Topbanders:
I received 27 reports from 15 states, coast to coast of stations, receiving
the 15mw beacon in the 5 nights it was on. Most had Q5 copy at times. Many
emailed me more than once. K8BHZ summed up what most expressed, " Thanks for
the fun experiment." Several said it helped tune or evaluate their antennas.
A few asked me to continue the beacon on the low end, but that will not
happen. Two emails I received have made it clear to me why a beacon on the
low end is a bad idea. Here are part of those two emails:
K7CA- " I like the idea of a weak beacon on the low end of the band. I'm
sure it's not your beacon some object to. It's the fact that if beacons
appeared in their back yard, it might destroy the band for them."
KH6AT- "Interesting to read about your beacon experiments. I am not in favor
of beacons on the low end of the band. A ham here in KH6 had a beacon on
about 1806...and it was about one watt...and completely disabled my noise
blankerwith every pulse..."
Those two emails have convinced me that 160M beacons on the low end are a bad
idea, despite their utility, BECAUSE OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. If just one
of us suffered what KH6AT did, it would not be worth it. I also infer from
the lack of email from some respected 160M ops, that they realized this
problem when I did not. Though it sounds hypocritical, I suggest that any
and all 160M beacons be confined to the very high end and run low power. The
second part of my experiment will be to run about 100mw to a 10' antenna,
radiating about 1 mw erp at most. It will NOT be a beacon. Rather I will
announce time and frequency, call CQ the 1st 30 seconds of each minute and
work anyone who calls me. Please do NOT call unless you hear the 1 mw
signal! I hope to have the 100 mw transmitter and 10' antenna working in
about a week or two. I will both email those who have contacted me and post
to the reflector when it's ready to go. Thanks for all the support for this
experiment. Though I have operated QRP for 40 years, I was amazed at how
well the 15 mw signal got out. I know most of you were also.
Doug W0AH DM78lx near Pikes Peak
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