In Part 1 available HERE we looked at the construction of a WSPR Beacon to monitor propagation conditions from the Southern Cape.
In Part 2 we will be looking at the functioning and operating of the beacon as well as reports received and stations that spotted the beacon.
The ZS1I WSPR 40M Beacon is currently on air since the 7 October 2025 @ 10h00 SAST. The first station to spot the beacon was Fred ZS5SAM (Div 1) from Barrydale. (Distance 134 km)
I hear many of you say but that is no big deal receiving the beacon. Well after I constructed a project it is important for me to know that the project is working and that it is working well. Thanks, Fred for taking the time to spot the beacon. Highly appreciated. Now Fred is not the only one that spotted the beacon.
More on this later as here is another interesting occurrence once again involving Fred.
Fred also run a Ultimate 3S beacon from Barrydale. On the 9 October 2025 I was busy monitoring the beacon in my Shack using my RTL-SDR V4 Dongle and the included portable V antenna. (See photo of antenna.)
Images (Click on images for larger view.)
The equipment that I used to monitor the ZS1I Beacon on the 9 + 10 October 2025 can be seen from the above images. The third image reflect my setup on the two days. The antennas were not extended as I concentrated on the ZS1I Beacon that was running in the Shack. I used SDR Console and WXJT-X to decode my beacon's signal. Well I nearly fell on my back when the WSPR Beacon of Fred ZS5SAM was decoded using the test setup inside the Shack on the 9th and 10th. Look at the images below for more information. Remarkable that this setup decoded the signal of Fred's beacon from Barrydale especially using this simple antenna.
Images (Click on images for larger view.)
This is proof that WSPR is living up to it's name!
Other spotting stations:
I would like to thank all the many other stations that spotted the ZS1I 40M WSPR Beacon since the 7 October 2025. Many stations taking the time to listen out for the beacon.
Here is a lists of stations listed by LU7AA:
Images (Click on images for larger view.)
Thank you to all the stations that assisted me in getting the beacon "fine-tuned" for its ultimate use in the next few weeks. Yes the 40M band beacon will be changed to something more exiting and challenging. I can confirm that the beacon has been running flawlessly after making the necessary small set-up adjustments. Lookout for Part 3 relating to more information as to the ultimate use of the beacon.
End of Part 2
