VK3RMH 6m beacon tests
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 2:17 pm
The VK3RMH 6m beacon is currently being tested at my QTH on 50.295MHz, 10 watts, Horizontal folded dipole radiating North and south from Watsonia.
After an extended period off-air, we are planning on instating the beacon at Kangaroo Ground, 28km N/E Melbourne, not far from the original Wattle Glen site.
Note the WIA beacon coordinator has suggested a new frequency (50.432MHz) and this has already been published in the WIA beacon listing. However I have not yet followed the long and costly process of getting the new frequency assignment through the WIA and ACMA.
If there is enough interest then we may be able to activate 50.432 on an intermittent supervised basis while I am at home (which during Covid-19 restrictions would be 99% of the time...).
P.S. Sadly the 10 m beacon , also at Kangaroo Ground, failed beyond repair earlier in the year. A new beacon has been constructed but needs more work to clean up the CW keying envelope (those ZLPLL boards may be great for frequency stability, but the hard on-off keying produces key clicks that splatter half the band !! I guess they are really intended for milliwatt beacons where the key clicks and other spurie will be buried in the noise.).
73, Mark VK3BYY
North East Radio Group, Inc.
www.nerg.asn.au
After an extended period off-air, we are planning on instating the beacon at Kangaroo Ground, 28km N/E Melbourne, not far from the original Wattle Glen site.
Note the WIA beacon coordinator has suggested a new frequency (50.432MHz) and this has already been published in the WIA beacon listing. However I have not yet followed the long and costly process of getting the new frequency assignment through the WIA and ACMA.
If there is enough interest then we may be able to activate 50.432 on an intermittent supervised basis while I am at home (which during Covid-19 restrictions would be 99% of the time...).
P.S. Sadly the 10 m beacon , also at Kangaroo Ground, failed beyond repair earlier in the year. A new beacon has been constructed but needs more work to clean up the CW keying envelope (those ZLPLL boards may be great for frequency stability, but the hard on-off keying produces key clicks that splatter half the band !! I guess they are really intended for milliwatt beacons where the key clicks and other spurie will be buried in the noise.).
73, Mark VK3BYY
North East Radio Group, Inc.
www.nerg.asn.au