[NLRS] Status of 2m beacons?

Wed Jun 16 10:55:25 EDT 2010

    You should definitely go forward with the beacon.   Guys
don't talk about them much, but when they are not on the air,
they are sorely missed.   I've gotten all sorts of email from guys
way SW and S of here who relied heavily on the 144.297
WD9BGA/B, near Blue Mounds, just WSW of Madison.
That beacon really got out, *AND* it definitely drew
RF toward our part of the world.    With your QTH, your
beacon would be a very effective one.   If I had tech skills,
I'd personally come over and fast track this project for
completion in time for good summer/early fall propagation.
I can't believe it's that time consuming to finish, assuming
you have all the necessary components.

    Hardly anyone will care that your beacon goes off for
contests.   Many others do that with their beacons, too.
99-98% up-time would be excellent.

    I would be checking your proposed beacons every time I
go out to the shed.   I enjoy comparing signal strengths over
time.   A 432 beacon would be great, too.   I am not sure if
N0EDV's 432 beacon up on Timm's Hill (?) was temporary
or permanent.   I do know the only "local" 432 beacon for
me is on 432.300 out of Grand Haven, far W MI.

    I hope others here and/or on the BC list (or the LSE/Winona
lists) will help you make this happen.

    I'll also be curious to see what the recommended power
levels are.   My sense would be to make it a respectable
figure (5-10w) so it can be a true DX beacon.

    73,
    Todd  KC9BQA

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Palm" <thepalmhq at gmail.com>
To: "NLRS Reflector" <nlrs at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 9:22 AM
Subject: Re: [NLRS] Status of 2m beacons?


>
>
> I'm glad this issue of beacons came up.
>
> I'll preface this by saying that I have a lot more ambition than I 
> have
> time.  So too often my ideas don't see the light of day.  That being 
> said, I
> have a really nice QTH for VHF-UHF beacons here in EN43.  Our farm 
> sits at
> about 1250 ft asl and I have a silo on the property with the dome at 
> 70 ft.
> above ground.  It's a commanding view from up there.  I intend 
> eventually to
> plant an antenna farm up there and it seems like a pretty great place 
> for
> beacons.  If I knew that it would serve a real purpose, that they 
> would
> really be used, I would have additional motivation to get something 
> done.
>
> I've had it in mind to place at least 144 and 432 transverters up 
> there just
> under the dome and run IF cables back to the house (have the hardline
> already.)  If those transverters were used, say, 99% of the time as 
> beacons
> and the other 1% of the time to operate in nets, contests, etc. is 
> that
> acceptable to most?  Is 99% of a loaf better than none?  Or is it too
> frustrating not to be able to count on a beacon 24-7?
>
> I'm wondering in general how many people on this list actually utilize
> beacons on a regular basis?  What would you like to see band-wise,
> power-wise, etc.?  And if a guy was going to do this on a budget, what 
> would
> be the recommended equipment set-up?
>
> As always, I've learned a lot by the expertise on this group.
>
> Thanks and 73,
>
> David  W9HQ
>
>
>
> On 6/15/10, Bill Davis Jr <cqbilld at msn.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>   Does anyone know anything about the current status of the EN43 and 
>> the
>> EN53 beacons? Bruce was asking me at Aurora and I didn't know 
>> anything about
>> them. I know after Jerry HCZ passed away that his son was going to 
>> continue
>> with the EN43 beacon. I in the past heard both of these beacons in 
>> the
>> summer reliably. Not strong all the time, but I would hear them if I 
>> set on
>> the freq for a few min. Often the EN53 beacon was heard as well as 
>> the EN43
>> beacon. Now for many months I have heard very little from either of 
>> them.
>> With "summer" close at hand, I would think prop would be "back".
>>
>> I think it was W9GM that said that he thought the EN53 beacon had 
>> been on
>> and off quite a bit recently. Anyone know anything more?
>>
>> As near as I can tell, things are "ok" here, but we all know slow 
>> changes
>> in equipment performance is difficult to detect. The rotator loop has 
>> been
>> on the tower MANY years.
>>
>> TNX and 73  Bill  K0AWU  EN37ed
>>
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