Rotary RF switch

I collect ADS B signals from aircraft. ( 1090 MHz). I have 8 antennae arranged in a circle around a metal container connected to 8 N panel connectors. Only one antenna can be in circuit with the downlead coax at any one time. I have arranged a n/o reed switch from each aerial input on the inside which is connected to the downlead coax. A small slow speed motor with a magnet arranged on the shaft passes over each reed switch in turn and closes it momentarily and connects each aerial in turn and passes on to the next aerial with the previous having opened. I know this is very lossy but it is the only way I can get more or less 360 degree coverage of the sky. It is the poor man’s equivalent to a single rotating high gain Yagi aerial on a rotating coaxial joint which are very expensive. I am more mechanically minded than electronically, so go easy on any suggestions you may have. Thanks.

Hello blawknox

Welcome to the best Arduino forum ever :slight_smile:

Take some time and visit your local Amatuer Radio Club to get some ideas.

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Anything that is not a relay seems to be a surface mount device, which would require you to design a PCB.

You might want to browse

Although a custom PCB would be optimal, it is not necessarily the only option. You can get adapter/breakout boards for any of the common hand soldering friendly SMD package footprints. After soldering the IC to the adapter, you can then use it with through hole stripboard or perfboard. You can buy these adapters for a reasonable price from any of the usual sources of electronics supplies.

For example, here is an adapter for the SOIC-8 package:

No it is NOT! Reed relays are designed for operation at low DC voltages, not RF voltages. Remember RF is AC, alternating voltages at the very, very high frequency. When the reed relay is open, it becomes a small capacitor in series with the RF signal. What do you suppose happens to the RF signal when it is in series with a capacitor? Nothing changes! The RF passes right through the small capacitor. Sorry!
To get your system to work, you need SPDT type reed relays that will short the RF to ground when the relay is not powered.

I bow to your superior knowledge sir. This is too complex for me so this project is dead as I don’t have the skill to progress it. Thanks.

Nonsense! Just replace the current reed switches with SPDT reed switches. Antenna goes to the common connection. The NC connection goes to ground and the NO connection goes to where you currently have it going. Then you are all set!
Just to clarify, a Yagi antenna consists of three linear elements. A reflector, a driven element and a director element. An antenna may have multiple director elements, but if the first three are not there, it is not a Yagi antenna.

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