HFU HF Underground
Loggings => HF Beacons => Topic started by: Teotwaki on May 01, 2021, 0029 UTC
-
Currently sounds good, about S2 on the KFS SE Kiwi SDR
Sends slow Morse code letters "L" about 13 seconds apart
-
Very good signal here at home in Orange County, Calif.
-
I copy it as "L" but it could be either!
Regardless, good copy tucked in there right above DW
-
I copy it as "L" but it could be either!
Regardless, good copy tucked in there right above DW
Damn! You are exactly right. I agree it is an "L"
I fixed the thread title to lessen my shame a little, lol
-
The Beacon "L " is 589 no QSB ar 0224Z, never heard it this strong before, either conditions or....?
Receiver KiwiSDR
Ant: 80m dipole at 15m
location: DM12
-
Loud and clear here in Wrightwood CA
-
Hitting S9 all over Alberta
-
Here is my original thread from when L was a weak station discovered by Mark in north Utah in May of 2020
https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,67025.0.html
-
(https://i.imgur.com/GB2ZP5r.jpg)
Nice sigs today via KFS
-
Very strong and solid "L" here this evening at 4096.16, some QSB with DW whooping at the edge of the bandpass. Copy on both horizontal longwire (65 ft SE to NW) and 30 ft vertical, longwire strongest. 03:20 UTC 02 MAY 2021
-
Interesting how both DW and L were fairly weak when first discovered but after a number of months they both jumped in signal strength. Probably both were in development for a while then were deployed with better antennas at their final hide site.
-
That makes sense. They both seem to be about the same signal strength each time I've checked via KFS.
I can't quite put my finger on it but it's an oddly cadenced "L".
-
I can't quite put my finger on it but it's an oddly cadenced "L".
Yup. When it popped up in signal strength my very first impression was "AI". Maybe it's not generated by a microcontroller but instead by a Black Cat morse memorizer https://www.blackcatsystems.com/rf-products/ham_amateur_radio_beacon_cw_keyer_kit.html
The creator of L may have a bad CW fist and now it is memorialized ;D
-
Heard it this morning for the first time at 1136 utc
-
No sign of "L" this morning. I last heard it when it was on the air last night around 9:30PM PST
-
DW is so strong here that I can hear a low whoop in the passband of my NRD-525 tuned to "L" 4096.12
Maybe I should rename this thread "Beacon L 4096.12 malfunction?" so we can encourage the owner to get it back on the air ASAP :-[
I miss it already!
-
The very few HF experimenters I know tend to be an obsessive lot, one will drive 800mi R-T to retrieve his “pet beacon” just to make a few changes, another can’t seem to leave his creation in the field “too long”, so its hard to tell about “L”, is it a malfunction or is it an over attentive creator?
I guess its like kids and animals we just have to be happy we have them for the time we do and hope they come back to stay or just hang around for a while.
From this location at 0200Z, 2, May “L” was 589 with no QSB and then at 0520Z, nothing when it was usually ~569?
Receiver KiwiSDR
Ant: 80m dipole at 15m
location: DM12
-
The very few HF experimenters I know tend to be an obsessive lot, one will drive 800mi R-T to retrieve his “pet beacon” just to make a few changes, another can’t seem to leave his creation in the field “too long”, so its hard to tell about “L”, is it a malfunction or is it an over attentive creator?
I guess its like kids and animals we just have to be happy we have them for the time we do and hope they come back to stay or just hang around for a while.
The way I look at it, 800 miles is $120 or more of gas and that money could be spent on more robust components for the beacon. Driving time could be used for performing in depth testing to ensure increased reliability. (The remote dataloggers I built and deployed three years back only require a new SLA battery every 14 months).
Mojave Beaconeer built his "auroral chorus" based on very simple low power circuits and some of them are many years old and functioning well, even without batteries holding a charge any more.