 31: ...31 NOTES...

Страница 32: ...allation damaged from severe weather including floods or abnormal environmental conditions such as prolonged exposure to corrosives or power surges or by the performance of repairs or alterations outs...

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