[ARC5] Non Directional Beacons

[Mike Morrow]

Ken wrote:

> Last winter, using a refurbished BC-453 connected to a low end-fed wire and despite the 
> noise level, I managed to record over 50 NDBs in only two nights of listening.
>
> One, a Canadian beacon in the far north west corner of NWT, was at least 2500 miles away, 
> and was running only about 50 watts output.
>
> Another was in the Caribbean somewhere.
>
> NDB DX-ing is fun.

That propagation was what helped make listening to the old MF maritime Morse band (410 to 535 kHz) so fascinating.  Signals at night (ship;s MASTER traffic, HYDROLANT/PAC and NAVAREA broadcasts, weather, etc.) coming from ship and coast stations thousands of miles away...and none of it for hobby purposes!  I began using a BC-453-A in 1965 to listen to the interesting activity on this band.  I never lost interest in it.  From 1984 to 1999 (when maritime Morse usage ended) I kept a Kenwood R-600 on a bedside bookshelf always on and at night tuned to 500 kHz.  I miss that band's maritime activity and night-time propagation more than that of any other, including ham bands.

NDBs were once a lot more interesting, with aviation weather and airport advisories running continuously at some beacons.  Fifty years ago, for local weather info I'd tune the BC-453-A to the NDB for Blytheville AFB in Arkansas.

Today, I have a rarely-used R-1134B/WRR-3B 14 to 600 kHz receiver.  That's the same receiver that was used on USS Intrepid CVS-11 for 500 kHz watch when I was on board in 1971, and one was on USS Daniel Boone SSBN-629 when I was on board 1975-79...not often used.  I like it.

I was too late to hear any MF Adcock A-N directional beacon signals.

Mike / KK5F