Receive Eight Circle Troubleshooting - DX Engineering DXE-RCA8C-SYS-4S Manual

Receive Eight Circle Troubleshooting

There are several possible causes for a malfunction of a DX Engineering Receive Eight Circle System.
Testing the system is not difficult and can be completed in an hour or so. Separate circuits for directional
switching, Active Vertical Antenna power, and antenna phasing can each be affected by a variety of cabling,
connection and or component problems. If you are troubleshooting a new system or using a replacement
DXE-RCA8C-1 Receive Eight Circle Array Controller unit, check that the wiring from the Control Console
to the Array Controller is correct and no damage has been done to the lines.
Here are the most common causes of Receive Eight Circle malfunction, especially in a system that was
previously functioning properly:
START
D
Zapped by lightning
pulse or RF overload
E
Damaged due to
lightning
F
Damaged by animals
or insects
A) Broken and/or shorted conductors due to animal, weather or other damage, including chewed,
punctured, stretched and broken control and power lines and/or feedlines for the system and each
antenna. Also, screws in the green removable connectors can inadvertently be tightened onto the
insulation of control or power conductors.
B) Regressed center conductors in the feedlines causing disengagement from the female center capture pin
of the F connector. This can happen in delay lines as well as in antenna or main feedline connections.
Many times a compression F connector that seems to have a long enough center conductor when it was
first made, has regressed to the point that it is not long enough to make proper contact. A properly
80% of all Receive Eight Circle malfunctions are caused by
A
Animals, Chewed,
Punctured, Stretched,
Broken/Shorted
Conductors
Check all F connector
B
center conductor
Center Conductors
wires. They may have
Slipped
C
Check feedlines and
Shorted/Open
conductors due to
water
Make sure units are at least 1/2-
wavelength, on the lowest frequency,
away from any transmit antenna.
Rare, but it can happen.
Animals have been known to relieve
themselves on the units and the urine
will corrode and damage electronics
- 27 -
Green Connector may have
broken wire or is tightened
or Broken against insulation - not bare wire
pulled inward.
control cable.
May want to use an optional
DXE-TVSU-1B Time Variable
Sequencer for AVA2 units.
Insects getting inside units and
A, B C
or
shorting out electronics