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Author Topic: New 4 MHz dasher?  (Read 12423 times)

Teotwaki

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New 4 MHz dasher?
« on: October 27, 2025, 0402 UTC »
It's not the slow dasher that was 4097.08 in 2020 but maybe it is McGreevy's "Madonna" beacon resurrected to run day and night? Orig. on 4097.23

This is a quicker dasher on 4097.24 Khz that I can hear decently well at home and it is pretty strong on the KFS SE kiwi, about S5 compared to the Desert Whooper's S9
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Jim
NRD-525, Elecraft KX3 and Elecraft PX3 Spectrum Display
76' end fed long wire & 66' off-center fed dipole for 10/20/40 meters
Orange County, SoCal, The better half

HQ180

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Re: New 4 MHz dasher?
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2025, 1534 UTC »
copied it this morning at1150 utc...very weak
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Teotwaki

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Re: New 4 MHz dasher?
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2025, 0053 UTC »
I don't hear it at home but right now it's very strong on the Half Moon Bay SE kiwi
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Jim
NRD-525, Elecraft KX3 and Elecraft PX3 Spectrum Display
76' end fed long wire & 66' off-center fed dipole for 10/20/40 meters
Orange County, SoCal, The better half

MojaveBeaconeer

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Re: New 4 MHz dasher?
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2026, 0527 UTC »
"Madonna" (named for the Virgin Mary plaster figure out in a remote desert location) - so the beacon was implanted years ago about 500m from that plaster Madonna figurine. 

It was formerly the "Inyo Whooper" implanted around 2007 -  whooping day only on 4097.25 +/-, then modified for a more stable fast-dasher and implanted by that Madonna statue figurine as justmentioned; it was retrieved in mid-Sept. 2025 (off air by then due to animal-trashed antenna) and taken back to its original construction "home" where now it runs about 24 DPM when switched on, with maybe 75 to 100 mW ERP just for testing and propagation checking via remote SDRs.

A new 4096.0 (nominal) xtal was swapped-in, replacing the former 4097 kHz xtal specially made by another gent. who joined me on oodles of beacon implantations and maint. hikes starting in 1997 up to around 2003.  He (Ed) had a handful of 4097 kHz xtals specially made, and he kindly gave me a couple - hence that 4097.25-ish beacon in two different locations in the boonies.  It is now around 4096.37-ish "Madonna-at-home" - the only beacon xmtr. installed into a nice aluminum enclosure with a power jack and antenna (BNC) jack output; LED power indicator light, etc.   Like a "desktop beacon." 

And so it now just remains on a test bench for occasional xmsns by day; night; or maybe 24 hours for a run of a few days (like right now) - again, very low ERP compared to the remote beacons which always get out so well due to a lack of parasitic objects in the near-field near their 1/2 wave dipoles... 73 - MB - tnx all for  keeping up the torch! ...
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