Jim N7US,
Thanks for the posting. Based on your posting I listened for the beacons
and HEARD the first one this morning. The link you posted to
http://ncdxf.org/Beacon/BeaconSchedule.html really helped. It let me know
what to listen for and where. I was not hearing the beacons with my RTTY
filter setup. Once I put he rig in CW mode I began to hear them - when I
thought 20 meters was dead.
Thanks again..... I learned something.
73, Dick AA5VU
> Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:47:33 -0500
> From: "Jim McDonald" <jim@n7us.net>
> Subject: [RTTY] NCDXF Beacons
>
> I am primarily a DXer who also operates RTTY. As a DXer, I have copied the
> NCDXF beacons many, many times over the years. They've been written up in
> QST and many DX publications. As a regular contributor to NCDXF to support
> DXpeditions and the beacon system, I have received their newsletter, which
> has also run features on the system.
>
> Though many have responded "What beacon system?" my opinion is that this
> system is in a league apart from the systems others have compared it to,
> such as the packet mailboxes and the like. Unlike a simple beacon operated
> from one location by an individual, it is sophisticated, reliable, and a
> useful propagation tool 24 X 7. The software tools described at
> http://ncdxf.org/Beacon/BeaconPrograms.html are very useful and clever.
> Check out that list and judge for yourself. Mostly as a novelty, I will
> admit, is the little program that I have installed on my Palm that tracks
> which beacon is transmitting at any time on the bands the system uses.
>
> The system operates with a series of varying power levels from each station,
> ranging from 100W down to 100 milliwatts. Since each station transmits for
> less than one minute and not all stations will have propagation at a given
> time, tuning past the beacon frequencies and not hearing a beacon is to be
> expected. The schedule at http://ncdxf.org/Beacon/BeaconSchedule.html
> should make that clear. You need to know where to point your antenna at the
> start of a given minute.
>
> I'm not criticizing those who were not aware of the system, but at least
> this controversy has publicized its existence.
>
> Jim N7US
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