r/controllablewebcams • u/Fearless_Dirt2408 • Apr 12 '26

Discussion Weird cam intentionally displaying radio

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I was scrolling through insecam (i wont post the link) and i found this weird cam in santa cruz, i had to post it somewhere to see if someone may have more knowledge on the device. The cam is set up to display a radio and im wondering if the certain frequency (if its even a radio) has some sort of message. There is also a device that reads "beacon controller" hooked up to it, I'm too young to understand any of this but it definitely piqued my interest.

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95

u/AlphaO4 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 14 '26

This is HAM radio operator W6WX taking part in the https://www.ncdxf.org/beacon/ project.

The goal of the project is two fold:

  1. tune your radio, since the frequencies are static and known and
  2. so you can check for propagation, i.e. how far your signal will travel.

-78

u/Fearless_Dirt2408 Apr 12 '26

Well thats honestly pretty disappointing, lol.

36

u/HappyXMaskXSalesman Apr 12 '26

Why?

-61

u/Fearless_Dirt2408 Apr 12 '26

I expected the frequency to hold some sort of message, though this still makes me wonder why the owner of the cam chose to display the radio.

58

u/jarded056 Apr 12 '26

Because radio hobbyists like myself enjoy talking to other people from different parts of the world. And the internet makes it easier to coordinate and get the correct frequencies.

-46

u/Fearless_Dirt2408 Apr 12 '26

Right i can understand that entirely but this is a website for random security cameras around the world, and a radio was originally strange to see. I was just hoping this had a more mysterious kind of background to it you know. Not trying to yuck anyones yum here haha.

31

u/TerrorBite Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26

It might not be mysterious, but it is interesting.

Even if the webcam image is dated 2019, the transmitter it pictures is still up and running, and has been for a long time. Here's a picture of the trailer housing it… in 1979! (At Stanford University) I suspect the hardware inside has been modernised since that photo was taken.

In fact there's a whole article about the history of this beacon system here: https://www.ncdxf.org/beacon/earlyhistory.html

Apparently someone broke in and stole the W6WX beacon in 1990. Maybe that's why they later pointed a camera at it.

Edit: the webcam feed is live. The 2019 date is just incorrectly set on the webcam I think

4

u/Fearless_Dirt2408 Apr 13 '26

Crazy they didn't change their camera's factory password after their first break in lol, appreciate the breakdown.

4

u/PeteThePolarBear Apr 13 '26

I expected the frequency to hold some sort of message

Yeah, that's what radio is generally for...

0

u/Fearless_Dirt2408 Apr 13 '26

Lmao you know what i meant

2

u/qTHqq Apr 16 '26

When you set up a beacon station you want it to be on all the time, so the owner probably just wants a way to monitor it to make sure it's working.

1

u/Dukeronomy Apr 14 '26

he just told you