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Author Topic: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (OFF air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)  (Read 60017 times)

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (5W CW, 10.237,74MHz)
« Reply #45 on: September 08, 2016, 1050 UTC »
Hi there!

Eh. THAT took a while. After becomming aware of the fact that not only the PSU had gone faulty I somehow had a hard time getting my ass up and look at the issue. Eventally I had a look and, well, it was a fix that took only 5 minutes. The protection Z-Diode on the collector of the driver Transistor had gone short.

We had several big summerstorms recently. With a lot of lighning. I guess a parasitic stray field from a lightning strike nearby made it go short. It's a 33V Diode and the amplitude of the HF hardly reaches the 10Vss peak.

Replaced it. Works again.

Brought the Beacon back on air on Tuesday night.

Kind greetings,
~Zazzle
Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (5W CW, 10.237,74MHz)
« Reply #46 on: October 30, 2016, 2229 UTC »
Hi,

looks like I've been the victim of vandalism for the first time since I put the Beacons on the roof. But the whole situation is pretty confusing.

One of the support poles were down, shattered into pieces. The fragments look like someone had been hitting them with a big, sharp object, like an axe or machete.
I wonder who climbs up to the roof (not that easy) with some big knife to damage one pole? Power cables, antenna wires and everything else was left untouched.
Curious. When someone intended to go all postal he could just damage all Beacon setups in less than 5 minutes to the point beyond repair.

My current guess is, that it were some kids that started with the first pole and ran off when it came down.

As a result one half of the Dipole were down. So far I could bring it up with some quick fix. Still, it won't radiate properly with the current angle.

Therefore this Beacon runs currently with restrictions. If the weather is on my side next weekend I'm gonna install a new support pole. If things are worse than I was able to see in the dark  I also need to replace the entire half of the Dipole.

Oh well, could have been worse. :)

Kind greezings,
Zazzle.
Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (5W CW, 10.237,74MHz)
« Reply #47 on: November 23, 2016, 1150 UTC »
Hey,

Some progress:

  • A new support pole was installed. Making Duct Tape sticky again in cold ambient temperatures by using a torchlight works well.
  • The main pole, carrying the transmitter unit, was also provided with new guy wires.

I was mistaken.

I always assumed that hardly anyone would climp the roofs on that old industrial yard. But a visit on a sunny day after weeks of shitty weather made me stand corrected. There were six (6!) other people climbing roofes on the yard. Some kids, some creative guys with spray paint and some that looked like they were up to no good.

Well, after pondering my options for a moment I decied to go on. There's no way I can do anything against vandalism. Expect the hope, that when they see somone working on the poles, they might understand that it's someones project and nothing that's meant to be damaged.

Greetings,
Zazzle

Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (5W CW, 10.237,74MHz)
« Reply #48 on: June 18, 2017, 2135 UTC »
I am hearing what sounds like your beacon on 10237.7 kHz (approximate, as it is very weak) at 2135z on 18 June 2017.
Chris Smolinski
Westminster, MD
eQSLs appreciated! csmolinski@blackcatsystems.com
netSDR / AFE822x / AirSpy HF+ / KiwiSDR / 900 ft Horz skyloop / 500 ft NE beverage / 250 ft V Beam / 58 ft T2FD / 120 ft T2FD / 400 ft south beverage / 43m, 20m, 10m  dipoles / Crossed Parallel Loop / Discone in a tree

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (5W CW, 10.237,74MHz)
« Reply #49 on: June 19, 2017, 1141 UTC »
Good evening!

Hey Chris! Thank you a lot! :)

Maintainance report:  had to fix some support wires that broke during the recent storm. Looks like the fabric got weak due to the UV radiation. I replaced the wires with a type that's UV resistant. Everything else looks fine. I guess sooner or later one of the support poles will give away. After almost three years of sun and rain it looks ... well... tired. :)

Kind greetings,
Zazzle
Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

Offline AntiRecoveryUnit

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (on air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #50 on: June 25, 2017, 1142 UTC »
Hello! Looks like i'm able to hear Your beacon almost 24/7 on summer  ;D

30meters, what a band :D
Your local junkyard dude

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (on air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #51 on: June 27, 2017, 0823 UTC »
Hey!

Hello! Looks like i'm able to hear Your beacon almost 24/7 on summer  ;D
30meters, what a band :D

nic eto hear. Thank you for the report. :)

Kind greetings,
~Zazzle
Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (OFF air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #52 on: July 17, 2017, 1150 UTC »
Hi,

Status Update: This one is off air. Since about 10 days.

So far I can't say why. It died along with the 40m band Beacon. Since we had some thunderstorms lately..I suspect that the stray field of a nearby lightning strike fried the PA. When standing under the Antenna can I hear a weak key'ed signal from the oscillator/driver in my mobile scanner. So I guess only the PA stage died. Soooo annoying.

Kind greetings,
Zazzle
Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (OFF air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #53 on: November 08, 2017, 1100 UTC »
Hey,

baaa. I'm slooooow. Finally found the motivation to uninstall the whole beast and take it home. There's some issue with the seperate amplifier. The screws are corroded. Haven't dealt with that so far.

But I've been rebuilding the dipole.
+ Thicker wire
+ Proper BalUn
+ Adjustable LC impedance matching. (10-15R:50R)

Got a new toy. A55 Zoom Antenna Analyzer. So much fun. :)

Greezings,
~Zazzle
Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

Offline autovon

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (OFF air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #54 on: November 08, 2017, 2354 UTC »
I enjoyed listening for your beacons at my old QTH.  Hopefully will be able to catch some soon again.  Keep up the good work; we're glad you are doing these projects.
Default RX location is Wisconsin using various wire antennas. Other RX will be noted.

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (OFF air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #55 on: November 09, 2017, 1135 UTC »
Hey Autovon!

Thanks for your kind words. :)

I enjoyed listening for your beacons at my old QTH.  Hopefully will be able to catch some soon again.  Keep up the good work; we're glad you are doing these projects.

Mind telling me which your old QTH was?

Kind greetings,
~Zazzle
Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (OFF air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #56 on: November 09, 2017, 1426 UTC »
I look forward to hearing this beacon when it is back on the air. Is the 6.398.5kHz beacon on now?
Chris Smolinski
Westminster, MD
eQSLs appreciated! csmolinski@blackcatsystems.com
netSDR / AFE822x / AirSpy HF+ / KiwiSDR / 900 ft Horz skyloop / 500 ft NE beverage / 250 ft V Beam / 58 ft T2FD / 120 ft T2FD / 400 ft south beverage / 43m, 20m, 10m  dipoles / Crossed Parallel Loop / Discone in a tree

Offline autovon

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (OFF air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #57 on: November 09, 2017, 2244 UTC »
Old QTH was the UK.  The beacon signals were audible most days there.
Default RX location is Wisconsin using various wire antennas. Other RX will be noted.

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (OFF air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #58 on: November 13, 2017, 1124 UTC »
Hey Chris!

I look forward to hearing this beacon when it is back on the air. Is the 6.398.5kHz beacon on now?

Si, it is. :)

Kind Greetings,
~Zazzle
Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

Offline Zazzle

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Re: Beacon Project "Common and Precious" (OFF air, 10.237,5kHz, 5W)
« Reply #59 on: February 26, 2018, 1456 UTC »
Hey,

Just you know... this one's still on my desk. Since it's 3 years old it'll get some mods and a new antenna.

Kind Greetings,
Zazzle

Trans-/Receivers: JRC NRD-525,  ICOM IC-R72,  YAESU VR-5000,  YAESU FT-897D
Antennas: 80M Halfwave Dipole,  40m Inverted-V,  5/8λ Groundplane,  20M Longwire,  misc. UHF/VHF Scanner Antennas.

 

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