© ndblist 2022
Radiobeacons
Welcome to the Radiobeacons page
This is the Radiobeacon section of our
website, and on this page you will find
lots of links, information and some
useful publications that will help you to
get started in the wonderful world of
Beacon DXing. Beacons covered here
include the Non-Directional Beacons
(NDBs), which are mostly to be found on
the lower frequency Bands, and also the
HF Amateur Propagation and
experimental beacons, some of which
can be found on most of Amateur Radio
Bands. DGPS Beacons are also covered,
but you will find the information about
these in our specialist 'Datamodes'
Section.
The publications and links shown below
will help to point you in the right
directions, but if you think that Beacon
Hunting might be for you, then we would
recommend joining the NDB List, where
you will find lots of fellow enthusiasts
who will be only too happy to help you
get started and to share their
experiences and tips with you.
You can e-mail the webmaster at:
webmaster at ndblist.info (NOTE# - the
address is shown this way to deter
spambots, so you'll need to replace the
'at' with an @ symbol if you use this).
The RNA-REU-RWW online database
There is one site we would definitely
recommend that you visit, and this is the
"RNA-REU-RWW" Online Database, which
is a unique project run by Canadian DXer
Martin Francis and his team, and shows
which NDBs are currently active, and
when and where they were last heard.
The "RNA" stands for "Received in North
America", and list NDBs, HF Beacons,
Navtex Stations and DGPS Beacons from
that area, and which have been received
by listeners, and similarly, the "REU"
(Received in Europe), and "RWW"
(Received World-Wide", also cover the
other parts of the world.
If you would like to make use of the
Database, or even add your own logs to
it, then you can find out more about it by
clicking on the buttons below:
REU
RNA
RWW
Useful NDB Related Publications
NDB Publications 2023
New for 2023, brand new editions of the
Michael Oexner's popular and essential
'European NDB Handbook' (ENDBH)
containing over 8,300 NDBs, the 'North
American NDB Handbook' (NANDBH)
covering some 5,900 NDBs. Also the new
and unique 'The Global NDB Handbook'
(GNDBH), containing some 17,300 NDBs
worldwide, and perfect for those who
like to listen on the various and ever
growing network of WebSDRs around the
globe. For full details of prices, and
information about where to obtain the
publications, just click on the image or
link above and download the .pdf file
An Introduction to NDB DXing v1.1
This 50 page publications takes some of
the information from the old and no
longer available 'Beacon Hunter's
Handbook' and presents it here in a
simpler format for anyone just starting in
the hobby. 'An introduction to Beacon
DXing', is just that and is completely free
of charge, and can be printed out either
as one complete file, or as three separate
parts if preferred.
QSLing the Beacons
This 5 page article by experienced QSL
Hunter Steve McDonald VE7SL, will help
you to find out how to go about getting a
verification from that Non Directional
Beacon.
NDB List Country Code List
This list shows the system of country
codes used for the purposes of NDB List
CLE Events and Awards. Please note that
these are in no way representative of
political borders and are purely based on
'radio countries'’.
The History & Origins of the NDB List
This article gives some information
about how, when and why the NDB List
was formed way back in 1998.
The Origins of the monthly CLEs
This article gives some background on
how and when our beloved monthly
Coordinated Listening Events began, and
how they developed over the years.
The NDB List Abbreviations File
This printable 20 page publication list
gives a comprehensive list of many of the
terms and acronyms used on our mailing
lists and website.
Maine Trans-Atlantic NDBs 2017
This excellent article by Andy Robins, of
Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA contains a
fascinating look at what could be heard
on the KiwiSDR owned by Bill Whitacre,
and which is located at Quoddy House,
in Lubec, Maine in November and
December 2017, if you've not yet tried
DXing with a remote SDR then maybe
this will spur you into giving it a try.
Trans-Pacific NDBs in 2017
This Another superb article by Andy
Robins, this time it features a look at the
Trans-Pacific NDBs that Andy found
when going through a Perseus SDR
recording made by Bill Whitacre on the
Pacific Coast in Washington and Oregon.
Morse Code & Phonetics
This printable 5 page publication will
help you to identify all those funny
Morse Code characters and phonetics.
Useful NDB Related Software
WWSU 6.4 - Not a decoding program,
but an excellent database program
showing NDBs, NAVTEX and DGPS
stations and beacons. Created by Alex,
VE3GOP, this is an excellent piece of
software for any DGPS enthusiast to
have at their disposal, and is also very
useful for creating your logs, and these
can be edited to show any notes you
wish to make.
NDBfinder - This program was produced
by Bev at COAA for use in decoding very
weak NDB Signals, but now also includes
the ability to decode LORAN signals. Not
freeware, but a 21 day fully working trial
version can be downloaded from this
link.
QUIZITIVE ID - This excellent program
created by list member Doug Springfield,
will also decode those 'Quizitive Idents'
as well. The accompanying text file which
explains how to use the program is
included in the zipped archive. Our
thanks to Doug for sharing this useful
program with us.
Two Timer - Another impressive program
from list member Doug Springfield, this
one is ideal for timing those Beacon
Ident patterns. The instruction file in .txt
format is also included in the zipped
archive. Our thanks to Doug for sharing
this program with us.
Pskov NDB v2.1a - Ivan Monogarod's
impressive and unique software, which
helps to decode the weakest of NDB
signals and offers a whole new aspect to
the NDB hobby.
NDBlist.info