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Loggings => HF Beacons => Topic started by: l0ngwire on March 10, 2022, 0738 UTC

Title: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?
Post by: l0ngwire on March 10, 2022, 0738 UTC

Tonight here in Santa Barbara I am hearing in CW mode on 4108.0 five dits and a dah repeatedly being sent.  No other characters sent so far.  Fairly strong--about S4 with some fades.

A new beacon?

The Coastal Slider on 4109.7 is very weak but copyable.

Title: Re: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?
Post by: l0ngwire on March 10, 2022, 0939 UTC

Update at 0934z--I checked 4108 two hours later, and no signal...  At 0730z it was fairly strong on the KFS omni and somewhat weaker on the N. Utah SDR, but no signal now on both at 0934z.  The Coastal Slider is still audible.

Perhaps a test of a new beacon?

Title: Re: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?
Post by: stendec on March 10, 2022, 1741 UTC

Can confirm l0ngwire's report: also heard that moderately strong five-dits-and-a-dah signal last night here in northern CA. It had some wide (several kHz) "key clicks", which could be heard even when tuned to the CS on 4109.6.

Title: Re: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?
Post by: Teotwaki on March 11, 2022, 0309 UTC

Nice catch! Similar to when test transmissions of the Coastal Slider were heard before deployment.

Title: Re: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?
Post by: l0ngwire on March 11, 2022, 0649 UTC

Thanks!  I have a weird work schedule working 3 to 11pm and I often unwind after work spinning the VFO knob on my Icom 7200.  Around midnight local time (0800z) appears to be a good time to be beacon DXing. 

When I was learning CW thirty years ago to get my Novice ham ticket, I especially appreciated slow CW beacons on the air because most ham CW QSOs were too fast and/or poorly sent for me to copy.  So 30 years later I still look for them.  I'm also glad that 10 meters and its many propagation beacons are again active.

Title: Re: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?
Post by: l0ngwire on March 16, 2022, 0731 UTC

Tonight at 0715z I am again hearing a beacon on 4108.  About every six seconds it sends either two "dahs" or one "dah".  It is very weak here in Santa Barbara and the N. Utah SDR.  On both the KFS Omni and KFS SE SDR it is a little stronger, about S4.

Title: Re: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?
Post by: Teotwaki on March 16, 2022, 1338 UTC

Were you hearing slow or fast Morse code?

On KFS NW at 6:30 AM I am hearing fast Morse code but with rapid, heavy fading of the signal. It could give the appearance of only sending five dits and a dah during signal peaks.

I will try to search to see if there are any clues that this is a commercial maritime station.

started a thread in utility     https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,94445.msg300976.html#msg300976