Beacon Information

Use this page to monitor the status of the internal dual-channel MSK beacon receiver.

The primary channel is used for correction data while the background channel monitors the next strongest signal or the next closest station. The primary channel remains locked to the same station unless one of the following conditions occur:

  • The channel is locked, but the word error rate (WER) is higher than 20 % for longer than 30 seconds.

  • The channel is locked, but the SNR is lower than 3 dB for longer than 30 seconds

  • The word error rate (WER) increases above 10 %

  • The station becomes unhealthy or unmonitored

  • The background channel finds a closer station when in Auto Range mode

  • The background channel finds a signal which is 2 dB stronger when in Auto Power mode

Select Beacon / Status.

 

Primary Channel Status

Frequency [kHz] – Tracked beacon station frequency.

Status – The status will be one of the following:

  • Off – Beacon receiver is disabled.

  • Searching – Not locked and not disabled.

  • Locked – Locked on a beacon signal.

Age of Corrections [sec] – The age, in seconds, since the corrections were generated.

Time since last correction [sec] – The time, in seconds, since the internal beacon receiver received the last transmission.

SNR [dB] – The signal-to-noise ratio in decibels. Greater than 25 is excellent.

Input Level [dB uV/m] – The beacon signal strength.

Broadcast Station ID – The IALA Transmitting Station ID number as published by the IALA.

Station Name – The IALA Reference Station name as published by IALA.

Reference Station ID – The ID of the Reference Station receiver.

Distance to Reference Station [m] – The distance, in meters, between the current receiver location and the locked Beacon station location, as published by the IALA.

MSK rate [bps] – The MSK (Multi Shift Keying) demodulated signal bit rate. The rate is 50, 100, or 200.

Word Error Rate [%] – A percentage of bad 30-bit RTCM words in the last 25 words.

RTCM message throughput [%] – A measure of quality of the RTCM input.

AGC gain in dB [0-48] – Antenna gain in dB.

Background Channel Status

Provides the status of the background beacon channel. This information is shown on the Beacon / Status page.

Frequency[kHz] – Backup beacon station frequency.

SNR [dB] – The signal-to-noise ratio in decibels. Greater than 25 is excellent.

Input Level [dB uV/m] – The beacon signal strength.

MSK rate [bps] – The MSK (Multi-Shift Keying) demodulated signal bit rate. The rate is 50, 100, or 200.

Word Error Rate [%] – A percentage of bad 30-bit RTCM words in the last 25 words.