481THz update: 1.6km test

Today I did my first test beyond the end of my street and in daylight.  I set up my 1.082kHz subcarrier CW beacon and 100mm optics pointing out through my double glazed bedroom window and aimed it at a local feature called the Devil's Dyke which is 1.6km (1mile) exactly from home. This is the furtherest line-of-sight (LOS) path I have from home.

Then I went up to the Devil's Dyke and started looking with my handheld 100mm optics receiver. Much to my joy and surprise I heard the beacon before I spotted it by eye. The beacon could be copied over a stretch about 50m along the path. S/N I'd guess at around 20dB (by ear) in speech bandwidth in daylight. Next time I'll take the laptop and measure S/N with Spectran.  1.6km is my best distance so far. I'm using a BPW34 detector with some reverse bias with the PIN diode's anode connected directly to the FET gate in a KA7OEI optical head. This feeds into a feedback biased common emitter stage into a crystal earpiece. Recovered audio was a bit low in the wind.

Some progress in the right direction.