2013
« on: January 31, 2011, 0111 UTC »
Hello all,
Earlier this month (Jan 10, 2011) I reported V24 and M94 had made some major changes to transmission schedules and frequencies used. I reported they had reactivated some older frequencies and possibly had reduced M94 to little or no traffic.
Since that time I have been watching V24/M94 closely, trying to understand exactly what changes have taken place. I have been watching all frequencies that I am aware of that have ever been used by V24/M94 in the past, so daily from 1200 to 1700 UTC the frequencies on the watch list include 4500, 4600, 4900, 4940, 5115, 5450, 5550, 5715, 5850, 6215, 6330, 6715, and 6730 kHz.
V24/M94 has indeed re-activated at least three frequencies it has not used since December of 2009.
I started to monitor V24/M94 in March, 2009. At that time an MCW station was known to be associated with V24, but had not yet been given the Enigma designator of M94. Most reports of V24 were on 5715 and 6215 kHz and most were being made from Japan although V24 was known to have operated on other frequencies in the past.
2009 activities:
In 2009 V24 and/or M94 was using 4500, 4600, 4900, 5115, 5715, 6215 and 6730 kHz. M94 was not designated as such until June of 2010, prior to that it was generally noted as Unknown MCW and I have included those as “M94” for this discussion. Some frequencies (4500, 5115, and 5715 kHz) were used by both V24 and M94, other frequencies (4600, 4900, 6215, and 6730 kHz) were used by only V24, no M94 traffic was ever noted on those four. M94 carried less traffic (as determined by percentage of transmission windows) than V24, but was still very active, with over 40 transmissions in an average month.
2010 activities:
In January 2010 operations on 4500, 4600, 4900, and 5115 kHz ceased and most of that traffic moved into empty time slots in the upper frequencies, 5715, 6215, and 6730 kHz, so that the total traffic remained about the same. M94 activity greatly reduced overall, to less than one third of what it had been. In February 2010 a new frequency was noted, 6330 kHz, it is unknown if this was indeed a new frequency or if it had been in use all along and only noticed at this time. For the first couple of months of 2010 transmission schedules fluctuated somewhat, but eventually became very stable for the remainder of the year. For the entirety of 2010 V24/M94 used four frequencies, 5715, 6215, 6330, and 6730 kHz. V24 used all four frequencies, M94 used only 5715 and 6330 kHz.
2011 Activities:
In January 2011 the transmission schedules again changed, with only about 50% of the 2010 schedule still applying. All M94 scheduled transmissions for the first 10 days of 2011 did not happen, this led me to pose the question of if M94 might have ceased operations. As luck would have it the day after I posted that update and question M94 resumed normal operational tempo. At this time V24/M94 appears to have reactivated the frequencies in use in 2009 plus 6330 that was not found until early 2010. I have recorded transmissions on 4600, 4900, 5115, 5715, 6215, 6330, and 6730 kHz. It is possible that 4500 kHz is also active, but due to a locally strong digital signal and the fact that China has moved a BC station onto 4500 I have not been able to confirm or eliminate 4500 kHz as a currently valid V24/M94 frequency. M94 seems to have the same schedule as in 2010, about a total of 12 transmissions a month on the same frequencies and using the same ID’s as last year. At this time it looks like V24 is active on all 7 frequencies (4600, 4900, 5115, 5715, 6215, 6330, and 6730 kHz), and M94 on the same two as last year (5715 and 6330 kHz).
So far this year there have been no 1620 UTC transmissions as there was in the past, however the number of 1630 UTC time slots is increased. The overall time window still appears to be 1200 to 1630 UTC daily, but now strictly on the XX00 and XX30 times. Since there was a note in 2002 that the station might also include a 1700 UTC transmission I have been watching for that time slot, but have not caught a transmission there. Other time slots have been occasionally reported (generally all before 2005), from 0300 to 2100 UTC, and as a result I have monitored the most commonly used frequencies 24 hours a day, so far with nothing outside the 1200 to 1630 time frame.
The transmission schedule for the last month has been slightly chaotic, as it was for the first month or so of last year. At times it appears that the “two day” transmission format is not used, and a given transmission will only be a single day or worse yet transmit one day, skip a day, and duplicate the transmission the third day. I am working on a new printed schedule, but it will probably not be ready until about the first of March, and not confirmed until after the end of March.
T!
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, reportedly in Inyo County, too., was the best sig. in Hawaii 20 Nov. 2010 on n.e. Ohau near Kahuku during a DXpedition I went on to there, compared to Hexie/Kelsie. Wind came in to Oahu good at times, too.