The worth of beacons

[VK4GHZ]

A case in point in that Mt.Mobillan beacon on 2 metres NW from Brisbane, is not representative of the Brisbane area at all from Rockhampton. All it tells us is there is a propagation path to Mt.Mobillan. We should resite the beacon.! These mountain tops are great for REPEATERS and TV Transmitters, but not good for beacons.

I agree that intelligent locations should be employed, but the trouble is, nobody wants a beacon in their own backyard, right?

Have been there, and done that... and I got shot down in flames back in the mid 90's when I was keen to establish a fully remote commandable smart beacon in the outer S/E burbs of Melbourne.
I reflect back on that, and funnily enough, the biggest opponents were people that were rarely active anyway... it was just the thought of it all.

As you get closer to the city, suitable sites do become more difficult to secure, especially at no or low cost.

Anyway, I think you are referring to 2M, and this discussion is about 6M beacons (we're in the 50MHz forum).
Two different kettles of fish.

VK6RSX, VK3SIX, VK8VF, 46.172 and 46.240 were the primary heads-up ice breakers, last cycle.
All the other VK beacons MAY have been heard after contacts were made.
And the point of those other beacons then was?
We already knew the band was open.

Looking at the bigger picture, it didn't really matter to EUs that VK6RSX was miles from anywhere, or 46.172 was 200km from Brisbane.
They served their purpose extremely well as an early warning indicator, and that's what it's all about.

[VK4QB]

Adam ,
I haven't got 2 metres here yet, but that is only an case in point of how the propagation is really an indication that path can be open to one area and not to another. Beacons are good if they are representative of the local ham community , but how we make them so, is obviously a problem, as you pointed out. We may as well site them out in the Simpson desert and wave the flag from there, but whats the good of that to us,the primary users, who need them too.
It's a problem
Brian 4QB

[VK2XV]

G'day All,

Well - I did say in another post elsewhere that my history probably pre-disposes me to disagree with everyone (just what is it with us Steves...)

The following will be most likely to be irritating to all and sundry - but what the heck....

Beacons (IMHO) should be used for propagation study/learning/education only. That is, by all means listen to beacons to get a feel for paths, times, seasons. But not to assist in getting that next GS, instead use your knowledge thus gained to know when it is a good time to CALL.

Leaving the receiver listening for a beacon or beacons and, when heard, then calling is a bit like hunting moose which have flashing lights strapped to their antlers. Or the difference between spotlighting and daylight hunting (info break - I do neither of these...).

It could be argued that beacons reduce the level of activity as there seems to be a miraculous situation where, when a beacon is heard, it just so happens that hordes of operators have just come into their shacks and switched on.

Basically, this gives the impression that the vast majority of operators only want to talk to DX and are not interested in talking to someone across town or a little further. In terms of "populate or perish" this is not, IMHO, a good thing.

Imagine a world with no beacons (including no broadcasters) - golly gosh, then you would have to CALL to know if the band was open. Would that be a bad thing ? Sure - it would make it more difficult to get those certificates - but wouldn't that increase their value ? Yes - I know - openings can be brief and can be missed - so what ? One of the most pleasureable things about fishing is the uncertainty. You never know what you will catch until you drop a line in. How boring (and diminished) it would be if you sat on dry land watching passively for a flashing light on a buoy indicating a fish is nearby, at which point you rowed out, snagged the fish, rowed back and sat passively on dry land again. Even worse if you bragged to your mates about the size of the fish you caught....

And a world without beacons would also have the side-effect of making the observed activity higher (by the hungry spectrum caterpillars...).

Guess I am just hankering for the "good old days", where, if you called and you were heard, you would get a reply. There didn't seem to such a large number of operators just silently lurking for the "big one" as there seems to be now.

I, for one, would not be too fussed if all beacons ("real" or "pretenders") as described here disappeared. But then, I am not a certificate chaser and I can see this would be a bad thing for many.

Just my opinion....

Steve VK2ZTO

[VK4QB]

Steve,
We use beacons as band indicators. The state of electronics today allow us to use these beacons much the same as a buoy on the fishing line, to tell us when the fish are biting. If we delete all the beacons then some of the smart amateurs will key up their rigs as beacons, to do exactly the same as beacons, but locally operated. We have that capability. Why not use it.? Times and technology change. The good old days have sadly gone. BUT the new ones are just as exciting if you know how to enjoy them ?
Anyway, enjoy your day.
Brian 4QB

[VK2XV]

The good old days have sadly gone.

Yes - I am beginning to realise this. It has been a bit of a shock coming back after so many years. It was, in my ignorance, not what I expected.

Anyway - I have created enough "noise" on this forum and I will try and go QRT except for purely technical posts. It will be hard... but I will try.

Steve VK2ZTO

[VK2OMD]

... It has been a bit of a shock coming back after so many years. It was, in my ignorance, not what I expected.
...

Steve, you probably remember ham radio as a moderately vibrant technically based hobby with perhaps a third the licencees of today, one where perhaps most active hams had an interest is some or more of the aspects of radiocommunications, and where people shared and grew from each other.

There has been an active campaign to 'increase the numbers' in the belief that will permit the survival of ham radio, albeit a new ham radio where many of the quintessential elements have been devalued. I haven't heard the latest brags, but in recent years they have been nowhere near the 6000+ new hams per year forecast by the late Ron Smith, and notably, the number of Advanced licencees has declined.

Some of the changes, eg the nonsense on the low HF bands, are probably just reflections of the 'progress' of society and changing values generally rather than local to ham radio.

The hobby is what you make it, seek out people interested in the things in which you are interested and enjoy it. There were fools back when we were licenced, we have forgotten them... so forget today's fools.

In my experience, the best ham radio takes place off-air, but an occasional on-air sortie is important to maintaining the relevance of it all and the practical dimension to what would otherwise become a mainly theoretical pursuit.

Haven't heard you on 144.2 in the mornings yet!

Owen

[VK2XV]

Steve, you probably remember ham radio as a moderately vibrant technically based hobby with perhaps a third the licencees of today, one where perhaps most active hams had an interest is some or more of the aspects of radiocommunications, and where people shared and grew from each other.

Yes - that is what I remember.

There has been an active campaign to 'increase the numbers' in the belief that will permit the survival of ham radio, albeit a new ham radio where many of the quintessential elements have been devalued.

Yes - I am ambivalent about this. But so far I have not noticed any lowering of the tone by our new recruits. In my experience it has been almost exclusively the long-termers who are doing this. I also have noticed that much work and support for activities for clubs have come from the new F-calls. Certainly I am distressed by the number of F-bashers I have heard on air. Sometimes I realise I have no idea how some people's minds work. I guess we are all different mixes of wisdom and predjudices (of course we individually think it is pure wisdom when we are thinking about ourselves...)

Some of the changes, eg the nonsense on the low HF bands, are probably just reflections of the 'progress' of society and changing values generally rather than local to ham radio.

Good observation.

The hobby is what you make it, seek out people interested in the things in which you are interested and enjoy it. There were fools back when we were licenced, we have forgotten them... so forget today's fools.

Wise words.

Haven't heard you on 144.2 in the mornings yet!

Just testing the waters on 2M - no 6M-like beartraps so far....

Actually - a question - would 100W SSB into a 3m boom length 2M armstrong rotated antenna (whatever the gain is for that..) at about 8m high get some contacts, or would I be wasting my time (and money).

Cheers

Steve VK2ZTO

[VK2OMD]

...

Just testing the waters on 2M - no 6M-like beartraps so far....

Actually - a question - would 100W SSB into a 3m boom length 2M armstrong rotated antenna (whatever the gain is for that..) at about 8m high get some contacts, or would I be wasting my time (and money).

Less prima donnas on 2m in my experience than accounts here of modern 6m.

The Aircraft Enhancement (AE) activity is mainly from about 08:00 local to 09:15 local, everyday, on 144.200 USB. I suggest you look for VK2ZT, VK1BG, VK3II (bearings from the logger) around that time, and anyone else you can hear / work. 144.200 is a calling channel, so it is not used for chatting, but short sweet contacts can be completed quicker than organising to QSY. Your pointing for Melbourne will be pretty close to the Canberra direction... so that is convenient for armstrong rotation.

The capability you detailed is quite adequate for AE contacts. (VK1DO gets plenty of AE contacts mobile on the way to work and using a 4 element beam constructed on the reinforcement spar under the plastic canopy on a King Cab vehicle.)

There were quite a few ZL contacts last weekend from up and down. I worked ZL on a handheld (with rubber ducky) from Sydney during the openings in the seventies, don't get too excited now about pointing through granite (Mt Ainslie) to ZL.

Owen

[VK2XV]

Owen,

Hmmm - got me thinking now.

I don't have a granite mountain in the way, but next doors solar pool heater (forming a sheet of water @ 45 degrees) on their roof is like a shield @ 435MHz. Anywhere behind that obstacle wrt to VK2RUW is nil signal until you get over it height-wise (some 7m or so). Conversely 2m off the ground in a position where that obstacle is not obstructing sees a S5 signal.

So instead of mounting a 2M beam on the mast (which would just clear the solar heater), I might try with a simple setup a couple of metres up in the clear (about 40m back from a 50m cliff edge - albeit through trees). We have an Avan there that serve as a second shack. Must think of a story that makes this a good thing...

Anyway - gotta go - must get ready to go out.

Thanks and Cheers

Steve ZTO

[VK2OMD]

...
[*]No, PSK31 is a combination of amplitude modulation and phase modulation and is not covered by any of the three permitted emission types.

The FCC seems to have come to a mind about an ITU emission designator, they use 60H0J2B and 60H0J2D though it is possible one of them is in error, most likely the latter where the 'D' means "Data transmission, telemetry or telecommand" whereas the principle use is 'B' "Telegraphy for automatic reception".

The J2 is an interesting choice as it is influence more by how the signal is often produced rather than the nature of the signal going to air... which is a PSK signal with concurrent amplitude modulation used for bit timing. If you explore its actual spectral content, its true carrier is not suppressed.

Owen

[VK2ZRH]

Getting back to an original theme of the thread . . . the saga of how VK / ZL 6m operators came to work Antarctica is a salutary lesson in the intrinsic worth of beacons.

VK0GR Beacon Casey 1970-71

I was fortunate to work in Antarctica over 1970-early 1971, doing geophysical survey traverses out of Casey. The other ham at Casey that year was VK0GR (ex-VK5GR, SK) and, in return for my refurbishing some 1956-vintage Collins HF gear (KWS-1 Tx and 75A4 Rx) resident at the station, he allowed me use of it as ‘2nd op’.

Encouraged by serial on-air discussions over 40m about VHF propagation with the late Ron Wilkinson VK3AKC, I built a 6m beacon from discarded equipment and a 3-element Yagi from scrap tubing and timber, which went to air over December 1970 to February 1971.

The purpose was to encourage and promote efforts to bridge continental Antarctica and Australia on 6m. It had not been attempted before. Polar paths had been worked on 6m in the northern hemisphere from the very early 1950s (reported in QST). Ron VK3AKC gave the VK0GR beacon some local publicity.

Here’s the circuit, from my notebook of the era.

VK0GR 6m beacon.pdf

Circuit of the original VK0GR beacon.

(3.68 MiB) Downloaded 241 times

The 6AC7 crystal oscillator is a Colpitts circuit relying on grid-cathode capacitance for feedback working in conjunction with the 47 pF across RFC1. The electron-coupled anode output circuit was tuned to 4x the crystal frequency. The only crystal that I could find that multiplied up to 6m was an FT-243 type on 6693 kHz – hence the 53.55 MHz output. Note the conventional screen-grid voltage stabilisation.

The 6L6GB class-C driver stage doubled the 26.7 MHz from the oscillator. The anode tank circuit was link-coupled to the PA input tuned circuit. The PA was half-way across the recycled chassis I used and I couldn’t physically arrange mutual coupling between L2 and L3

The PA used a pair of 6146s in a conventional push-pull class-C arrangement, running under more or less CCS (continuous commercial service) conditions, hence the 50 W output. It was unconditionally stable without drive.

All the coils were designed and built using “by guess and by god” (ie. past experience) from various reels and scraps of wire.

The keyer was a large, circular press-fit metal lid from a tin of some powdered food product, about 250 mm in diameter (IIRC). I carefully measured the centre and drilled a hole to press-fit over the shaft of an electric clock motor that did one rotation per minute. I cut slots from about half the edge of the lid to match the callsign dits and dahs, then used a microswitch (spare part for a rack cabinet door safety switch) mounted to one side to key the transmitter as the lid rotated. The callsign took around 30 seconds to complete; the rest of the period was carrier. Veeery slooow Morse

After returning to Australia in 1971, later in the year I secured a job in the Low Latitude Research Section of IPS, working for Dr Leo McNamara on TEP and other propagation research projects.

I was also involved in a transauroral zone anomalous VHF propagation research program for which IPS built and installed in January 1972 two 100 W 6m beacons at Mawson (VK0MA) and Casey (VK0GR) on the Antarctic mainland. They were maintained for some years. For this program, I installed a 6m Yagi and a receiver-tape recorder system at the Mount Stromlo IPS station near Canberra. IPS publicity encouraged reports from the amateur community.

The 53.1 MHz Casey IPS beacon (VK0GR) was subsequently heard by amateurs in Australia, first on 11 December 1972 in Sydney, by VK2AM – now VK2FLR – a 4500 km path. It was reported in 6UP for March 1973, Vol. 2, No.1, pp 14-15.

Here’s a clip from Mike’s recording of VK0GR.

VK0GR 11 Dec 1972 (VK2FLR).mp3

Clip from recording of VK0GR by VK2FLR 11 Dec 1972

(75.98 KiB) Downloaded 160 times

The effort expended on VK0GR certainly encouraged others to follow suit

The Victorian VHF Group built and licensed a 6m beacon in 1972 for installation on Macquarie Island – VK0WI. It paid off very quickly. Here’s an extract from 6UP for March 1973, Vol. 2, No.1, p.14:

VK0 was worked for the first time on six metres when VK0WI (a beacon constructed by the VK3 VHF group) was heard on Sunday Dec. 10th. [1972] Although the beacon had been heard several times previously, VK0WW [Ron Worden] was alerted via 20 metres and was able to provide an SSB signal on 52.161 MHz for the waiting dogpile. Ron worked VK1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 7 during that opening, all operation was transceive on Ron's frequency, and when he finished VK0ZVS gave the pack another VK0 contact. Operators who worked Macquarie Is. during the first opening were: VK2NN, 2BHO, 3AMK, 3AOT, 3BFG, 3ANP, 2ZNS, 3ASQ, 3ZNJ, 3ZYO, 3BDL, 2DC, 2ZRH, 2ZHF, 7ZNR, 4ZJH, 3AUU, 2AM, 2ZSL, 3AQR/3, 2BDN, 3ZSR, 2HZ and VK3FF/3.

That '2ZRH' in there was not me, but one Roger Hord.

The VK0WI beacon was subsequently heard in Bunbury that month and then on 2 January 1973 in Perth, at 5x3 (same issue of 6UP).

More stories can be found under Working Antarctic islands & continent, here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=637

73, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH

[ZS2FM]

We found that VHF beacons are their worth in gold and without them we would have missed many band openings. For example; Phil FR5DN is now running his beacon on 144,418 MHz USB JT65b First with 1400 Watts horizontal to ZS. It was first copied all along the east coast of South Africa and then worked by a number of ZS stations on SSB, FM and Digital. I have often watched his beacon signal on the WSJT waterfall and when the signal level rises above 0dB then the piccolo tones became audible on SSB. Without this beacon we would never have known that Tropo Ducting existed between Reunion Island and ZS.

ZS6AYE near Nelspruit runs a beacon on 50,070 MHz CW with only 15 Watts into a North/South dipole and Europe hears him regularly via TEP.

73 Mike, ZS2FM

[VK4WDM]

Hi Mike

Interesting to hear about the path between FR and ZS. One could also wonder if there is a 2m path between FR and VK6. I hope the guys over there listen for the FR beacon.

Over here in the Pacific we really need more beacons on the islands because there a lot of them that should be workable on 2m and 70cm from the east coat of VK but without any beacons it is hard to know if the band is open. Getting the beacons set up and maintained is going to be the issue.

73

Wayne VK4WDM

[VK2ZRH]

VK9 / VK2ZTB Cocos (Keeling) Islands 6m Beacon 1972-73

Working for IPS Radio & Space Services from late-1971, an opportunity came up for me to work at the ionospheric station on Cocos (Keeling) Islands for some months from October 1972 while a new station operator was recruited. My job was to restore the ionosonde to working order following the departure of the previous station operator and to prepare the weekly ionospheric data for transmission to IPS HQ in Sydney.

Cocos - beautiful one day, brilliant the next!

I anticipated operating 6m and 2m from Cocos and took a limited amount of partly-built homebrew equipment with me. As the time between being asked to go and actually leaving Sydney for Cocos was two weeks, there was no time to apply for and receive a VK9 callsign

The early-70s was the “overlap era” on VHF, between AM and SSB. So it was that I completed my partly-built 6m AM transmitter. Here’s the circuit of the RF chain, from my notebook of the era.

Cocos (Keeling) Is 6m beacon.pdf

My 6m Cocos Is beacon RF chain.

(95.12 KiB) Downloaded 201 times

As with the VK0GR 6m beacon, the crystal oscillator is a Colpitts circuit using a 6EJ7 high transconductance pentode. This time, the circuit feedback loop didn’t rely on the valve’s internal grid-cathode capacitance, which is inherently small, but a 3-30 pF trimmer, which also served to trim the frequency of the 13 MHz crystal. The electron-coupled anode output circuit was tuned to 4x the crystal frequency, outputting direct on 52.210 MHz.

The oscillator tank circuit and the 6CL6 driver grid circuit used mutually-coupled slug-tuned coils with some added capacitive top-coupling. The driver tank circuit employed a slug-tuned coil that resonated with the 6CL6’s anode-cathode capacitance.

As with the VK0GR beacon, the driver tank circuit was link-coupled to the single 6146B PA input circuit. A convenient arrangement for the centre-tapped air-wound, self-supporting PA input coil. As the PA was single-ended, a pi-coupler output circuit was used as it requires less-stringent voltage ratings on the 30 pF pi-input tuning capacitor. In beacon mode, the 6146B was throttled back to about 30 watts output.

The PA was modulated by a pair of transformer-coupled 6BQ5 pentodes in push-pull Class-B, with 500 volts on the anodes, which was about the tolerable limit.

As you can see, I included metering points all over it

To run it in beacon mode I improvised a voice ident using a loop of reel-to-reel recording tape of suitable length running through a small tape deck and tensioned by means of a roller held at a distance from the deck on a scrap length of wood set at the required height. It was crude but remarkably reliable. The tape ID signed “VK2ZTB portable VK9 Cocos Keeling Islands”.

I installed the beacon at the IPS station, which is a couple of km from the housing settlement. The antenna was a pair of co-phased 4-element coaxial colinears mounted about 13 metres above ground. I noted that the SWR was very dependent on the tide

I ran the beacon from 1 December 1972 through 8 January 1973. During work hours, when circumstances permitted, I would turn it off and tune 6m (using the station’s Eddystone 888 tuneable VHF receiver). The beacon was always left on overnight. On some evenings, I would return to the IPS hut and call CQ.

The exercise proved its worth - here’s an extract from 6UP for March 1973, Vol. 2, No.1, p.15:

On Cocos Island, Roger VK2ZTB, operated a beacon continuously from 1-12-72 to 8-1-73. Running 30 watts output, voice ident on 52.210MHz it was heard in Perth by Danny VK6ZFF on 12-12-72 at about 0700 Perth time.

The Cocos-Perth path is 3000 km. I wasn’t at work as it was 0600 Cocos time

On occasions, I copied the Darwin 6m beacon VK8VF rolling in for hours at 5x7-9+ . . . and no operators on the air

It had to wait for later DXpeditions to Cocos for the path to be bridged on 6m to continental VK.

73, Roger Harrison VK2ZRH (ex-VK2ZTB)

[VK4ABW]

I couldn't find a more suitable folder, so here is the news. VK8VF on 28.209 & 50.309mhz are going QRT. I have heard via several sources that the DARC was given marching orders 12 months ago, but have not found a alternative location for the club and the beacons.
Time of QRT - very shortly.

Gary
VK8AW/ VK4ABW

[ADMIN]

I couldn't find a more suitable folder, so...

Don't forget to manually update the beacon database, when the time comes!
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