Wanting to make my station a beacon

[AgentCOPP1]

So I was just thinking that it would be kind of cool if I made my station some sort of beacon preferably on 20 or 40m whenever I'm not using it. I can't really make it a full time beacon but whenever I'm not around it or not using it, I think it might be a good idea. Does anyone have any suggestions to what I could do that would be most helpful to the ham radio community at large? My TS-430s isn't exactly capable of running much above 75% duty cycle for long periods of time at 100 watts unless I can figure out a better cooling system for it. So what would you recommend I do?

By the way, if anyone does have any suggestions as to how I can make my TS-430s more efficient at getting rid of heat from the heat sink, it'd be much appreciated.

 

[AK9R]

There are HF beacons all up and down the bands, but it seems that many of them are on the higher frequencies, such as 10 or 20m. Beacons at those frequencies help people gauge propagation as it usually gets worse the higher you go. Also, most beacons are CW running something less than full power. Again, for propagation testing, a 10 watt beacon is more useful than a 100 watt beacon.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

Okay, that sounds good. I've currently got a CW file on loop on 14.03 at 5 watts just to see if my old radio can handle it. Embarrassingly, it's struggling a little bit to keep the heat off haha, but I don't think it'll get too hot. By the way, tell me if you can hear it. I'm interested to see how well it works.

 

[majoco]

You'll not be very popular with the CW DX boys smack in the middle favourite frequency band.
All I get on 14.030 is a constant carrier centred on 14.0303.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

Ah that wouldn't be me. I didn't have it on when you responded. It's on now. What frequency would you suggest I transmit on (if I even should)?

 

[KG4NEL]

20 meters already has a beacon...14.313

 

[N0IU]

So I was just thinking that it would be kind of cool if I made my station some sort of beacon preferably on 20 or 40m whenever I'm not using it. I can't really make it a full time beacon but whenever I'm not around it or not using it, I think it might be a good idea.

With all due respect (uh oh, now you know you're in trouble!)...

Having a beacon that is on just kind of whenever you feel like it is not going to be very beneficial. There is a lot more to running a beacon station than just setting your radio to transmit a loop of information.

There is already a very well established network of beacon stations all over the world run by the NCDXF (Northern California DX Foundation) in cooperation with the IARU on 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meters. The transmissions from each station are precisely timed so they don't interfere with each other. Within 3 minutes you can get an idea of what propagation is like from 18 points on the face of the earth.

My suggestion? Start reading about their beacon network here: NCDXF/IARU International Beacon Project

 

[nd5y]

What frequency would you suggest I transmit on (if I even should)?

If you have to ask that question then you shouldn't even do it until you read Part 97 and the ARRL and IARU band plans and find out the frequencies where beacon operation is legally allowed and the beacon subbands suggested in the band plans.

 

[k9rzz]

Don't make a part time beacon. What good is that?

"Hmmm ... the band seems open, but I don't hear the XYZ beacon. Is it on?"

 

[zz0468]

I'm going to weigh in with the crowd against a part time beacon. If there's even a need for another HF beacon, there is a right way to do it. Just randomly turning on a cw loop is not the right way. It needs to be part of the NCDXF beacon project that N0IU mentioned. And then, in that case, the TS-430S is probably not the piece of gear to do it with.

Want to do something actually useful? Put up a VHF or UHF (or higher!) beacon. That's where they are needed.

All that being said, you might want to look into WSPRnet. It's a QRP propagation reporting network using WSPR software. The technical requirements (ie frequency stability) may be tighter than the TS-430S is capable of, but it's worth a look.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

I'm going to weigh in with the crowd against a part time beacon. If there's even a need for another HF beacon, there is a right way to do it. Just randomly turning on a cw loop is not the right way. It needs to be part of the NCDXF beacon project that N0IU mentioned. And then, in that case, the TS-430S is probably not the piece of gear to do it with.

Want to do something actually useful? Put up a VHF or UHF (or higher!) beacon. That's where they are needed.

All that being said, you might want to look into WSPRnet. It's a QRP propagation reporting network using WSPR software. The technical requirements (ie frequency stability) may be tighter than the TS-430S is capable of, but it's worth a look.

I was actually just about to respond to my thread about WSPR. I found it a few weeks ago and I've been using it ever since. It's actually exactly what I've been looking for because it gives me a personalized snapshot of what is currently available on the HF bands and how well my signal is getting out. I've been getting good reports (and a few emails surprisingly) so apparently frequency stability isn't much of an issue. It's nice because the duty cycle is very low, 20% depending on what you set the program to, and it works great for just leaving it on for days at a time.

 

[elk2370bruce]

20 meters already has a beacon...14.313

Ah yes! The old channel 19 gang from. .275.