DX Beacon Monitor
Get up-to-the-minute worldwide DX band conditions in minutes on 14, 18, 21, 24, 28 MHz bands using the International Beacon Network of 18 beacons throughout the world!
MFJ's new DX Beacon Monitor lets you instantly see which beacon you're hearing on your transceiver -- an LED lights up on its world map to show you the beacon location and where to point your antenna.
It's fascinating to hear and watch each beacon location light up as they become active across the world.
The International Beacon Network
The International Beacon Network provides a reliable source of signals for determining HF propagation 24 hours a day. It consists of 18 beacons evenly located throughout the world. Each beacon transmits on 14.1, 18.11, 21.150, 24.93, and 28.2 MHz.
The transmit sequence moves westward from New York across North America, Asia, Pacific to Africa, Europe, and South America. On each frequency, each beacon transmits for ten seconds -- it's call sign at 22 wpm CW and a one-second dash at 100 Watts and three one-second dashes at 10, 1, and 0.1 Watts.
When each beacon completes a transmission it goes silent on that band and switches to the next higher band. For more information on the International Beacon Network, see QST Magazine Issues October 1994, November 1994, and September 1997.
How are band conditions?
Tune to a beacon frequency. If band conditions are good, you'll hear each beacon identifying in Morse and four dashes each at a lower power level. The more beacons you hear, the more open the band is to different parts of the world.
The more dashes you hear per beacon, the better the quality of propagation and the more robust the band is. If you hear the 100 milliwatt dashes from many beacons, you know the band is wide open!
In just three minutes you'll know how band conditions are worldwide. It's interesting to see how propagation varies from day to day -- what beacons you can hear and at what power level. You may find that the band is wide open buy nobody is on.
Which band is best to reach a particular part of the world?
By storing the beacon frequencies in your transceiver's memory, you can quickly check all five bands to see which band has the best propagation to a particular part of the world.
MFJ DX Beacon Monitor lets you instantly see on world map which beacon you're hearing
You don't have to copy CW at 22 wpm to identify a beacon. When you hear a beacon, an LED instantly lights up on a world map to show you its location. You can positively identify each beacon -- even if the signal is weak, and the CW is fluttery or distorted. The world map display also tells you where to point your antenna.
How does the MFJ DX Beacon Monitor work?
The transmit sequence of the beacons are precision timed using GPS (Global Positioning Satellites). The MFJ DX Beacon Monitor duplicates this precision timing sequence. A microprocessor and a built-in WWVB atomic clock receiver maintains ultra precise timing.
The MFJ-890 is a self-contained standalone unit. It requires no connection to your transceiver or receiver. It measures 6.75 x 5.25 x 3 inches. It uses 12 VDC or 110 VAC with optional MFJ-1312D.
