WIA Grant For GPS Locking Of VK Beacons
Introduction
The WIA and Alan Devlin VK3XPD have joined in a collaborative arrangement under the new WIA Grants Scheme to provide beacon owners with funding of up to $200 per beacon, or beacon group, to upgrade their beacons with GPS frequency locking.
This project has now closed. It has been remarkably successful.
As of 17 June 2015, a total of 19 beacon projects across VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6 and VK7 were successful in obtaining grants (with two pending). A final list of beacons upgraded to GPS-locked status under this project will be posted below when finally compiled.
Background
Anyone whos been around the VHF-UHF bands for a few years understands the purpose of beacons. The original concept was to provide a propagation indicator to distant stations. Once they became established, operators within a beacons local area used them as a reference signal: Is my gear working? Ah, theres the beacon. Searching for a distant beacon that may be a weak signal is frustrating if its not on its nominated frequency, or very close to it.
Most VK beacons derive their output frequency from a crystal oscillator and multiplier chain, or from a phase-locked loop system locked to a crystal oscillator. These schemes inevitably have an issue with drift and therefore accuracy. The problem gets progressively worse the higher the output frequency. It becomes critical on the microwave bands.
(See image above - beacon drifting almost 600 Hz over a period of about two minutes - Spectran audio analyzer display, courtesy of Iain VK5ZD. - Click the picture for a larger view)
The development of weak-signal digital transmission modes that necessitate high frequency stability in transceivers has motivated many amateurs to install GPS locking of their rigs, leveraging the high frequency accuracy and stability of the GPS satellite technology.
The Project
Alan Devlin VK3XPD saw that this development necessitated improving the VK beacon network, so that their functionality matched what beacon users were doing. Alan put a proposal to the WIA to encourage beacon owners to implement GPS locking, which was accepted earlier in 2014. A total of up to $5000 is available, $2500 each from the WIA and VK3XPD, for the exclusive purpose of funding GPS locking upgrades for VK beacons operating on bands from 144 MHz up.
Beacon owners Australia-wide are encouraged to apply and the sooner, the better. This is available to all-comers individuals, clubs and groups, members and non-members, WIA-affiliated, or not. The initiative ends on 1 June 2015.
GPS locked beacons better serve their function as a propagation indicator because you know exactly what frequency it will be on, but they also provide local amateurs with a highly accurate frequency reference.
The terms and conditions of the Grants Scheme are set out in Alan VK3XPD's article published in August 2014 Amateur Radio magazine. A copy of the article can be downloaded from the link below. Further background is set out in the WIA Presidents Blog for August 2014 via this Link
Progress
As of 17 June 2015, beacons on 2m, 70cm, 23cm, 13cm and 3cm across VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6 and VK7 are now GPS-locked following this project, with a few more microwave beacons anticipated.
Files For Download
Page Last Updated: Tuesday 5 November 2019 at 20:57 hours by Webmaster
|
