HFU HF Underground
Loggings => 10/11 meters => Topic started by: R4002 on December 15, 2015, 1845 UTC
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Even though the band seems to have quieted down a bit these past few weeks, I'm hearing some Latin American DX this afternoon:
25000 AM - WWV - Fading up and down. Peaking at S9 and down to S5. Nice and loud.
25775 AM - YL Taxicab dispatcher
25875 AM - Spanish language, weak. Likely taxis going by the frequency
25950 FM - STL, very weak but I can tell there's a signal/carrier there..
25965 AM - YL Taxicab dispatcher
26055 AM - Spanish language traffic, right at noise level but I can hear the telltale roger beeps
26105 AM - Spanish language, possibly truckers. Heavy fading
26225 USB - Latin American Calling Freq, active
26240 USB - Likely stations QSYed from 26225 USB
26305 AM - Spanish language
26375 AM - Spanish language
26395 AM - Similar to 26375, heavy fading
26415 AM - OM talking, Spanish. Roger beeps
26525 AM - Spanish language, with lots and echo/reverb and people keying up with roger beeps/music
26535 AM - Two OMs talking, Spanish language, Mexican accents with echo/reverb fx and elaborate roger beeps
26555 LSB - Spanish language
26585 AM - Spanish language, Mexican accents - this is one of the AM calling channels
26605 AM - Similar to 26585 AM, less QRM though
26625 AM - Similar to 26585 AM
26635 AM - Lots of stations, similar to 26585 AM
26645 AM - YL Taxicab dispatcher, reading numbers. Fading up to S9 and down to JBA levels
26695 AM - YL Taxicab dispatcher
26705 AM - Very loud (and sometimes overmodulated) signals, likely from Puerto Rico
26715 AM - Same as 26705, with splatter from 26705 AM
26725 AM - YL Taxicab dispatcher with roger beep - can hear the mobiles she's talking to. With splatter/QRM from 26715 AM
26855 AM - English language, Southern US accents - likely hunters
26965 AM - "Barefoot Boy in Georgia" Nice S9 signal. (CB channel 1)
27000 AM/CW - Some sort of carrier here right on 27000.0. Could be local (???)
27005 AM - Spanish language (CB channel 4)
27015 AM - Spanish language, unreadable due to heavy heterodyne QRM (CB channel 5)
27025 AM - The usual S9++ "Super Bowl" Kilowatt QRM Splatter (CB channel 6)
27065 AM - Latin American AM DX Calling Frequency (see also, 26585 AM, 26705 AM, 26715 AM) - CB Channel 9
27095 AM - Spanish language QSO, OM and YL, possibly taxis. Not a legal CB frequency, but known as Channel 11A
27125 AM - Southern US traffic, this is a channel used by locals in my area as well. (CB channel 14)
27145 AM - Spanish language, likely taxicab dispatch with data (in FM mode) underneath. Known as CB Channel 15A
27165 AM - Truckers (CB channel 17)
27185 AM - CB channel 19 - S5 to S7 level heterodyne, hearing several stations at once during peaks.
27265 AM - AM DX Traffic USA (CB Channel 26)
27285 AM - AM DX Traffic USA (CB Channel 28)
27375 AM - OM and YL talking, OM with echo/reverb Spanish language (CB channel 37)
27385 LSB - US SSB DX Calling Frequency, hearing stations from Southeastern US
27390 LSB - Stations in Florida having a QSO (likely QSYed from 27385)
27405 AM - Spanish language
27425 AM - YL Taxicab dispatcher, other AM traffic underneath
27440 LSB - US Stations, common calling frequency (see also 27425 LSB and 27435 LSB)
27455 USB - The usual Spanish language traffic, with music and roger beeps.
27515 AM - YL Taxicab dispatcher
27625 AM - Very weak, but carrier heard in SSB mode. Could be truckers
27665 USB - Spanish language, weak. This frequency, along with 27695 USB/LSB, are usually active when the band is open
27680 AM/FM - Wideband "warble" QRM, likely over-the-horizon radar (OTHR). 20-30 kHz wide moving up and down the band.
27675 USB - Spanish language, weak
27690 LSB - Spanish language
27695 LSB - Spanish language, single OM station peaking at 30 over S9. One of the more active freeband freqs
27815 AM - YL Taxicab dispatcher
27925 AM - YL Taxicab dispatcher
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thanks for the list !
there is nothing between 25.0/25.775 ?
im shocked !
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That portion of the band is usually more quiet than other parts, likely due to the fact that most "export" or "10-meter" radios' coverage starts at 25615. There have been times during better band openings that I've heard taxis every 10 kHz from 25615 up through the busier 27 MHz parts of the band...and then even into the bottom part of 10 meters. Next time the band is really open, listen to 28005 and 28085 AM. You'll likely hear Spanish language traffic in AM mode.
The taxi dispatchers tend to hang out either in the lower part of 26 MHz and upper part of 25 MHz as well as the upper part of 27 MHz. What fascinates me is the heavy use of the 11 meter band for land mobile communications in Latin America (and other parts of the world as well). When VHF lowband is open to that part of the world, you'll not only hear land mobile traffic from 25-28 MHz in AM mode but also from 30-35 MHz or so in FM mode. Apparently many Latin American countries have serious issues with interference from taxis and truckers throughout 10 meters. I know Europe suffers from heavy taxi QRM (in FM mode) from 25 to 30 MHz, mostly from Russia and other Eastern European countries that have little to no enforcement of radio laws.
Many CB radios sold in Europe now feature a "Russia" setting, that opens the radio up to 25615 to 30105 in 5 or 10 kHz steps. Imagine trying to police users of these radios in a country as large as Russia. Not going to happen. Same situation with Mexico, Central and South America.
http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/grfc2011 (http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/grfc2011)
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Great log. :)
With the abundance of sporadic-e propagation in recent days - at least arriving into my location - the nearly abandoned 11m shortwave broadcast band probably could generate some interesting QSL and report opportunities for pirates if interested.
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I myself wonder why there isn't more pirate use of 11 meters. Well, pirate broadcasting use of 11 meters, I should say. ;) There are plenty of stations who play music, either to each other or just to play music. I suppose those could technically be considered broadcasting pirates.
Since the legal 11 meter shortwave broadcast band covers 25600 kHz to 26100 kHz there should be open frequencies in that portion, even when the band is open. Although the taxicab companies and other land mobile radio users of 11 meters tend to use the lower parts of the "export" or "RU" band plan, which starts at 25615 kHz, one may have to venture higher into the middle section of 26MHz, where there seems to be a dip in activity, at least in my listening experience. Probably somewhere around 26300-26500 and then the higher part of 27MHz, that is roughly 27800-27995. Of course, the UK CB allocation is 27601.25-27991.25 so if propagation favors Europe you'll likely get QRM from there as well, on top of SSTV on 27700 and 27735. Not to mention the heavy use of the higher parts of 27MHz by South American stations. The legal CB band in Brazil, for example, is from 26965 to 27855 in 10 kHz steps.
I have heard Latin American (likely originating from Mexico, going by the Mexican Spanish accents heard) taxicab dispatchers and other stations playing music from time to time on 11 meters. One even IDed several times as "La Ciudad de Mexico" (Mexico City) on 26805 kHz AM. This station was, of course, interfering heavily with another Spanish language taxi dispatcher on the same frequency, and eventually went QRT.
I know Radio 9th Dimension has tried broadcasting on 27825 USB as per a thread in this sub-forum. Probably one of the better frequency choices out there, provided the band is open of course.
Too bad the Spanish language taxi dispatchers don't QSL :P
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I myself wonder why there isn't more pirate use of 11 meters. Well, pirate broadcasting use of 11 meters, I should say. ;) There are plenty of stations who play music, either to each other or just to play music. I suppose those could technically be considered broadcasting pirates.
Skip zone distance.
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I myself wonder why there isn't more pirate use of 11 meters. Well, pirate broadcasting use of 11 meters, I should say.
As Chris said, the skip zones are problematic. I have run WAZU for hours on end up in the high 25s with nary a report. In fact, last winter I pitched a tent up there and ran non-stop over a couple of weekends, both day and night, but still no response. I've since taken the dipole down to use the supports for more promising shortwave real estate. Maybe someone else will have better luck up there.
BTW R4002, really nice logs!
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The biggest issue IMO is the lack of pirate enthusiasts actively listening/monitoring upper-HF comms, epsecially during daytime hours. Even among the larger community of general SWL listeners, how many actually bother to check the 11m BCB band these days? It has been largely vacated for many years now.
On a more positive note, if propagation is the concern, this is one of the best times of the year to work upper-HF for North America. Sporatic-E opportunties are often present around mid-December into part of January, even during otherwise slow solar cycles - such as the current one. The openings, which can sometimes persist for hours, are typically daytime into early evening hours. 500-2000+ miles is not uncommon even at relatively QRP levels.
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The biggest issue IMO is the lack of pirate enthusiasts actively listening/monitoring upper-HF comms, epsecially during daytime hours.
You're probably right Rob. I have had (slightly) better luck in the 16 meter band (17 MHz) when I've pirated there. FWIW, this backwater pirate has had the most response from the 19 meter band and down. I usually operate INSIDE the Int'l Bcast bands on unused frequencies and I'm notorious for rarely pre-announcing my transmissions. The response of which I speak is overwhelmingly NOT pirate radio enthusiasts, but rather surprised SWLs. Over the years WAZU has drawn the most response (ignoring 43 and 48 meters) on 22 meters (13.5-14 MHz) and 41 meters (7.3-7.6 MHz). I once had plans to operate on 13 meters (21.5 MHz) but my lack of top band response scuttled plans to put together an exciter and a dipole for that band. My method of operation is different than most pirates and others might get different results, but my findings tend to agree with your premise.