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Topband: 160 propagation beacons

To: <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Topband: 160 propagation beacons
From: KG6DV@cs.com (KG6DV@cs.com)
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 17:39:41 EDT
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There was some discussion recently about stations in europe that we could use 
as propagation beacons.  There are a limited number of low frequency 
broadcast or commercial utility stations that can be used for this purpose. I 
use instead the maritime coast and utility stations. There are far more of 
these stations active, located in every remote corner of the world, and to me 
represent a better indication of propagation than a mega watt broadcast 
station with a huge antenna does.

I stay away from the large traffic stations. They also run mega watts and 
huge antennas. The medium level high seas traffic station runs 5kw however 
its more common for the larger stations to run between 10 and 20kw.  I prefer 
the instead the regional and port control stations.  These stations typically 
run between 500 and a kw with modest antennas.  I like the fact that they do 
a wx broadcast on a fixed schedule and that the data stations use a beacon 
(clear channel) signal with cw id.

You may think the dxpedition is going to a remote location but if there is a 
port anywhere in the region, there are a number of maritime coast stations.

Seychelles radio 2040khz with wx broadcasts every 2 hrs. It runs 500 watts 
and uses a double extended zepp up 80ft.  And we thought they (the 
expedition) went to a remote place located 100 miles from nowhere.

For the 3D2CI and CY operation I use Suva Radio at 2110khz. 1 kw if the amp 
has fresh tubes and a base loaded 40ft vert.  I listen to the 0800, 1000 and 
1200 wx broadcast.  

I avoid Hong Kong radio (20kw) Singapore radio (20kw) and all the heavy 
traffic hitters. A lot of the low band cw has gone away in the last 2 years 
and for some stations its ssb only.  The number of stations on low freq sitor 
is also limited but helpful when there is one. The fact that they id in cw 
means you dont need a tnc to determine which one you are listening to.  There 
are some freqs that are occupied by more than one station in the same region. 
 

Typical examples:

Tonga radio   A3A    2080khz   wx at 0800z       800 watts 1/2 wave vert.
Malaysia       9WW  1980khz   wx sched has changed but was every 3hrs 
starting at            
                                             0500z 1kw   bobtail curtain
Niue radio      ZKN    2207khz   ssb 100 watts
Nauru radio    C2N    2201khz   ssb  1 kw
Tahiti             FJA    1755khz   ssb 300 watts
Viet Nam        XVG    2177khz   fsk sitor with cw id and beacon signal  1500 
watts
                     XVS    2177khz    fsk sitor remoted from XVG
             Both stations also active on 2157.5khz you may hear either 
callsign at 
             times.
Korea            HLK & HLM   fsk sitor with cw id 2187.5khz 1.0 kw
                     HLU     2091 cw 1.0 kw   2583 cw  400 watts
                     HLY     2091 cw  1.0kw
Papua Ng       P2M & P2R  cw   2201khz  1 kw
Solomon Isl    H4H  2167khz  ssb wx bcst at 08/12Z 500 watts
Western Samoa  5WA   2206khz  1 kw   wx at 08/10/12Z
Bangladesh    S3D & S3E  2140  1kw  wx every 4 hrs st at 0500

These are my pacific/asia favorites. There are others that are helpful at 
times. example, The T32 operation,   160 props?   there is a schedule between 
T3D on Christmas island and T3C (line and phoenix development ministry on 
christmas and his hq on Tarawa) .... cant get any close than that.

The UN IMO publications list these stations in detail. Also UK publications 
from their maritime authority.

Ron KH6DV
Kaneohe Hawaii



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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT  SIZE=2>There was some discussion 
recently about stations in europe that we could use as propagation beacons. 
&nbsp;There are a limited number of low frequency broadcast or commercial 
utility stations that can be used for this purpose. I use instead the maritime 
coast and utility stations. There are far more of these stations active, 
located in every remote corner of the world, and to me represent a better 
indication of propagation than a mega watt broadcast station with a huge 
antenna does.
<BR>
<BR>I stay away from the large traffic stations. They also run mega watts and 
huge antennas. The medium level high seas traffic station runs 5kw however its 
more common for the larger stations to run between 10 and 20kw. &nbsp;I prefer 
the instead the regional and port control stations. &nbsp;These stations 
typically run between 500 and a kw with modest antennas. &nbsp;I like the fact 
that they do a wx broadcast on a fixed schedule and that the data stations use 
a beacon (clear channel) signal with cw id.
<BR>
<BR>You may think the dxpedition is going to a remote location but if there is 
a port anywhere in the region, there are a number of maritime coast stations.
<BR>
<BR>Seychelles radio 2040khz with wx broadcasts every 2 hrs. It runs 500 watts 
and uses a double extended zepp up 80ft. &nbsp;And we thought they (the 
expedition) went to a remote place located 100 miles from nowhere.
<BR>
<BR>For the 3D2CI and CY operation I use Suva Radio at 2110khz. 1 kw if the amp 
has fresh tubes and a base loaded 40ft vert. &nbsp;I listen to the 0800, 1000 
and 1200 wx broadcast. &nbsp;
<BR>
<BR>I avoid Hong Kong radio (20kw) Singapore radio (20kw) and all the heavy 
traffic hitters. A lot of the low band cw has gone away in the last 2 years and 
for some stations its ssb only. &nbsp;The number of stations on low freq sitor 
is also limited but helpful when there is one. The fact that they id in cw 
means you dont need a tnc to determine which one you are listening to. 
&nbsp;There are some freqs that are occupied by more than one station in the 
same region. &nbsp;
<BR>
<BR>Typical examples:
<BR>
<BR>Tonga radio &nbsp;&nbsp;A3A &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2080khz &nbsp;&nbsp;wx at 
0800z &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;800 watts 1/2 wave vert.
<BR>Malaysia &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9WW &nbsp;1980khz 
&nbsp;&nbsp;wx sched has changed but was every 3hrs starting at 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<BR> 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;0500z
 1kw &nbsp;&nbsp;bobtail curtain
<BR>Niue radio &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ZKN &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2207khz 
&nbsp;&nbsp;ssb 100 watts
<BR>Nauru radio &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C2N &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2201khz &nbsp;&nbsp;ssb 
&nbsp;1 kw
<BR>Tahiti 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;FJA 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1755khz &nbsp;&nbsp;ssb 300 watts
<BR>Viet Nam &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;XVG 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2177khz &nbsp;&nbsp;fsk sitor with cw id and beacon signal 
&nbsp;1500 watts
<BR> 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;XVS
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2177khz &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;fsk sitor remoted from XVG
<BR> 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Both 
stations also active on 2157.5khz you may hear either callsign at 
<BR> 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;times.
<BR>Korea &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;HLK 
&amp; HLM &nbsp;&nbsp;fsk sitor with cw id 2187.5khz 1.0 kw
<BR> 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;HLU
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2091 cw 1.0 kw &nbsp;&nbsp;2583 cw &nbsp;400 watts
<BR> 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;HLY
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2091 cw &nbsp;1.0kw
<BR>Papua Ng &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;P2M &amp; P2R &nbsp;cw 
&nbsp;&nbsp;2201khz &nbsp;1 kw
<BR>Solomon Isl &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;H4H &nbsp;2167khz &nbsp;ssb wx bcst at 08/12Z 
500 watts
<BR>Western Samoa &nbsp;5WA &nbsp;&nbsp;2206khz &nbsp;1 kw &nbsp;&nbsp;wx at 
08/10/12Z
<BR>Bangladesh &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;S3D &amp; S3E &nbsp;2140 &nbsp;1kw &nbsp;wx 
every 4 hrs st at 0500
<BR>
<BR>These are my pacific/asia favorites. There are others that are helpful at 
times. example, The T32 operation, &nbsp;&nbsp;160 props? &nbsp;&nbsp;there is 
a schedule between T3D on Christmas island and T3C (line and phoenix 
development ministry on christmas and his hq on Tarawa) .... cant get any close 
than that.
<BR>
<BR>The UN IMO publications list these stations in detail. Also UK publications 
from their maritime authority.
<BR>
<BR>Ron KH6DV
<BR>Kaneohe Hawaii
<BR>
<BR></FONT></HTML>

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