Kenwood TS-870S User Manual - Page 86

● APPENDICES APPENDIX B: PROPAGATION INFORMATION STANDARD TIME AND INFORMATION STATIONS Besides providing an extremely accurate time source and other information, stations WWV and WWVH, in the continental U.S.A. and Hawaii respectively, deliver propagation announcements every hour in addition to acting as powerful beacons themselves. The announcements include information on geophysical alerts, solar activity, and more that all affects how well your signals will propagate to the DX station you're trying to catch. If you can't hear WWV/WWVH, then consult references such as the World Radio TV Handbook for information on some of the other standard time stations located closer to your area. Check 2500, 5000, 10000, 15000, and 20000 kHz at 18 minutes after each hour (WWV), and 2500, 5000, 10000, and 15000 kHz at 45 minutes after each hour (WWVH) to hear the propagation forecasts. NCDXF/IARU BEACON NETWORK The Northern California DX Foundation and the International Amateur Radio Union are cooperating to support this particularly useful on-the-air tool. The network is monitored by scientists, students, etc. as well as Amateur operators. 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 Level (W) 100 100 10 1 0.1 CW Message Transmitted Call sign (long dash) (long dash) (long dash) (long dash) The following table shows some of the stations involved in this program. Station Location 4U1UN/B W6WX/B KH6O/B JA2IGY 4X6TU OH2B CT3B ZS6DN/B LU4AA United Nations, New York Stanford University, California Kane'ohe, Hawaii Mt. Asama, Japan Tel Aviv University, Israel Helsinki Technical University, Finland Funchal, Madeira Island Transvaal, South Africa Buenos Aires, Argentina Note: As a courtesy to other Amateurs, avoid transmitting on the 14100 kHz beacon frequency. Also, plans are in progress to expand the beacon network to include 18110, 21150, 24930, and 28200 kHz. When operation begins on these new frequencies, avoid transmitting on them as well. HF BEACONS 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 14100 See page 80 24192.05 KK6TG 28050 PY2GOB 28175 VE3TEN 28191 5B4ZL 28191 VE6YF 28195 IY4M 28200 GB3SX 28200 KF4MS 28200 KG5YB 28200 W6WX 28201 LU8ED 28201.5 EA7PS 28202 KE5GY 28202.5 ZS5VHF 28204 DLØIGI 28205 DLØIGI 28206 KJ4X 28207.5 KE4NL 28207.5 W8FKL 28208 WA1IOB 28209 NX2O Location Emis. ERP NCDXF/IARU A1A 100 beacon network St. Helena F1A 0.03 Sao Paulo - 15 Ottawa - 10 Cyprus - 10 Edmonton - 10 Bologna A1A 20 Crowborough F1A 8 St. Petersburg, FL - 75 Tyler, TX A1A 3 California - 100 Argentina -- Spain -1 Arlington, TX -5 Natal -5 Germany - 100 Mt. Predigtstuhl F1A 100 Pickens, SC -2 Sarasota, FL A1A 5 Venice, FL - 10 Marlboro, MA - 75 Staten Is., NY A1A 10 80