Amplifier relay board for Peaberry & PennyWhistle

[N4WGY]

I've laid out a small PCB with a relay circuit that will toggle the PennyWhistle's bias low during transmit and juggle the RF connections between the Peaberry, a PennyWhistle amplifier, a Low Pass filter and an antenna.
Total parts cost of the relay board minus the PCB will be about $15, consisting of a 12vdc DPDT relay, a simple relay driver circuit, four board mount BNC connectors and a some .1" spacing header pins. All parts are in plentiful stock at Digikey. Will have 8 pcb's fabricated and will populate and test one in about 10 days. If they work as well as the prototype, will be willing to sell a few un-populated PCB's to interested parties. Or, will share the artwork and BOM if someone wishes to DIY. PDF of layout is attached.
Am Having a lot of fun with a 20 watt Peaberry!

-Rob
N4WGY

[N4WGY]

Added image of silkscreen

[DaveL622]

Hi Rob,

Dave here, WB7QMR.

Put Me down for one of your boards! I've had a built PennyWhistle AMP. on the shelf for about a year now, and just did'nt get around to building my own filter/relay circuit. In the mean time, I have my PeaBerry(30/20/17/15meters) hooked up and working great with my Tokyo High Power HL-45B 45watt amp - and that has been working great. But, I would love to hook-up my PeaBerry to my PennyWhisle!
My main station is a Flex1500 --- but, it's SO much fun to experiment with these great little rigs!

Put Me on the list.

(eMail info & station pix on my QRZ.com page)

-Dave, WB7QMR, Hollywood, CA.

[N4WGY]

Will do Dave, thanks for your interest. Agree that the little Peaberry is a fine and fun piece of gear!
Will make the unpopulated PCB's available after testing late next week. Unpopulated PCB cost will be between $20 and $25 apiece for the tiny production run currently planned.

-Rob
N4WGY

[DaveL622]

Ok. Thanks Rob.

Drop me an email anytime. & We'll work out the details.

-Dave, WB7QMR

[N4WGY]

PCB ordered, should be here on Tuesday. Will have first one populated and tested quickly (can't wait). Cost per PCB ended up being cheaper than estimated too.

-Rob

[N4WGY]

Received the control relay board PCB's, one of which has been populated and tested. Worked perfect with no problems. Please see attached images. Had six PCB'c made, keeping two for myself leaving 4 up for grabs at my cost, $15 apiece shipped within USA. Am also more than happy to share the artwork and BOM for anyone wishing to make one for themselves using this design.

Next project, getting a Peaberry, a PennyWhistle, an LPF bank and this little relay board in a box!

-Rob
N4WGY

[K6LLO]

I am interested in relay board - PCB or assembled or with parts or without parts. Let me what is available and best way to pay.
nospam4us@gmail.com e-mail. Name is lee. Thanks in advance.
Have a peabody v2 and a small homebrew 15 watt linear. Also a flex 3k. Loving the SDR experience.

[N4WGY]

Adding a Bill Of Materials and interconnect diagram for the relay board.

N4WGY Peaberry / PennyWhistle Realy Board BOM

QTY - MFG PN - Digikey PN - Description

4 each - Molex 0731375003 - WM5514-ND - CONN BNC JACK R/A 50 OHM PCB
1 each - OMRON G2RL-2 - DC12Z2926-ND - DPDT Relay(2 Form C)
1 each - 1N4001-TP - 1N4001-TPMSCT-ND - DIODE GEN PURPOSE 50V 1A DO41
1 each - 2N3904-AP - 2N3904-APCT-ND - TRANSISTOR NPN GP 40V TO92
1 each - CF14JT10K0 - CF14JT10K0CT-ND - RES 10K OHM 1/4W 5% CARBON FILM
1 each - CF14JT1K00 - CF14JT1K00CT-ND - RES 1K OHM 1/4W 5% CARBON FILM
1 each - WP710A10ID - 754-1606-ND - LED RED DIFF 3MM 625NM
1 each - 67997-210HLF - 609-3236-ND - CONN HEADER 10POS .100 STR 15AU

Total cost of parts minus shipping, as of 03-30-2014 = $13.30

The BNC connectors are optional if you wish to direct solder coax direct to the PCB.

[DaveL622]

I received my board in the mail yesterday.

I'll start getting things put together in the next week or two. Any other PeaBerry/Pennywhistle fans out there? I think Rob might still have 1-2 more boards up for grab, & very reasonable $.

Thanks Rob!!

-Dave, WB7QMR