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Author Topic: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?  (Read 10447 times)

Offline John Poet

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Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« on: October 15, 2015, 0048 UTC »
This one on 6925 now has a CW tone ((actually centered on 6926))... wipes out any chance of hearing much on this frequency.

Also a sample of the intermittent stuff on 6875, although it's not as strong now with my antenna half gone.  That one gives a tone in USB, but seems like an on-off AM carrier to me.  That one has been shifting around for months within the 6800-6900 range here, but never gave any tones in CW.

This stuff has been driving me crazy here for months, but the presence of a CW tone on any of them is something new, so that seems like something different from what I was getting up to a few days ago...

Anybody have a clue what this could be?
(recorded around 0030 UTC at Lansing, MI)

[youtube]x-rSHpQ_l7k[/youtube]

A while after recording this, the tones became much slower, spreading out to about once every two seconds...

« Last Edit: October 28, 2015, 0519 UTC by John Poet »
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Offline redhat

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2015, 0749 UTC »
Sounds like someone is trying to mess with you.  I take it the NOUO has your home address?  Have you tried to DF the source?

Could also be a strange mixing product...

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Offline John Poet

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2015, 0830 UTC »
Quote from: redhat on October 15, 2015, 0749 UTC
Sounds like someone is trying to mess with you.  I take it the NOUO has your home address?  Have you tried to DF the source?

+-RH

No, it does not, although it was published enough on a certain nefarious blog before it went down a couple years ago.  Deliberate targeting seems very unlikely to me at this late date.

Haven't tried to find it, this only started in the last week on 6925.
Don't have a suitable portable to try to chase the new beaconish signal down with... although if it keeps up long, I may rig up something.

The other signals without the CW tone, more usually around 6875, are just as audible across town as they are here.  Those are more like an open and closed AM carrier with no specific pattern, and only put out tones in USB.  Sometimes they sound like intermittent tones overlapping each other.  Very strange.  Not like anything that would seem intended for reception by anyone...

Now tonight at 0833, I find more continuous dashing CW tones on 6841 kHz, and more carrier keying on 6825 with a tone in USB only... about the same signal strength between all of them.  The timing of the tones on all three sound as if they may be originating from the same source...

« Last Edit: October 15, 2015, 0848 UTC by John Poet »
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Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2015, 1941 UTC »
Perhaps you or a neighbor got a new electronic gizmo recently?

Maybe take a portable around the house/neighborhood and see if you can DF it?

I once had a USB hub that put out all sorts of junk right in the 48m europirate band.  I repaired it, with a sledge hammer  ;D
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Chris Smolinski
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Offline Pigmeat

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #4 on: October 15, 2015, 2002 UTC »
I've been hearing the stuff around 6875 over the past couple of months. I figured it was just someone tuning up off frequency? I always had a couple of odd x-tals near the main pirate frequencies for tuning up before hitting the air.

There are few micro-pirate beacon guys who occasionally play around on 6925. They're usually not a problem unless you happen to live in a sweet spot for props from their regions. With the way the atmosphere has been futzing around lately, who knows?

Ask Token about 6841. It seems to me that's mostly mil-coms from reading the old radio rags.
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Offline John Poet

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #5 on: October 15, 2015, 2337 UTC »
I checked for that 6925 thing during the early afternoon, and got zilch.
But now it's back, strong as before.... so maybe that isn't as local as I was thinking (or it's something that gets turned on at night, ALL night...)  or maybe it IS someone's beacon.  Can't anyone else get copy on the damn thing?

We don't have any new gizmos here, but no telling what the neighbors are doing.

The stuff I get around 6875 isn't tuning up-- it's more or less continuous.  Weird overlapping tones in USB.  By-products of something or other, methinks.


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Offline jFarley

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #6 on: October 15, 2015, 2343 UTC »
FWIW, nada in Chicago...
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Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #7 on: October 16, 2015, 0058 UTC »
Nothing here, either.
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Chris Smolinski
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Offline redhat

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #8 on: October 16, 2015, 1725 UTC »
Sounds like a wireless router, switching supply, or something similar.  With all the poorly filtered electronics designs out there these days, it could be anything.

Good luck!

+-RH
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Offline JCMaxwell

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #9 on: October 18, 2015, 2349 UTC »
JP, have you tried the examples from Chris' blog?

http://www.radiohobbyist.org/blog/?p=1374
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Offline John Poet

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #10 on: October 28, 2015, 0452 UTC »
Quote from: redhat on October 16, 2015, 1725 UTC
Sounds like a wireless router, switching supply, or something similar.  With all the poorly filtered electronics designs out there these days, it could be anything.

Good luck!

+-RH


So exactly how far away could you hear signals coming from such devices?!  I would presume it would only be a few houses away from the source?

To get out more than a quarter mile, what do you have to do?  Hook the things up to your TV antenna? (6926 kHz signal reading in CW)

Because that's what I've got here...  I had the chance to do some DFing from a vehicle with a cartop antenna and my DX-394, and this thing is clearly audible more than 1/4 mile in opposite directions from where I figure the source to be.  I didn't take things further away because I was more interested in where it was AT than how far it goes, but that seems like too far for RF from some power supply, unless you hook an antenna up to it....  Am I wrong here?  The signal might have been good for as much as a half mile, but as I say I didn't check that far out yet.

OK.  The thing is actually centered around 6926 kHz... It's S-9 to 20 over S-9 in my driveway....
One street over and a few houses down, it's 40 over S-9!  I was pretty close to picking out which house it may be coming from (or strongest in front of, anyway).... it's all residential there.

I haven't caught it yet starting up or shutting down, but when I want to check 6925 in the evenings, it's ON.  The other day I checked at 6 am, while still dark, but it was gone.  It's never audible during the day-- seems to be on ONLY when I might start listening for pirates, and late into the night.  12:47 AM as I type this, it's still going strong.  DURING THE DAY, it's NEVER there....

It sure seems like some kind of beacon, with what seems like a keyed-CW signal and all... and the range of it.... ????  but whatever it is also seems to be throwing out spurs all over the place--
(Also getting what seems like the same CW tone at 6915 and 6890 now at similar strength...)

"T..... T.... T.... T..." it usually reads.


« Last Edit: October 28, 2015, 0537 UTC by John Poet »
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Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #11 on: October 28, 2015, 1727 UTC »
We may be converging on an answer... Perhaps someone is running a [poorly modulated] pirate beacon? Have you pinned down the transmitter site yet? Any signs of antennas there?
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Chris Smolinski
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Offline John Poet

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #12 on: October 28, 2015, 1741 UTC »
I'll have to take another look in daylight; visibility isn't too good right now as it looks like it'll be raining all day.  Unfortunately it can't be heard when I can actually see anything, so that makes it trickier.

On my couple passes last night, it seemed to be a section of about three houses where it was strongest.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2015, 1746 UTC by John Poet »
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Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #13 on: October 28, 2015, 2115 UTC »
It's fairly common for pirate beacons to operate as "dashers" sending long dashes which sound like a morse T. That, plus the fact that it appears suddenly at night (the operator turns it on when it gets dark and propagation supports DX on 43m), could suggest it being a beacon. Plus it is very close to 6925 kHz. 6926 kHz being where you'd want to put a beacon so it appears in the USB passband when tuned to 6925 USB.

I haven't seen it on any SDR recordings here, and haven't seen any one else log it, however. It could be very low powered.
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Chris Smolinski
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Offline John Poet

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Re: Pirate frequency QRM at my QTH: what could it be?
« Reply #14 on: October 28, 2015, 2217 UTC »
Quote from: ChrisSmolinski on October 28, 2015, 2115 UTC
It's fairly common for pirate beacons to operate as "dashers" sending long dashes which sound like a morse T. That, plus the fact that it appears suddenly at night (the operator turns it on when it gets dark and propagation supports DX on 43m), could suggest it being a beacon. Plus it is very close to 6925 kHz. 6926 kHz being where you'd want to put a beacon so it appears in the USB passband when tuned to 6925 USB.

I haven't seen it on any SDR recordings here, and haven't seen any one else log it, however. It could be very low powered.

That's kind of what I was thinking. 
At 2205, 6926 hasn't yet appeared, nor 6915, but the thing on 6890 CW is on, so I guess that's something else. 

I eased by there between the rains... Couldn't really see any sign of an antenna of any sort anywhere, from the front.  Just satellite dishes all over the place.  :-[

If it keeps up I'll have to swing by with the radio again, and see if I can locate it more definitively.

I'm hoping it's someone's toy and they'll get bored with it soon.


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