Topband: Fishing beacons redux

Eddy Swynar deswynar at xplornet.ca
Mon Oct 1 20:30:08 EDT 2012


On 2012-10-01, at 8:17 PM, Mike Waters wrote:

> Nearly every time I have ever called CQ on top of a fishing beacon on 160
> --except the very weakest ones-- it disappeared. I assumed they changed
> frequency.
> 
> I don't think it was a coincidence. I've heard others who had the same
> experience.



Hi Mike,

I've noticed that very same thing here myself, more often than not (certainly not in ALL cases, though): it's like they're somehow programmed to shift to another frequency if there's any interference to the one that they're on.

I don't know if they're that sophisticated, or not. Certainly the fishermen who listen for these things would have to be savvy as to frequency agility...which leads me to ask, are they somehow CW-literate, too...? VERY doubtful on BOTH counts! Most likely the receive technology is somehow automatic, & a machine does all of the "de-coding" for them...

~73~ de Eddy VE3CI - VE3XZ


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