~6626.2 "Rocky" beacon photo (Inyo desert, CA) - early April 2020

[MojaveBeaconeer]

This is a link to a recent photo I took of the "Rocky" beacon - formerly located on a large rock pile 4 miles west of Darwin, CA; but due to a failed keying-cycle (RC circuit) cap. I removed it and after a repair I relocated it near Owens ('dry') Lake on a barbed wire fence antenna as shown.  The "hot" side is the second to the top wire, and the "ground" is the bottom-most wire (clip-leads visible). (About 150 dashes/minute).

The photo is here:



This is heard with the far-stronger "Rainy" beacon in the Mojave Nat. Preserve - Rainy has strong "ticking" sounds that vary in rate due to solar-incidence levels.

Both ~6626.2 kHz Rainy and Rocky are day-only and have been "paired" for about 13 years now...

73 de MB (Steve McGreevy)

[MojaveBeaconeer]

Regarding the "Rocky" beacon's fence antenna: I should mention that about two weeks ago I moved the 1/4 wave "hot-side radiator" to the top-most barbed-wire cut to about 35 ft./12m in length (about 1/4 wave figuring in the NVIS type of radiator "low to the ground" and ground-effect capacitance to shorten it by at least 10% of the 468/Fq. in MHz/2  for the 1/4 wave (ft.) formula. 

This change seems to help a tad, as it is heard fine with "Rainy" on the KPH Point Reyes/Marin County, CA KiwiSDR (only 2 km east of where I extensively DXed LW/MW at North Beach in the early to mid-80s and a few times after). 

Rocky's ERP on ~6626.2 is still nowhere near the levels of the long-time 6700.4 "HexY2K" nor the co-channel "Rainy" ("ticker") beacon on 6626.2 kHz.

Those three beacons (Rainy/Rocky HexY2K) represent the stronger daytime desert-beacons I am still letting operate allegedly - I have not visited the other two beacons in over 13-15 years (I'm not doing much desert-travel these days save for more local trips and camping).

On ~4096.0 only the long-dasher "Coxie" remains as a daytimer (battery long DOA...) and ever-rare is MarinDit 24/7 (fundamental) about 4096.87 (< or = to about 5 mW ERP) is very hard to hear here - the only location I've ever heard it's fundamental is in Darwin, CA and a also few miles outside near Long's Well Wash while camping out 5 years ago - both times at morning dawn...

Just an update for this last weekend of April.  73 - SpM/MB

[syfr]

Rocky is very strong on the KFS SDR right now (5PM PDT)

Good job!

[Dave Richards]

Coming through clearly, and peaking an S2-S3 with slow QSB on the KFS Kiwi SDR in Half Moon Bay, CA at 2250 utc (3:50pm PDT)
Thanks for the photos!

[MojaveBeaconeer]

THANKS sfyr and AA7EE! - I'll get an updated pic as soon as I can d/l them from the camera soon.  The top wire is now the same as the second from the topmost wire and is thusly the xmit. wire.  Otherwise the same.  Maybe 200 mW output.  No short-skip within the region so the coastal SDRs at KFs and KPH are supurb for monitoring these.  Sometimes Rainy and Rocky synch up nicely when Rainy (the ticker) is at the same keying rate...

Just have some updated 4096 "Viking" pics now at a new site and weaker but going - a challenge to hear outside its groundwave area, like MarinDit on its fund.  4096 is not what it was once!

Cool whomever is doing the "R" beacon about 4096.2 -ish!  R is weak daytimes here like the new "Phallaxy Beacon" (former viking - 4095.9 or so.) but is more like the Haystack was for ERP I think. 

New (Phallaxy/former Viking Beacon - 4095.9 kHz or so)  beacon pics below...



and...



I think this should work... cc'd to my site also...

the second site is very hidden unlike the former Viking Mine site.  Just that it was HARD to DF. I had to do so to locate it and it was hard going... MB/Steve

oops I need to shrink these pics! 

[MojaveBeaconeer]

it appears the pics auto-reload from my website soon as I FTPd the smaller/shrunk images of Viking/Phallaxy and the one of Rocky above.  100DPI and Width of 10 inches works to keep them in the text box window... 73 spm