QRP Beacon Experiment with the A510
September 1980 till September 1981
Description A510
This HF manpack transceiver was built by AWA in Autralia during the 1950s. Like most AWA productions it was ahead of its time. Looking at its construction, one could easily believe it was ten years newer than it really is. It consists of a separate receiver and transmitter, connected by an umbilical cord, worn in pouches which strap across the operator’s chest. The receiver is VFO full coverage from 2 to 10MHz. The receiver is also a very high performance specimen. The transmitter is crystal controlled, and can output 1 watt on either AM or CW. The transmitter has a built in ATU and can tune a whip or wire antennas. 7 pin glass miniature valves are used. Two separate batteries provide power, one for heaters, and the other for HT and bias.
Technical specification
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“A LICENCE TO BEACON”
Due to Dutch regulations we needed a special licence from the authorities to keep an unmanned station on the air. This licence was issued to my father PA3ABH for the period 1st September 1980 till 1st September 1981 and covered the frequencies 3.510 MHz and 7.010 MHz with 250 milli-watt.
The Beacon hardware
The Transmitter used was the A510 transmitter part. During the experiment we had to change the final tubes to keep the power output to 250mWatt. The A510 has a build in Antenna Tuner. The RF signal was therefor directly fed to a ‘Sloper’ antenne, a 25 Meter long wire hanging from about 20 meter to about 10 meter height.
To generate the CW signal a Electronic Memory Keyer was used. This VRZA keyer was programmable and could contain the whole message to transmit including a silent period.
Reports received during the beacon tests in 1980 –1981
Y = Former East Germany
Some of the QSL we got from fellow HAM operators
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But we also got negative reactions
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This OM doesn’t like the QRM made by the 250mWatt beacon. Isn’t it remarkable that QRP can jam? It seems he doesn’t like us. We got the same QSL and remark for the 80 Meter beacon test. |
and we had correspondence with SWL stations
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Conclusion
Based on the reports and the amount of positive reactions, I was encouraged in keeping the beacon on the air for almost a year. Especially station from Eastern Europe where enthusiastic and used the beacon signals to monitor the band propagation. I even got detailed reports with signal strength during a day or a week.
Beacons are used by Radio Amateurs mainly on the higher HF bands and the VHF/UHF bands. But the experiment showed that a beacon on the lower HF band is appreciated as well and has certain an added value to offer.
very good Web-sit
Congratulations
Jose