Hi all, name is Jeff and QTH is Ponce, Puerto Rico. I moved here from NY with my wife and daughter so we could help out a pastor in church and ministry at the Iglesia Pentecostal Unida de Ponce (Hechos 2:38!!)

I love radio, with the 10-meter band at the top of the list and VHF next in line. I participate in the PropNET beacon project which logs and instantly displays when and where radio propagation is active on the various bands, using PSK31. It is best described as a "pro-active beacon", because it not only transmits a PSK ID automatically, but it also automatically "hears" and logs other PropNET stations and even regular CQ calls, then sends the data via the internet which is displayed on a visual map. Click here for an example of a map from September 28, 2011 for the 10-meter band. Anyone can "ping" PropNET stations by calling a standard CQ on the PropNET frequency and then loading the PropNET map webpage to see if their station was heard by any PropNET stations. PropNET is extremely efficient and allows 24/7 monitoring of band conditions while the operator is away at work, sleeping, etc.

My 10-meter beacon (a modified 4-watt "HyGain II" 23-channel CB, using the N0XAS PicoKeyer) on 28.222 MHz is temporarily off the air until I get another antenna up or relocate the beacon. Bill WJ5O was a great elmer and gave me all the info I needed to get a 10 meter beacon up and running. Check out his excellent 10 Meter Information website here. There are many nice beacon lists availabe on the internet:ZL2FB has a list here with MP3 recordings, WJ5O has a list here on his website, and DL8WX has a list here.

My 6 meter beacon is on the air 24/7, a Motorola Maxar on 50.064 MHz, at 10 watts into an OA-50 horizontal omni antenna. Please email me if you hear it at kp3ft@yahoo.com .

There is a need for more CW and PropNET PSK beacons worldwide. Beacons are very useful as propagation indicators to specific areas, and also for further study of propagation phenomena. It is easy and inexpensive to set one up. Many CW beacons are old CB's modified for 10 meters and run 2, 3, or 4 watts. If you are interested in setting up a CW beacon, please contact Bill Hays at wj5o@troycable.net . He is the IARU Region 2 coordinator for HF beacons, and operates his own beacon on 28.289 MHz. If you're interested in setting up a PropNET beacon and/or being a PropNET listener/logger, check out their website for more information.

73! Jeff KP3FT