HFU HF Underground
Loggings => Other => Topic started by: ka1iic on March 17, 2014, 1753 UTC
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17300khz 1625utc 03/17/2014 dat tones
Very weak & just at the noise level, I had to use noise removal software to hear what I thought I was hearing...
Sounds a lot like slow playing of bagpipes.... I remember hearing things like this as far back as the 70's to date... but back then they were just channel markers to keep the frequency clear of other stations.
73 Vince KA1IIC
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Sounds like some sort of an MFSK system?
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Yes it does Chris and it seems to be on the air quite a long time. Long period of time on the tones... and the best I can call it is bagpipes... I do have audio but it is weak even with major audio modification. If there is interest I will post it to my domain...
73 Vince KA1IIC
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It might have been firedrake. Heard poorly sometimes only the higher frequencies come through & the drums get lost in the muck. FD has been logged on this frequency for 20 or so hours a day.
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Vince, this is associated with the “swisher” signal you asked about last year on 22820 kHz.
Not data tones. Well, probably not. So far no one (who is talking about it) has been able to find any data in the transmissions, although it does indeed sound like a 32 tone MFSK transmission of some kind. The leading theory is it is some kind of test or link signal for WLO / WPG / HEB.
This signal has been around for a while now. It has come up several times on these and other forums, I call it “drifty MFSK” in my logs, Hugh Stegman called it the “snake charmer” in one of the last Monitoring Times issues to be published.
A couple of past threads here:
http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,12608.msg40446.html#msg40446
http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,11112.0.html (your thread from last year)
http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,10617.0.html
Video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM4qpa82OpI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySzpz8LWrjA
It is on multiple frequencies, sometimes synchronized across multiple frequencies, sometimes different on each.
T!
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Thanks Token et al...
I've heard it yesterday too... In fact I am hearing it right now 1621 utc 03/19/2014. Yesterday the tones were at a faster rate but today they are at the slower rate.
Not sure if this is on 24/7 but it does seem to be quite regular for me early in the day. I wouldn't say the transmitter was close to me because of the deep selective fades from time to time.
I've put it on my watch list to see if certain propagation conditions might make the signal stronger than just at the noise level or above.
73 Vince KA1IIC
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Generally this signal is not on 24/7. The times vary a bit, but most often it comes on after 1200 UTC and goes off about 2000 UTC (or maybe 2200 UTC, am at work and don’t have my logs here). Be sure to check the other frequencies mentioned in those other threads, often (almost always) it is on more than one freq and sometimes it is not on the 17299 kHz freq at all.
By the way, the frequencies I list in those other threads are all tuned freqs vs center freqs. All selected to keep the FSK inside the audio pass band and to give about the same audio excursion on each freq.
T!