Topband: Here fishy fishy

[N7DF]

This morning the driftnet beacons at 1814.2 and 1830.3 were especially strong although the QSB on the 1830.3 one was really deep.  There seemed to be unusually severe dopplering on it also.  I suspect that there are some really rough seas where it is located.
 
In 1981 KH6AX and I encountered one of these on a sailing trip from Truk to Guam.  We followed the line of driftnet buoys for over a mile and found the beacon buoy at the west end.  It was about 18 inches in diameter and was about 4 feet high above the water with an 8 foot whip antenna.  It didn’t have any solar cells on it and was not transmitting at the time we passed it.
 
Later, in Guam, the radio operator on a Taiwanese fishing boat told me that most of the buoys had triggered beacons that could be turned on and off from the boats.  He said that they ran about 10 watts output and the frequency was set by some switches on the transmitter. 
 
These beacons are a pretty good indicator of band openings but are mostly located in the south pacific where there are no ham stations on the air.