Messages

496

Spy Numbers / Re: High Frequency Global Communications System

« on: June 22, 2010, 0007 UTC »

(Ref. a) Evidently, I am reading too much into this "echo" effect;


(Ref b) As a treat, I recommend the youtube video: "JointSTARS.wmv (2:54 long). This features the nondescript looking airplane in the depiction- gets my juices flowing- enjoy. Cheers.

Ref. to (a) above - Anybody here heard 'round the world echo on 20 Meters ? ... it's an awesome phenom to behold, and today with propagation 'in the ditch' so to speak it will be hard to demonstrate 'live', but when things are good it's not that rare. The echoes from the DOD's multisite-originated multicast/simulcast system are due to the time delay the other poster pointed out; the delays could also be due to satellite echo delay, I say, I do not know as a certainty, but, if using geostationary sats for links the time delay to and from the geo sats are not insignificant either ...

For some HF echo, round-the-earth paths of recordings check out:  http://www.aa5tb.com/recordings.html the section titled: "Radio Echoes - Short and Long Path"

Ref. to (b) above - JSTARS is pretty impressive, it is quite amazing the detail that can be 'rendered' when you pepper a target area with a nearly continuous barrage of short, interspersed RADAR pulses then work with both the Doppler shifts imposed plus the amplitudes returned and integrating the returns over time ... the effect is as if you had a much larger, more sharply defined RADAR antenna, leading to the term SAR (Synthetic Aperture RADAR)  ... the rendered detail can be quite amazing ...

Just to be clear: JSTARS <> AWACS

AWACS - rotating dish on top, meant for detection and control/direction of aircraft in the 'theater'

JSTARS - longish stationary pod attached/beneath the aircraft, meant to look at targets (kinda sideways to the aircraft, not straight down) on the ground ..

Edit: Update JSTARS desrip.

497

HF Beacons / Re: High Frequency Beacon Society master list for beacons

« on: June 21, 2010, 2137 UTC »

BTTT (bump to the top) - I went thru and checked some/most of these today, about 4:30 PM CST from Texas, and band conditions must REALLY be in the dumper! I could not find one beacon ...

BTW, does anybody know the status of MO? It used to be copyable during the day ...

498

General Radio Discussion / Re: Amateur Operator is a Threat to National Security

« on: June 20, 2010, 1904 UTC »

Is there any question that "Ham Operators" are a threat to national security?  Listen to 3950 late on Friday night, my God, the country is going to hell in a hand-basket. 

Question: Are they identifying spy satellites like the subject in this article:

HI-TECH HQ: Greg Roberts with one of his space-spying instruments - and he has plenty more equipment inside the house, with which he and other amateur astronomers track secret satellites.

499

Equipment / Re: WR-G31DDC 'EXCALIBUR' SDR from Grove

« on: June 20, 2010, 1423 UTC »

Hmmm ... advantage Excalibur ...

Aside from the long, productive history of WinRadio -

A product of an Australian firm originally called "Rosetta Labs',
- later renamed to Radixon Group ("Advanced Communications and Monitoring for the Real World")
- which is a subsidiary of Robotron Group (an Australian research & development and manufacturing company of various specialty high-technology equipment)

... 'WinRadio' produces a diverse line of products including some higher-tier receiver products like :

- Multi-channel Broadcast logger
- Mutichannel Monitoring and Logging
- Direction finding systems

for the security and sigint (signals intelligence) markets, broadcasting and military markets (Note: this also means they have had a continuing revenue stream from which to continue product development as well as perform sustaining engineering on current product; important during production when 'problems' building hi-tech RF product is encountered) -

The Excalibur has a 16-bit 100 MS/s ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) versus -
The Perseus with a 14-bit 80 MS/s ADC for the Perseus

(Better/high resolution and slightly higher sample rate on the WR-G31DDC. In a way, this has more sampling horsepower/better resolution than the receive channels on the P4 WiMAX beam-forming base station we were developing at Cisco/BWBU/Navini)

And, the Excalibur costs less (from what I have seen in advertised prices).

Edit: Convert URLs to SimpleSystemsBB format

500

Spy Numbers / Re: High Frequency Global Communications System

« on: June 20, 2010, 0401 UTC »

I tend to be a skeptic and critical thinker; Have to find out for myself. While waiting for my lower back to unsieze, have been spending time looking into this. This Alpha/Numeric combination does show up enough to reasonably satisfy me that this is used for command and control. ...

You know, those used to be go/no go 'codes' for the SAC B-52 bombers that were third 'prong' on the triad of nuclear deterrence (the other two prongs being nuke subs and the missiles in silos)

One would hear the words: "Skybird skybird, do not answer message follows" followed by groups of characters and then an authentication block ...

Those messages used to be as prolific as grackles ... anybody who was SWLing in the 80's and 90's can confirm.

A good example would the Peter Sellers movie "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" where they are seen decoding messages.

In case anybody is wondering what we are talking about:

http://www.wizzler.com/video/fTZuJQ4xtE0/HF-GCS-EAM-Emergency-Action-Message.html

501

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6950U

« on: June 20, 2010, 0346 UTC »

Some decent oldies from the 40's were thrown in too I believe ...

502

North American Shortwave Pirate / 6925 USB- UNID Music cuts began about 01:55 UTC 6-20-2010

« on: June 20, 2010, 0339 UTC »

Various 15 to 20 seconds cuts - did not catch an ID

Copied in N. Central Tejas

503

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6925 USB UNID fake EAM "porkchop"

« on: April 19, 2009, 2319 UTC »

"Copy: Oscar-India-Uniform-Porkchop..."
"4-3-6-9-(Dinero?)..."
"Kilo-Victor-Porkchop-Tango..."
"Copy: Uniform-Sierra-(Sulphur or Alpha?)-Delta-Foxtrot-Kweebeck..."

Hmmm ... no "Authentication" section?

Thanks Lex.

504

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Missing a show: weak UNID 6925kHz tuned in at 0142z

« on: April 05, 2009, 0314 UTC »

Sounds like the same signal I picked up. See my post for 'The Voice of Doom'. From the signal strength I'd say it was broadcast from Northern California. The second voice you heard was audio from the computer game that was played during the broadcast.

Thanks for the fill; the signal was not really readable here (N. Central Texas) at all, but I wanted to get something 'on the board'  so other ppl might be inclined to tune in and maybe hear what I couldn't! Tnx again for the info fill.

505

North American Shortwave Pirate / Missing a show: weak UNID 6925kHz tuned in at 0142z 4-05-'09

« on: April 05, 2009, 0144 UTC »

No music, just a voice, maybe two voices, can't get the jist of the subject material

Much more to it: sounds like a real production now 0147z

Program (seems to) continue, but now even weaker than before and I have to bail at 0210z

506

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: "KTR Pirate Radio Ha Ha Ha Pirate Radio for the Rockies" 00:20z-00:37z 6923 kHz

« on: March 23, 2009, 0336 UTC »

I heard that Station also, the call was KPR
there were three or four IDs  and yes it did slide down the band.

Thanks, I'll make the correction.

507

North American Shortwave Pirate / 6925 kHz since at least 02:51z 03:30z end (approximate)

« on: March 23, 2009, 0259 UTC »

Program consisting of music ... unid at this time

Mostly weak, readable only at times

Program still on-going at 0312z

Program still on-going at 0327z although for a bit it had faded out.

Equipment is an 80M inverted-V dipole, Icom 756II

03:30 End - may have been a signoff, could not tell. Sig too weak.

508

North American Shortwave Pirate / 6925 kHz USB commence 02:00z, 400 Hz Test tone, tone off 02:19z

« on: March 23, 2009, 0201 UTC »

Just statrted, someone tuning up ... can hear program audio starting up now with the 400 Hz tone still on freqeuncy

02:04z

Tone shifted in frequency slightly, a little bit of waver, as if the tone oscillator is affected by sags in the AC line

Can still hear occasional weak musical program under the tone, sounds like another station.

02:08 Tone was briefly interrupted ... I hope this results in a fine program to follow! More variation in tone. Someone is tuning up their xmtr on-the-air ...

02:19z - Tone off (at last)

509

North American Shortwave Pirate / 6925 kHz USB Music format pgm commenced at 01:05z Off at 01:46

« on: March 23, 2009, 0107 UTC »

Just started, 01:05z

Music program continues as of 01:36z, no ID heard yet, but I had a phone call so may have missed it.

LAst bit of program ay 01:46z

Signal was above the noise floor here and fairly readable most of the time using an outside dipole and an Icom 756II

510

North American Shortwave Pirate / "KPR Pirate Radio Ha Ha Ha Pirate Radio for the Rockies" 00:20z-00:37z 6923 kHz

« on: March 23, 2009, 0031 UTC »

Since about 00:20z

ID as: "KPR Pirate Radio Ha Ha Ha ... Pirate Radio and we rock the Rockies"

ID announcer had quite a laugh!

off at 00:37z

Started at 6923.42 kHz
Ended at 6922.84 kHz

The drifting never stopped, had to constantly correct my receive frequency!

Updated per beaconman's note of the correct ID