KK7GW’s beacon observations
Welcome to my beacon observation page. This page is dedicated to my reports and logs from listening to the IARU/NCDXF beacon network. Currently, only 14 Mhz (20 meters) and 21 Mhz (15 meters) are the two bands I listen to. I plan to include 28 Mhz (10 meters) in the future.
The mission of this page has numerous facets. The big reason to do this is to study propagation from my QTH near Seattle, Washington.
Station info
The KK7GW station is modest compared to others in the area. Station equipment consists of: A Kenwood TS-530 transeiver, a Vectronics VC300D antenna tuner, a Cricket I single lever keyer/paddle, a Heil Pro-Set headset/boom mic, and for computer logging TR-Log 6.31.
The antenna farm is also modest. I currently have 2 HF antennas. My first antenna is a 40m half-wave dipole, which is in an interesting configuration. One end is up 15 feet, the other end is at 8 feet, with the center at 13 feet. However, the 8 foot tall end is slightly vertical, as about the last 8 or 9 feet of the antenna is draped over a tree.
The second antenna, put up in September 1998, is a 20m half-wave dipole. One end is up 24 1/2 feet, the other about 20 feet, and the center is at roughly 19 feet. I will be moving this antenna soon so it will be 25 feet up in a straight line, as opposed to the "V" it is in now.
The summaries
Each day that I listen to beacons, I will be writing a summary of what I heard that day, any unusual openings or signal characteristics, and other things. I will be posting each day's summary here, and also to the e-mail list I have started for this purpose. See the list page for more information.
Summaries available
October 16, 1998
The logs
In addition to the summaries, I will also post the raw logs that I use to log beacons that I hear. I use a shorthand of sorts to log, so let me explain how to interpet the logs.
Also, jump straight to the logs available
Here is a 3 minute span from the Oct. 16, 1998 log.
19:09 14.1 4U1UN 5-1 5 3
W6WX 5-7 5-5 5-2 5
KH6WO 5 2 to 3
ZL6B 2 to 3 6B copied
VK6RBP 2 BP copied
JA2IGY 3 2IGY copied
ZS6DN 2 to 3 N for sure, possibly DN
OH2B 5 3 Flutter, with flutter QRM
LU4AA 3 LU4 copied
Let me break this down for you. The first number is the UTC time of the series, in this case, 19:09. The next number is the frequency that I am listening to. Let's look at the 4U1UN entry.
19:09 14.1 4U1UN 5-1 5 3
Okay, the time is 19:09, and the frequency is 14.1 Mhz. The beacon I observed was the 4U1UN beacon. Then you see 3 sets of numbers. In some records there may be anywhere from 1 number to 4 sets of numbers. These are my relative signal reports for each power level (100W, 10W, 1W, .1W) of the beacon.
I use a different sort of signal scale, because many times the beacon's signals don't move the S-meter on my radio. I use the RS system, but slightly modified. The first number in each set is how well I heard the beacon. For example, 4U1UN's 5-1 has a 5 for the first number, so in the R scale, I gave it a 5, or perfectly readable. The second number in the set, if there is one, is the actual S-meter reading on the radio, if the beacon moved the needle. Again, 4U1UN's 100W level had a 5-1, so the S-meter reading was S1.
For those wondering what my R scale is like...this is what I try to use:
5: Perfectly readable, copied everything solid
4: Readable with a little effort
3: Readable with considerable effort, or missing parts of call signs
2: Extremely hard to copy, usually copying little or none of the call.
1: Can hear that it is there, but nothing else.
ESP: I think it's there...
I also put comments into the log occasionally...such as:
OH2B 5 3 Flutter, with flutter QRM
LU4AA 3 LU4 copied
As you can see, I heard OH2B's 100W signal at R5, and the 10W signal at R3. My comments were that there was 'flutter' as in the over the pole flutter, and that there was 'flutter QRM' as in it sounded like someone was QRM'ing on top of the beacon, and it sounded fluttery.
For the LU4AA beacon, my comments were 'LU4 copied', showing that I did not copy the entire call, and as you can see, I gave it an R3.
Logs available
Here are the logs available for you to view. These are available in both the native MS Works Database format, or the Text/Tabs version.
Oct. 16, 1998 in text
Oct. 16, 1998 in Works DB
Check back daily for more logs.
Last updated Friday, October 16, 1998
Mail me for comments, etc...