VK Logger Ham Radio Forum Archive

IMHO, any change that results in a 2m+ beacon having extended periods off air renders it practically useless.

Intermittent operation might be OK for HF and 6m (there's that good old HF-centric mentality at work in the hobby yet again), but various propagation modes occur at all different times of day/season/year on 2m. If cost of running the beacon is a major issue, then at the very least why not investigate solar for at least some of the power budget? And Joe's solution with VK7RAE is also very worthy.

I still think that incorporation of a data mode such as WSPR could provide a whole lot more bang for your beacon buck though, especially when others can see directly online where it's being heard and are then more likely to check it for themselves. Look at the interest Andy VK3YT created with his balloons. And there are plenty of others out there that can put together a relatively cheap and robust package for at least 2m. We are, after all, a TECHNICAL hobby, not the International Luddite Society.

Oh the topic wanders...

To make an impression on the power bill Peter would need to either do some or all of these things for vk3rru:

• Raise efficiency of the transmitter (includes PSU losses)
  Lower the duty cycle of the transmitter
  Decrease the output power of the beacon (small gains to be made here)
  Install some form of grid connected solar (single 280W panels with Micro-inverters are $450 now from Tindo in S.A)

I am a big fan of lowering the duty cycle of the transmitter in the same way that the VK7RAE beacon on 432.474 runs, there the key down time is broken into a series of short 'didles'.

In reality if there is little or no expectation of a beacon being active (transmitting) during the attention span of a human, then it would seem to have missed its target audience. This counts out all the time clocks and remote activation schemes as the type of propogation we as a group chase does not seem to run by any schedule we have access to.

I for one check vk3rru at some unpredictable times as it serves as a great "state of the station" check for me.

Peter (vk3jug) does the local club need some $$$ donations to get the bills paid until an answer is found?

All of these very nice extensions to a beacon cost money to run let alone time . I assume that you would require a computer and internet connection for WSPR operation (VK7JG)

No you dont need a computer to run a WSPR beacon if the beacon is set up just to be a transmit only site. As Alan says below.

If you require TX only, the Ulitmate 3S WSPR kits are interesting. No internet, just a GPS receiver. Without much effort, this holds 1Hz stability. You would require a simple PA made from a RD16HVF1 for 5W. Other Mitsi devices can get other power levels. (VK2EFM)

This is the QRP labs site where u can read about the Ultimate 3S WSPR Kits and GPS modules etc http://www.qrp-labs.com/
Ultimate 3S kits http://www.qrp-labs.com/ultimate3/u3s.html V53ARC is a TX only (1 Watt) WSPR beacon in Namibia running on all bands from 80 to 6m. http://www.nam-arc.org/index.php/en/hom ... con-v53arc

While the QRP Laps WSPR Beacon can be made to operate on 6M, the RF output on 6M is far from clean and requires considerable additional filtering before it would be acceptable - especially if operated at a higher power level. See published test results on the unit.

Here here Igor,

VK6ZFG wrote:While the QRP Laps WSPR Beacon can be made to operate on 6M, the RF output on 6M is far from clean and requires considerable additional filtering before it would be acceptable - especially if operated at a higher power level. See published test results on the unit.

This is some further information I have from Hans G0UPL regarding the Ultimate 3S kit -

Yes. The Ultimate3 QRSS/WSPR kit http://qrp-labs.com/ultimate3/u3s.html can transmit on 2m WSPR (frequency range is amateur bands 2200m to 2m). We only have LPF kits for 2200m to 6m bands, not 2m. But it is easy to modify it for 2m, and there is some info here about the component values to use http://qrp-labs.com/lpfkit.html/#2m . Tor SM6FWF ran 2m WSPR successfully like this, recently, proving the U3S kit is fine on 2m. Using the standard Si5351A Synth (the $29 U3S kit price includes Si5351A Synth and LPF kit).


Additionally you can enable the "extended WSPR" mode, which allows WSPRnet to report your 6-character Maidenhead locator and /P callsign; normally WSPR only reports basic callsigns with no prefix/suffix, and only 4-character Maidenhead locator.

**Would the GPS lock the signal at 2m and keep it stable?


Yes. We have the $20.50 QLG1 GPS kit, it is extremely sensitive, see http://www.qrp-labs.com/qlg1 .


The stability on 2m with the basic Si5351A kit can be made good enough for 0Hz drift reports on WSPR. You could use the QRP Labs OCXO/Si5351A kit ( http://www.qrp-labs.com/ocxokit ) plugged into the U3 kit instead of the Si5351A Synth kit (increases the U3S kit price by $6) but the OCXO kit is quite difficult to assemble and adjust. The basic Si5351A Synth can be made good enough for 0Hz drift reports on WSPR, by:


1) adding a tiny heatsink to the 27MHz crystal, even just a piece of metal glued on etc is fine
2) putting the whole U3S kit in a box, to keep air currents from the crystal
3) Using the Park Mode 2, Park Freq 150MHz configuration helps keep the Si5351A "warm" between transmissions


So unless you relish a good construction challenge (for the OCXO) I would recommend the basic Si5351A kit is good enough with a few simple precautions.

**What output power?


I measure typically 20mW only. An amplifier could be added.

**Can it transmit and also listen and is it able to report to the internet if I have internet available?


The kit is transmit only, it does not receive or report to the internet. I may produce a kit for that in the future! Not the near future, that is quite a challenge to make a kit like that.


Please let me know if any other questions.


73 Hans G0UPL

Update on the ultimate3 beacon build here.
I have it running on 2metres, and can confirm it does lock the tx freq and timing from the gps kit.
It is connected to a minikits 5 watt amplifier (8 watt max) kit and you dont need any attenuation on the input as its only delivering 1 watt out according to the bird.
So, my next step is to add another output transistor to the wspr kit pcb to increase the drive to the minikits amp.
The 2 metre filter is assembled according to the details on the website and i have peaked the coils.
Something worth doing if you have any old fm828 transceivers is to think about gutting one as a driver and PA for use on this type of wspr beacon.
Especially if they are freebies, as the minikits low powered PA is expensive, although reliable.
73 Dave vk2jds

Maybe a separate wspr beacon build and deploy thread is in order?

FM828 PA is an excellent choice, and very easy to modify for this purpose. Simply rip out the early stages of the PA depending on the available input power, add a simple bias circuit and away you go.

I will send you my junk box of 828 Low band PAs we destroyed during the life cycle of VK3RMV.

And matching power supplies.
Last PA was MICOR 100 watts running at 75 and it survived until switch off.

WSPR beacons so much more effective as illustrated last summer.

I thought this theme was about cost not about design.

I am over beacons being a sysop since 1984.

I don't see anyone stepping up to take over VK3RMV so we don't have a VK3 beacon, or do we is VK3RMH on or not??
Its reported but then so was VK3RMV this week

VK3RMH was removed from its original location due to site costs some time ago. The 70cm repeater has been re-located to the NERG clubrooms in Briar Hill and is operational at the present however the location is not the best for such a purpose and will be re-located when possible.

The club is currently awaiting approval operate the equipment from a new site. There is also the likelihood of a 1296MHz bacon operating as well. I am told that the club would also be interested in discussing options for other bands.

Regards
Bernard