The beacons are located at Grand Haven MI . EN63VP. Situated at the 65 foot level on a tower atop a 250 foot sand dune. The lake level is approximately 595 feet for a total of 910 feet AMSL. The beacon operates on 10367.940 MHz +/- 6KHz under normal weather conditions. It transmits a steady carrier with a break for Call sign and Grid Locator every 45 seconds, The antenna is a 24 inch dish 0.5 f/D it is oriented to 105 degrees over Detroit MI. In cold weather expect the frequency to be positive and warm weather to be lower. This is because the electronics is mounted on the tower near the antenna to eliminate feedline loss.
The heart of the electronics is a California Microwave phase locked temperature controlled oscillator followed by suitable filter multiplier stages. The output is followed by an electronic switch for keying the Identification and location. The keyed signal is then amplified to 1 watt with a Qualcom solid state amplifier. All are mounted on a 1/4 inch aluminum plate as a heat sink. A muffin fan is mounted on the bottom of the enclosure and air is ducted through the unit for cooling. There is a heater mounted on the base plate, and a Thermal switch mounted on a plate in the air flow. This switches the fan off and the heater on for winter/summer operation.
The 70 CM Beacon has been in operation for several years. It employs a temperature compensated crystal Oscillator, followed by suitable frequency multipliers,driving a 10 Watt solid state amplifier. The antenna is a turnstile type to provide a horizontal omnidirectional pattern. The operating frequency is 432.3 MHz.
I thank Hank W8GVK for his generosity, time, and expertise in installing and operating these Beacons, and for donating the space on the tower and in the equipment building. Without this the Beacons would not exist.
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