What is Beacon-Time Wizard?

Beacon-Time Wizard - or "BTW" - provides a unique collection of informational views and tools - for ham radio operators and SWL listeners - to boost your HF radio pleasure and augment the effectiveness of the NCDXF/IARU International Beacon Network.

The Control Palette -

The Control Palette is the primary user interface element. The Control Palette occupies only a small portion of your valuable desktop space. With a mouse click numerous tools and views are available.

The Beacon Wizard -

The Beacon Wizard window is sizable; the user can click an edge and drag to make it display just three beacon stations or all eighteen. For each displayed beacon ham radio station, the call sign, the azimuth, the distance in kilometers, the back azimuth (often called long path), and the UTC sunrise and sunset for the location are shown. The Beacon ham radio station call signs and associated information are displayed in a familiar list box; i.e.: an area with a scroll bar. This makes it very convenient to scroll up or down, if necessary, to look and see when a particular beacon is due to transmit.

The Beacon Location Times -

The Beacon Location Times – Clocks - view provides an analog display of the local, civil, time at each of the eighteen beacon ham radio station locations. In addition clocks are provided for user civil time and coordinated universal time. Each clock display, and associated label, makes good use of popup hints-tips.

The default setting causes the clock faces to be white when the sun is up at the specific beacon ham radio station location and black when the sun has set. Alternatively the clocks can display a white face during the local civil AM hours and a black face during the local civil PM hours.

The Gray-Line Map -

The Beacon-Time Wizard Gray-Line Map display provides a geographic representation of the earth and location of each beacon ham radio station. The map provides several options.

The solar gray line and position of the sun can be displayed on either a Cartesian or Spherical map. The great circle, long or short, path between the user ham radio location and currently active beacon ham radio station can also be displayed.

The Propagation Reports -

The Beacon-Time Wizard HF Propagation report display provides fast and easy retrieval of up to fourteen SEC propagation reports and forecasts.

The Time Sync Function -

Beacon-Time Wizard provides a “time client” that uses the Simple Network Time Protocol, SNTP. As the beacon station transmitting changes every ten seconds it is essential your system clock is correct within a second or so. The Beacon-Time Wizard SNTP client will keep your system clock corrected as long as an Internet connection is available.

The KCal - Time-Zone Browser -

The Beacon-Time Wizard “KCal” is a calendar display that provides sun, moon and seasonal times for the current, or any other, date.

The Time-Zone Browser provides a simple way to explore the various time zones available while using the windows operating system.

The Beacon Manager -

The Beacon-Time Wizard “Beacon Manager” maintains the beacon ham radio station locations, and related information. Beacon-Time Wizard provides “pre-configured” beacon ham radio station data. The items should be self-explanatory and most will not require adjustments.

The best source for beacon information and status is the NCDXF web site.

Available Now

Beacon-Time Wizard is available for download and installs with a QSL-ware license. Download and experience it all for yourself.

The default install for each of our software applications is QSL-ware, meaning they can be used as is without time limit. Beacon-Time Wizard is fully functional for tracking the currently active beacon and more.

A 60-day trial of the premium version is available upon request. Try the software tools. If you don't think them worthy of being registered and paid for, they revert back to the default QSL-ware/freeware mode and functionality, without time limit. This means you have a great tool in any case. This rare and unique opportunity may sound to good to be true, give it a try and decide for yourself.

Version 1.6.20 on 10 April 2007
Please note this is a 1.8 MB download.
This default Beacon Time Wizard install is QSL-ware.
The QSL-ware version has no time limit and provides basic beacon tracking functions.

Click Here to Download Beacon-Time Wizard

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