I can reliably comment on the beacon.
The rig acted up and we (Lloyd, KL7JGN and I teamed up on this location) had to shut it down for now. It is on my bench for review and repair and will go back up. We have a great location for it now in a more western part of Anchorage and up on the roof of a commercial site in the clear. Great view in all directions.
I bought another rig but wasn't paying attention and it has no way to turn down the power. Dumb.
I am also considering just building up a Transmitter only at about 2-3 watts and running that instead of a transceiver.
On the plus side, the power supply and the keyer are working great!!
73, Jim Larsen, AL7FS
http://www.AL7FS.us/AL7FS@ARRL.org