HFUnderground - User contributions [en]

High Frequency Beacon

2013-04-06T06:09:26Z

Cvsoft: Hexie: Found it tonight, hear it often. W beacon, heard tonight. --kj6psg

[[Image:ColoradoBeaconQSL.png|thumb|right|A QSL card from a High Frequency beacon]]
'''High Frequency Beacon''' is a colloquial term for an unlicensed '''[[radio beacon]]''' that does not follow government regulations for operation (such as [[Part 15]]), and is technically illegal. Unlicensed HF beacons which operate legally, according to rules for low power transmissions are classified as [[HiFER]]s.

==Description==
[[File:PRV-6852-001.jpg|thumb|right|PRV (6852 kHz) under test]]
There are many of these beacons, quite a few are run as propagation experiments. Due to their nature, the exact location of these stations is generally not published, although many are believed to operate from remote locations in the deserts of the southwest USA. Likewise, these stations tend to suddenly appear and disappear from the air. Most run with very low power levels of just hundreds or even tens of milliwatts of power, and are often solar powered, so they can be hidden in open areas. Some are switched via a photocell, so they only operate at night, running off of a battery that is charged during the daytime by a solar panel.

There is a message board where listeners can report reception of beacons, it is also useful to see what other folks are presently hearing:
* [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/board,9.0.html HF Beacon Loggings]

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== Reported High Frequency Beacons ==

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="center"
|- style="background: #E7E7FF"
! Freq (kHz) !! Station ID !! Location !! Operation Notes !! Last reported
|-
| 1654.95 || PRV || Preveza, Greece || Op: SW6HMU, QSL via sw6hmu@yahoo.gr (Source: ndblist). || April 15, 2012
|-
| 2097 || A || Arizona || (15 watts) - 'A' ident or malfunctions as series of dits - 15 watts max., 24/7 [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,6109.0.html] || June 30, 2012
|-
| 3450 || OK || OK || (Source: HF Underground Forum [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,5913.0.html]) ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y5u6KWtJHk Youtube video]) || January 5, 2012
|-
| 3579.7 || || || "HPY NEW YEAR 2010 DE PIRATE BEACON” & dashes. December 28, 2010. (4) || 2010
|-
| 3810 || [[SV1TEST]] || Athens, Greece (KM18VB) || no further info. (Source: [[UDXF]]) ||
|-
| 4056 || dasher || || Reported on March 11, 2011 by bryan24230 ||
|-
| 4062 || C || SW, probably CA || Very drifty, but slow drift, logged form 4052 to 4063. Its morse is not timed correcctly, it is probably sending a C with a short first dah (longer than dit, shorter than dah), but it could be an ER with a long dit, or a TR with a short dah. 24/7 ||
|-
| 4078.14 || WW || Colorado || 300-400 mW Inverted L night time only ||
|-
| 4077.27 || MO || Oklahoma || Solar 200 mW 118ft end fed wire 24/7 ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjw68RO_qTU Youtube video]) ||
|-
| 4079.7 || TMPnnn || SW Arizona || The TEMPERATURE BEACON - Temperature in deg. F. - sends 'TMP' then 2 - 3 digit temp. in CW every 10 seconds. 1 watt [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?topic=6200.0] || March 4, 2012
|-
| 4089 || . || Death Valley N.P. || About 80 dits/minute, 24/7, 500 mW to inv. vee. dipole ||
|-
| 4091 || DM || N. America || No further info (Source: HF Underground Forum) || August 11, 2011
|-
| 4094.2 || PA || Arkansas || Solar power 200 mW Dipole 24/7 ||
|-
|<s> 4094.8</s> || <s>Dasher</s> || WV || <s>Sputnick - 60 dash/min, night only</s> Reported off air September 2009 due to lack of QSLs ||
|-
| 4096 || ......_|| VA || 6 dots 1 dash || March 24, 2012
|-
| 4096.1 || Dasher || Joshua Tree N.P. || 4.5 sec long dashes (about 13 dashes per min.) - big signal - north-facing dipole ('Coxie') 24/7 || March 24, 2012
|-
| 4096.25 || Dasher || Joshua Tree N.P. || 1 sec dash (about 30 per min.), 400 mW to inverted vee, 24/7 ('Hexie') [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?topic=6200.0] [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?topic=6199.0] || April 6, 2013
|-
| 4096.6 || Dasher || Mojave Nat. Preserve || 2 sec. dash (about 16 per minute) 400 mW to inverted vee, 24/7 ('Kelsie') [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?topic=6200.0] || March 24, 2012
|-
| 4097.2 || Dasher || Inyo County, CA near DVNP || 55 dashes per minute with chirp when sun is low; day-only, at 5300 ft. elevation ('Inyo-whooper'), inv. vee., 0.5w ||
|-
| 4097.4 || KX || || "KX" ten times, then "TEMP IN F", then the temp (three times) inside the enclosure, then "TEMP OUT F", and the outside temp, again three times. ||
|-
| 4102.3 || W... || s.e. California desert || The WIND BEACON - sends 'W' ident and series of dits - each dit correlating to a turn of its anenometer, so if it is windy in the , it sends lots of dits; and no wind, no dits. || April 6, 2013
|-
| 4194 || MX || Europe || Xtal controlled milliwatt beacon operated occasionally in europe. Sometimes sends straight carrier instead of ID. ||
|-
| 4608 || MXC || Europe || Xtal controlled milliwatt beacon operated occasionally in europe. Sometimes sends straight carrier instead of ID. Sister beacon to MX. ||
|-
| 5157.6 || Dasher || Florida || BLINKY 200 mW Dipole 24/7 ||
|-
| 5484 || SD || San Diego, CA || ||
|-
| 5499.13 || Dasher || WA || ||
|-
| 5678.4 || Dasher || Colorado || PIKE solar/battery 100 mW Dipole 24/7 "Honker" ||
|-
| 6547.0 || PRV || Preveza, Greece || Op: SW6HMU, QSL via sw6hmu@yahoo.gr (Source: [[UDXF]]). Also reported on 6852.1 || January 22, 2012
|-
| 6549.3 || FL || Florida || 300 mW Dipole 24/7 ||
|-
| 6626.2 || S || Inyo County, CA, near DVNP || About 60-200 dashes per min., sun-only, ~200 mW ('Rocky') ||
|-
| 6626.4 || Dits || Mojave N.P. || Fast 'drippy' sounding dits about 100/min., sun-only, 1.5 watts ('Rainy') ||
|-
| 6700.4 || Dasher || Joshua N.P. || About 62 dashes per min., 24/7 (Hexy2k) ||
|-
| rowspan=2 | 6815 || [[SV1TEST]] || Athens, Greece (KM18VB) || Active 2010-2011, no further info. (Source: [[UDXF]]) ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHHzK-nKO3Y Youtube video]) ||
|-
| X9Q || S.E. Europe or Middle East || Sporadic operation, no further info. (Source: [[UDXF]]) || April 2012
|-
| rowspan=2 | 6816 || FU || N. America || Active June 2011, no further info. (Source: [[Association of Clandestine Enthusiasts|A*C*E]] [http://www.frn.net/vines/Forum4/HTML/020147.html], [http://www.frn.net/vines/Forum4/HTML/020367.html]) ([http://www.archive.org/download/ShortwavePirateRadio/PirateBeaconFU6815Usb0509z-0513z06-19-11.mp3 MP3 audio recording]) || January 20, 2012
|-
| HA || N. America || Active July 2011, no further info. (Source: [[Association of Clandestine Enthusiasts|A*C*E]] [http://www.frn.net/vines/Forum4/HTML/020192.html], HF Underground Forum [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?topic=4907]) . Sometimes the frequency is reported as "6815 kHz USB". ([http://www.archive.org/download/ShortwavePirateRadio/PirateBeaconHa6815Usb1333z-1335z07-02-11.mp3 MP3 audio recording]) || July 9, 2011
|-
| 6852.1 || PRV || Preveza, Greece || 15 W Op: SW6HMU (Source: [[UDXF]]). (2) (3) Occasionally active with irregular schedule. QSLs via sw6hmu@yahoo.gr Former website [http://6852khz.blogspot.com/] closed. Reported also on 6547.0 and 1654.95 kHz || April 24, 2012
|-
| 6900 || Beeper || || 0.5 sec beeps approx 1/sec (Source: HF Underground Forum [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?topic=5415.0]) || October 12, 2011
|-
| 6947.1 || 13 dits and 1 dah || || No further info (Source: HF Underground Forum [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,5377.0.html]) || October 24, 2011
|-
| 6961 || TR || Mojave desert, CA || (Source: HF Underground Forum [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,5339.0.html]) || October 23, 2011
|-
| 6994.8 || - || Norfolk, UK (JO02) || "RRR RRR RRR UK BEACON PROJECT 0.8E 52.8N 0.1 WATTS RRR RRR RRR REPORTS TO UKBEACON _ GMAIL.COM" (Source: [[UDXF]]) || 2011
|-
| 7542 || 55555 || W Europe or NE USA || (Source: [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php?topic=6447.0], N&O-173(5), [[UDXF]]) || March 1, 2012
|-
| 8001.5 || S || S.W. Arizona || sun-only, 1 watt. strong signal daytimes. Recently reported on 8000.6 kHz (Source: [[UDXF]]). || 2011
|-
| 8003 || Dasher || Colorado || Solar/battery dipole 24/7 "Pike 78" 78 dashes/min ||
|-
| 8193.8 || || || (Source: HF Underground Forum [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,3819.0.html]) || October 23, 2011
|-
| 8211.7 || OR || || ||
|-
| 8261 || F || Western Canada || 250mW into a 1/2 wave inverted vee, 1400-0500 ||
|-
| 8350 || Dasher || North Carolina || (Source: HF Underground Forum [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,5930.0.html]) || December 31, 2011
|-
| 8497.7 || Dasher || || Pike 26 26 dashes/min ||
|-
| 8519.7 || (dasher) || N. America || Active August 2011, no further info. (Source: HF Underground Forum) || August 10, 2011
|-
| 10236.7 || Dasher || FL || ||
|-
| 11002.7 || CO || Colorado || Solar battery 300 mW dipole 24/7 ||
|-
| 11009.9 || S || ? || Discovered at 1032 UTC on 2011-03-26 in Australia (1) ||
|-
| 11428 || CZ || ? || (Source: HF Underground Forum [http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,5961.0.html]) || January 3, 2012
|-
| 13168.1 || dasher || N. America || No further info. (Source: [[UDXF]], June 2011) ||
|-
|<s> 26600</s> || <s>Dasher</s> || || Obliterated by lightning in June 2010. Replacement is in the works. ||
|}

==See also==
[[Image:69BY-beacon.jpg|thumb|right|27 MHz beacon 69BY in Costa Rica]]
* [[Pictures of high frequency beacons]]
* [[HiFER]]
* [[PHFER Beacon Madness]] - A glimpse into the Pathology and Symptoms of this Disease
* [[Radio propagation beacon]] - beacons with an official license

==References==
# Ary Boender: "Numbers and Oddities", issue 162, March 2011, pp. 17
# Ary Boender: "Numbers and Oddities", issue 156, September 2010, pp. 15-16
# "PRV" was often reported during the past few months and was unid until Linkz submitted a link to websites about this station. Linkz writes: ''I have no idea if this station is legit or a pirate. It's operator is Eystathios Karastathis (SW6HMU) from Preveza, Greece. He writes on his blog "PRV - 6852 kHz 15w cw BEACON with Dipole Ant on the air 17.30 pm- 8.00 am". According to his blog there is also a MF beacon "PRV beacon 500-531 khz am/cw 400 Watt" and a local AM broadcasting station "Studio 421" on 1655 kHz”''. This beacon was last reported to [[UDXF]] on December 31, 2011.
# Ary Boender: "Numbers and Oddities", issue 159, December 2010, pp. 23.
# Ary Boender: "Numbers and Oddities", issue 173, February 2012, pp. 29.

== External Links ==

*[http://highfrequencybeaconsociety.bravehost.com/ High Frequency Beacon Society]: inactive


[[Category:Beacons]]

Ernst Krenkel

2010-11-02T04:23:50Z

Cvsoft:

[[Image:E T Krenkel.jpg|thumb|right|Stamp depicting Ernst Krenkel]]
[[Image:RAEM-QSL.jpg|thumb|right|RAEM QSL card]]
'''Ernst Teodorovich Krenkel''', callsign '''RAEM''' (Эрнст Теодо́рович Кре́нкель) (1903-1971) was a Soviet Arctic explorer, doctor of geographical sciences (1938), Chairman of the USSR Central Radio Club and Hero of the Soviet Union (1938).

In 1924–1925 and 1927–1938, Ernst Krenkel was a radioman on polar stations ''Matochkin Shar'' (1924–1925, 1927–1928), ''Tikhaya Bay'' (1929–1930), ''Cape Olovyanniy'' (1935–1936), and ''Domashniy Island'' (1936). He took part in Arctic expeditions on the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin airship (1931), icebreaker ''Sibiryakov'', steamship SS ''Chelyuskin'' (1933–1934). Ernst Krenkel was also a radioman on the first drifting ice station ''North Pole'' in 1937–1938. He is known to have set a world record by establishing a long-distance radio communication between Franz Josef Land and Antarctica.

In 1938, Ernst Krenkel went on to work for Glavsevmorput. Later in his life he was employed in the radio industry. In 1948 and until the end of the Stalinist period, Krenkel was persecuted by the Soviet regime, under the orders of G.M. Malenkov. In 1951 Krenkel was hired by the scientific research institute of hydrometeorological instrument-making, becoming its director in 1969.

Krenkel was a very active radio amateur. He was assigned the exceptional [[amateur radio]] callsign '''RAEM''', which was previously the radio callsign of his former ship SS ''Chelyuskin'', lost in the Arctic Ocean in 1934. He served as chairman of the Central Radio Club (P.O.Box 88, Moscow) for a number of years.

Ernst Krenkel was awarded two Orders of Lenin, three other orders and several medals. He authored memoirs named ''My Callsign is RAEM'' ("Мои позывные — RAEM"). Ernst Krenkel died in 1971 and was interred at the Novodevichy Cemetery. A street in Moscow bears Krenkel's name.

==References==
# Alf Lindgren SM5IQ: ''Ernst Krenkel -- no ordinary radio amateur'' [http://goto.glocalnet.net/sm5iq/raemeng.html], 2002.
# Ernst Krenkel: ''My Callsign is RAEM'', 1939.

{{CC-BY-SA-WP}}

[[Category:People]]

High Frequency Beacon

2010-10-26T03:05:13Z

Cvsoft: /* Reported High Frequency Beacons */ Add ......_ as VA state

User:Cvsoft

2010-10-14T03:24:01Z

Cvsoft:

Brandon
I am a high school student, going to Foothill Tech (go dragons!), and I am getting my license in Novenber 2010.

I am currently a SWL, and aiming for a Technician license.
Links:
[http://www.qrz.com QRZ][http://www.spynumbers.com Spynumbers] [http://www.foothilltech.org Foothill Technology HS]

User:Cvsoft

2010-10-14T03:23:19Z

Cvsoft: New page: Brandon I am a high school student, going to Foothill Tech (go dragons!), and I am getting my license in Novenber 2010. I am currently a SWL, and aiming for a Technician license. Links...

Brandon
I am a high school student, going to Foothill Tech (go dragons!), and I am getting my license in Novenber 2010.

I am currently a SWL, and aiming for a Technician license.
Links:
[http://www.qrz.com QRZ][http://www.spynumbers.com Spynumbers] [Http://www.foothilltech.org Foothill Technology HS]