4095.6 - the Desert Whooper Returns

[stendec]

 The Desert Whooper has returned -- good copy on most west coast SDRs at 0200Z today. It had disappeared a couple of weeks ago - for reasons unknown.

The Coast Slider went silent around the same time, but is still off the air. Hopefully it'll make a return like DW.

[Teotwaki]

Good news!!!

[Teotwaki]

My observations:

The signal is weaker than before
The reported voltage appears to be static at 13.2 volts
Reported  temperatures are always in the low 70's and always 2-3 degrees apart
PV value is always zero

One might guess that it has been recovered, repaired and is in testing before redeployment

[stendec]

I wonder what the problem was. It seems there's many things that can happen to a beacon in a remote location-- component failure, antenna down,  critters chewed thru the feedline, water ingress, beacon was used for target practice...It's a wonder that many of them (DW, Coxie, Rainy, etc.) are so long-lived!

Perhaps the beaconeer can post what happened it.

[Teotwaki]

I wonder what the problem was. It seems there's many things that can happen to a beacon in a remote location-- component failure, antenna down,  critters chewed thru the feedline, water ingress, beacon was used for target practice...It's a wonder that many of them (DW, Coxie, Rainy, etc.) are so long-lived!

Perhaps the beaconeer can post what happened it.

Some good guesses, but hopefully we'll soon hear from the folks that actually built DW. It's sort of a "young" beacon at less than two years old. I also hope the Coast Slider is brought back to life in June. Wish I could help out. It's still a weird coincidence that both beacons went down in the same storm on the same day.

DW tech information & background thread is here:  https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,85047.0.html

The Mojave Beaconeer" didn't build DW but he did give the nasty critters a great moniker:  "Nibblers & Biters"   
His beacons may be old but at least three of them have survived many long years and have sort of anchored the hobby for all of its listeners. I'm sure those stalwart beacons inspired many other people to try their hand at building pirate beacons.

[Desert Whooper]

thanks for the report Stendec!

It was probably failure induced by a nearby lightning strike. Dead uP and current sensor

Everything is packaged watertight. No target practice occurred. Antenna looks good.
No chewing has occurred yet. External cables are protected decently.

DW Team

[Teotwaki]

I found a logo for this thread 

[Dave Richards]

That's a great logo Jim, and very appropriate!

I heard DW on the 28" set-top whip on my Belka-DX, in the bunk of my campervan at Chaco Canyon, NM. 5/09/2022 at 0703z. S1-S2. bat = 13.0, otmp = 56, itmp = 65, pv = 1

[Teotwaki]

That's a great logo Jim, and very appropriate!

I heard DW on the 28" set-top whip on my Belka-DX, in the bunk of my campervan at Chaco Canyon, NM. 5/09/2022 at 0703z. S1-S2. bat = 13.0, otmp = 56, itmp = 65, pv = 1

A 28" whip??  That's incredible!

[Dave Richards]

Well, DW is so easy to hear out west, it's almost like shooting fish in a barrel, but here goes. I'm still in my campervan, but am now 6 miles west of Bayfield, CO at a height of 6900 feet.

With my little Belka-DX and the 28" set-top whip, DW was varying between a 419 and a 549, at 0434z on 5/14/2022. Telemetry was 13.0, 80, 85, 1.

[Teotwaki]

I get a big signal from 6-7 am and in the low level periods I go to KFS. Temps are heating up out there so i hope all of the desert beacons do well.

at 10:39 AM

4095.700 KHz DW with s7 signal. BAT  14.0  oTMP 88  iTMP  95  PV 586 mA

I've noticed the battery spends more time in the 14 volt range during the day charge cycles. In the early morning it is usually at 12.9v so it seems healthy.

[Dave Richards]

From the bunk of my campervan with my Belka-DX and set-top whip. About 14 miles north of Durango, CO at 7800 feet. DW was about an S2.

1005z (0405 MDT) 12.9V, itmp 63, itmp 72, pv 1

[Teotwaki]

From the bunk of my campervan with my Belka-DX and set-top whip. About 14 miles north of Durango, CO at 7800 feet. DW was about an S2.

1005z (0405 MDT) 12.9V, itmp 63, itmp 72, pv 1

Again, that's a pretty iconic image in my head of a guy laying in the bunk with a small radio to listen to HF!

I've been to that area a number of times and usually camp closer to Silverton but where you are there are some nice places to pull out along with public campgrounds and small lakes. Hope you are having great weather!

[Desert Whooper]

I found a logo for this thread 

We love it!!!

[Dave Richards]

Again, that's a pretty iconic image in my head of a guy laying in the bunk with a small radio to listen to HF!

I've been to that area a number of times and usually camp closer to Silverton but where you are there are some nice places to pull out along with public campgrounds and small lakes. Hope you are having great weather!

When I'm lying in the bunk of the campervan in a remote location, there's definitely something magical associated with receiving the signals from these distant (and probably also remote) beacons. I know I don't need to explain that kind of magic to you!

I was planning to head up to Silverton. A fellow camper was sending videos and pictures of the free camping locations there, and it looked beautiful. He sent me a video of a moose that was just 20 or 30 feet from their campsite. I had a fuel pump issue though and, by the time it was fixed, decided to head east into Utah instead. I do intend to make it to Silverton one day though.