Low power 628nm (red) light beacon - co-sited with GB3CAM beacons at Wyton What is it? This is a narrow +-10 degree beam , modulated red LED beacon pointed towards Cambridge/Newmarked from Wyton, as below. This map also shows  where the beacon can be seen with the naked eye on a clear night. Tx with optional fresnell lens (currently not fitted)         10 x 10mm LEDs running 400mW dc               The beacon runs 400mW dc input to ten 10mm pre-focussed LEDs wired in series. FSK AM modulation of the standing dc bias is applied using tones at  1 and 15 kHz, enabling both baseband and carrier (hetrodyne) receiver formats to be used. CW signaling of the FSK signal with the 1 kHz tone  representing the 'mark' state is used. Tone harmonics are all at least 40 dB down on the fundamental tone level. Three 'GB3CAM' words are sent followed  by 30 seconds of '5's (as near as I could get to a 50% FSK duty cycle). A recording of the 1 kHz tone, taken at Holywell (point 6 on map above) at a  distance of 5.25 km, can be heard here. As can be seen below, signals are 55 to 60 dB above noise. The receive head used here was a KA7OEI design with a BPW34 photo-diode, mounted behind an A4 size Fresnell lens. It fed a lap-top PC running either 'Spectrum Lab' (below) or 'Winrad' (right). View either picture in it's own window for better resolution. The beacon is also audible at Nine Mile Hill (point 1 on the map), as below. This is a distance of 32 km. The audio wav file for this is HERE. There seems always to be twinkle on the signal at this location, with the level fluctuating between 5 and 30 dB above noise at this bandwidth (6 Hz). You can see this if you play back the wav file through an SDR programme such as Winrad above. This recording was taken using an A4 size Fresnell lens preceding the BPW34 detector. Phil G8MLA was also copying the beacon on his receiver that uses a credit card size Fresnell lens. This pretty much equates to a 4" lens in terms of capture area, both of which result in a 10 dB lower sensitivity than when using an A4 size Fresnell lens version. I now have a 4" lens receiver, and so can confirm this last statement. The beacon is weak though un-missible with such a receiver . Despite the lower sensitivity, these small receivers are much easier and convenient to use, and can be hand-held. Another good/convenient locatation is directly opposite the BT tower on the Longstanton to Over road (point 5 on map). There is a tarmaced field entrance with an excelent view of the beacon, and plenty of space to set up tripods etc. It is gated, but again there is no need to go beyond the gate.  The distance from the beacon is 11.25 km. A +-10 degree circular beam pattern is currently being radiated, with a 2 degree elevation bias. This means that there will be illumination of lower cloud layers, when present, with the posibility of some propagation via cloud scatter, which may be an interesting mode for non line-of-sight paths. For anyone interested in the beacon drive circuitry, the circuit can be found here. REPORTS OF BEACON RECEPTION GRATEFULLY RECEIVED!