High Frequency Beacon Society
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Phfer Beacons begin with an Idea
Flea Power Beacons - FPBs "a hand full of milliwatts and a bucket full of fun".
In fact I bet if you construct a FBP PHFER your have more fun then you may have ever had in radio.
Lets put on our waders and wade into the fresh clear waters that are waiting for us. If you enjoy
homebrewing and or experimenting with RF circuits coupled with hiking then this maybe right down
your alley.
The idea is to study propagation and the best way to do it is to listen for beacons that run very little power.
The following picture is a two stage beacon that is run off a 6 volt camera battery. The circuit below is
out of the book Solid Stage Design by Wes Hayward W7ZOI and the late Doug DeMaw W1FB.
We initially started to experiment with FPBs a number of years ago using a single stage Xtal oscillator. The problem
was that any change in the impedance of the antenna system would pull the Xtal off frequency. So over time we
decided to build the two stage circuit mentioned in this essay. We found that if we substituted MPS 2222a transistors
for the oscillator Q1 and Final Amp. stage Q2 and ran 6 volts or less to the circuit we could get 20MW or so output.
That was perfect for a FLEA POWER BEACON. A simple 555 timer chip keys the beacon at the rate you want it to.
See the Ider Circuit and study the circuit for information on how to use the 555 timers to key the beacon.
We also have found that Manhattan style of construction makes for a nice common ground plane and relative ease
of layout compared to Perfboard construction.
The 8000 kHz FPB Ditter (100 dits per min) seen hear in the picture has been heard on the West Coast and Coast. You may wonder, who would even listen to such a low power beacon? Will the are many top notch SWLs with low noise installations that love to
receive very low power beacons.
We look forward to hearing more FPBs. So build up a beacon and hike into a remote area and plant your beacon.
Haywoods Universal Qrp Circuit
This Ider works but must be built exactly as described. WW beacon uses this IDER.
In fact I bet if you construct a FBP PHFER your have more fun then you may have ever had in radio.
Lets put on our waders and wade into the fresh clear waters that are waiting for us. If you enjoy
homebrewing and or experimenting with RF circuits coupled with hiking then this maybe right down
your alley.
The idea is to study propagation and the best way to do it is to listen for beacons that run very little power.
The following picture is a two stage beacon that is run off a 6 volt camera battery. The circuit below is
out of the book Solid Stage Design by Wes Hayward W7ZOI and the late Doug DeMaw W1FB.
We initially started to experiment with FPBs a number of years ago using a single stage Xtal oscillator. The problem
was that any change in the impedance of the antenna system would pull the Xtal off frequency. So over time we
decided to build the two stage circuit mentioned in this essay. We found that if we substituted MPS 2222a transistors
for the oscillator Q1 and Final Amp. stage Q2 and ran 6 volts or less to the circuit we could get 20MW or so output.
That was perfect for a FLEA POWER BEACON. A simple 555 timer chip keys the beacon at the rate you want it to.
See the Ider Circuit and study the circuit for information on how to use the 555 timers to key the beacon.
We also have found that Manhattan style of construction makes for a nice common ground plane and relative ease
of layout compared to Perfboard construction.
The 8000 kHz FPB Ditter (100 dits per min) seen hear in the picture has been heard on the West Coast and Coast. You may wonder, who would even listen to such a low power beacon? Will the are many top notch SWLs with low noise installations that love to
receive very low power beacons.
We look forward to hearing more FPBs. So build up a beacon and hike into a remote area and plant your beacon.
Haywoods Universal Qrp Circuit
This Ider works but must be built exactly as described. WW beacon uses this IDER.
