[1][2] The IBP beacons provide a means of assessing the prevailing ionospheric signal propagation characteristics to both amateur and commercial high frequency radio users.
[1][2] The project is coordinated by the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).
It transmitted a 1 minute-long beacon every 10 minutes on 14.1 MHz using custom built transmitter and controller hardware.
[3] Northern California DX Foundation and seven partnering organizations from the United States, Finland, Portugal, Israel, Japan, and Argentina operated the first iteration of the beacon network.
[7] Each transmission is 10 second-long, and consists of the call sign of the beacon transmitted at 22 words per minute (WPM) followed by four dashes.