1. Introduction
The beacon is designed to help search for lost objects. Primary purpose: locating
downed R/C planes, multicopters, lost balloons, model rockets, etc. The beacon
operates in the UHF radio spectrum, therefore an UHF radio transceiver is required
for interaction with the beacon. The transceiver must be capable of operating in the
UHF band (LPD, PMR, or FRS) and preferably should be capable of transmitting a
Tone burst (acoustic signal of 1750 Hz). Tone burst can be substituted with a CTCSS
sub-tone.
Most widespread and affordable models are Baofeng UV-3R, Baofeng UV-5R,
Wouxun KG-UVD1P among many others.
Locating the beacon is simply done by navigating to the location (GPS coordinates)
which is transmitted from the beacon by means of a voice message. It is also
possible to use a Radio Direction Finding (RDF) mode (“fox hunting”) in case the
beacon was not connected to the location source or it has failed during the flight.
There is also the Proximity search mode which is useful in the case when there is no
GPS location source or location is not precise enough or the lost object becomes
covered with snow, grass or other foreign objects and reported coordinates drifted a
lot from actual location. It is also possible to use light and audible alarming devices
which could be built-in or externally connected to the beacon.
It is worth mentioning that if the beacon loses its connection to the GPS receiver
during a crash, it will remember the last known good coordinates and will report it
to the user.
2. Legal notice
Please familiarize yourself with the regulations of UHF radio spectrum in your
country. Perhaps you will need a HAM license to use the beacon in your area within
specific bands. Carefully select frequency for your beacon, the default frequency
may be illegal in your area. Unlicensed radio bands vary across different countries.
If you choosing a frequency from the HAM band, you should report your callsign
periodically.
