Beacon

[N9OGL]

Wanting to set up a beacon and I was wonder want band would be good to set it on??

[kg4kww]

I vote for 2m and 432.

Think Downeast Microwave sells beacons.

[N9OGL]

I've got the beacon ready, I just need to find a frequency/band. I don't have any 440 equipment, but my Icom 746 does do HF, 6 Meters and 2 meters all mode

73
Todd N9OGL

[kg4kww]

Where did you get the beacon from and how much did it set you back?

Just curious.

[N9OGL]

I'm using an iMac G5 connected to a homebrew interface which keys the radio up, which is Vox. I have a simillar interface hooked to a part 15 homebrew radio on 13.556.0 Mhz.

[kg4kww]

cool.

If you decide on 2m, I would suggest 144.300. There are not to many beacons on that freq. Most are between 144.280 and 144.295. So, 144.300 would be a fairly clear freq.

[N9OGL]

yeah, it's cheap but it works.

Todd N9OGL

[KA9WCL]

Well as I see it 10 meters would be a good place to start out. As I can see you are new at this . 10 meters will get your feet wet and have some fun. Start out at low power. Good luck and most of all have Fun.:blush:

[n7bui]

Quote[/b] (N9OGL @ Aug. 04 2006,20:12)]Wanting to set up a beacon and I was wonder want band would be good to set it on??
I mostly lurk on QRZ but beacons have been kind of an interest for me in the past. I was surprised to see that according to part 97 regs (97.203) that the rules are very light considering its a one-way transmission. The only real rule seems to be one beacon per band. And the beacon can be up to 100 watts with auto-control! I was wondering what to do with that extra FT-817 sitting on the shelf.

[k0cmh]

10 meters can be very simple to set up on. Most of the 10 meter beacons are 5 watts, some 10 watts, not many above that.

I found an interesting article on the internet, at the Four State QRP Club web site, on how to convert old CB radios into 10 meter beacons.

[W2BBQ]

You are going to tie up an Icom 746 to operate a beacon? Could ya loan a deserving needy fellow ham some big bucks to improve his station buddy? Seems like you have plenty to go around http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[ab8ro]

Quote[/b] (w2bbq @ Aug. 07 2006,17:48)]You are going to tie up an Icom 746 to operate a beacon? #Could ya loan a deserving needy fellow ham some big bucks to improve his station buddy? Seems like you have plenty to go around http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
And an EXTRA 817 too!

[w8cbc]

I'd vote for 6 metres, say at 50070 kc. 10 has 'em everywhere but I've heard very few in 6 and most of those are clustered at the bottom of the beacon sub (50060-50080)..

[k8jd]

We need some beacons on 160M. Way too many on 10M and I'm sure the vhf and uhf bands are cluttered up with them already!

[k8jd]

I wonder if you will be moving to Tonga or Fiji or some exotic QTH. Illinois is hardly the place that needs another beacon!

[ab8ro]

Quote[/b] (k8jd @ Aug. 07 2006,20:49)]I wonder if you will be moving to Tonga or Fiji or some exotic QTH. Illinois is hardly the place that needs another beacon!
There was a pretty good discussion on a website that I linked to in another beacon thread. It discussed what makes a good beacon. Location was a key consideration.

But an even more important consideration is whether or not the beacon is actually useful. In the author's opinion useful beacons are those which are stable and up for years. They are the kind that people can rely on to check propagation.

I could be wrong, but I doubt someone is going to commit a recent model radio to beacon service for years. We all have to start somewhere and we all are allowed to setup beacons, but, is it really responsible to clutter the beacon segments with another temporary beacon that might be masking more useful weaker beacons?

I think you should ask yourself why you're setting up a beacon and if your reasons are congruent with why we're allowed to set them up. I personally don't think that it's very responsible to put up a powerful beacon in a crowded area without some serious thought about whether it will be useful as well as a proper attempt at coordination. If you want to just experiment with formats or give SWL a reason to request your QSL card then setup a microwatt beacon.

Counterpoint?

[n9vo]

Quote[/b] (ab8ro @ Aug. 08 2006,22:03)]Quote[/b] (k8jd @ Aug. 07 2006,20:49)]I wonder if you will be moving to Tonga or Fiji or some exotic QTH. Illinois is hardly the place that needs another beacon!
There was a pretty good discussion on a website that I linked to in another beacon thread. It discussed what makes a good beacon. Location was a key consideration.

But an even more important consideration is whether or not the beacon is actually useful. In the author's opinion useful beacons are those which are stable and up for years. They are the kind that people can rely on to check propagation.

I could be wrong, but I doubt someone is going to commit a recent model radio to beacon service for years. We all have to start somewhere and we all are allowed to setup beacons, but, is it really responsible to clutter the beacon segments with another temporary beacon that might be masking more useful weaker beacons?

I think you should ask yourself why you're setting up a beacon and if your reasons are congruent with why we're allowed to set them up. I personally don't think that it's very responsible to put up a powerful beacon in a crowded area without some serious thought about whether it will be useful as well as a proper attempt at coordination. If you want to just experiment with formats or give SWL a reason to request your QSL card then setup a microwatt beacon.

Counterpoint?
Good question Todd. Why?

[N9OGL]

Quote[/b] (w2bbq @ Aug. 08 2006,16:48)]You are going to tie up an Icom 746 to operate a beacon? #Could ya loan a deserving needy fellow ham some big bucks to improve his station buddy? Seems like you have plenty to go around http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
No, the 746 is right now being used to monitor my little low power broadcast station on 13.556.00 Mhz. If anything I've got some single band radio's for the beacon. I have a few 6 meter transmitters and a couple of 2 meters and 10 meter transmitters I could use.

Todd N9OGL