Topband: Fishing beacons redux

[Robin]

wont waste bandwidth recapping in any detail

but they are a C H E A P crystal controlled "MOPA" with a 6-8 meter long whip.  the ID 
runs on a cycle like Merv says.  The beacons have something like 36 D cells for power - 
ballast and cheap batteries

Pics on the VP6DX site of the two beacons we salvaged that had washed ashore there

they very definitely do not have any "smarts -  they don't even have a receiver of any 
kind.  there are some more expensive models that do answer only when interrogated, but I 
believe those are mostly VHF models.

they are frustrating and annoying, but the only useful solution is to make yourself a band 
map each night so you do not waste time on a known weak signal, and otherwise totally 
ignore them.

Remember, if you hear a lot of fish beacons, the band IS open. If you are bored, watch the 
UTC when they fade out (as long as its not YOUR sunrise), and you can make a very gross 
guess of their possible longitude

Robin, WA6CDR


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Waters" <mikewate at gmail.com>
To: "Merv Schweigert" <k9fd at flex.com>; "topband" <topband at contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2012 17:45
Subject: Re: Topband: Fishing beacons redux


> On Mon, Oct 1, 2012 at 7:38 PM, Merv Schweigert <k9fd at flex.com> wrote:
>
>> They do not change freq out here in KH6,   if they did how in the world
>> would the boat know where to look for the beacon and DF it to find the
>> net??
>>
>
> I don't remember how they work. There was quite a discussion about this
> hear about 3 years ago. I forget the details.
>
> 73, Mike
> www.w0btu.com
> _______________________________________________
> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK