I haven't chased the desert beacons in years. It's cheap and easy to do, no fancy radios or antennas needed. If you've got a portable w/ decent SSB tuning and a wire antenna for 40 meters you're in the game. Early afternoon to dark was the best time period for me and I'm a good 2000 miles away, with nothing but rocks, mountains, and dirt to boost propagation. Some of these beacons run microwatts which isn't breaking the law.