G0PKT/B – CW Beacons

On Sunday 5th May 2024 we switched on three CW propagation beacons to complement our existing QRSS and WSPR transmitters. The new beacons transmit using the callsign G0PKT/B.

They are on the following frequencies:

10,144.600 kHz (30m band), output power is 200mW into a dipole.
28,238.200 kHz (10m band), output power is 250mW into a 5/8 vertical.
50,456.000 kHz (6m band), output power is 250mW into a dipole.

Please send reception reports to beacon-report@martellotowergroup.com

Each beacon transmits G0PKT/B G0PKT/B JO01MT at 18wpm CW. You can hear an example of G0PKT/B recorded on 10m by clicking play below.

The G0PKT/B beacons transmit once every ten minutes and the transmission period is less than 20 seconds. The CW transmissions start immediately after the WSPR frame so they are at the following times (mm:ss) past each hour: 09:52, 19:52, 29:52, 39:52, 49:52 and 59:52.

Each beacon consists of a GPS locked QRP Labs Ultimate 3S transmitter with a single output transistor for very clean and very low output. The output is filtered, subsequently fed into an amplifier, and then filtered again before being fed to the appropriate aerial.

The picture below shows the beacons on site, 30m and 10m are mounted together in the unit on the left and the 6m beacon is on the right.

The Martello Tower Group is pleased to operate these beacons for amateur radio enthusiasts worldwide, and we hope they will provide a useful service alongside the QRSS and WSPR transmitters with which they coexist.

Please send reception reports to beacon-report@martellotowergroup.com