Today I completed the build of my new VLF beacon transmitter. The beacon puts out 5W into a 50 ohm load, which is very close to the resistance of my 20m spaced earth electrodes. The beacon operates at either 8.970kHz or 4.485kHz with (a) continuous carrier, (b) 10wpm CW or (c) QRSS3.
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| VLF Earth-mode Beacon Transmitter |
The main changes were to separate the keyer and the PA, mount the whole unit in a larger metal box and to use a 3C90 matching transformer with a fixed turns ratio having measured the ground resistance, which does not change greatly. On a continuous carrier soak test the case temperature only rises about 10 deg C, so frequency drift in the oscillator divider frequency source should be only around 0.1Hz at final frequency.
Having got the beacon finished, the next stage is to start work on some improved receiving kit and to see what sort of range can be achieved through the ground. My best DX so far with the original beacon was 6km, but this is certainly not the limit.
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ReplyDeletePlease, insert new experience in RX with a Beacon.
'73 from Richard - Ik7FMO south-east Italy
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