This page contains some wonderful images of the beacons FRT, 248.0 kHz (Spartanburg SC), RFE, 344.0 kHz (Rutherfordton NC), BRA, 379.0 kHz (Hendersonville NC), UOT, 326.0 kHz (Union SC), and FIQ, 391.0 kHz Fiddlers NC) and were taken by Steve Koone, KA4YMY. Two of the beacons are higher powered 400 watt FAA owned types, and one is a locally owned 25 watter, I'm sure you'll agree that these are really great shots, and my thanks go to Steve for being kind enough to track them down and allow me to display them here on the Beaconworld site.

NOTE# - All of the following pictures are copyright S. Koone, and should not be re-produced with out first obtaining the permission of the owner - please contact me for his details, or check out Steve's own website at: http://metro-uhf.org/ka4ymy

Steve informs me that this beacon is at an FAA federally maintained site. The tower is around 150 feet in height, and is not lighted. It is series fed just above the insulators that the tower sits on. There is a small tuning box at the base of the tower, and Steve suggests that there is either 1/4 or 1/2 inch heliax feedline running under the ground from the building and out to the tuning box. The RF output of this one is 400 watts. FRT is located to the south of Spartanburg, South Carolina, and is along interstate 26 headed away from town. It services the Spartanburg regional airport.

This is another FAA owned site, and is located near Hendersonville, NC and services the Asheville airport, on the far western end of the state. This one cranks out 400 watts like FRT in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Steve also mentions that the tower height is equal to FRT, though he had never seen a tower painted green before! Like FRT, this one is a healthy powerhouse and can be heard from a large distance, it also has an advantage over FRT as it is in a mountainous area and the altitude is well over 2100 feet ASL.

This beacon operates on 344kc, and is a typical 25 watter, owned by the local county folks. Steve says it sits in a field but is adjacent to a local garbage dump. It is located near a town called Rutherfordton in North Carolina - a very rural place! The sticker on the transmitter box shows it as a Northrop Grumann unit. This one is very inefficient, you may hear it as far out as perhaps 50 miles with a very good long wire antenna.

This beacon operates on 326kc. Steve said that the beacon was fenced in, and he couldn't get up close to it.. but listening to the beacon audio clip and looking at the base of the tower with binoculars, he was quite certain that it's another Southern Avionics box mounted on one face of the tower, and the tuning box on another.

This one is the Fiddlers beacon, FIQ on 391kc. It is located near Morganton, North Carolina.. along interstate 40 in Western NC. It sits along a main highway just south of town, and is a 25 watt beacon, built by Southern Avionics.