[WSWSS] Tehachapi beacon status - update note

[Wayne Overbeck]

For now, the N6NB beacon in DM05sb is running 10 watts into a 
small Yagi, beaming north.
 
The beacon may be off this weekend while N6MI operates the 
IARU Radiosport contest at my station,  and also next weekend 
while N6MU operates the CQ VHF contest there.  (Get on for 
that one if you can.)
 
Running the beacon at 10 watts output was necessitated by the 
lack of full-time power at my site.  When it was running 50 watts 
output, the beacon consumed more power than a 400-watt wind 
turbine could generate, even in a notoriously windy (and ice-prone) 
location.  I'm studying the alternatives for off-the-grid power 
(the nearest commercial AC power is 10 miles down a dirt road 
in Tehachapi).  More wind turbines may be a possibility.  So is 
a wind-solar hybrid system.
 
I also want to say that I've known Chip, N6CA, for 30+ years.
As the ARRL Southwestern Division vice director in the 1980s, 
I helped him get the beacon frequency segment moved away 
from the primary weak-signal frequencies.  Not wishing to 
engage in an ongoing discussion of beacons, I'll only note
that one of the joys of VHF-UHF operating in the highly 
populated northeast is the availability of so many beacons 
that make it possible to assess propagation in many 
directions.  Yes, some of them are in large metropolitan 
areas.  They're on whenever you need them.  I really 
counted on them when checking out sites in the northeast.
 
I'd be happy to move N6NB/b to a slightly different frequency 
if that can be done without creating new problems.  (144.299 
already has a beacon that Northern California operators count 
on, I'm told).
 
73,
Wayne, N6NB
 


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