Longwave Directional Beacons
in Thessaloniki, Greece

[TNTS]

The photograph above was taken in September 1986 in Thessaloniki and shows a directional longwave maritime navigation beacon. At the time the photo was taken, the station was manned by officers and NCOs of the Hellenic Navy Lighthouse Service.

This station was listed in an old radiobeacon list as No 1261 and transmitted on 308 kHz with a power of 200W. Its location was 40d36'40"N, 22d57'05"E and the fixed bearing of the antenna 50 degrees towards the beacon. Receivers located north of the beam received the letters TN while receivers south of the beam the letters TS, while on the beam the full id TNTS was heard.

A similar station existed at the mouth of River Axios, on Kavouras Island (40d30'42"N, 22d44'54"E) with a bearing of 340 degrees and sending AW west of the beam and AE east of the beam. Receivers having the beacon at 340 degrees heard the full id AWAE. The AWAE station was listed as No 1263 in the radiobeacon index and transmitted on 287.3 kHz with 200W. This beacon is also listed by J. Trochimczyk in his "Handbuch der Funknavigationshilfen". Both stations are marked on the "North Aegean Sea" (no 47) 1:500,000 map issued by the Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Service.

Both these stations operated only during dense fog conditions and were coordinated on VHF marine channel 22 (this is normally a duplex channel, possibly there was a repeater on the frequency). In addition there were two RACON (radar transponders) as follows:

RACON "T"  40d35'00"N  22d55'17"E  (Cape Mikro Emvolo)
RACON "X"  40d30'42"N  22d44'54"E  (Kavouras Island)
At the Cape Mikro Emvolo location there was a longwave receiver which was activated by the TNTS beacon and set off a foghorn.

Navigation using the beacons

These beacons could be used to enter the Thessaloniki Harbor during dense fog conditions avoiding the danger of the shallow waters at the mouth of River Axios and the Cape Megalo Emvolo. The skipper should follow a west course listening on the "AE" signal on 287.3 kHz, until he intercepted the "AWAE" beam.

He should then turn North to follow a course of 340 and retune his receiver to 308 kHz, where he would hear the "TS" signal. After intercepting the "TNTS" beam, he would turn NE and enter safely the Gulf of Thessaloniki, following a course of 050 avoiding the Cape Megalo Emvolo. This method does not require a DF receiver, any LW/MW AM receiver would do, if a compass was available. The associated RACONs would guide in the same way a skipper navigating with radar.

[TNTS]

Current system status

I am not sure about the current status of these beacons. The building is still there, freshly painted (photo 4 October 1998) and well maintained. The antenna also looks in good condition. I have no reports of any activity from these stations, although they are still listed in Robert Connolly's "Non Directional Beacons of Europe" list. When a radio listener from Thessaloniki visited them and asked about operating frequencies etc, he got an answer like: "These things are Navy secrets!". If someone from Thessaloniki has heard these beacons recently, please contact me via e-mail.

References

  1. Personal notes, September 1986
  2. Dr. J. Trochimczyk: "Handbuch der Funknavigationshilfen", 2. Auflage, Wilhelm Herbst Verlag, 1985.
  3. Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Service, Map no 47 (N. Aegean Sea, 1:500000), 1969.
  4. R. A. Connolly, GI7IVX: "Non Directional Beacons of Europe", 4th ed, 1997/1998.
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