On 12 Aug 2003 18:55:01 GMT, donut wrote:

"MnMikew" wrote in
:

Pardon my newbieness, but what exactly is a beacon and what is its
purpose? I'll see if I can pick it up tonight from MN.

heh heh... you won't be picking up anything at night on the 10 meter band
unless it's local.

Well, you clearly need to take a look at the antenna you're using. I
used to hear all sorts of stuff on ten meters in the early evenings.
Years ago, some friends and I located in the Baltimore and Washington
DC region used to get together on 28.720 every night and often we'd
get interrupted by a few Aussies and New Zealanders. These weren't
weak signals, these were substantial signals that we couldn't ignore.

Ten meters is a funny band. Signals can come and go very quickly.
It's not well suited for broadcast work, but it is pretty good for
making a casual contact. One way to tell if the band is open is to
check the beacon sub-band. You'd be amazed what you can hear, and
when...

73,


Jake Brodsky, AB3A
"Beware of the massive impossible!"