HF Beacon CS3B (Madeira) destroyed in Wildfire

[IK0ZCW]

Oct 31, 2023 - HF, News - Tom, DF5JL



The radio beacon CS3B on the Portuguese island of Madeira was destroyed by fire on 12 October 2023. The picture shows the destroyed radio (ICOM 7200), it had only been installed in September 2023. CS3B was part of the NCDXF’s International Beacon Project (IBP), a series of HF beacons operating on 14,100, 18,110, 21,150, 24,930 and 28,200 kHz.

The site of CS3B is off the northwest coast of Africa and was an ideal location to test radio propagation on the HF bands to Europe and North America.

The fire damage to the site is quite extensive, as the building that housed the beacon was destroyed, as was the antenna. Given the extensive damage to the beacon and the building, this HF beacon is likely to be out of service for some time.

Ricardo Martins — CT3KN Presidente da Delegação REP-Madeira: “We are in touch with NCDXF and they are about to send us another set of equipments.”

For more information on the International Beacon Network, visit
https://www.ncdxf.org/beacon/ (Source: EI7GL, REP Madeira, DARC HF Dept.)