Topband: What the heck?

[Kenneth D. Grimm, K4XL]

Cqtestk4xs at aol.com wrote:
> I'm in the process of getting up and running on 160....40 radials  (so far) 
> hooked to a 90 foot T-topped vertical.  All day long on 1846.5 is  a 
> station sending RA9 and then a three second carrier.  Sunset is  approaching and 
> it's getting louder. No Beverages here so no way to determine  the direction. 
>  Anybody know what it is?  Fishing buoy?
>  
> Bill  KH7XS/K4XS
>   


Yep.  Fishing buoys, or more properly "drift net buoys."  It's the 21st 
century's answer to Loran....but not nearly so annoying....unless they 
are right on top of a weak one that you are trying to dig out of the 
background using all of your DSP and ESP combined.  I think you just 
have to get used to them as they aren't going to go away.  They 
typically are running 8 watts or so and can be found between 1.6 and 4 
MHz.  Too many of them seem to be between 1.8 and 2 MHz, however.

73,

-- 
Ken K4XL
k4xl at arrl.net

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