NDBs - Non-Directional Beacons





'MD' 204kHz Compass Locator beacon, near Harrisburg, PA



NDBs , or Non-Directional Beacons inhabit 190kHz to about 500kHz, the large majority being between 200 - 430kHz. A very basic and indeed the first radio navigation aid, dating back to the earliest days of both radio and aviation, they are for the most part quite low power (less than 50 Watts, often just 25W); being operative 24 hours a day, and on from all over the country and indeed the world, they make for very attractive targets for 'beacon hunters'. Although designed to have less than 100km range to aircraft, at night beacons many hundreds and thousands of miles away are commonly receivable by well equipped hunters.

  • A short exposition 'About NDBs'
  • 'Finding NDBs' - a guide to how to track down and stare at NDBs.
  • 'One Man and his WOD' - the first ever NDB novel.

    The transmitter sites themselves can be an eye-opener, typically for their often unexpected modesty. Here are just a few that have been visited; most NDBs take the form of one sort or another exemplified here.

  • AB - 400kHz - Allentown, PA
  • AV - 257kHz - Scranton / Wilkes-Barre, PA
  • BG - 332kHz - Binghampton, NY
  • BK - 329kHz - Rome, NY
  • BUR - 421kHz - Burnham, UK
  • BZJ - 328kHz - Bellgrove, PA
  • CLB - 216kHz - Carolina Beach, NC
  • CJY - 275kHz - Utica, NY
  • CX - 219kHz - Harrisburg, PA
  • CYE - 410kHz - Crystal Lake, PA
  • DIW - 198kHz - Dixon, NC
  • DYL - 237kHz - Doylestown, PA
  • ETC - 237kHz - Tarboro, NC
  • EUD - 254kHz - York, PA
  • EW - 362kHz - New Bern, NC
  • EX - 337kHz - Exeter, UK
  • EZF - 237kHz - Fredericksburg, VA
  • FZ - 220kHz - Fulton, NY
  • IT - 266kHz - Ithaca, NY
  • JYN - 208kHz - Wayne, NC
  • LA - 282kHz - Lyneham, UK
  • LJK - 280kHz - Ashland, VA
  • LLW - 254kHz - Elizabeth City, NC
  • LQX - 339kHz - Lehighton, PA
  • MD - 204kHz - Enola, PA
  • MR - 385kHz - Monterey, CA
  • NXX - 388kHz - Willow Grove NAS, PA
  • PIX - 344kHz - Picture Rocks, PA
  • PTB - 284kHz - Petersburg, VA
  • RD - 356kHz - Reading, PA
  • RNB - 363kHz - Millville, NJ
  • RNW - 388kHz - Chocowinity, NC
  • RV - 407kHz - Reedsville, PA
  • RW - 235kHz - Wilson, NC
  • RZZ - 407kHz - Roanoke Rapids, NC
  • SY - 242kHz - Syracuse, NY
  • UKT - 208kHz - Quakertown, PA
  • UN - 388kHz - State College, PA
  • WOD - 352kHz - Woodley, Berks, UK
  • XCB - 260kHz - Carlisle, PA
  • YQA - 272kHz - Muskoka, ON
  • YTR - 215kHz - Trenton, Ontario, Canada






    © Steve Dove, W3EEE, 2001,3