|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
BEACON
HOME PAGE
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
One of the many things I do to help the amateur radio hobby is to operate and maintain a "propagation beacon" station. There are many such stations located around the world that are operated by other amateur radio operators. Simply stated: A propagation beacon station constantly transmits a signal using morse code (CW) on a specific frequency. If an amateur radio operator or short wave listener hears a beacon coming from another part of the world it usually means that they can either hear, or in the case of an amateur radio operator talk to, stations operating from the same area as the beacon they monitored. My beacon station is located in South Texas, so if a ham operator in, say, Europe hears my station it means he probably can talk to ham radio operators in the South Western US and Mexico on the band my beacon operates.
It's a free service that ham radio operators provide to make the hobby more enjoyable. Beacon stations operate with low power, under 100 watts and most often under 25 watts, (a few even less than 1 watt) and transmit 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In the United States, with very few exceptions, beacon stations operate in the 10, 6 and 2 meter bands and above. There are blocks of frequencies in each band that they can choose to operate within, but once they decide on an exact frequency they usually stay put as there are many postings on the internet, in publications and elsewhere, listing beacon stations, their callsigns, frequencies, power, locations and antennas used.
************************************
MY BEACON STATION STATS:
callsign: W2IK/B (operator Bob Hejl)
frequency: 28.242 MHZ
location: San Antonio, TEXAS (grid square EL09)
power: 10 watts as measured at the antenna's feedline input. (compensates for feedline loss)
antenna: half-wave "home brew pvc" vertical up 25 ft.
transmitter: Radio Shack HTX 100 (10 meter transceiver) modified and fan-cooled
keyer: MFJ 451 in beacon mode
CW IDer sends at 15 wpm
power supply: 6 amp switching supply with an 18 amp-hour deep cycle gel-cell battery backup
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The beacon station. HTX 100 transceiver is on the left, keyer sits on top of radio, switching power supply enclosed in plastic container and back up battery on right.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A FEW CLOSE UP PICTURES
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
THE TRANSMITTER WITH KEYER SITTING ON TOP. BEHIND IT YOU CAN SEE THE COOLING FAN FOR THE OUTPUT TRANSISTOR HEAT SINK. NOTICE THE FREQUENCY IS SLIGHTLY HIGHER. THE FREQUENCY WAS SET USING AN EXTERNAL FREQUENCY COUNTER AND NOT THE DISPLAY.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
THE POWER SUPPLY IS PICTURED TO THE RIGHT. IT IS A COSEL R150-12 THAT WAS PURCHASED ON EBAY. IT ALSO HAS A COOLING FAN MOUNTED ON IT'S TOP GRILLE. IT SUPPLIES POWER TO THE BEACON TRANSMITTER, FANS, KEYER AND KEEPS THE BACK UP BATTERY (pictured below power supply) FULLY CHARGED VIA A REGULATOR.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
THE ANTENNA (pictured to the left) IS A HALF-WAVE DIPOLE ANTENNA ENCLOSED IN 1/2 INCH PVC PIPE AND MOUNTED VERTICALLY ON THE ROOF OF MY HOME. THE FEED LINE IS RG8X (mini) AND THERE IS A CURRENT BALUN AT THE INPUT OF THE ANTENNA.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Battery back-up
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
LINKS TO A FEW OF MY OTHER WEBSITES. CLICK ON EACH TITLE BELOW TO BE RE-DIRECTED
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| page created with Easy Designer |