RE: 144.3 beacon
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Rod Johnson
Jan 14, 2017, 9:19:39 PM1/14/17
to kd...@comcast.net, PNW...@googlegroups.com
Mike,
I just listened, and I do not hear it either; so I guess the answer is NO.
Something has failed, because it appears to be keying, but I cannot detect any output on 2m.
Listening on 432.301 does not yield a signal either.
Rats! This is not something I will have time to mess with anytime soon, and just before a contest.
It seems the keying circuit is operating (pilot lamps showing keying sequence), but it is drawing very little power from the battery pack.
Rod J
Sent from AOL Mobile Mail
On Saturday, January 14, 2017 kd7ts <kd...@comcast.net> wrote:
Hi Rod,
Is the beacon operating ? I hear a carrier on 144.3 but no CW ID. Might just be a birdie.
Mike KD7TS
--
<kd...@comcast.net>
Rod Johnson
Jan 15, 2017, 1:59:06 PM1/15/17
to PNW...@googlegroups.com
OK!
Many thanks to Mike Reed KD7TS for bringing this to my attention.
Any of you, who might wonder if the beacons are functioning, drop mew an e-mail and ask.
Particularly, if you are accustomed to being able to hear them, but suddenly cannot, there might be a problem with them.
With much 'egg' on my face; I am happy, but somewhat embarrassed, to report:
The 144.299 and 432.301 beacons are back on the air.
The beacons will typically be turned off during contest weekends
The 222.050 beacon can be turned on by request, but until I get the beacons moved to a permanent location higher up, that antenna coax needs to cross the floor, and has been shown to be a trip hazard.
It was a relatively easy fix once I was able to uncover the top of the beacon box and look inside.
It turns out the supply voltage (battery) had dropped to about 6 volts, as a result of the low position of the sun in the sky (local and house trees shading most of the solar panels this time of the year) even though we have had unusually bright days the last couple of weeks; and the small, but not so minor, fact that a dedicated backup battery charger ( a cheap Harbor Freight Battery Maintainer) had become disconnected.
The enclosure for the beacon setup has a front panel mounted ammeter, which I had recently paid little attention to. It typically shows about 1.0 to 1.1 amps when the two beacons are transmitting. There is voltmeter function (yet).
A couple of items got set in front of the enclosure so the ammeter was not readily visible.
The Pico Keyer that runs the beacons is very happy down to a few volts, so the keyer was happily sending the message, and front panel LED's indicated it was functioning. But, there was not enough voltage to allow the transmitter drivers to turn on, and of course the transmitters would have not likely functioned at that low voltage, even if they had been keyed.
I want to thank Dennis Ashworth, K7FL, (previous owner) for the quick offer to help diagnose the problem; and for a well designed layout and for supplying the excellent documentation.
Rod Johnson
Issaquah, WA
CN97al
about 800' ASL on the west facing slope of Tiger Mountain
Many thanks to Mike Reed KD7TS for bringing this to my attention.
Any of you, who might wonder if the beacons are functioning, drop mew an e-mail and ask.
Particularly, if you are accustomed to being able to hear them, but suddenly cannot, there might be a problem with them.
With much 'egg' on my face; I am happy, but somewhat embarrassed, to report:
The 144.299 and 432.301 beacons are back on the air.
The beacons will typically be turned off during contest weekends
The 222.050 beacon can be turned on by request, but until I get the beacons moved to a permanent location higher up, that antenna coax needs to cross the floor, and has been shown to be a trip hazard.
It was a relatively easy fix once I was able to uncover the top of the beacon box and look inside.
It turns out the supply voltage (battery) had dropped to about 6 volts, as a result of the low position of the sun in the sky (local and house trees shading most of the solar panels this time of the year) even though we have had unusually bright days the last couple of weeks; and the small, but not so minor, fact that a dedicated backup battery charger ( a cheap Harbor Freight Battery Maintainer) had become disconnected.
The enclosure for the beacon setup has a front panel mounted ammeter, which I had recently paid little attention to. It typically shows about 1.0 to 1.1 amps when the two beacons are transmitting. There is voltmeter function (yet).
A couple of items got set in front of the enclosure so the ammeter was not readily visible.
The Pico Keyer that runs the beacons is very happy down to a few volts, so the keyer was happily sending the message, and front panel LED's indicated it was functioning. But, there was not enough voltage to allow the transmitter drivers to turn on, and of course the transmitters would have not likely functioned at that low voltage, even if they had been keyed.
I want to thank Dennis Ashworth, K7FL, (previous owner) for the quick offer to help diagnose the problem; and for a well designed layout and for supplying the excellent documentation.
Rod Johnson
Issaquah, WA
CN97al
about 800' ASL on the west facing slope of Tiger Mountain
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