[Lowfer] LF Beacons - 2

[Garry and Linda Hess]

John,

Sorry about that pathetic slash code display! Not sure what's going on 
but apparently the "resting" voltage that should be steady around 2.5 
Vdc for the 5Vdc OCXO is wandering around, even though it comes via a 
pot and regulated 5 Vdc. The OCXO frequency pulling range is from near 
zero volts to near 5 volts and if the starting point drifts too low then 
the dashes disappear. The problem isn't caused by sun/shade (it's been 
cloudy/rainy here ever since the beacon started up) and the temperature 
hasn't varied much so it's hard to believe that the cheap low-gain op 
amps are causing the problem with their drifting offsets. I'll visit the 
site on Saturday to see what's going on.

For what it's worth, I monitored 185.185 and 185.3 kHz at 1800Z today 
and saw a correct mode switchover. The clock had been off for some 
reason so Bob, NK9M set it correctly last night. The slash code behaved 
reasonably since then, again not sure why given what was happening prior 
to that. The weak copy at 185.185 kHz on the left of that ARGO screen is 
because I purposely pointed the loop receive antenna to a near-null 
heading. The 185.3 kHz ARGO screen shows the QRSS mode starting up and 
pretty quickly settling into the correct frequency.

73, Garry
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