This page is a clock, so it needs JavaScript. The schedule works without it too: eighteen beacons take turns for ten seconds each on 14.100, 18.110, 21.150, 24.930 and 28.200 MHz. A full cycle takes three minutes.

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Beacon clock

Eighteen beacons, five bands, ten seconds per beacon. If you hear a beacon on a band, you know that exact path is open right now, and if you hear nothing, you know that too. The clock tells you whose signal you've got in front of you.

Your location

for distance and beam heading

The clock uses your device's time. If that's wrong, the page shows the wrong beacon. Only a clock that sets itself is accurate to the second.

All eighteen beacons

Sorted by slot, so in the order they take their turn on a band. “Next transmission” means the first of the five bands where you'll hear the beacon again.

Slot

Callsigns

Location

up to km

Direction

Next band

Entries

How the network works

The beacon network belongs to the Northern California DX Foundation and the IARU. Eighteen stations around the world take turns on the same five frequencies. Each transmission lasts ten seconds: first the callsign in CW, then four dashes at falling power, 100 W, 10 W, 1 W and 0.1 W. How many dashes you can still hear tells you how good the path is.

After its ten seconds on 14.100 MHz the beacon moves to 18.110 MHz and leaves 14.100 to the next beacon. So a transmission runs across the five bands like a wave, and after three minutes every beacon has been on every band once. That's why you hear the same station again on each band every three minutes.

What it tells you

Beacon heard, all four dashes. The path is wide open, you'll get through there even with low power.
Only the callsign and the first dash. The path works, but only just. With full power and a beam something is possible.
Nothing heard, but neighbouring beacons are. Then it's the direction, not the band.
Nothing on any band. Check antenna, receiver or band setting before you blame propagation.

The beacon runs 100 W into an omnidirectional antenna. A station at the other end with a beam will hear you well before you hear the beacon.

Worth knowing

Not all eighteen stations are on air all the time, some drop out for months. If you want to check which ones are running, the NCDXF beacon project has the current status. The locations here are accurate to a few kilometres, which is plenty for distance and beam heading.

Schedule and station list: NCDXF/IARU International Beacon Project. The clock works offline too.