My beacon is WB5DYG/B not WB5DYG/R. Oops... Repeater on the brain I guess 🤪
Ron
WB5DYG
San Tan Valley, AZ
www.wb5dyg.com
On Mar 13, 2021, at 11:28 AM, Ron Parks <wb5dyg@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Good advice from all, remember the key is your CALLSIGN. Without that there
is no confirmation of a beacon no matter what other extraneous information is
sent. Especially in weak and fading conditions the long litany of city,
state, power levels, heck I have even heard email addresses and web URLs...
while sending the call sign one time becomes frustrating to even try to copy.
Fading will inevitably occur right when the call sign is sent. Same with key
down carrier, dits, etc. Especially long carriers, 10
meters is full of ethernet birdies and other irrelevant carriers. None of
these things confirm a beacon and often times will cause a listener to just
head on down the dial.
I typically watch the 10 meter beacon segment with an SDR, visually watching
for beacons across the band. When one of the long winded beacons is rattling
on fading in and out and I see other activity in the band I will leave it
behind to catch the one that just faded up since that propagation may be
short lived. Having a call sign right there as I click over to it, in the
short period it might be there, snags that QSL.
As an avid weak signal enthusiast and QRP operator the best thing is to send
the call sign multiple times with little to nothing else and use short
delays. These are the beacons that get consistently logged. I currently have
a 40 mW beacon on 10 meters. It sends “WB5DYG/R” with a four second pause and
repeats. That’s it. Simple, clean, and even in rough conditions keeps a
listener engaged to hear and be able to confirm correct copy of the all
important call sign.
Just my two cents worth folks :) Plenty of experience on this forum with good
advice.
Ron
WB5DYG
San Tan Valley, AZ
www.wb5dyg.com
On Mar 13, 2021, at 6:07 AM, D S <wi5v.be@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Dan,
Sounds like you are moving in the right direction. Mostly ON = GOOD.
Antenna not so good. Hopefully, you can either rebuild it, or build a an
new one. I really like my Antron A99, but they are getting expensive.
You're getting out OK, so I'd go with a repair.
The beacon string that mximizes your call being copied is: "VVV DE WA3NFV/B
WA3NFV/B WA3BFV PA PA ....3 SECOND PAUSE THEN START OVER.. ..13 TO 15 WPM
MAX..that's it! Very simple and doesn't gum up the works with grid squares,
and get your call out there to cut through QSB, QRN, etc.
Keep me posted. Hope I spot you soon!
73 Denny
On Fri, Mar 12, 2021, 8:37 PM Dan Mitten - WA3NFV <WA3NFV@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Denny,
Now that you're back listening, I wonder if you could pass along some of
your thoughts, as to how a beacon message should be formatted for the best
chances of being heard (or reported by an RBN).
I know Bill's beacon seems to get reported often and everyone knows the
message, so maybe there is hint there.
BTW, my newly installed beacon has been running on and off (mostly on).
Unfortunately, the antenna I had been using for beacon spotting and the one
I expected to use, is fiberglass and snapped off about two months ago. If
the weather cooperates we'll see what we can do about getting a replacement
up. FYI. Look for me on 28.270.0 from PA. Even with it broken, I've heard
it 9.4 miles out to the mobile. Five locals have reported it, to me.
Your thoughts?
73,
Dan WA3NFV
My QRZ.com page.
_
On 3/11/2021 7:13 PM, D S wrote:
Hello all,
I moved into my new QTH here on Galveston Island, and did some
preliminary testing on my RBN dongle. Wasn't sure if it was working on 10
meters, so I put my RBN FunCube on various HF bands. Once I confirmed it
was indeed working on them, I placed it back on 10 meters. Now if the
propagation will just kick in!
As I receive spots, I plan to regularly report them as I have done in the
past.
73, Denny WI5V
IARU HF Beacon Coordinator
