31
HF Beacons / Microwatt Miricle - sand-dune temperature drifter
« on: September 30, 2012, 1852 UTC »
I have implanted a mile from a small desert town in Inyo County a free-running oscillator beacon of about 1 mW output to low-1/4 wave wire up 3-8 feet above sand (1/4 wave gnd. counterpoise) amongst sand-dunes and scrub that is drifting between 2671 to 2679 kHz depending upon the outside temp and temp within its clear-plastic enclosure - the wee beacon runs on a 12 v/ 9 aH gel cell 24/7 and drifts upward as the temp declines. It is keyed by a 555 low-power timer chip to J-fet oscillator (coil is wound on a toroid) to a 2N2222 output buffer trans. keyed by a 2N2222 keying transistor. It FSKs about 2.12 kHz with one of its "side" of the FSK being a tad stronger than the other.
This beacon seems to closely track ambient temperature of its osc. circuit, thus it is called the "dunes drifter."
It might make the ULTIMATE skip-DX beacon for Token or those in a quiet location at dusk or night to dawn.
73 and gud DXing - -v-
This beacon seems to closely track ambient temperature of its osc. circuit, thus it is called the "dunes drifter."
It might make the ULTIMATE skip-DX beacon for Token or those in a quiet location at dusk or night to dawn.
73 and gud DXing - -v-