Beacons
A worldwide network of high-frequency radio beacons may be found on 14.100, 18.110, 21.150, 24.930, and 28.200 MHz. These beacons help amateur radio users assess the current condition of the ionosphere. The entire system was designed, built and operated by volunteers at no cost except for the actual price of hardware components, shipping costs etc.
Stan Huntting, KW7KW, wrote, "There are at least two possible explanations for an apparently dead band: 1) propagation is poor, or 2) no one is transmitting. The International Beacon Network addresses the second of these possibilities by insuring that reliable signals are always on the air, around the clock, from fixed locations worldwide." With three minutes of listening for the beacons, one can find out either where a particular band is open or which band has the best propagation to a particular part of the world.
In theory, one can simply listen on the beacon frequencies and copy the CW callsigns of the various beacons to figure out where the band is open, but in practice, not every ham operator can copy calls at twenty-two words per minute. In addition some beacons may be too low in signal strength to read the call. Because the beacons transmit at known times, it is easy to know which beacon one is hearing without actually copying the CW callsign. Since the beacons are running one hundred watts to a vertical, even a weak beacon signal may indicate a path with excellent propagation for stations using higher power and directive antennas.
To know which beacon is transmitting at any particular time, see the Beacon Transmission Schedule or use a computer and one of the propagation programs.
In time it is hoped to have a worldwide network of automated receiving stations which post a record on the internet of the beacons they have heard for all to use Posted 14 June, 2010 16:02:10 GMT