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2911

General Radio Discussion / New revelations about Cuban spy Ana Montes

« on: August 04, 2014, 0247 UTC »

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/02/4267428/new-revelations-about-cuban-spy.html

BY BRIAN LATELL
SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD
For 16 years, Ana Belen Montes spied for Cuba from increasingly responsible positions at the Defense Intelligence Agency. If Havana has ever run a higher level or more valuable mole inside the American defense establishment, that has never been revealed.

When she was arrested in late September 2001, Montes was about the equivalent in rank of a colonel. She had access to sensitive compartmented intelligence. Strangely, for one so openly enamored of Fidel Castro, her superiors considered her one of the best Cuba analysts anywhere in government.

Despite the importance of her case, some of the most tantalizing questions about her spying have never been publicly answered. Could the calamity of her treason have been avoided? What was learned about Cuban intelligence tradecraft? How was she discovered? And, of enduring concern, did she work with other American spies thus far undetected or not prosecuted?

Thanks to researcher Jeffrey Richelson and the National Security Archive, new light has finally been shed on the Montes case. Because of their efforts, a 180 page study completed by the Department of Defense Inspector General in 2005 has recently been declassified. It is heavily redacted; many pages, including the CIA’s extensive comments, blacked out. Yet, a quantity of surprising new details are now on the public record.

Montes’s decision to spy for Cuba was “coolly deliberate.” Enticed by a Cuban access agent in Washington, they traveled together to New York in December 1984. Montes met with intelligence officers posted under cover at the Cuban mission to the United Nations.

She “unhesitatingly agreed” to work with them and travel clandestinely to Cuba as soon as possible. The following March, she went there via Spain and Czechoslovakia. The Pentagon report does not state the obvious: while there, she must have received specialized training in intelligence tradecraft.

Then, with Cuban encouragement, she applied for a job at DIA. A standard background investigation was conducted, but we now know that serious concerns about her suitability were raised. Without elaboration, the Pentagon report indicates that they included “falsification of her Master of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins (University) and her trustworthiness.”

DIA did not require applicants to submit to a pre-employment polygraph exam. So, Montes, a trained Cuban espionage agent with a problematic past was cleared and hired. She began her double duties in September 1985.

After her arrest, Montes insisted that she had the “moral right” to provide information to Cuba. In her view, she did not work for Cuba, but with Cuban officials. They felt “mutual respect and understanding” she thought, as “comrades in the struggle.”

The Cubans were skilled in manipulating and controlling her. She told interrogators after her apprehension that she considered herself the equal of her “Cuban comrades, not a menial espionage tool.” They let her believe she “maintained significant control,” although she consistently left “security matters, including meeting site security, countersurveillance, and transmission security” to her handlers.

Montes said they were “thoughtful, sensitive to her needs, very good to me.” They went to “special lengths to assure her they had complete confidence in her.” They allowed her a long, loose leash, easier because they were not paying for her extraordinary services.

Initially in New York, and later at her request in the Washington area, she met with her handlers as often as once every two or three weeks, usually on weekends. Everything about her second covert trip to Cuba is redacted in the Pentagon report.

In 1991, Montes underwent a seemingly routine security reinvestigation. She was asked about foreign travel, and lied. Questioned about inaccuracies in her original application for employment, she confessed that she had misrepresented an incident in her past. Feigning innocence, Montes claimed that she “did not understand the seriousness of being truthful and honest at the time.”

Her questionable case was then reviewed at a higher level. The adjudicator reported that “while Montes seemed to have a tendency ‘to twist the truth’ to her own needs and her honesty was still a cause of concern, adverse security action was unlikely.” Again, she had slipped through. Her high level clearances were recertified.

Soon after, she brazenly submitted a freedom of information request for her own government records. She must have been concerned that something adverse had been discovered. Investigative material was released. She gave the surprised Cubans copies.

She apparently visited Cuba a third time after being selected to participate in the prestigious Director of Central Intelligence “Exceptional Analyst Program” in 1992. This time her travel to the island, purportedly to conduct research, was legal.

In 1996, she was questioned by a DIA special agent after another DIA employee reported concerns about her. Serious doubts were raised about her veracity, but the allegations could not be substantiated.

None of this seems to have contributed to her eventual unmasking. So, how was she discovered? Surprisingly, revealing information seeps through the Pentagon’s report. “We got lucky,” a counterintelligence official observed. An entirely blacked-out section entitled “Serendipity” suggests the same.

By April 1998, a coordinated search for a Cuban spy was underway, according to the report. At first it was thought most likely the quarry was a CIA employee. Investigators were following a crucial clue: the unknown spy had apparently traveled to the Guantanamo naval base as Montes had apparently done on official DIA business.

The breakthrough had seemingly come earlier, however. According to the Pentagon report, Montes was informed shortly after her arrest that investigators “had information from a senior official in the Cuban intelligence service concerning a Cuban penetration agent that implicated Montes.” It appears that this information propelled the investigation that resulted in her arrest.

Who was this mysterious, previously unacknowledged source? From the language of the Pentagon report, it was probably not a defector, but more likely a renegade or compromised Cuban intelligence officer. If so, Montes was done in by one of her own so-called “comrades.”

Did she work with other American spies? The report is ambiguous; it states that after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 pressure intensified to arrest Montes. The FBI preferred to wait, however, in order “to monitor Montes’s activities with the prospect that she may have eventually led the FBI to others in the Cuban spy network.”

Did government censors inadvertently confirm the existence of a larger spy ring? If in fact there was evidence of one, it may be a long time before more is known.

It is now clear, however, that Montes’s apprehension was not just the result of excellent intelligence work. She told investigators after her arrest that a week earlier she had learned that she was under surveillance. She could have decided then to flee to Cuba, and probably would have made it there safely.

But she said that “she couldn’t give up on the people (she) was helping.” Montes is serving a 25 year prison sentence.

2912

General Radio Discussion / South Korea’s new propaganda radio station faces static

« on: July 26, 2014, 2146 UTC »

http://www.northkoreatech.org/2014/07/23/south-koreas-new-propaganda-radio-station-faces-static/

This entry was posted by Martyn Williams on July 23, 2014 at 12:41


South Korea’s latest attempt to sway the minds of the North Korean people looks like a dud before it’s even begun.

This month, the South Korean military begins regular programming on a new shortwave radio station aimed at the DPRK, but the selection of frequency, low transmitter power and aggressive jamming means few if anyone in the DPRK can probably hear it.

Voice of Freedom began several years ago on FM along the border. The use of FM hobbled the station because the signals typically only travel a few tens of kilometers and are susceptible to being blocked by the many hills in the area.

In May Voice of Freedom began test broadcasts began on shortwave, which can reach much further because the signals bounce off the ionosphere and come back down far from the transmitter site.

It’s the only reliable way to get regular radio programming into North Korea and is used by several broadcasters, including outlets like Radio Free Asia, which use high power transmitters as far away as the Northern Mariana Islands to get their signal into the DPRK.

Radio stations can choose their own spot on the shortwave dial and, while it’s less crowded than it used to, the frequency still needs to selected with care. It not only needs to avoid other stations, which come on and off the air at different times of day, but to match the expected atmospheric conditions for the time of year and the distance to be covered.

Voice of Freedom turned up on 6,135kHz, well inside the most crowded shortwave band in East Asia. This means it not only has to overcome North Korean jamming, which is already aggressively blocking its signal most days, but it also has to compete with more powerful stations.

“I don’t know who or why they picked this frequency,” said Jamie Labadia in an email to North Korea Tech. Labadia is a U.S.-based shortwave engineer who was contracted by the South Korean military to build the station.

“Not only is it the most crowded band one could pick in the evening, it is also rather high in frequency for the short distance to the target area,” he said. The frequency was suitable for the daytime, but at night the signal was probably bouncing right over a large part of the southern portion of North Korea.

In the couple of weeks before North Korea caught on to the broadcasts, they were being heard across Asia and in the United States, but no more. North Korean jamming, similar to that faced by Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, KBS and several other broadcasters, has been wiping out the signal.

“I know the pulse is destroying us,” Labadia said to Glenn Hauser, author of the popular DXLD shortwave newsletter. “Pretty discouraging to go through all of these struggles, only to have it be for naught.”

Labadia said he had “tried to convince [the South Korean military] to use a second frequency, however as of now they are staying on 6135.”

Two stations run by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service use a series of transmitters on different frequencies to maximize their chances of getting through North Korea’s jamming blockade. As of now, it looks like Voice of Freedom won’t be doing the same so the station might be an exercise in frustration.

Here’s the broadcasting schedule, provided by Labadia to DXLD:

0800 to 0000 GMT / 1700 to 0900 local time

0300 to 0500 GMT / 1200 to 1400 local time

The station isn’t on air during work hours because foreign radio listening is typically done in secret, at home.

2913

General Radio Discussion / NASA: Solar storm in 2012 nearly ‘knocked modern civilization back to the 18th c

« on: July 26, 2014, 1910 UTC »

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/25/nasa-solar-storm-in-2012-nearly-knocked-modern-civilization-back-to-the-18th-century/

By Agence France-Presse
Friday, July 25, 2014 15:55 EDT

Back in 2012, the Sun erupted with a powerful solar storm that just missed the Earth but was big enough to “knock modern civilization back to the 18th century,” NASA said.

The extreme space weather that tore through Earth’s orbit on July 23, 2012, was the most powerful in 150 years, according to a statement posted on the US space agency website Wednesday.

However, few Earthlings had any idea what was going on.

“If the eruption had occurred only one week earlier, Earth would have been in the line of fire,” said Daniel Baker, professor of atmospheric and space physics at the University of Colorado.

Instead the storm cloud hit the STEREO-A spacecraft, a solar observatory that is “almost ideally equipped to measure the parameters of such an event,” NASA said.

Scientists have analyzed the treasure trove of data it collected and concluded that it would have been comparable to the largest known space storm in 1859, known as the Carrington event.

It also would have been twice as bad as the 1989 solar storm that knocked out power across Quebec, scientists said.

“I have come away from our recent studies more convinced than ever that Earth and its inhabitants were incredibly fortunate that the 2012 eruption happened when it did,” said Baker.

The National Academy of Sciences has said the economic impact of a storm like the one in 1859 could cost the modern economy more than two trillion dollars and cause damage that might take years to repair.

Experts say solar storms can cause widespread power blackouts, disabling everything from radio to GPS communications to water supplies — most of which rely on electric pumps.

They begin with an explosion on the Sun’s surface, known as a solar flare, sending X-rays and extreme UV radiation toward Earth at light speed.

Hours later, energetic particles follow and these electrons and protons can electrify satellites and damage their electronics.

Next are the coronal mass ejections, billion-ton clouds of magnetized plasma that take a day or more to cross the Sun-Earth divide.

These are often deflected by Earth’s magnetic shield, but a direct hit could be devastating.

There is a 12 percent chance of a super solar storm the size of the Carrington event hitting Earth in the next 10 years, according to physicist Pete Riley, who published a paper in the journal Space Weather earlier this year on the topic.

His research was based on an analysis of solar storm records going back 50 years.

“Initially, I was quite surprised that the odds were so high, but the statistics appear to be correct,” said Riley.

“It is a sobering figure.”

2914

Shortwave Broadcast / The Mighty KBC 9925 kHz AM 20 July 2014 0000Z

« on: July 20, 2014, 0030 UTC »

Uncle Eric & The Giant Jukebox coming in strong as usual on 9925 kHz.


_{Yaesu FT-847 with 80' wire}

2915

General Radio Discussion / Solar cycle 24 continues to rank as one of the weakest in more than a century

« on: July 18, 2014, 0154 UTC »

http://thesiweather.com/2014/07/16/1045-am-the-sun-has-gone-quiet-solar-cycle-24-continues-to-rank-as-one-of-the-weakest-cycles-more-than-a-century/

Discussion

Overview
Ten days ago, the sun was quite active and peppered with several large spots. Now the sun has gone quiet and it is nearly completely blank. It appears that the solar maximum phase for solar cycle 24 may have been reached and it is not very impressive. It looks as if this solar cycle is “double-peaked” (see below) which is not all that uncommon; however, it is somewhat rare that the second peak in sunspot number during the solar max phase is larger than the first. In fact, this solar cycle continues to rank among the weakest on record which continues the recent trend for increasingly weaker cycles. The current predicted and observed size makes this the smallest sunspot cycle since Cycle 14 which had a maximum of 64.2 in February of 1906. Going back to 1755, there have been only a few solar cycles in the previous 23 that have had a lower number of sunspots during its maximum phase. For this reason, many solar researchers are calling this current solar maximum a “mini-max”. Solar cycle 24 began after an unusually deep solar minimum that lasted from 2007 to 2009. In fact, in 2008 and 2009, there were almost no sunspots, a very unusual situation during a solar minimum phase that had not happened for almost a century.

Consequences of a weak solar cycle
First, the weak solar cycle has resulted in rather benign “space weather” in recent times with generally weaker-than-normal geomagnetic storms. By all Earth-based measures of geomagnetic and geoeffective solar activity, this cycle has been extremely quiet. However, there is some evidence that most large events such as strong solar flares and significant geomagnetic storms tend to occur in the declining phase of the solar cycle. In other words, there is still a chance for significant solar activity in the months and years ahead.

Second, it is pretty well understood that solar activity has a direct impact on temperatures at very high altitudes in a part of the Earth’s atmosphere called the thermosphere. This is the biggest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere which lies directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. Thermospheric temperatures increase with altitude due to absorption of highly energetic solar radiation and are highly dependent on solar activity.

Finally, if history is a guide, it is safe to say that weak solar activity for a prolonged period of time can have a negative impact on global temperatures in the troposphere which is the bottom-most layer of Earth’s atmosphere - and where we all live. There have been two notable historical periods with decades-long episodes of low solar activity. The first period is known as the “Maunder Minimum”, named after the solar astronomer Edward Maunder, and it lasted from around 1645 to 1715. The second one is referred to as the “Dalton Minimum”, named for the English meteorologist John Dalton, and it lasted from about 1790 to 1830. Both of these historical periods coincided with below-normal global temperatures in an era now referred to by many as the “Little Ice Age”. In addition, research studies in just the past couple of decades have found a complicated relationship between solar activity, cosmic rays, and clouds on Earth. This research suggests that in times of low solar activity where solar winds are typically weak; more cosmic rays reach the Earth’s atmosphere which, in turn, has been found to lead to an increase in certain types of clouds that can act to cool the Earth.

Outlook
The increasingly likely outcome for an historically weak solar cycle continues the recent downward trend in sunspot cycle strength that began over twenty years ago during solar cycle 22. If this trend continues for the next couple of cycles, then there would likely be more talk of another “grand minimum” for the sun. Some solar scientists are already predicting that the next solar cycle, #25, will be even weaker than this current one. However, it is just too early for high confidence in these predictions since some solar scientists believe that the best predictor of future solar cycle strength involves activity at the sun’s poles during a solar minimum and the next solar minimum is still likely several years away.

2916

Equipment / WWV receiver for ntpd time source

« on: July 16, 2014, 0104 UTC »

I've been busy with ntpd as of late and decided that I need to have my own stratum 1 servers that sync to WWV (5, 10, and 15 MHz, optionally 2.5, 20, and 25 MHz).

Have two paths:

In one case, have one computer hooked to a receiver on 5 MHz and another computer connected to a receiver on 15MHz.  Both would run ntpd that can decode the audio output. Their success would come & go throughout the day, but they would be complimentary and any client stations would get at least one of them.

Alternatively, have a one computer and one computer controlled receiver that would be commanded to switch freqs depending on the time of day.


Then got to reading about other stratum 1 servers that use GPS, GNSS, and CDMA. Saw an article that I found that had a fascinating tidbit in it:
http://www.hfindustry.com/meetings_presentations/presentation_materials/2009_feb_hfia/Presentations/ShadNygren_HFIA2009.pdf

Specifically, from page 3 of the document:
• Use difference from local CDMA 1PPS UTC to calculate path length from WWV to Datron
• Use path length and great circle distance to calculate Ionosphere Virtual Height

The document it references from 2008:
http://www.hfindustry.com/meetings_presentations/presentation_materials/2008_feb_hfia/presentations/08_shad_nygren_hfia_presentation_feb2008.pdf


Right now, going to start with the stratum 1 server(s), then eventually run that experiment as I get more information about it.

Any recommendations on a WWV radio? I have a Yaesu FT-840 that I'll probably use in the near-term to get the thing going, but don't want to tie that radio up for too long.

2917

Shortwave Broadcast / The Mighty KBC 9925 kHz AM 06 July 2014 0000Z

« on: July 06, 2014, 0003 UTC »

0000Z 55544 S9+ Uncle Eric rockin' on The Giant Jukebox.



_{Yaesu FT-847 with 80' wire}

2918

North American Shortwave Pirate / X-FM 6945 C-QUAM 0204 UTC 5 July 2014

« on: July 05, 2014, 0206 UTC »

0204Z 25532 S5 Music. ID "This is radio station X-FM. Please stand by."
0207Z 25532 S5 Computer voice over music. Too many static crashes to tell what it said.
0211Z 25532 S5 Clips from American Top 40 with Casey Kasem
0212Z 25532 S5 Don Henley "Dirty Laundry"
0215Z 25532 S5 Casey Kasem with the #3 song for the week of November 15, 1975
0217Z 25532 S5 Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons "Who Loves You"
0220Z 25532 S5 Casey Kasem with the #2 song for the week of November 15, 1975
0220Z 25532 S5 Eagles "Lying Eyes"
0225Z 25532 S5 Casey Kasem with the #1 song for the week of November 15, 1975
0226Z 25532 S5 Elton John "Island Girl"
0229Z 25532 S5 ID + Redhat talking
0231Z 25532 S5 Ray Charles "America the Beautiful"
0234Z 25532 S3 Redhat
0240Z 25532 S3 ID
0240Z 25532 S3 Sarah McLachlan "Sweet Surrender"
0244Z 25532 S3 ID
0244Z 25532 S3 Rammstein "Amerika"
0248Z 25531 S3 ID
0253Z 25532 S3 ID
0253Z 25532 S3 Midlake "Antiphon"
0256Z 25532 S3 ID + Redhat
0301Z 25532 S3 Soundgarden "Fresh Tendrils"
0305Z 25532 S3 ID + Redhat
0305Z 25532 S3 Bad Suns "Salt"
0309Z 25532 S3 ID + Redhat
0313Z 25532 S3 The Fixx "Saved By Zero"
0316Z 25532 S3 ID + Redhat
0316Z 25532 S3 The Charlie Daniels Band "Still in Saigon"
0320Z 25532 S3 Redhat + ID
0321Z 25532 S3 Red Rider "Lunatic Fringe"
0325Z 25532 S3 Redhat + ID
0325Z 25432 S3 The Alan Parsons Project "Standing On Higher Ground"
0330Z 25431 S3 Redhat + ID
0334Z 25432 S3 Santigold "Disparate Youth"
0339Z 25432 S3 ID + Redhat
0339Z 25432 S3 Ian Brown "Just Like You"
0342Z 25432 S3 ID + Redhat
0342Z 25432 S3 Tokio Hotel "Monsoon"
0347Z 25432 S3 Fiona Apple "Criminal"
0351Z 25432 S3 Redhat + ID
0358Z 25432 S3 Redhat
0358Z 25433 S3 Golden Earring "Twilight Zone"
0405Z 25433 S3 Redhat
0412Z 35433 S5 Fastball "The Way"
0416Z 35433 S5 ID + Redhat
0416Z 35433 S5 Good Charlotte Feat "The River"
0420Z 35433 S5 ID + Redhat
0420Z 35433 S5 Queens Of the Sone Age "I Sat By the Ocean"
0424Z 35433 S5 ID
0424Z 35433 S5 Toad the Wet Sprocket "Something's Always Wrong"
0428Z 35433 S5 ID + Redhat
0429Z 35433 S5 The Smashing Pumpkins "Freak"
0433Z 35433 S5 ID
0433Z 35433 S5 Jamiroquai "Virtual Insanity"
0438Z 35433 S5 ID + Redhat
0438Z 25432 S3 Janet Jackson "Go Deep"
0443Z 25432 S3 Redhat + ID
0443Z 25432 S3 Incubus "Small Sad Little World"
0450Z 25432 S3 Redhat + ID
0451Z 25432 S3 Skrape "I Can't Breathe"
0455Z 25432 S3 Redhat + ID
0455Z 25432 S3 The Shapeshifters "Lola's Theme"
0458Z 25432 S3 Télépopmusik "Breathe"
0503Z 25431 S3 Redhat signing off.
0512Z 25432 S3 ID
0512Z Off air.


Thanks Redhat. Good to hear you again.


_{Yaesu FT-847 with 10' wire (the wire was broken & I didn't know it until the following day)
Sony ICF-2010 was a solid S5 with the built-in whip}

2919

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6925 USB 0113 UTC 5 July 2014

« on: July 05, 2014, 0114 UTC »

0113Z 35543 S5  Sounds slightly muffled.
0116Z Off suddenly.
0119Z 35543 S5 On for about 15 seconds, then off again.



_{Yaesu FT-847 with 80' wire}

2920

General Radio Discussion / Observers Hope This Is Year for AM Relief

« on: July 04, 2014, 2352 UTC »

http://www.radioworld.com/article/observers-hope-this-is-year-for-am-relief/271145

The Federal Communication Commission continues to review comments on the AM revitalization rulemaking proposals it made last fall. AM observers expect the commission to move forward quickly with at least some of those steps.

The Media Bureau suggested six remedies to promote short- and long-term AM sustainability in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. More than 200 public comments were filed to MB Docket 12-249; the commission heard from broadcast owners, equipment companies, engineers and public interest groups, among others.

The FCC acknowledges that the band suffers from technical limitations and interference that have contributed to a migration of listeners to higher-fidelity audio platforms such as FM, satellite radio and others.

The prevailing opinion of AM observers interviewed for this story is that some, if not all, of the proposals will be enacted, possibly as soon as this year. Indeed, Commissioner Ajit Pai recently called on his colleagues to act on the proposals by the end of October, saying: “Given the static facing the AM band, we can’t afford to delay.”

The six proposals include:

• opening an FM translator filing window exclusively for AM licensees and permittees;

• modifying daytime community coverage standards for existing AMs;

• modifying nighttime community coverage standards for existing AMs;

• eliminating the so-called Ratchet Rule;

• permitting wider implementation of modulation-dependent carrier level control technologies;

• modifying AM antenna efficiency standards.

Observers contacted for this piece, including AM veteran Ron Rackley, a principal engineer at duTreil, Lundin & Rackley, expect the FCC to introduce new rules later this year.

The commission’s next step after reviewing comments would be to issue a Report and Order, but there is no timing requirement to the procedures, according to an agency spokeswoman. She said the commission does not comment on current proceedings.

Observers think some ideas are uncontroversial and likely to be approved. These include the special one-time application window for AM owners who wish to obtain FM translators, one per AM license — though many respondents told the FCC that this would do nothing to improve the signal quality in the AM band itself. The FCC in 2009 authorized AMs to rebroadcast on FM translators in certain circumstances, for improved daytime and nighttime service. Approximately 10 percent of AMs use cross-service translators, according to the revitalization NPRM, out of 4,725 licensed AMs in the FCC database.


Bob Gehman is dubious that FM translators will be available in larger markets. Another change many observers predict is elimination of the “Ratchet Rule.” This effectively requires AMs that want to modify signals to “ratchet back” their radiation in the direction of other stations, resulting in an overall reduction in the amount of skywave interference to certain other AMs.

Most commenters have agreed that the rule should be repealed, saying it inhibits AM facility modifications. Rackley said eliminating the rule is a foregone conclusion.

ADDITIONAL PROPOSALS

Whether the commission will consider additional proposals beyond those six is unknown.

Other ideas have been discussed in the industry; but observers question whether any are realistic enough to win serious FCC consideration.

Some commenters question the future of hybrid AM IBOC. One of those, Burt Weiner, president of Burt I. Weiner Associates, a broadcast technical services firm, wrote: “The current form of AM digital transmission known as IBOC should be revisited. Close examination will clearly show that in its relatively brief history it has been more destructive than beneficial to the AM broadcast band as a direct result of the sever interference it causes to adjacent-channel signals.”

Other commenters, like Clear Channel Media & Entertainment and the National Alliance of AM Broadcasters, expressed support of a move to all-digital AM. However, several others touted the advantages of Digital Radio Mondiale as one potential digital broadcast alternative that could help revitalize the band and urged the commission to consider DRM testing.

A notion that has received much discussion is the idea of migrating AM stations to the spectrum now used by TV analog Channels 5 and 6, just below the current FM band; this merits consideration, according to some commenters.

Others laud the idea of rejuvenating AM stereo transmission, improving AM receiver performance and/or cutting down on RF interference emitted by unlicensed and/or licensed devices.

But Rackley believes converting TV 5 and 6 will remain a far-fetched idea because “TV spectrum remains in play during the broadband Internet spectrum reallocation.”

So too is asking the FCC to do more to “regulate the myriad sources of AM interference,” something the agency “is not about to do,” said Rackley. He said the commission “was strongly encouraged to do that in the 1980s, and made it clear that they would not do it. They are not about to mandate requirements for implementing new technology in AM receivers, either.”

AM radio, he said, “needs to see rule changes that allow improved service in the noisy environment with existing receiver technology at this point.”

Another broadcast commenter said it would not be practical to track down and treat every offending device that creates interference, adding, “Receiver manufacturers have little incentive to produce better receivers given the general lack of interest in AM.” Receiver-makers have told RW they believe the AM sections of their devices perform well, and there’s no reason to redesign those chips and modules.

Many of the publicly filed comments reflect a sense of urgency.

“I expect the FCC will adopt all six proposals in some way or another,” said Stan Salek, senior engineer with consulting engineering firm Hammett & Edison, Inc. Most beneficial, he feels, would be the one to ease daytime coverage standards by allowing existing AMs to reduce their coverage footprints.

The FCC requires a commercial AM to provide daytime coverage to its entire community of license, even though the agency routinely has waived that for licensees who can demonstrate 80 percent coverage within the station’s 5 mV/m contour.

Salek said relaxation of coverage rules would allow licensees more latitude in selecting transmitter sites that serve their desired populations; it would also increase diplexing opportunities.

“Elimination of the Ratchet Rule and relaxation of minimum efficiency requirements will also be helpful, but perhaps to a lesser degree.”

FM TRANSLATOR

But garnering wide support is the idea of the special translator window.

Salek believes that finding available translator frequencies will be challenging, especially in the wake of the recent LPFM filing window that so far has produced some 1,200 construction permits.


Tom Osenkowsky doesn’t believe any of the AM proposals constitutes a “magic bullet.” Bob Gehman, president of Kessler and Gehman Associates, a telecom and broadcast engineering consulting firm, said it’s doubtful FM translators will be available in larger markets, but they could be helpful in smaller areas. “There’s probably something in the bag for most stations, especially those that have a need to relocate their transmitter site. The elimination of the Ratchet Rule will allow more stations to make changes.”

Also seen as beneficial is the proposed wider implementation of modulation-dependent carrier level control technologies. Transmitter control techniques are used that vary either the carrier power level or both the carrier and sideband power levels as a function of modulation level. The practice allows AM licensees to reduce power consumption while maintaining audio quality and coverage areas.

The FCC allowed AM broadcasters to use MDCL, by rule waiver or experimental authorization, in 2011. Since then, 30 permanent waiver requests and 16 experimental requests have been granted, according to the NPRM. The FCC says AMs using MDCL have reported significant savings on electrical costs. The proposal would allow AMs to begin using MDCL control technologies without prior FCC authority, provided the licensee notify the commission of the operation change within 10 days.

The move will save power and lower costs, Gehman said, though “savings could be as little as $1,000 a year for 1 kW stations.” He added: “The daytime and nighttime community coverage relaxation could help stations who need to relocate their transmitter site and can’t comply with the current requirements at any reasonable priced sites.”

Bill Croghan, chief engineer for Lotus Broadcasting in Las Vegas, said many of the FCC’s proposals “are just the commission catching up with the real world.”

“None are a lock, but updating to the community of license standards and AM antenna efficiency are good ideas,” Croghan said.

Consultant Tom Osenkowsky, who specializes in AM antenna and feeder system design and contributes to Radio World, said the FCC fixes offer “no magic bullet.”

“Revitalization of the AM broadcast service must start with the broadcasters. The typical reaction a broadcaster has when revenues decrease is to cut expenses,” said Osenkowsky. “This usually involves replacing live programming with satellite or Internet-delivered content. Placing this type of programming on an FM translator or VHF band station will not draw listeners.”

2921

General Radio Discussion / Building Retro Reflectors

« on: June 28, 2014, 2028 UTC »

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2014/06/building_retro_.html

A group of researchers have reverse-engineered the NSA's retro reflectors, and has recreated them using software-defined radio (SDR):

An SDR Ossmann designed and built, called HackRF, was a key part of his work in reconstructing the NSA's retro-reflector systems. Such systems come in two parts – a plantable "reflector" bug and a remote SDR-based receiver.

One reflector, which the NSA called Ragemaster, can be fixed to a computer's monitor cable to pick up on-screen images. Another, Surlyspawn, sits on the keyboard cable and harvests keystrokes. After a lot of trial and error, Ossmann found these bugs can be remarkably simple devices – little more than a tiny transistor and a 2-centimetre-long wire acting as an antenna.

Getting the information from the bugs is where SDRs come in. Ossmann found that using the radio to emit a high-power radar signal causes a reflector to wirelessly transmit the data from keystrokes, say, to an attacker. The set-up is akin to a large-scale RFID- chip system. Since the signals returned from the reflectors are noisy and often scattered across different bands, SDR's versatility is handy, says Robin Heydon at Cambridge Silicon Radio in the UK. "Software-defined radio is flexibly programmable and can tune in to anything," he says.

The NSA devices are LOUDAUTO, SURLYSPAWN, TAWDRYYARD, and RAGEMASTER. Here are videos that talk about how TAWDRYYARD and LOUDAUTO work.

This is important research. While the information we have about these sorts of tools is largely from the NSA, it is fanciful to assume that they are the only intelligence agency using this technology. And it's equally fanciful to assume that criminals won't be using this technology soon, even without Snowden's documents. Understanding and building these tools is the first step to protecting ourselves from them.

2922

General Radio Discussion / SAQ transmissions on June 29th and July 2nd

« on: June 23, 2014, 2337 UTC »

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2014/june/saq_transmissions.htm#.U6i59RYtqIw

SAQ transmissions on June 29th and July 2nd

1. Alexanderson Day, June 29th, 2014

The annual transmission on ''Alexanderson Day'' with the Alexanderson alternator on VLF 17.2 kHz will take place Sunday, June 29th, 2014 at 09:00 UTC (tuning up from about 08:30 UTC) and will be repeated at 12:00 UTC (tuning up from about 11:30 UTC).

There will be activity on amateur radio frequencies with the call "SK6SAQ" from about 08:00 to about 14:00UTC, except during SAQ transmissions.

Any of following frequencies :
- 14.035 kHz CW
- 14.215 kHz SSB
- 3.535 kHz CW

QSL for SK6SAQ via SK6DK or bureau.

The station will be open to visitors 08:00 to14:00 UTC.

Welcome!

QSL-reports on SAQ are kindly received :
- E-mail to: info@alexander.n.se
- or via: SM bureau
- or direct by mail to: Alexander - Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner, Radiostationen,
Grimeton 72
SE-432 98 GRIMETON
S W E D E N

 

2. 10 YEARS SINCE GRIMETON RADIO/SAQ BECAME A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE, JULY 2ND, 2014

There will also be a transmission on, Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014, at 14:30 UTC (tuning upfrom about 14:00 UTC) due to 10 years since SAQ was appointed a World Heritage site.

2923

Shortwave Broadcast / The Mighty KBC 9925 kHz AM 22 June 2014 0000Z

« on: June 22, 2014, 0003 UTC »

0000Z 45534 S9 ID + Intro
0001Z 45534 S9 The Rolling Stones "Dandelion"
0005Z 45534 S9 ID
0005Z 45534 S9 Orson "Bright Idea"
0009Z 45534 S9 ID with Uncle Eric. Rocking over the ocean with 125,000 Watts of musical power.
0009Z 45534 S9 The Proclaimers "Life With You"
0013Z 45534 S9 Kevin Carter "Manic Street Preacher"
0016Z 45534 S9 ID + ads
0017Z 45534 S9 Johnny "Reveillerock"
0019Z 45534 S9 The Countours "Do You Love Me"
0022Z 45534 S9 ID
0022Z 45534 S9 Fats Domino "Margie"
0025Z 45544 S9 ID
0025Z 45544 S9 George Harrison "This Is Love"
0029Z 45544 S9 ID
0030Z 45544 S9 R.E.M. "Its the End of the World As We Know It"
0034Z 45544 S9 ID + ads
0036Z 45544 S9 Them "Here Comes The Night"
0039Z 45544 S9 ID
0039Z 45544 S9 Pickettywitch "Sounds of Silence"
0043Z 45544 S9 Kayak "Starlight Dancer"
0048Z 45544 S9 ID
0048Z 45544 S9 Johnny Rivers "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu"
0052Z 45544 S9 ID + ads
0053Z 45544 S9 Status Quo "Again and Again"
0056Z 45544 S9 ID + ads
0057Z 45544 S9 The Honeycombs "Something Better Beginning"
0100Z 45544 S9 ID + ads
0102Z 45544 S9 The Outcasts
0104Z 45544 S9 ID
0104Z 45544 S9 Bubble Puppy "Hot Smoke and Sasafrass"
0107Z 45544 S9 ID
0107Z 45544 S9 The Bopshack Stompers "Rock Bop"
0109Z 45544 S9 ID
0109Z 45544 S9 Joe Clay "Sixteen Chicks"
0111Z 45544 S9 ID
0111Z 45544 S9 Johnny Rebb & The Rebels "Rock On"
0114Z 45544 S9 Larry Dowd "Blue Swingin' Mama"
0116Z 45544 S9 ID + ads
0117Z 45544 S9 Los Rockin Devils "Bule Bule"
0119Z 45544 S9 Johnny Horton "Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor"
0122Z 45544 S9 ID
0122Z 45544 S9 Stars on 45 "Stars on 45"
0127Z 45544 S9 ID
0127Z 45544 S9 Larry Phillipson & The Larry Lee Trio "Bitter Feelings"
0129Z 45544 S9 ID
0130Z 45544 S9 MFSK64 digital text mode with Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott
0131Z 45544 S9 ID
0131Z 45544 S9 The Four Sportsmen
0134Z 45544 S9 ID
0134Z 45544 S9 The Butterfield Blues Band "Mystery Train"
0136Z 45544 S9 ID + ads
0137Z 45544 S9 The Braves "Woodpecker Rock"
0140Z 45544 S9 The Forgotten Song: Frankie Smith "Double Dutch Bus"
0144Z 45544 S9 Propagation bulletin
0145Z 45544 S9 ID
0145Z 45544 S9 Tex Rubinowitz "Hot Rod Man"
0148Z 45544 S9 Report on pirate radio - Specifically Wolverine Radio.
0150Z 45544 S9 ID + ads
0151Z 45544 S9 The Aquatones "Wanted A Solid Gold Cadillac"
0153Z 45544 S9 Mr. Spencer's Pee Break
0154Z 45544 S9 Indian Puddin' & Pipe "Water or Wine"
0157Z 45544 S9 Saying hello to listeners, reading their names
0200Z Off air.



_{Yaesu FT-847 with homebrew PA0RDT mini-whip}

2924

General Radio Discussion / HAARP granted last-minute reprieve as Air Force considers handoff

« on: June 12, 2014, 1132 UTC »

http://www.adn.com/2014/06/11/3512277/haarp-granted-last-minute-reprieve.html

The U.S. Air Force said Wednesday it will give research institutions and other agencies more time to try to save the $290 million HAARP research facility in Gakona, Alaska.

An Air Force spokesman said the process of closing the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, which had been slated to begin this week, will be delayed for at least several weeks and perhaps longer.

The agency said it may put off dismantling the site for up to 10 months to allow a transfer to another agency, an option that has been promoted by scientists from the University of Alaska and around the world.

HAARP, backed by the late Sen. Ted Stevens when he wielded great power over the defense budget, has been used both for basic research of the ionosphere and for investigation of communications and satellite technology.

"We will proceed with removal of government property not essential to operations and will seek to reduce maintenance costs through additional storage of equipment and winterization," Air Force spokesperson Ed Gulick said. "Air Force leadership is currently considering the option of deferring the dismantling for up to 10 months to allow time for a potential transfer to another entity."

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has pressed the Pentagon to consider the transfer option instead of taking the site apart.

In May, University of Alaska President Pat Gamble wrote that the university could take ownership of the facility directly or through a lease, or it could work with others in the research community to develop options for covering operational costs.

He said that the main purpose of HAARP is to study techniques through which the U.S. could use "high power radio transmissions to manipulate Earth's ionosphere for its strategic advantage."

"The ionosphere is an integral part of the modern battlefield -- it affects GPS navigation, satellite communication, missile tracking radars, orbital surveillance and submarine communication, to name just a few applications," he said.

"I am convinced that with a little more time and broader range of discussions within the U.S. and internationally, we can develop a pay-for-use business plan to ensure the long-term availability of this laboratory," Gamble said.

HAARP directs electric power generated on the site to 180 antennas spread across 30 acres. The transmissions heat electrons in the ionosphere, creating changes that are monitored back on Earth.

Reach

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2014/06/11/3512277/haarp-granted-last-minute-reprieve.html#storylink=cpy

2925

Utility / New York Radio 2000 kHz USB 10 June 2014 0405Z

« on: June 10, 2014, 0406 UTC »

0405Z 35443 S5 New York Radio ID. Broadcasting aviation weather.



_{Yaesu FT-847 with homebrew PA0RDT Mini-Whip}