Heads Up - Here comes the Next Generation Amateur Radio Beacon (s) for the Southern Cape!! (Part 2)

Video:   6m CW Beacon on the test bench.

In Part 1 available HERE I gave a short overview of the Next Generation Amateur Radio Beacon (s) for the Southern Cape. One beacon that is already up and running is the ZS1I 40m WSPR Beacon (7.038 600 Mhz) More information available HERE, HERE and HERE.  This past two weeks I have been working on two more beacons.  Both beacons are for the 6m Magic Band.  You can read more HERE about the ZS1I 6 Meter Magic Band Project in the Southern Cape Area of South Africa.

I decided against the construction of an elaborate beacon that has to many "Bells and Whistles".  Elaborate beacons is a nice to have but they cost lots of money and personally spending high amounts of cash in my opinion is not worth the while.  After all for this project the beacons will be used as propagation indicators as well as if long distance communication is possible on certain amateur radio bands and the harvesting of WSPR information for WSPR.NET.

Herewith a short overview of the key aspects of Amateur  Radio Beacons:

Propagation beacons in amateur radio are automated transmitters on specific frequencies that send continuous wave (CW) signals to help operators evaluate, in real-time, ionospheric conditions, band openings, and path viability from long-wave to microwave.

 They identify with call signs and locations, often transmitting at varying power levels to measure propagation strength. 

 

Key Aspects of Beacons:

• Purpose: To determine if a frequency band is "open" or "dead" (i.e., whether long-distance communication is currently possible).
• Operational Mode: Most beacons use CW (Morse code) on specifically assigned frequencies, often starting with "VVV de" followed by the callsign.
• Frequency Range:Beacons operate across all bands, with high concentrations in the 10-meter (28 Mhz
  
  ) and 6-meter (50 Mhz
  
  ) bands due to their volatile, unpredictable nature..
• International Beacon Project (NCDXF/IARU): A coordinated, worldwide network of 18 beacons operating on 14.100, 18.110, 21.150, 24.930, and 28.200 MHz, allowing for comprehensive global analysis.
• Next-Generation Beacons: Modern beacons are increasingly using digital modes like Pi4 or FT8 to provide detailed, machine-readable information.

Scientific Utility: Besides checking band openings, they are used for research into daily/seasonal radio propagation trends and for testing/calibrating antennas and receivers.

Common Beacon Frequencies (MHz):
• 10m: 28.200–28.300 (highly active)
• 6m: 50.000–50.100
• 14m (NCDXF): 14.100 

These stations often run low to moderate power, making the ability to hear them a strong indicator of a clear, working path for lower-power stations. 

The two beacons currently under construction:

1.  ZS1I 6m CW Beacon  (16 wpm) Processor:  Arduino Nano V3 ATMEGA 328 P

Mode:  CW

CW Speed:  16 wpm

Frequency:  50.010 Mhz

Clock Generator:   Adafruit Si5351 Module

Power: 2 Watt for test purposes (Will be upgraded to 20 Watt once the test phase has been completed.)

Antenna:  Delta Loop 

Polarization:  Horizontal

Message send:  "VVV de ZS1I-B =  KF15BT"

Beacon Operator:  ZS1I

Status:  Currently active on the test bench running into a Dummy Load

Bells and Whistles:  Speaker outputting audio;  Red LED output TX and Adafruit SSD1306 OLED Display Text being transmitted. Text scrolling from left to right of the screen while beacon is transmitting.

Filters:  Low Pass Filter for 6m between Si5351 and the Antenna output.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  This is an experimental beacon running at times from my shack in Mossel Bay for test purposes.  A decision whether this will become a permanently installed beacon on 6m will be taken sometime in the future.  If you have any gripes or positive input about the beacon send me an email.  I do not respond to telephone calls and prefer written correspondence.

2.  ZS1I 6m WSPR Beacon  Processor:  ESP32 S3 N16R8  (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Mode:  WSPR

Frequency: 50.293 Mhz

Clock Generator:   Adafruit Si5351 Module

Power: 10 mW (10dBm) for test purposes (Will be upgraded to  5 Watt once the test phase has been completed.)

Antenna: 6m Moxon Antenna 

Message send:  "ZSI1 =  KF15BT" 

Bells and Whistles:  Speaker outputting audio;  Red LED output TX and Adafruit SSD1306 OLED Display Text being transmitted. Text scrolling from left to right of the screen while beacon is transmitting.

Filters:  Low Pass Filter for 6m between Si5351 and the Antenna output. 

That's all for now.  In Part 3 I will provide more information, photos and video on the construction of the ZS1I 6m CW Beacon.  In Part 4 I will provide more information, photos and video on the construction of the 6m WSPR Beacon.