Messages

166

HF Beacons / Re: Wild Beacons

« on: September 13, 2018, 0701 UTC »

 
Call them what you want... just get some mods posted (for the Blackcat Systems 22m beacon ) so the population can explode.

Σ ,
It would seem quite easy to replace the 13.56 MHz crystal in that wonderful kit with a slightly lower frequency crystal.
Or just hack in a programmable clock oscillator that is pre-programmed.

CPPC4-HT5RT Programmable Oscillator

Theoretically speaking, the 40 meter ham band might work, or even the 80 meter band
Theoretically, adding some more inductance and capacitance to the LPF components would reduce the 2nd harmonic energy. 
Also, multiple packages of the 74HC02 chip can literally be stacked up like pancakes with corresponding leads paralleled, for more RF output power
See below image for schematic red line mark up of a possible theoretical mod, not tested, of course.
Note: The mod may have errors. Use +5VDC regulated voltage.
Apologies to Black Cat Systems who has absolutely nothing to do with this fantasy mod.




Add a small waterproofed box for electronics, battery, solar panel, and wire antenna.
Theoretically of course, the battery and solar components need to be appropriately tested and fireproofed, and a site chosen that avoids any chance of wildfire potential (both as a cause and as a risk).

167

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 12, 2018, 2310 UTC »

A great illustration, thanks. Maybe you could add it to the HFU Wiki?

Added description and the image of Windy telemetry to the HFU Wiki, in a new section "Telemetry Pirate Beacon" of the High Frequency Beacon wiki page.

168

HF Beacons / Re: Wild Beacons

« on: September 12, 2018, 0101 UTC »

I like feral... Makes me think of scruffy tough old cats eating out of garbage cans.

Σ, Feral Beacon is kinda interesting.
Does it indicate that the beacon was once a tame pet?
Some of the wild beacons may in fact, be feral beacons, for all we know 

Is Feral Beacon somewhat similar to "Renegade Beacon" ?
Renegade Beacon might describe a beacon that was once law abiding, but now is a solo outlaw beacon, a pirate without a home port.
Almost like Beacons Gone Wild. 

Undocumented Beacon 

That was a really excellent joke, ChrisSmolinski 
But oh my, the connotation of "Undocumented" has quite a politically-charged tinge to it these days
Will they hunt them down, separate them from their power source, and put the helpless little micropower beacons in Faraday cages?
And, are some of the wild beacons what we might call "patriot beacons", or "native beacons" or possibly "citizen beacon exercising rights of freedom" ?

Mischievous beacon, Unruly beacon, Brazen beacon, Incorrigible beacon, Antiestablishment beacon

Josh, those are all really good.

169

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 12, 2018, 0035 UTC »

Report: A look at the timing cycle of the 4102 kHz "Windy" Morse telemetry beacon

2323UTC 11SEP2018
4102.8 kHz "Windy" Morse telemetry beacon, good readable, downward chirp

PLAY AUDIO Windy Morse telemetry beacon 2323UTC 11SEP2018

Below: Audio waveform image of Windy Morse telemetry beacon, timing measurements, telemetry decode.

170

HF Beacons / Wild Beacons

« on: September 11, 2018, 0232 UTC »

Beacons Gone Wild!



Let's talk about the kind of pirate beacons... wild beacons... that may be set up in the wilderness, park lands, forests, floating on the ocean or lakes, or perhaps upon urban structures. These are especially popular in the Wild West.

• Is the name "wild beacon" appropriate?
• What other names have been used to describe these types of beacons?
• What motivates wild beacon creators?
• What are some of the strategies and best implementations for creating a wild beacon?
• What is the projected lifetime or chance of survival for a wild beacon?
• Why do we like to listen for wild beacons?

Creators of wild beacons may tend to hide them in places where they hope ordinary people wandering around won't find them. Of course, the creators know that they can be located by RDF. But, if the beacon is in an area without roads, even if the area is known, it can be difficult to actually locate them due to rough terrain or other obstacles. For very low power beacons, the authorities may consider it not worth the trouble for enforcement; especially when they really don't cause harmful interference. Considering that the cost of a tiny micro-power beacon is so low, the creator can simply put another one (or two) on the air to replace it in a slightly different location... with an ensuing escalation of the beacon whack-a-mole game.

Here are some proposed definitions for a "Wild Beacon".

1. "A repetitive or continuous unauthorized pirate transmitter, with minimal content modulation, located in an area without permission."

2. "An unsupervised pirate transmitter beacon that is located in an open or not-authorized place."

Looking up the root definition of "wild", in various dictionaries, we see:
wild : adjective

• (of an animal or plant) living or growing in the natural environment; not domesticated or cultivated.
  synonyms: untamed, undomesticated, feral
• uncontrolled or unrestrained, especially in pursuit of pleasure.
• not subject to restraint or regulation
  synonyms: uncontrolled, unrestrained, out of control, undisciplined, unruly, rowdy, disorderly, riotous
• characteristic of, appropriate to, or expressive of wilderness, wildlife, or a simple or uncivilized society

wild : noun

• a natural state or uncultivated or uninhabited region.
  "kiwis are virtually extinct in the wild"

Other possible names    Feral Beacon, Beacon In The Wild, Beacons Gone Wild, Homeless Beacon, Rough Beacon

171

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 11, 2018, 0012 UTC »

Some wild beacons tend to vary in frequency.
Some dasher beacons tend to vary in dash length and repetition rate cycle.
For the wild beacons, this is most likely due to variations in battery voltage with solar cell charging and/or ambient temperature affecting the components.

This report captures some of the characteristics of 3 well-known dasher beacons around 4096 kHz.
The report was generated for a reception during the local afternoon, with very sunny weather conditions and moderately warm temperature throughout the Western USA desert region (where these beacons are believed to exist in the wild) .

Report
2332UTC 10SEP2018
4095.85 kHz, dasher, "Viking", dash 4 sec, 6.8 sec repetition, good readable
4095.96 kHz, dasher, "Coxie", dash 5.8 sec, 10.5 sec repetition rate, chirp signature, good readable
4096.37 kHz, dasher, "Haystack", dash 2.3 sec, 5.4 sec repetition rate, good readable

When tuned to 4095.5 kHz USB, the trio of beacons seem to play an audible musical melody of flute-like notes

PLAY AUDIO 4096 kHz symphony of three dashers 2332UTC 10SEP2018

Below: Waterfall image of 4096 kHz 3 dashers 2332UTC 10SEP2018 Viking, Coxie, Haystack.

172

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 09, 2018, 2101 UTC »

A slightly tipsy dasher beacon?
Could this be another mode of the "ZN" Morse Beacon, which has been caught lately drifting around this frequency with irregular Morse characters and timing?

When first copying it yesterday, it seemed like some kind of erratic RFI interference, but that has been ruled out.
It seems like a wild beacon with strange timing characteristics.

So, here's today's report on it.
Listen to the audio and see if it reminds one of a drunken CW operator

Report
2009 UTC 09SEP2018
4114.42 kHz dasher, 1 second dash, 0.5 ~ 1 Second dash length, 0.5 ~ 1.6 second space length, irregular timing, weak readable, fading

2120 UTC 09SEP2018
4111.2 kHz dasher, 1 second dash, 0.5 ~ 1 Second dash length, 0.5 ~ 1.6 second space length, irregular timing, weak readable, fading
Note: This dasher or a similar one , was reported on this frequency by ChrisSmolinski in January 2017.

PLAY AUDIO 4114.42 kHz dasher 2009UTC 09SEP2018

Below: Waterfall image of the 4114.42 kHz dasher 09SEP2018



Below: Waterfall image of the 4114.42 kHz dasher near the "Windy" Morse telemetry beacon for comparison 09SEP2018

173

HF Beacons / Re: 6 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 08, 2018, 2003 UTC »

Report
1955UTC 08SEP2018
6700.51 kHz dasher beacon, "HexY2k" , good readable, fading
6625.94 kHz ditter beacon, "Rainy" , chirpy, good readable, fading
6626.36 kHz buzzer beacon, "Rocky" , very weak, fading

174

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 08, 2018, 1809 UTC »

Report
1730UTC 08SEP2018
4093.2 kHz dasher beacon, 700 millisecond dash length, 1.9 second repetition, very weak, deep fading.
Intermittent, possibly on/off with 1 to 5 minute cycle timer.

PLAY AUDIO 4093kHz 700mSec 1900mSec dasher beacon 1720UTC 08SEP2018

Below: Waterfall image showing the 700mSec dash beacon 4093 kHz near the stronger dasher and morse beacons around 4096-4103 kHz at 1720UTC 08SEP2018

175

HF Beacons / Re: Re: Currently Active Beacons

« on: September 08, 2018, 0637 UTC »

4098.3 ZN, repetition 4.4 seconds, drift to ~4103 kHz daytime
4100.05 H, repetition 3 seconds
8200.15  D, repetition 3 seconds

176

HF Beacons / Re: 8 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 08, 2018, 0450 UTC »

Report
0430UTC 08SEP2018
8200.15 kHz "D" Morse Beacon, repetition 3 seconds, weak readable, deep fading

PLAY AUDIO 8200.15 kHz D Morse Beacon at 0430UTC 08SEP2018

Note: this "D" beacon was previously reported by: mark-n-nut on June 27, 2018. see previous post.


Below: Waterfall image of 8200.15 kHz "D" Morse Beacon at 0430UTC 08SEP2018




While looking for 4 MHz beacon harmonics, this "D" Morse Beacon was found on 8 MHz.
No other "D" beacons were copied today on 4 MHz.
The "H" beacon could clearly be heard simultaneously on 4100.05 kHz, which is just about half the frequency of 8200.15 but not exactly.

177

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 08, 2018, 0126 UTC »

Report 0102 UTC 08SEP2018

4095.59 kHz "Coxie" dasher, weak readable
4095.59 kHz "Viking" dasher, weak readable
4096.36 kHz "Haystack" dasher, good readable
4098.25 kHz "ZN" Morse Beacon, 4.4 second repetition, readable, fading, (ZN sometimes run together like a prosign with an extra dash: "dah-dah-di-di-dah-dah-dit" or  --..--. )
4100.06 kHz "H" Morse Beacon, 3 second repetition, very weak readable
4102.79 kHz "Windy" Morse Beacon with telemetry, good readable

Below, the 6 wild beacons around 4100 kHz show simultaneously on the waterfall at 0102UTC on 08SEP2018.
Note that at this charmed moment, Coxie has drifted down exactly onto Viking's frequency. Coxie has the chirp signature and different dash interval from Viking.

178

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 08, 2018, 0023 UTC »

Nice catch on H. I gave a listen this morning around 1030z and could not hear it locally (no surprise) nor on any of the west coast SDRs I tried.

Hi Chris,

1030UTC may have been a bit too late for the 4 MHz propagation (or maybe the wild beacon's battery?)

The 4100 kHz "H" Morse Beacon seemed to fade out by around 0600 UTC last night, which was the last time I monitored it.

But "H" is back again today 

Report, copying it right now:
0014UTC 08SEP2018
4100.06 kHz "H" Morse Beacon, very weak, fading, barely readable.

You may be able to copy it through one of the following remotes.

Northern Utah SDR KiwiSDR #1 Corinne, Utah kiwiSDR remote

Maritime Radio Historical Society, Pt. Reyes, California kiwiSDR remote

At some point, it may be possible to get a screen capture of 6 wild beacons around 4100 simultaneously: Windy, Haystack, Coxie, Viking, ZN, and H 

Note: this "H" beacon was previously reported by: mark-n-nut on June 27, 2018. see previous post.

 

179

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 07, 2018, 0258 UTC »

4100.01 kHz Morse Beacon "H", weak, readable, 3 second repetition

4100.01 kHz "H" Morse beacon

Searching HFU forum, no previous reports of the 4100.01 kHz "H" Morse Beacon were found.

Perhaps it is a new one?
Or perhaps it is just a one-off transmission?
 
Time will tell.

A quick and casual listening survey of some of the remote online SDRs at about an hour after local sunset here in California:
At the present moment, "H" can be heard with good readability on receivers west of the rocky mountains, but not at all in the east. 
Very weak on Washington state, Colorado, and West Texas remote SDRs.
Good readable in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona.

Estimated -6dB to -10dB weaker than Haystack and -10dB to -20dB weaker than Windy.

Wild guess: possible Southwestern USA geographic origin, so it's been included in this "4 MHz Western USA Beacons" thread.

180

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: September 07, 2018, 0149 UTC »

0146 UTC 07SEP2018
4096.36 kHz dasher Beacon (Haystack?), readable
4098.32 kHz Morse Beacon "ZN", weak, readable, drifty
4100.01 kHz Morse Beacon "H", weak, readable, 3 second repetition
4102.82 kHz Morse Beacon (Windy), readable, chirpy

PLAY AUDIO 4100.01 kHz Morse Beacon H 0158UTC 07SEP2018

Below: Waterfall image of 4100.01 kHz Morse Beacon H 0158UTC 07SEP2018



Below: Waterfall image of 4 Western USA 4MHz Beacons at about 0158UTC 07SEP2018