HFU HF Underground
Loggings => HF Beacons => Topic started by: Desert Whooper on August 14, 2021, 0051 UTC
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This is the QSL card that will be available soon to confirm your reception reports.
(https://i.ibb.co/F7nbKRt/DW-QSL-2.jpg)
The elusive Desert Whooper used to inhabit the shores of ancient Lake Mojave and is harder to spot than the more common Bigfoot creatures. DW's lonely whoop modulates the electric charge stored in its tail and pulses an electromagnetic wave outwards.
In honor of the Desert Whoopers, the beacon was built from scratch and has a hybrid analog/Nano controller so that it can continue to whoop if the Nano fails. The transmitter is crystal controlled and features a varactor diode circuit for the upward frequency sweep.
Telemetry is as follows:
BAT is in volts DC
oTMP is in degrees F with a calibrated thermistor
iTMP is in degrees F using a digital two wire sensor within the weather tight box
PV is in milliAmps to monitor solar panel performance
The antenna is a 1/2 wave dipole oriented North/South but .15 wavelength above the desert soil to create a more vertical but omni-like pattern. The 1:1 balun is home made and measured VSWR is close to 1.1 to 1
Thank you to all who have posted logs. They are very useful!
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Awesome! :)
And thanks for running the beacon, it's a fun DX catch.
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I want a QSL card.... 8)
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For the eQSL please send a detailed reception report to Desert_Whooper at protonmail.com
Please include the time, date, DW's telemetry readout, signal strength/quality, your approximate receive location, radio receiver and antenna used.
Am still searching for a deal for printed QSL postcards.
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Howdy!
Your beacon is keister kickin' for a peanut! She's a regular at >S5 in Prince George, BC and on SDR's all over western Canada. Your north signal is far better than your E-W-S, according to online SDR's.
Thank you!
73's
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Your north signal is far better than your E-W-S, according to online SDR's.
I agree the DW beacon kicks keister, lol.
SDRs have many different antennas and noise floors that factor into the indicated S level. Time of day propagation is a big factor too.
Right now VE7GL is indicating S3 while Maui (3800 Km away to SE) and SoCal kiwis show S5. The KFS SE kiwi is indicating S9+ with its gain antenna. Sometimes I try the other KFS receivers with directional antennas and am guessing the strong S signals are due to a NVIS like signal coming down on top of the array.
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For some near real time propagation data related to the western desert beacons try selecting point Arguello, Calif from this list
https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/IONO/rt-iono/realtime/RealTime_foF2.html
A sample plot as of this hour
(https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/IONO/rt-iono/realtime/PA836_foF2.png)
If DW's antenna has the pattern mentioned earlier such as this
(http://www.hamuniverse.com/ventdip.1.jpg)
....then based on time of day there will be reflections of near vertical and angular radiation energy
(http://kk5na.com/prop-1_files/Picture6.jpg)
Some good antenna references for longwire antennas
https://www.qsl.net/aa3rl/ant2.html
https://www.robkalmeijer.nl/techniek/electronica/radiotechniek/hambladen/qst/1993/10/page41/index.html
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Great posting, and I'm really glad to hear that DW is back to making serious RF! Very strong on the usual Kiwis tonight
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Fair reception into Masset, BC at 04:30 UTC tonight.
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Fair reception into Masset, BC at 04:30 UTC tonight.
Holy moly! Your receive setup is great! Is it a remote SDR?
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Please post up here if you requested an eQSL but did not receive it.
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https://www.bclnews.it/2021/08/21/the-desert-whooper-beacon-4095-65-khz/
The Desert Whooper Beacon 4095.65 KHz
In your August 4th logs a person offered some incorrect information about DW’s transmit format. For your readers’ interest, here are some technical details of the one watt beacon that provides fascinating propagation performance.
The beacon started development in November of 2020. It was built from scratch and has a hybrid controller consisting of two 555 CMOS timers to key the transmitter along with an Arduino Nano controller to generate Morse code and collect data for performance telemetry. The 555 timers will independently key the transmitter if the Nano fails for any reason. (Fortunately the Nano has functioned for 10 months without issue.) The 4.09565 MHz transmitter is crystal controlled and features a MV1403 varactor diode circuit for the upward frequency sweeps of 150 Hertz. The sweeps provide distinctive audio for the SWL’er as well as an easy to spot visual pattern on the waterfall display of Kiwi SDRs. The transmitter has 4 transistors and the final amplifier is a IRF510 MosFet followed by a low pass filter, all inside a shielded box.
The beacon is powered by a sealed lead acid battery which is kept charged with a solar panel. The battery is protected from over discharge by a low voltage disconnect (LVD) circuit that is independent of the Nano. Time has shown that the solar panel size provides good charge current even in cloudy weather and the beacon does not draw much battery power overnight.
The antenna is a 111 foot long, 1/2 wave dipole oriented North/South and it’s about 0.1 wavelength above the dry desert soil to create a more vertical but omni-like pattern. The 1:1 balun is home made and the antenna’s measured VSWR is close to 1.1 to 1
There are six cycles of DW in Morse along with 29-30 “whoops”; then the DW identification is sent along with four different telemetry numbers.
Telemetry is in slow Morse code as follows:
BAT is the battery’s voltage to tenths of a volt using a precision resistor divider and the Nano’s A2D function. Normal values range from 12.8 to 14.4 volts
OTMP is in degrees F with a calibrated 10k NTC thermistor located outdoors, about 100′ from the beacon.
ITMP is in degrees F provided by a digital one-wire DS18B20 microLAN sensor located within the weathertight equipment box. The reading runs 5 to 10 deg warmer than OTMP.
PV is given in milliAmps to monitor solar panel performance and battery charge current. Measurements are based on an INA219 current sensor board. The values of the current can range from 0 to 2000. Note that a value of 4 or 5 is just the idle current consumed by the solar controller because the battery is fully charged.
In case the Nano fails, the number of whoops can decrease from 30 down to 29 as a crude measure of rising temperatures. On some recent days the internal temperature has peaked at 120 degrees F when outside air temperature was measured at 112 degrees! The box is in shade but the electronic circuitry generates waste heat that causes the temperature rise. Monitoring the temperatures during night and day provides for some interesting deltas..
DW was officially deployed to the Western desert on February 21, 2021. It has been heard in Canada, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Utah, Arizona and many other locations. Some SWL logs can be seen here: https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?board=9.0 and eQSLs are being provided.
The DW Team
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Thank you for the info, the beacon and the lovely e-QSL card!
73's
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https://www.bclnews.it/2021/08/21/the-desert-whooper-beacon-4095-65-khz/
------ SNIP------
In case the Nano fails, the number of whoops can decrease from 30 down to 29 as a crude measure of rising temperatures.
The decreasing length of the 30th whoop had been noticed by a few of us. The box's internal temperature effects on the analog circuitry timing makes sense.
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"The Desert Whooper HF Beacon"
RECEPTION REPORT by Exo.
Frequency: 4095.65 kHz
Mode: CW
Date Time: 2021AUG23 2206UTC
Signal level: -102 dBm, good readable.
Copy: DW BAT 13.6 OTMP 98 ITMP 114 PV 4 DW
Notes: Upward frequency chirp signature whoop only on repetitive dash intervals.
AUDIO RECORDING:
PLAY MP3 audio recording of Desert Whooper HF Beacon reception (http://hfpack.com/members/exo/4095_kHz_Desert_Whooper_HF_Beacon_2021AUG23_2206UTC_USB.mp3)
WATERFALL IMAGE:
Waterfall display image on my kiwiSDR receiving Desert Whooper HF Beacon (http://hfpack.com/members/exo/4095_kHz_Desert_Whooper_HF_Beacon_2021AUG23_2206UTC_USB.jpg)
Receiver: my home kiwiSDR on the coast of Northern California.
Antenna: Broadband dipole at 30ft.
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Thank you very much for the detailed report along with the picture and audio recording! You must have a low noise floor there. Great audio quality and quite a thrill to hear the Desert Whooper through your SDR
The eQSL will be in your PM inbox in a minute
DW
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The Desert Whooper,
Thank you very much for the wonderful e-QSL card!
The Desert Whooper is by far one of the strongest and most interesting HF beacons of its kind that I've copied in the past decade here.
The use of CW telemetry for temperature, power, and solar charge status is brilliant.
Best wishes.
Exo
Thank you very much for the detailed report along with the picture and audio recording! You must have a low noise floor there. Great audio quality and quite a thrill to hear the Desert Whooper through your SDR
The eQSL will be in your PM inbox in a minute
DW
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Will renew my efforts for a direct reception when T-storm season is over. Thanks for the really fun DX target!
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I just discovered this new DW video today
https://youtu.be/7_CAxPhgWAw
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Another new video https://youtu.be/LuP5GD1CLEQ
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Heard DW just fine here in the San Francisco area.
Date: 9/5/2021 Time: 0421 UTC
Frequency: 4095.489 CW, 600 Hz BW, BFO 685 Hz
Signal strength S-6 to S-7
Lots of whoops!
BAT: 13.1
OTMP: 91
ITMP: 96
PV: 1
Receiver: Ten Tec RX-340
Antenna: 100 meter horizontal loop
Would love to get your eQSL. It's a very cool beacon.
-- 73 from HRO500
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In the first few messages there is an email address for eQSL requests
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I can't believe how well this beacon gets out for only being one watt.
I can pretty reliably hear it's whoop's and ID from upstate NY, but it's far enough below the noise
for me that the telemetry is too hard to copy. Around 10:00Z this morning I did catch the battery
voltage of 12.9 though.
Hopefully the noise will drop far enough this winter I can copy the telemetry.
Thanks for a fun beacon!!
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I can pretty reliably hear it's whoop's and ID from upstate NY...
Wow! That's pretty good for a watt.
Given it was logged in HI, northern Canada and all over the US, before the op clued us in, I guessed a good 10 or 15W. I would LOVE to see the perfect antenna/matching/ground system he's got on it :D
73's
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Now that the weather has cooled off I can sum up a couple of data points about the whoops
When DW first was heard at full strength back in February there were 30 whoops on each cycle.
As the weather heated up someone here noted the 30th whoop was shorter. Sure enough, as temps climbed upwards that 30th whoop all but disappeared.
Tonight DW reported the internal temp at 63 and the 30th whoop seems whole again.
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Tonight DW reported the internal temp at 63 and the 30th whoop seems whole again.
That observation shows quite remarkable attention to detail, Teotwaki.
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That observation shows quite remarkable attention to detail, Teotwaki.
Thanks Dave. It all sprang from a discussion between Syfr and myself at the end of March. He also pays close attention to interesting details. It’s been a long wait since March to get another data point!
Jim
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Copied the Desert Whooper early this morning, around 09:30 UTC, but again, couldn't copy the telemetry due to the noise level.
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Wow! That's pretty good for a watt. I would LOVE to see the perfect antenna/matching/ground system he's got on it :D
A lot of time was spent trying to determine how much transmit power was appropriate. After extensive research about QRP rigs one watt seemed appropriate. Next antenna efficiency and pattern were focused upon.
The desert soil is very rocky and dry so the antenna is hung relatively low to achieve a 50 ohm match close to 1:1 vswr. From the ideal free space length the antenna was shortened 92" to achieve the match. There are no additional ground rods or counterpoise elements strung out beneath the antenna.
Balun efficiency was also looked into and a simple 1:1 "transformer" of coax wound on a large core had the lowest loss.
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Thank you for that info!
73's
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Hey Desert Whooper
Can I drop in at the "Ranch" for DW's 1 year of operation party?
(https://i.ibb.co/0rrkYGC/IMG-E5451-2-1024x785.jpg)
Just Kidding! Spotted this off ramp sign on one of my road trips.
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4095xxx 9:45 UTC Feb 14 2022 Good signal into Snohomish County, WA S6 just out of the noise floor. Specs on my receiving in signature. Never thought I'd hear this one! Really getting out.
eQSL to bubba.radio@hotmail.com if possible.
What beacon sounded like.
https://soundcloud.com/bubba-seattle/sdruno-20220214-013848-4095000hz (https://soundcloud.com/bubba-seattle/sdruno-20220214-013848-4095000hz)
Pic of screen
https://prnt.sc/26viqio (https://prnt.sc/26viqio)
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Fair signal right now, here at home, about as good as it was in February of 2021
4095.700 KHz DW with BAT 13.1 volts oTMP 72 deg iTMP 76 deg PV 0 mA at 7 PM PST
4095.700 KHz DW with BAT 13.0 volts oTMP 68 deg iTMP 75 deg PV 0 mA at 8:33 PM PST
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Hey Desert Whooper
Can I drop in at the "Ranch" for DW's 1 year of operation party?
(https://i.ibb.co/0rrkYGC/IMG-E5451-2-1024x785.jpg)
Just Kidding! Spotted this off ramp sign on one of my road trips.
Good one! Might use it on
QSL cards
Thanks!
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Today is DW's first birthday! We installed a new solar shield for the outside temp sensor and retensioned the antenna guy lines.
Thanks to all for the signal reports and qsl requests!
The DW Team
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Hey there! Is the beacon off the air?
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DW was retrieved and is undergoing testing and repairs. There seems to have been some lightning strikes nearby, possibly from that big storm.. The processor was dead and possibly the PV current sensor is dead too. Nothing is burned so maybe a quick overvoltage event? The antenna seems fine but a low voltage gas tube arrester was installed on the coax even though it's not certain that was the surge entry point.
We hope to have DW back in the desert soon. We're losing temperature data!
DW team
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DW is operational again!
We found that when first activating DW this morning the BAT and PV numbers seemed incorrect. It turned out that the solar charge controller was also damaged. It was a quick module swap out and all is good again. Signal strength seems good so we'll be watching DWs telemetry and keep our fingers crossed.
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Copied DW at 1300Z this morning on my home RX in Northern Ca and signal was S6-7:
Bat = 12.8
OTMP = 55
ITMP = 62
PV = 1
Great work by the DW beaconeers getting it back on the air (and having a spare solar controller on hand!).
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Next time you're there could you put it on the former Windy freq. (4102.7 or so) to get the whooping away from the sun only ditter/dasher cluster (makes for more esthetic listening). - I and a friend in MN ask this... please?
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Next time you're there could you put it on the former Windy freq. (4102.7 or so) to get the whooping away from the sun only ditter/dasher cluster (makes for more esthetic listening). - I and a friend in MN ask this... please?
First off, this weird request should have been sent in a PM but since you stated this in public view in a technical beacon thread I am going to give you some feedback as a beacon fan and not a moderator..
4096 is a common CPU clock crystal frequency and is not assigned to any one beacon builder. Besides, are you the Marine Band Pirate Beacon FCC that now presumes to be reassigning Windy's frequency? Let the owner of Windy post up and relay his/her plans. On top of that you opened the door to other beacons on 4096 when you publicly "departed" from the pirate beacon realm and took most of your beacons off the air.
Mark and readers:
I am not creating new beacons anymore due to now delving into ELF and other non shortwave realms of EM waves, so the only 4096 beacon of mine is Coxie long dasher on 4069.0 plus and minus drift. I think Rainy is QRT now... unheard even with short daytime skip. HexY2k 6700.50 is still functioning by day amazingly but I wonder if someone has moved it or replaced maintained it in my 14 year absence from Joshua Tree NP. A few days ago MarinDit was in on 8193.77 so that oscillator only beacon on AC power might very well wind up as my final and only beacon signal remaining as they all dwindle away, so enjoy my remaining signals.
I am always laughing here at the "Windy Beacon Monitoring Fan Club" here having been one of a few whom have seen that up close, long ago, in another time...
It is good others are on this bandwagon so I can depart it. Good luck , DXing, and 73...
I really liked your Inyo Whooper but you took it off the air. I liked hearing your Viking beacon because of it's location but you took that off the air, changed the name and moved it twice, making it impossible to hear without resorting to an SDR. Given that your sun only beacons are huge frequency drifters I think it is you that should at least redesign for stability if not move to a different frequency. If your beacons were actually stable on 4096 the DW beacon would not be an issue when using a modern receiver with tunable bandwidths.
DW is fun to listen to because people can actually hear it and the data it sends. You very publicly jumped off the "bandwagon" so complaining about the newcomer's pirate beacons is just sour grapes.
Moderator Mode On: If this turns into a longer discussion I should move it to "Mojave Beaconeer's Opinions, Thoughts and Recollections" where it belongs
https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,90046.0.html
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I'm on an extended campervan trip, to wherever my fancy takes me. I've been doing very little SW listening, but did catch Gendarme (which I will report elsewhere) and DW, on my little Belka-DX portable receiver, with the set top whip.
I'm in Coconino National Forest, a few miles north of Flagstaff, AZ, from where I logged DW, at 0010z on 4/21/2022. Weak sigs, but no QSB and perfectly copyable.
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Great trip report Dave!
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Next time you're there could you put it on the former Windy freq. (4102.7 or so) to get the whooping away from the sun only ditter/dasher cluster (makes for more esthetic listening). - I and a friend in MN ask this... please?
Old Chap: if your beacons were fixed in frequency rather than wondering up and down there would be no issue. DW is fixed and varies maybe 50 hertz over many months so there is no way it is being moved onto Windy's reserved spot.
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Copied DW at 1300Z this morning on my home RX in Northern Ca and signal was S6-7:
Bat = 12.8
OTMP = 55
ITMP = 62
PV = 1
Great work by the DW beaconeers getting it back on the air (and having a spare solar controller on hand!).
Thank you for your reports and your kind words. The whole DW team appreciates them!
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I'm on an extended campervan trip, to wherever my fancy takes me. I've been doing very little SW listening, but did catch Gendarme (which I will report elsewhere) and DW, on my little Belka-DX portable receiver, with the set top whip.
I'm in Coconino National Forest, a few miles north of Flagstaff, AZ, from where I logged DW, at 0010z on 4/21/2022. Weak sigs, but no QSB and perfectly copyable.
Thank you Dave! We appreciate your wonderful reports!
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The DW beacon is being thoroughly baked again!
Battery was 13.1 volts
Outside temp was 101 degrees
Inside temp was 117 degrees
Solar panel current was 113 milliamps
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Sharing old photos
Transmitter development, crystal oscillator and 200 mW stage
(https://i.ibb.co/Sy9jP3d/IMG-6200-800x600.jpg)
Controller development, basic analog meshed with a microcontroller
(https://i.ibb.co/gRxPpRw/IMG-3509-600x800.jpg[u][/u])
The DW Team
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Great fun to see the DW protos , after hearing it on the air for so long. While I've never been able to log it from the east coast, I've always heard it during trips to the central coast and of course via the Kiwis up in the bay area and Utah.
Thanks for providing a great deal of fun for us weirdos that enjoy listening to things that go beep in the night (and day)
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Out in the yard here in the central coast of CA and DW is sounding good on the Belka DX with nothing more than the 20" telescoping whip.
Great job from down south!
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Just did some listening from the back patio here in Santa Barbara County, and DW is whooping in here nicely on nothing more than the BELKA DX and it's 20" whip.
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Thank you Syfr!! We appreciate the compliments and are quite proud of our little temperature sensing beacon's success.
The DW Team
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Is DW off the air?
I heard it last night at 10 PM with normal telemetry
BAT 13.1 oTMP 81 iTMP 87 PV 1
Nothing heard this morning.
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Must have been propagation chicanery!
I just heard some very weak whoops on the home radio and then tuned to it on KFS and caught telemetry
BAT 14.0 oTMP 89 iTMP 96 PV 5
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Is everything OK with the DW beacon?
Normally DW is S5 to S7 almost anytime of the day using the KFS or KPH SDRs (almost anytime - except for late at night when the foF2 NVIS critical frequency drops below 4 Mhz). However for the past 4 or 5 days DW has been barely audible or not heard at all. Maybe just a whisper at best and not strong enough to copy the telemetry. I can hear the other Mohave Desert beacons and the Coast Slider just fine.
Could be just the propagation chicanery that Teotwaki mentioned. Any other recent DW reports?
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I agree that it had gotten weaker. But tonight it is back to its normal signal levels here. Bravo to the engineering crew.
73
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I’ve also had trouble receiving it at home. Just happened to check KFS Omni and had it at S7 at 18:21 pst
Bat 13.1
OTMP 64
iTMP 74
PV 1
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Yes, it was back to S9 on the KFS SDR for awhile today, but then went back to just a whisper this afternoon. Now (at 0150Z) it is abruptly going from S9 down to S2 mid-whoop - or even mid-character! DW may have an intermittent connection in its PA, or its antenna system.
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Signal strength seems to be normal for the last four or five hours. Currently S8 on KFS SE
Bat 13.0
OTMP 65
iTMP 72
PV 1
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DW had been suffering severely low output. We finally made the long drive & hike and brought repair parts to cover the most likely failure types. It turned out the antenna balun was bad. DW has been enduring very high VSWR all these weeks!
Will pry open the old balun soon
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Nice Signal!! At 0314Z
569 to 589
Zeak,
Receiver KiwiSDR
Ant: 80m dipole at 15m
location: DM12
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My error on the time!! Your beacon first heard a 2300Z with 569-589.
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My error on the time!! Your beacon first heard a 2300Z with 569-589.
You should see if you are able to edit your own posts so as to not have to post again. Also, unless I have received a beacon at a substantially different time I just let the time stamp on the message serve as the defining time.
Thanks for being a member and sharing your reception reports!
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With shorter daylight hours I've logged DW's battery voltage trending to 12.7 volts in the hour before sunrise. I've also seen the PV numbers peaking above 2 Amps.
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4095.650
2050 Hearing the whoops only, no CW.
Nothing really on the waterfall. First time reception!! SW MI
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Heard again tonight around 0230 Clearer this time.
No CW heard. Some heard 0300 Vid / Audio clip linked. Notched out data or navtex on 4097ish.
Thanks.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qVuwMVK846iWgr8OE3Q3NcFcCXaV4gSy/view?usp=share_link
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DW was hungry this morning! Around 9 AM I copied a couple of telemetry reports with voltage and current (PV) numbers over 2.2 Amps
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DW was officially deployed to the Western desert on February 21, 2021.
Happy 2nd Birthday!
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I copied the DW beacon early this morning in Oklahoma City EM15.
10/Mar/2023
0605-0652 UTC
Elecraft KX2 and attic mounted dipole oriented EW
Notes: Very weak signal but whoops easily heard. QSB prevented copying all of the Morse message; portions copied: "DW" "BAT" "TMP" "66" There was a lot of atmospheric noise (QRN), so I had to use quite a bit of attenuation on the receiver.
Thanks for operating this beacon!
-Mike
OK City
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0311 4095.6 S6
0322 up to S7 and "BAT 13.0"
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The Desert Whooper on 4095.6 CW coming in here at about S1 with fading.
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Very nice S1 signal here tonight.
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The Desert Whooper, its native language electromagnetism, cries out into the lonesome desert night in search of a fellow beacon-friend to share telemetry with.
Caught The Whooper on KSF and a Prescott, AZ Kiwi SDR, but that's not quite like hearing it on my own gear (RSPduo + Yaesu FT-710 AESS) so we'll keep trying.
I suspect I'm not the only one interested in more details on how it was designed and built. Seems like a very simple CW-and-microcontroller project, except for the varactor sweep on the crystal oscillator. That's pretty cool (and really grabs your attention when you're looking at the waterfall AND just listening to it.)
Every beacon ought to have a Whooper on-board. :)
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The first page of this thread has a fairly detailed post about how it's built. I mainly catch it before sunrise and after sunset
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Since it's too late in the morning to hear this at home I checked it out on the KFS SE kiwi
4095.65 KHz DW S5 signal BAT 14.0volts oTMP 102deg iTMP 110deg PV 767 mAmps
I've been trying to catch it when the iTMP hits 120 as it did a year ago.
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Since it's too late in the morning to hear this at home I checked it out on the KFS SE kiwi
4095.65 KHz DW S5 signal BAT 14.0volts oTMP 102deg iTMP 110deg PV 767 mAmps
I've been trying to catch it when the iTMP hits 120 as it did a year ago.
inside temp of the box hit 123 degrees at 1800 hrs PST! :o
4095.65 KHz DW S6 signal BAT 13.2volts oTMP 109deg iTMP 123deg PV 203 mA
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I just caught DW's internal temp sitting at 120 degrees
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BAT 13.1volts oTMP 95 iTMP 102 PV 1 good signal at home on the KX3 0322Z 1Aug2023
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greetings from the DW team
All of your reports here have been read with great interest! We received a eQSL request from Italy! Quite the surprise.
A few months back we added a device to bleed off static charge from the antenna.
On October 27th we replaced the battery. Electrically it seemed healthy but it appears to have spit out some small amounts of acid from around the battery's terminals. With the shorter days the battery receives less charge so we want it to be in tip top shape.
Lately we've been kicking around ideas for wind measurement and it may be a new box but similar to DW
The DW Team
Our email address is at the beginning of this thread
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Hello, all...
I just received a nice eQSL for my reception of the Desert Whooper.
Thanks to the team!
OK Mike
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Nice signal on the Desert Whooper here this morning before sunrise. 4095.72 KHz 11JAN24 13:39z Airspy HF+ Discovery 60ft SE/NW longwire
Telemetry sent:
BAT 12.8 OTMP 40 ITMP 52 PV 1
https://youtu.be/19-QwxEH0IE?si=b_FZiHUqJYkMdzHZ
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Nice signal on the Desert Whooper here this morning before sunrise. 4095.72 KHz 11JAN24 13:39z Airspy HF+ Discovery 60ft SE/NW longwire
Telemetry sent:
BAT 12.8 OTMP 40 ITMP 52 PV 1
https://youtu.be/19-QwxEH0IE?si=b_FZiHUqJYkMdzHZ
A few thoughts based on the OP's description of DW. I think the frequency would be 4095.700 KHz, centered on the CW signal, but not 4095.720KHz, centered in the middle of the whoops. The whoops start at .700 and sweep upwards. In warm weather the CW is at 4095.650
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A few thoughts based on the OP's description of DW. I think the frequency would be 4095.700 KHz, centered on the CW signal, but not 4095.720KHz, centered in the middle of the whoops. The whoops start at .700 and sweep upwards. In warm weather the CW is at 4095.650
Thanks Jim, I had actually dialed up a bit to center on the CW and the whoops sweeping upwards from 4095.720. Probably time to recheck my calibration.
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DW Beacon 4095.65 CW 18.52 UTC Feb 5 2024
18.52 UTC CW transmit two letters "DW" and piiip piiip signal, SINPO - 35553, S3, listening via websdr KFS, California.
Please, send me eQSL, thanks
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Looks as if the cloudy winter weather in the SouthWest is impacting solar charged beacons such as DW. This morning is the lowest battery reading I think I've ever seen in the three years it's been running.
4097.720 KHz DW About S7 here. BAT 12.4 oTMP 44 iTMP 51 PV 1 14:27UTC 7Feb2024
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Thanks very much for eQSL card #22.
I like your QSL!
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DW was officially deployed to the Western desert on February 21, 2021.
Happy 3rd birthday!!
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Great signal tonight, about 20dB over the local noise floor
4069.685 KHz DW sending Battery 13.0 Outside Temp 66 Inside Temp 71 PV current 1