[Lowfer] QRSS BEACON KEYER

[JD]

Thanks, Todd and Warren.  Those are some very good suggestions.  I'd like to 
experiment with all of them eventually, though I think this winter I'll need 
to concentrate on the smallest and least expensive options first for 
logistical and security reasons.

If I'm present on site for operation, I'll have some flexibility, but during 
all-out winter it'll be more of a guerilla operation:  set up the gear on 
the ground in some kind of minimal protective enclosure, make it look as 
inconspicuous as possible, then return before daybreak to collect it--or 
whatever is left of it.  "Small" will help with the inconspicuous part. 
Inexpensive will help if an armadillo decides to investigate a little too 
closely, or a coyote marks it as his territory, or a deer stomps on it in 
mid-gallop.  (There was evidence this spring that a deer collided with one 
of the guy wires in the dark, or else slipped in the mud while trying to 
avoid it at the last second.)

Once I can be in residence out there, beaconing will be a lot simpler. :-)

John