Experimental 30 Meter Mobile Beacon

Starting on May 15^th at 1400 GMT (8:00 CDST) the first 30 Meter Mobile Beacon will be on the air at 10.129 MHz on our way to the Dayton Hamvention. We are using a quarter wave trailing wire for the antenna that will be floating behind the vehicle. The beacon will be mounted on the passenger side dashboard and Al Gallo, W0ERE will be the Chief Operator of the Beacon providing up to date grid locations during our travel. “SAP” N0SAP/M, will monitor 18.113 MHz for any live reports heard from the beacon during our travel to and from the Dayton Hamvention. Our return date is May 20^th.

We take Ham Radio in the true sense of being an experimental hobby. We are asking for signal reports by email and/or audio files sent to erecom@hotmail.com.

 

You're going to trail a 25' piece of wire behind the vehicle and let it "float"? I'd strongly suggest you reconsider this as that wire will pose a significant safety risk to anyone behind you, particularly to those on motorcycles and those in open top vehicles.

 

Worked last year. I could hear them coming home from Dayton.

 

What is a "Beacon"?
Part 97 : Sec. 97.203 Beacon station[TABLE="class: normaltxt, width: 100%"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD](a) Any amateur station licensed to a holder of a Technician, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operator license may be a beacon. A holder of a Technician, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operator license may be the control operator of a beacon, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held.(b) A beacon must not concurrently transmit on more than 1 channel in the same amateur service frequency band, from the same station location.
(c) The transmitter power of a beacon must not exceed 100 W.
(d) A beacon may be automatically controlled while it is transmitting on the 28.20–28.30 MHz, 50.06–50.08 MHz, 144.275–144.300 MHz, 222.05–222.06 MHz or 432.300–432.400 MHz segments, or on the 33 cm and shorter wavelength bands.
(e) . . . concerns the national quiet zone, so don't go in there . . .

(f) A beacon must cease transmissions upon notification by a District Director that the station is operating improperly or causing undue interference to other operations. The beacon may not resume transmitting without prior approval of the District Director.
(g) A beacon may transmit one-way communications.
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
It looks to me like 30 Meters (10.100 to 10.150 MHz) is not legal for a beacon.

If you are just doing normal two-way operations, then I refer you to the previous remark about the dangers of a trailing wire.

If you really meant "BACON" on a trailing wire, there will be quite a pile-up. (This is a joke, Folks, but then maybe I shouldn't joke about bacon.)

 

W4YBB,

If it is not an automatically controlled beacon, it can be on 30 meters. It appears that this one will have a control operator.

Bill, WD5HHH

 

[QUOTEIf you really meant "BACON" on a trailing wire, there will be quite a pile-up. (This is a joke, Folks, but then maybe I shouldn't joke about bacon.)[/QUOTE]

I'd prefer Echo link sausage

 

This appears to be true. Just like it was last year. Just like when we all had this same argument...

 

Bill, WD5HHH, thanks for the clarification.
Matthew, KC9UDX, sorry I didn't see the conversation last year so write me off on that part of the topic.

All, so what about the training antenna?
1) I assume no one would be within the 25 feet at highway speed (unless its that 18 wheeler two feet off your bumper).
2) When going slowly or stopped, the risk transfers to the antenna which could get caught and pulled loose.

IMHO, it doesn't sound like a good idea. But it's not my call. Good luck guys.

 

So what do you intend to accomplish with this experiment? Detect Doppler shift of the moving target? What part of the freeway is best for making dx contacts? A chase target for a drone? We all know that the signal can be heard some where. Any way, enjoy your self and your experiment. Let us know of the results and what this will prove.

 

No need to apologise, I understand. The only reason I made my post was in case anyone else wanted to continue to argue for a couple hundred posts.

Incidentally, the trailing antenna bothers me quite a bit, only because I spend a lot of time in a open-top vehicle or on a bike, in the summer. But, I don't know exactly what they are doing. For all I know, they are suspending it from the front of the vehicle somewhere, and pulling a trailer.

 

For the safety of other motorists and pedestrians please mount real antenna on the vehicle. The utter stupidity of some "ham" antenna systems never ceases to amaze and disgust me. If you do go ahead with this stunt please see the hamsexy.com guys at Dayton and make sure they get pictures of your setup because you may also be up for a Darwin award.

 

i think it will be interesting to see how it plays out. although i would like to see photos. i don't know munch about weather it is legal or no.t i would guess they have done there research so it is... although i do not know about the floating part although. as they stop they pull the wire back in i don't see why it would not work i love to see how it plays out.

 

that is what i was thinking. but i do want to see photos of what ever they have set up.

 

Here's last year's thread about this.

http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?391352-Experimental-30-Meter-Mobile-Beacon

 

It's okay, we're hams.