● APPENDICES
APPENDIX B: PROPAGATION | The following table shows some of the stations involved | ||
INFORMATION | in this program. | ||
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| Station | Location | |
STANDARD TIME AND INFORMATION STATIONS |
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4U1UN/B | United Nations, New York | ||
Besides providing an extremely accurate time source | |||
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W6WX/B | Stanford University, California | ||
and other information, stations WWV and WWVH, in the | |||
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continental U.S.A. and Hawaii respectively, deliver | KH6O/B | Kane'ohe, Hawaii | |
propagation announcements every hour in addition to |
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JA2IGY | Mt. Asama, Japan | ||
acting as powerful beacons themselves. The | |||
announcements include information on geophysical | 4X6TU | Tel Aviv University, Israel | |
alerts, solar activity, and more that all affects how well |
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OH2B | Helsinki Technical University, Finland | ||
your signals will propagate to the DX station youÕre | |||
trying to catch. If you canÕt hear WWV/WWVH, then | CT3B | Funchal, Madeira Island | |
consult references such as the World Radio TV |
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ZS6DN/B | Transvaal, South Africa | ||
Handbook for information on some of the other standard | |||
time stations located closer to your area. | LU4AA | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
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Check 2500, 5000, 10000, 15000, and 20000 kHz at 18 | Note: As a courtesy to other Amateurs, avoid transmitting on the | ||
minutes after each hour (WWV), and 2500, 5000, | |||
10000, and 15000 kHz at 45 minutes after each hour | 14100 kHz beacon frequency. Also, plans are in progress to expand | ||
the beacon network to include 18110, 21150, 24930, and 28200 kHz. | |||
(WWVH) to hear the propagation forecasts. | |||
When operation begins on these new frequencies, avoid transmitting |
on them as well.
The Northern California DX Foundation and the International Amateur Radio Union are cooperating to support this particularly useful
This group of stations are located in North America, the Pacific, eastern Asia, the Middle East, Europe, southern Africa and South America, and more stations continue to be added to the network. They transmit beacon signals on 14100 kHz consecutively in sequence at power levels from 100 watts down to 100 milliwatts. You can listen to each station transmit with a known power from a known direction and location.
With minimal effort, in a brief time you can compile a customized and accurate profile of HF propagation conditions at your location. This information will help you decide where to point your antenna to look for DX or to call CQ. You could even distribute the information via packetcluster to local friends for their benefit. Or, because of the very precise timing used for each transmission, possibly you could develop an automatic means of monitoring the beacon frequencies, then assemble the recorded signal levels into a meaningful database for later consultation.
Beacon Power | CW Message |
Level (W) | Transmitted |
100 | Call sign |
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100 | (long dash) |
10 | (long dash) |
1 | (long dash) |
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0.1 | (long dash) |
Beacon stations transmit from locations in many countries. Often they operate 24 hours per day and, if you can hear a particular beacon, you know there is some propagation to that area of the world. Consult reference books such as the ARRL Repeater Directory for detailed information on active beacons. The table below lists some beacons that you may hear.
Freq (kHz) | Call Sign | Location | Emis. | ERP |
14100 | See | NCDXF/IARU | A1A | 100 |
| page 80 | beacon network |
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24192.05 | KK6TG | St. Helena | F1A | 0.03 |
28050 | PY2GOB | Sao Paulo | — | 15 |
28175 | VE3TEN | Ottawa | — | 10 |
28191 | 5B4ZL | Cyprus | — | 10 |
28191 | VE6YF | Edmonton | — | 10 |
28195 | IY4M | Bologna | A1A | 20 |
28200 | GB3SX | Crowborough | F1A | 8 |
28200 | KF4MS | St. Petersburg, FL | — | 75 |
28200 | KG5YB | Tyler, TX | A1A | 3 |
28200 | W6WX | California | — | 100 |
28201 | LU8ED | Argentina | — | — |
28201.5 | EA7PS | Spain | — | 1 |
28202 | KE5GY | Arlington, TX | — | 5 |
28202.5 | ZS5VHF | Natal | — | 5 |
28204 | DLØIGI | Germany | — | 100 |
28205 | DLØIGI | Mt. Predigtstuhl | F1A | 100 |
28206 | KJ4X | Pickens, SC | — | 2 |
28207.5 | KE4NL | Sarasota, FL | A1A | 5 |
28207.5 | W8FKL | Venice, FL | — | 10 |
28208 | WA1IOB | Marlboro, MA | — | 75 |
28209 | NX2O | Staten Is., NY | A1A | 10 |
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