10 METER PROPAGATION BEACON
K5DZE CURRENT BEACON STATUS IS
Click here to see the current
The K5DZE/B 10 Meter QRP Beacon operates on 28.2415 MHz ~ 20-24 hours daily (it's off when I am operating on the air). It transmits a CW signal at 16 WPM with the following ID: K5DZE/B K5DZE/B EM78qs KY KY This beacon is provided as an aid to check 28 MHz propagation .
RIG: Here are the equipment details concerning K5DZE/B:
XMTR: HTX-100
PWR: 3 watts max
FREQ: 28.2415 MHz
KEYER: (ID-O-MATIC by N0XAS) Set to key the beacon every 4 seconds.
ANT: An 80-6 meter 284 ft (86.56m ) Horizontal Loop antenna at 30 ft (13m) tuned with an MFJ-901B tuner.
QSL: Any beacon reception report is very much appreciated via snail mail or as an email to MY CALL at ARRL DOT NET.
(If you would like a Beacon QSL card as shown below, please let me know and I will send one right out to you.)
(Click these thumbnail pictures to enlarge)
Fig 1 Fig 2
1. The HTX-100 based Beacon installation tucked under my operating position.
2. N0XAS ID-O-Matic Auto Keyer in a custom box
A muffin fan suspended on a stiff wire frame over the cooling fins at the back of the radio keeps the HTX-100 cool even during 24-7 QRP operation.
The 7 amp Astron supply on the shelf under HTX-100 runs the beacon.
THE WORLD OF 10 METER CW BEACONS - Probably not well known to a great many Amateur Operators, particularly to newer Hams, is the fact that unattended low-power Beacons are permitted by the FCC and many other countries on certain frequencies. The primary purpose of these beacons is to provide signals from various locations to show when propagation will support DX communications.
To easily explain the need for beacons, have you ever tuned across 10 meters and heard nothing only to change bands to look for signals elsewhere? Sure you have...we all have. Well if you think about it, what if everyone just listened without transmitting and then switched to 20 meters thinking the band was not open? We could easily tune across the band and hearing no signals we would QSY when in fact the band was really open! This where the low power 10 meter CW Beacons comes in.
Running unattended in the 10 meter Beacon Sub-Band either part-time or 24/7 and signing a CW call sign with a grid locator QTH signal, these little beacons provide a marker signal that allows other operators to tune to these known freqs to see if the band is open and if so, into or from what area. If you don't copy CW very well or maybe not at all, remember these signals are automatically sent and continually repeated. Most speeds are moderate and you can listen to them over and over till you get all the info correctly. (Very slow CW is not common since QSB (signal fade) can cause you to repeatedly miss part of the signal over and over as it fades in/out, while a moderate to fast speed lets you catch all of the callsign as the QSB is on the upswing.)
There is no standard agreed upon Beacon message format so you will hear a wide variety of information being sent by beacon operators. It seems that the beacon callsign sent two or three times, followed by the grid locator and/or state of origin with a short break before repeating the string is a common and efficient format. Many beacon operators put a "/B" after their station callsign to indicate that the signal is a BEACON transmission. Other operators send a "/Beacon" or "/BCN" to indicate a beacon transmission, and some simply send their regular callsign. You will find that the "/B" is probably the most common ID. Since QSB is so common on 10 meters, a long message or sending a callsign just once followed by a lot of other info can make a beacon difficult to copy unless the listener wants to listen to numerous repeats. Some operators who listen for beacons have commented that they just won't spend 3 or 4 minutes trying to copy a beacon callsign that uses a long and/or slow message format when QSB is heavy, so it actually can defeat the purpose of their beacon. The callsign is critical information, so it should be sent at least twice. With today's QRZ.com and other similar web pages, station details like address, rig, power, antenna, QSL info, etc., can be posted there rather than putting all this as part of the beacon message.
Using a grid locator such as EM78qs along with a Grid Locator map (http://f6fvy.free.fr/qthLocator/fullScreen.php or http://no.nonsense.ee/qthmap/ will show the listener exactly where the beacon is located. You can obtain your personal Grid Locator at: http://www.levinecentral.com/ham/grid_square.php. Simply plug in your callsign and bingo, you have your 6 digit locator!
A shorter, moderate speed on-the-air format makes for a much more efficient beacon ID. Still, you can set up and use any format you like.
You may think that small low-powered rigs would not provide much of a signal to let us spot an open band, but it is a common knowledge to those familiar with 10 meters, that when the band is really open, you can work all over the world on very little power and only a modest antenna. Most 10 meter Beacons run no more than 5 watts, with many running 1-2 watts and some even running just a fraction of a watt! (You will be surprised at well you can copy these flea power rigs!) Low power makes for an efficient, cost effective, and cool running beacon station.
Often you can go to www.QRZ.com and plug in the call sign of a beacon (without the /B) to look up the station info and find he/she has a website with additional beacon information. (I also have some of these sites listed below). By visiting a beacon website, you may see a picture of the beacon you just heard while you get QSL or email info to confirm your reception.
With this brief background in mind, what follows below is a description of my 10 Meter Beacon along with more information on how this all works, what gear can be used, and how you can even participate either with a Beacon of your own or just better use the existing beacons on 10 meters.
If you hear my Beacon on 10 meters, please drop me a snail mail or email (QSL report. I will look forward to hearing from you and will reply with a QSL or email in kind or as you request!
QTH: My beacon is located at EM78qs. Mailing address is Dry Ridge, Kentucky, but I am actually located closer to Crittenden, Kentucky... I am ~ 34 miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio and 40 miles north of Lexington, Kentucky.
(Click for full size)
QSL: I QSL for all cards received...no SASE required. I also appreciate and reply to email beacon reception reports. I will be glad to send a snail mail QSL for all email reports received if the sender simply requests a card QSL, otherwise I email a QSL back to the sender. My mailing address is on QRZ.com and email is also noted below. Most beacon ops (including me!), really like to know if their beacon is getting out and to where, so please drop us an email or a QSL when you copy one. If you hear my beacon or another beacon for the first time after weeks or months of general scanning of the beacon band, it might be this is an indication that conditions are improving, so see what you all you can catch. Don't forget to check the rest of the band (PSK, SSB, etc) for openings too!
For 
use
MY CALL at ARRL dot NET
BEACON FREQS: The U.S. 10 meter “Beacon Band” (common terminology) is actually a range of frequencies running from 28.200 to 28.300 MHz, although you can hear some non- U.S. Amateur Radio beacons down perhaps to 28.165 MHz or lower. The purpose of all these beacons is to help operators world wide determine if the band is open and if so, to where. Beacons often identify their location by a grid designator such as EM78 with a few giving an even more specific location such as EM78qs.
Since deep QSB is often a factor in copying a beacon, a little faster, shorter message is usually easier to copy than a slower, longer message. My beacon operates at 16 wpm for this reason. Also, by always sending my call two times it can help you overcome the QSB a bit better. The message is very short and easy to pick up again if you miss any of it.
By FCC Regulation, amateur beacons from 28 MHz up can be 'unattended'. (Other HF bands are okay for beacons, but must have a control operator present when they are on the air.) I monitor my beacon daily.
NOTE: A world wide system of automated beacons is supported under the NCDXF Beacon Project. For more information on these beacons, go to there web site at: http://www.ncdxf.org/beacons.html .
While 6 meters is often called “the magic band”, I have found 10 meters to also be very “magical” in its own right. When 10 meters 'really opens' you can talk all over the world with very little power and fairly simple antennas. Copying a CW beacon running 1/2 watt or less is not uncommon. The key to good communication on 10 meters is to know when the band is open. Many amateurs tune across 10 meters, but hear nothing so they assume the frequency won't support communication and they leave to find more activity on another band. However, if no one transmits and we all are just listening, then the band will indeed sound ‘dead’ when it may in fact be 'open'. This is where the 10m Beacon comes in. There are several hundred beacons operating all over the world to help everyone know when these openings take place and in which directions the band will support your QSOs. If you copy a beacon signal coming in from a specific area, fire up your 10 meter rig on your favorite mode and get on the air to see if you can make a contact into that area. You might be pleasantly surprised!
A great deal of the time at this period of the solar cycle, the band does indeed appear mostly 'dead', but openings do occur and often and these can provide good QSOs and a lot of fun if you can catch the opening. The QRP beacons are particularly fun to catch. A good time to listen is around sunrise and sunset. This is known as The Gray Line period, but the band can open at any time.
To see where the Gray Line is right now, go to: http://bavard.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Earth/action?opt=-p
If you are interested in setting up your own beacon, first of all do your homework. Listen to the beacon band often and visit as many beacon websites as you can. Look over my list of beacon website/pages listed below and see how other Amateurs have set up their beacons. Simple courtesy dictates that you don't want to QRM someone else, plus what good is a beacon parked on top of another beacon? Drop a note of coordination to the IARU Region 2 HF Beacon Coordinator, Bill WJ5O, and tell him you would like to set up a beacon and you are requesting a 'coordinated' frequency. WJ5O doesn't "grant" beacon freqs, but he helps everyone avoid beacon traffic jams and QRM plus it gets your beacon on his Beacon List to let everyone know when you are up and running! Again, see his site for more info. http://userpages.troycable.net/~wj5o
(HTX-100)
BEACON RIGS: Rigs used for continuous beacon work can be a simple homebrew 10 meter CW transmitter, a modified CB rig, or one of the various 10 meter only CW/SSB/AM rigs available at Hamfests or eBay. Amateurs seem to be divided about 50-50 between modified CB rigs and 10 meter Amateur transceivers. I personally like the Radio Shack HTX-100 10m SSB/CW rig for beacon work. (I purchased this rig used for beacon use and it has been almost 24/7 running for several years.) These nice little transceivers make great beacons and as well as nice little 10 meter mobile rigs. However, the absolute best rig is... whatever works for you!
The four rigs and the beacon keyer shown below are examples of what you might do. The first one is the converted CB rig beacon of well known beacon op, WJ5O. The second photo is a converted CB pager operating as a QRP beacon for K5DDR (this beacon is now QRT). The last two photos show my personal beacon set up from a couple of years back and also the current beacon set up. Both of my installations used an HTX-100 obtained from eBay. The beacon in the 3d picture has the beacon keyer built in a cassette tape box which you can see sitting on top of the transceiver. Also note the cooling fan that I placed over the heat sink on the radio (back right top corner) to insure an absolutely cool running transmitter. The little 12vdc muffin fan is just suspended over the rig's heat sink using hard drawn aluminum wire as a support frame. The 4th picture shows my current beacon set up. The last picture (#5) shows the same keyer that was in a cassette box now mounted in a much larger project box for easy viewing and easy access to buttons and switches as I reach under my present regular operating desk.
(Click pictures for full size view)
There are a number of devices on the market that will key your 10 meter rig automatically to make it "Beacon". To key my transmitter, I use is the ID-O-MATIC by N0XAS of Ham Gadgets.com. There you can check out the latest version of this neat keying device. The little PCB and parts are very easy to assemble in about 20-30 minutes. You can program it with a Windows terminal emulation program such as Win XP Hyperterminal, etc. N0XAS also offers the PICOKEYER PLUS KIT which can do the job nicely as well as being a great keyer. This unit has the advantage of being able to quickly record a message change by using a key/bug/paddle to change the message for any special event or special occasion. Should you need help, Dale, N0XAS, is available by email to answer your questions. When you are finished wiring up either or these 'Gadgets', just add power and plug it into your rig's key jack and you should be up and running. Oh yeah, the price is right too!
The 10 meter band has had somewhat poor propagation for the last couple of years but conditions seem to be improving a little. The positive side is that right now there is still a lot of 10 meter gear on the market at good prices since some folks don't want gear they feel they can't immediately use. As 10 meters begins to improve, so too will equipment prices surely climb. Now is a good time to assemble your 10 meter home station, your beacon, and/or a 10m mobile rig. There are a several 10 meter rigs that make excellent single band mobile rigs. These are as easy to install and take up no more room in your vehicle than a one piece 2 meter rig, but these rigs let you catch band openings to work DX from the car as well as letting you check your own beacon and other beacons anytime you are out and about.
Used 10m equipment such as a Radio Shack HTX-100 or the RCI-2950 are easy to find and either of these rigs make an excellent beacon and/or 10 meter HF mobile rig at a reasonable price. Watch eBay and the other Amateurs Classified On-Line ads like www.QTH.com for such gear and shop carefully to get a good rig for your beacon and your car. One tip... be cautious of eBay sales with "sold as is...no return" clauses. This makes it easy to get stuck with a dead rig for which you have no recourse. Look for a Ham seller who says "good rig...works well...guaranteed not DOA."
For continuous use as a beacon, the advice from many of those who have been doing this for a long time is to crank the power down to 3 or 4 watts and consider using a simple muffin fan from an old computer to help the rig and power supply stay cool and last a long time. Some rigs have run around the clock 24/7 for YEARS without failing! Talk about getting your money's worth! I would add to this that you should tune your beacon antenna for optimum performance on the beacon frequency you select. Since your beacon transmitter transmits on just one frequency, you can cut and tune your beacon antenna for exactly where you want to park.
A vertically polarized antenna is probably the best approach for a beacon antenna so you will have Omni-directional coverage. However, beacons can also be a neat way to check out some different antenna set ups since you can run the test antenna for 30 days or more non-stop to see how it works out! I currently use my main station 80m-6m horizontal Loop antenna for my beacon operation just out of pure convenience. It is used on the beacon anytime I am not on the Ham bands, listening on LF/HF, or scanning 10m for other beacons. An antenna switch allows me to quickly switch the main station Loop antenna between my HTX-100 Beacon transmitter, my 10m RCI-2985DX, the FT-817ND, the Ten Tec R4020, or the Icom R-71A.
The other rig I use on 10m is a Ranger Communications RCI-2985DX which is a rig built specifically for 12m and 10m operation. Unfortunately, many of these units seem to wind up in illegal CB operation, but they make great dedicated 10m rigs if you can find one at a good price. I don't use my 2985 as a beacon, although it could work for that. Instead, I use it to sometimes scan the 10m Beacon band or to monitor select 10m frequencies. When 10m opens up, it also makes a nice dedicated 1-25 watt 10m SSB/CW/FM rig.
RCI-2985DX
KEEP A BEACON LOG: It’s a good idea to keep a log of what beacons you hear. You may decide later to see how many beacons you have copied or someone may ask if anyone has copied such and such a beacon and a simple log sheet makes it easy to go back and check to see who, what, when and where. To do this, you might use your computer to keep a log, or use a log sheet designed and printed out for just what you need and just as you want to log it. I like spaces for the Time/Date to be noted first, followed by the Call Sign, Beacon Frequency, and Signal Report and sometimes a check box for QSL Sent Y/N. You can add additional information as to Rcvr/Ant, Notes/Condx if you wish to maintain this information as well. This is a little different from a regular Ham Log, but it will help you find out if you have heard that station before by quickly referencing the frequency first and then looking at the call sign. You can use your computer to make your log format up however you want it to read, but what is important is to have the information.
There is also an nice HF Beacon Reflector used by Beacon Operators to send log reports to the Beacon community on a 'right now' basis. You can check it out at: http://10mbeacons.com/ .
The WJ5O web site has a most helpful list of active beacons that will help you know who you are hearing and where they are located. Bill keeps this list very current which makes it very reliable. I print a copy each month and keep it by the rig as my Beacon Call Book for fast reference plus I use the online list quite often. Check it out at: www.qsl.net/wj5o/bcn.htm . Incidentally, this list contains 617 coordinated (registered) beacons as of 12 JAN 2012.
LEARN MORE: Are you interested in getting more info about 10 Meter Beacons? I suggest you use your favorite browser and look for “Ten Meter Beacons” or “10 Meter Beacon Station List” or similar subjects on the Internet. There is a world of info and some neat Beacon sites out there and most of them have links to help you find even more beacon sites. Here are just a few links to look over ...
http://userpages.troycable.net/~wj5o
http://www.monitoringtimes.com/MT-10meters.pdf
http://www.ncdxf.org/beacon/beaconSchedule.html
http://10mbeacons.com/beaconkeepers.html
Also check out the MAY 2010 issue of Monitoring Times (Pg 16) for my article, Build Your Own 10 Meter Beacon Station.
10M
BEACON WEBSITE LIST –
A number of 10M Beacon operators maintain websites or web pages describing
their 10M Beacon operations. They welcome visitors to their sites to check out
their beacon activities, so please drop by. The list below is provided for you
so you can check out these sites for such information as the operator may
provide.
Just click
on the call sign to visit their web page.
This list should be current and have no dead links.
If you have a Beacon oriented website/page that you would like added to this list, just drop me an email with your beacon call sign and the website address and I will be glad to post it here. I only post those sites that the owners want me to post.
Read the Regulations on Amateur Beacons
§97.203 Beacon station.
(a) Any amateur station licensed to a holder of a Technician, Technician Plus, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operator license may be a beacon. A holder of a Technician, Technician Plus, 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) Before establishing an automatically controlled beacon in the National Radio Quiet Zone or before changing the transmitting frequency, transmitter power, antenna height or directivity, the station licensee must give written notification thereof to the Interference Office, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box 2, Green Bank, WV 24944.
(1) The notification must include the geographical coordinates of the antenna, antenna ground elevation above mean sea level (AMSL), antenna center of radiation above ground level (AGL), antenna directivity, proposed frequency, type of emission, and transmitter power.
(2) If an objection to the proposed operation is received by the FCC from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, WV, for itself or on behalf of the Naval Research Laboratory at Sugar Grove, Pendleton County, WV, within 20 days from the date of notification, the FCC will consider all aspects of the problem and take whatever action is deemed appropriate.
(f) A beacon must cease transmissions upon notification by an EIC (Engineer-In-Charge) that the station is operating improperly or causing undue interference to other operations. The beacon may not resume transmitting without prior approval of the EIC.
(g) A beacon may transmit one-way communications.
You will find that it’s not hard to set up a beacon station and in doing so you may provide some real assistance to your fellow Amateurs, so why not join in and make this a fun project? Meanwhile, tune around and see what beacons you can hear!
QRZ? - WHO IS ON 10 METERS NOW? To see what beacon stations are currently being heard on 10 Meters, I recommend a visit to the 10 METER SPOTTER PAGE. Here, some operators post what beacon is being heard from where and by whom. It may help you see what areas are coming through and what condition the band is in from various locations.
VISIT A 10M ONLINE RECEIVER - A really neat opportunity available to all listeners and Beacon operators is to tune in to the 10m online SDRweb receiver maintained and made accessible by W5ZA. You can access this 10m receiver at http://75.64.164.140/ any time. Bring up the webpage and tune the receiver via your computer to any beacon frequency on 10m. It utilizes a SoftRock Ensemble II receiver that lets you both 'see' signals by a 'waterfall' display (like PSK31) as you 'hear' the audio coming from your computer. In many cases you can see/hear how your beacon sounds real time in Shreveport, LA where W5ZA is located. You can also hear how the 10m band sounds from Louisiana at any given time. As far as I know, this is the only dedicated 10m Beacon band receiver available on the internet. Thanks to Steve W5ZA for this nice 10m set up!
Lastly, some Beacon Ops call "CQ" or listen on 28.327 USB at the top of each hour when the band is open and beacons are coming through. Please give a listen or give a call when the band is open. I hope this information has been of use to you, and you will join us on 10 Meters as conditions permit! Good luck and good DX!
10-10 # 72596