9cm microwave band Test Beacon from VK1

 

Dimitrios Tsifakis via groups.io <dtsifakis=gmail.com@groups.io>	Jun 14, 2026, 11:12 AM
to VK-Microwave

Hi all,

This beacon is mainly of interest to the ACT members.

The 9 cm beacon is finally on air! The nominal frequency is 3398.8 MHz, the beacon power output was measured to be +15 dBm past the final filter. Out of this power I expect about +10 dBm to make it to the HPOL antenna. The beacon transmits 12 WPM morse code that includes the callsign (VK1SV/B) and the approximate location (QF44).

Its stability should be superior to previous beacons I have put on air, however there might be a small offset from the nominal 3398.8 MHz operating frequency. Using an (uncalibrated) SDR, I see it at 3398.80045 MHz (450 Hz higher than the nominal freq). YMMV.

This may be a beacon that can only be heard from mountaintops, but in any case, reception reports, positive or negative, are always welcome.

73, Dimitris

PS, I have obtained a 10 W 3.4 GHz amplifier from aliexpress but haven't powered it up yet. It cost me about $40 from memory. This could be used to bring the beacon to a watt or so of output power in the future. A discussion including some measured data about this amplifier can be found here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/rf-microwave/10w-rf-amplifier-3400-3800-mhz-from-aliexpress-reverse-engineering/

VK3RXX 2403.530MHz Beacon back on air

 VK3RXX 2403.530MHz Beacon back on air after some work done on it.

FK8SIX 6metre Beacon is back on air (50.080 MHz) from New Caledonia

 news from our amateur radio friends in New Caledonia (ARANC club FK8KA)

that the FK8SIX  6metre Beacon is back on air (50.080 MHz) as of October 2024, after a long outage of several years.

You can read about it on their blog 

FK8KA: Beacon FK8SIX

Brisbane VHF Group VK4RBB Beacon Update

These UHF and microwave beacons repaired and on-air 

432.440 MHz

1296.440 MHz

2403.440 MHz

3398.440 MHz

5760.440 MHz

10368.440 MHz

24048.440 MHz

portable QF46xe

last week was portable & mobile around QF46xe, staying at Jenolan Cabins,  I setup a 2/70  vertical on a 2.5metre portable mast, here are some signal strengths for some repeaters I could key up, or simply heard them, as of 22nd July 2019.

146.650 VK2RDX Mt Bindo  60/9
146.675 VK2RUW Knights Hill s5
146.800 VK2RLE Heathcote s9
146.875 VK2RMB Terrey Hills 20/9
147.000 VK2RWI Dural 50/9
147.125 VK2RAG Somersby 50/9
147.200 VK2RCW Gowan s3
147.250 VK2RNS Hosrnsby 10/9

438.350 VK2RHT Chatswood 50/9 (digital)
438.400 VK2RMB Terrey Hills s3 (digital)
438.450 VK2RCF Carlingford 40/9
438.525 VK2RWI Dural  s9
438.575 VK2ROT Paddington 10/9
438.600 VK2RWI Dural s6 (digital)
438.725 VK2RMP Maddens Plains s7 (digital)
439.500 VK2RCG  city  30/9  (digital)
439.750 VK2RHP Horsley Park 20/9 (digital)
439.800 VK2RCG city 30/9 (DMR)
439.925 VK2RON Hunters Hill s6
439.950 VK2RAG Somersby s7
439.975 VK2RHS Hornsby 10/9


The 23cm repeaters was using a grid pack in vertical polarised position.
1273.100 VK2R?? Sugarloaf    tried it but nothing
1273.200 VK2RWC Chatswood 60/9
1273.500 VK2RAG Somersby s3
1273.500 VK2RWI Dural s5

The beacon was received using a  grid pack in horizontal polarised position
1296.420 VK2RWI  Dural s9
 
As for 6metre repeaters, I had my quad band FM in the car, I tried the following 6metre repeaters,
53.625 Sugarloaf, 53.650 Maddens Plains, 53.725 Somersby, 53.850 Dural, 53.875 Blue Mtns,  received none of them.

I made several contacts on 23cm repeaters over the week. Glad to see people using the 23cm repeaters.

new 23cm beacon gone live - VK2RSF 1296.414 MHz Nimatabel

a new 23cm beacon has gone live today,  VK2RSF 1296.414 MHz Nimatabel at grid QF43QL, to compliment the existing two beacons on 144.414 MHz and 432.414 MHz

Field Portable QF46pu Gowan NSW

For Easter weekend, April 2017, was visiting QF46pu, to get on 2m,70cm, and 23cm AE nets in the mornings. Did some testing on 23cm gridpacks and dish against the Dural beacon 1296.420. Did not hear any other 23cm beacons.

 This is small gridpack looking back towards Newcastle.

 This is a larger gridpack, certainly slightly better than the small gridpack

 IC-910H was hooked up to 2m yagi, 70cm yagi and 23cm  running from solar panels and batteries

 The 3metre diameter mesh dish with 23cm feed, aimed towards north coast NSW

 Smaller gridpack aimed at Sydney Dural 23cm beacon (approx 180km)

Looking towards Melbourne in the gap between trees

 Looking toward VK1, worked VK1KW and VK1DJA on 2m SSB

 2metre and 70cm yagis

I took 3.4Ghz and 10GHz  but did not get time to flash it up.

Best activity was working Compton VK2HRX who was SOTA portable up the Warrumbungles, worked him on 2m SSB, 70cm SSB and 1294.000 FM

Aiming to the right of the big tree to work Compton VK2HRX/p at QF48mr SOTA spot CCW001 a distance of 209km, not bad on 1294 MHz FM as Compton was using a 1w handheld.

and screenshot from VKLogger

For next time,  remember take my portable generator.

23cm portable 8th to 10th December, 2016

I did  a trip to Canberra on 8th December, 2016,  first stopped at the carpark at southern end of Federal Highway, (QF44qu) where it rises up from Lake George, so I could try to work Dave VK2JDS at QF46pu, it was extremely windy and difficult to keep grid pack still or even hear the radio, so we were unsuccessful. It probably should have worked and I was aiming up the lake, above the water.
On 9th December 2016, I visited Mt Ainslie (QF44nr) to try and work Rod VK2TWR at Nimmitabel, but he already packed up, but I did hear Gordon VK3EJ at Cobram on 1296.150 MHz via AE, working Rob VK1KW, nice strong signal from Gordon before quickly fading out. At least this proved my IC-910H and 23cm Gridpack were working.

on 10th December 2016, came up to Mt Ainslie (QF44nr) again and tried on the northern side of the hill, to try and work Grant VK2MAX at Kempsey via AE on 1296.150 bu to no go. Also tried to receive Dural beacon 1296.420 but no go.

Then I moved around to western side of Mt Ainslie (QF44nr) to try Grant VK2MAX again but no good AE path available.

beacons

update from Colin VK5DK

Advising that all the VK5RSE Beacons (144.550, 432.550 & 1296.550) are now back on air after a power supply replacement. Any reports most welcome to either VK5DK or VK5DJ.

144.550MHz Beacon has CW plus two Digital modes JT4D & JT65B, 

432.550MHz has CW & JT4D digital mode  

1296.550MHz has CW & JT4F digital mode.

recent VHF/UHF/SHF DX

last week was pretty good for propagation from Sydney, with the High pressure cells sitting over the Tasman sea for days, we were presented with consistent tropo ducting up and down the coast of NSW and across the pond to ZL as well as trops across the Great Australian Bight which provided paths from vk6 to vk5, vk3.

As far as paths from Sydney, we had openings to Tamworth to both their 146.750 and 439.950 repeaters,  paths to Buladelah 147.100 regularly, good paths to south coast such as 146.825 near Bega, 146.625 Goulburn  was strong on quite a few occassions, in fact one day it was 60/9, with Mt Ginini 146.950, and the local Canberra repeaters 146.725 and 147.175 heard on occassions. One one night I found 147.025 from Mt Canobolis (Orange) accessible, I called someone to come up on it, but that repeater faded into the noise before we could make a contact.

monday night this week, heard activity on 146.700 near Nowra.

Last week several VK2 and VK4's made it across the pond to ZL1 on 2m,70cm and 23cm SSB, even ZL1TPH/p was receiving the Dural VK2RWI 1296.420 beacon on more than one day, that's pretty impressive, but makes me optimistic that more regular 23cm contacts across to ZL are probable. It provides me with more incentive to get 23cm SSB gear active and a dish up and aimed at ZL next summer.

I did note that the tropo just does not extend inland and with enough intensity for contacts on 2/70/23 to ZL, I think the inland inversion ducting is the much more common propagation mode, which of course occurs mainly at night.