HFU HF Underground
Loggings => 22 Meter Band HiFER Beacons => Topic started by: Strange Beacons on January 06, 2018, 0433 UTC
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DSRT01 beacon transmitting slow Morse code (approximately 5 WPM) at 13561.5 kHz (https://youtu.be/DpVo03GVEm4), identifying location as Mojave Desert (a real hotbed for Part 15 beacons, or so it seems).
UTC time and date can be seen in the widget running at the top right of the screen in the video.
Curt / W9SPY
Edit: Decode text of one full cycle: "T T T T T DSRT01 DSRT01 T T T T T DSRT01 DSRT01 T T T T T DSRT01 DSRT01 T T T T T DSRT01 DSRT01 T T T T T DSRT01 DSRT01 DSRT01 DSRT01 MOJAVE DESERT." Note that the "T" is decoded as such by FLDIGI but is actually a one second tone.
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I see you used my Kiwi for this ;) This signal is pretty strong on my Kiwi because the transmit antenna is about 300 feet from the receive antenna you were using. DSRT01 is one of Chris's beacon kits, but I reprogrammed the Tiny85 to carry a bit different message. I have not decided if the message will stay this way or not, it might be too complex for weak conditions. Simple dashes with DSRT every 10 dashes might be easier to copy. Right now the hardware (solar cell, charger, battery, beacon) is being shaken out here on the property. After it has run a week or so and been stable I will probably move it out to a remote location in the desert.
T!
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I see you used my Kiwi for this ;) This signal is pretty strong on my Kiwi because the transmit antenna is about 300 feet from the receive antenna you were using. DSRT01 is one of Chris's beacon kits, but I reprogrammed the Tiny85 to carry a bit different message. I have not decided if the message will stay this way or not, it might be too complex for weak conditions. Simple dashes with DSRT every 10 dashes might be easier to copy. Right now the hardware (solar cell, charger, battery, beacon) is being shaken out here on the property. After it has run a week or so and been stable I will probably move it out to a remote location in the desert.
T!
LOL, well this certainly explains why the DSRT01 signal was one of the strongest that I've ever received on a WebSDR.
As for the performance of Chris' beacon kit, I'm impressed.
Curt / W9SPY
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In this case the beacon is adjusted to the legal power level into a quarter wave ground plane. The 1/4 wave ground plane antenna is mounted at ground level.
However there is about 40 dB of attenuation also in line, between the beacon and the antenna. Without the attenuation it tended to really swamp any receivers connected to one of my antennas that runs 35 feet above it. So right now the ERP of this beacon is about 40 dB below legal allowed, meaning that it is very unlikely to be heard anyplace else. When I move the beacon to its final position in the desert it will be making full allowed ERP. I have not decided where the location will be, but probably someplace near Death Valley.
T!
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I see you used my Kiwi for this ;)
I just wanted to let you know that, as an avid user of many, many different Kiwi SDRs located all over the planet, yours consistently gives the best signal overall. My hat is off to you, your software, hardware, and antenna setup.
Curt / W9SPY