This blog is dedicated to (ham)radio. It is maintained by PA2S. Feedback is always welcome!
Henk, PA2S
(E-mail address on QRZ.com)
Beacon transmissions
On 60 metres, I often transmit messages like “BEACON PA2S”. The purpose is to collect data for an ongoing propagation study.
FT8 is used instead of WSPR because of the much shorter intervals between transmissions. The 30 seconds FT8 data points reveal changes, which would otherwise not be seen. An advantage is that I can collect data and make FT8 contacts in between.
The FT8 software saves all decodes in a file, which can be converted into a database. A number of European stations and some in New Zealand contribute to the research, by being active almost daily and sending the files with the reception information, which I process further.
It could be a bit annoying, but I hope you will understand and appreciate the effort to get a better picture of propagation properties. Let’s face it: all radio contacts rely on propagation, whether on HF or microwave, all depends on how waves propagate.
The varying nature of the ionosphere, which responds to all kinds of influences, makes it very difficult to describe its properties. For me, the challenge is to try to lift the veil.
Of course, the results will be shared with the ham radio community.
Below, a link is found to an article with intermediary results, focused on propagation on 5 MHz between Europe and New Zealand.
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