DOCSending
Beacon and automatic station ID
Auto-ID keeps every transmission identified, and the beacon keeps your station calling — or sending a picture — on a timer while you are away.
Automatic station identification
On by default: nothing leaves your station unidentified.
- Text (broadcast and directed) gets “de YOURCALL” appended unless your callsign is already in the message.
- Pictures always carry the callsign stamp — even if you’ve turned the decorative overlay off.
- If ID is on but no callsign is set, the app warns you rather than sending anonymous transmissions.
The toggle lives in the Transmit options, and the choice is remembered.
The beacon
The beacon re-transmits on a timer so your station keeps calling while you make tea.

- What it sends: a CQ ident, or a picture you choose (“send a picture” + Choose).
- Interval: configurable, one-minute floor.
- It behaves: the beacon stands down while you’re transmitting something else and while a picture is coming in — it will never key over a reception. Auto-ID stamps whatever it sends.
Enable it in the Transmit options; the interval spinner is next to the toggle. A beaconing station pairs nicely with reception reports — you’ll see exactly who copied your beacon picture and how well.
New to Open Signal?
Start with the overview — what it does, the honest status, and how the pieces fit together.