Messages

2686

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6925 AM 2220 UTC 2 Feb 2017

« on: February 02, 2017, 2248 UTC »

Decent strength carrier on 6925 kHz AM, but the spur from the "bubble" wub wub wub jammer is on the USB and there's our friends on 6925 LSB chatting away....  I can't make out any audio or modulation right now, just the carrier, S3 or so signal level, slightly stronger than the pescadore two-way chatter on 6925 kHz LSB.  At 2247 I heard what I thought was music underneath the QRM but it was very hard to make it out.  Somebody tuned up on top of the carrier at 2249 then dropped down to 6923 or so and did some VFO swooshing all over the peskies.

Tuned back in at 2308 UTC..there now appears to be a QSO on 6928 kHz LSB as well.  The familiar "HOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLAAAAAA" and et cetera.  Right on the edge of the passband when I'm tuned to 6925 kHz USB. 

2687

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6927 USB 1528 UTC 2 Feb 2017

« on: February 02, 2017, 1529 UTC »

Southern accented OMs talking about pumps and roads?  With squelch crashes.  Two-way radio relay?  

Seems a carrier on 6927 kHz is being transmitted when there's no audio on the frequency, not sure if this is a low-frequency power supply hum or another signal underneath it.  Talk at 1533 UTC about a "new hire" and "loading these trucks".

1535 UTC - "26.27" with sirens blaring in background.  Sounds like construction site workers talking to each other on the radio
1540 UTC - OMs with Hispanic accent talking on radio with some noise in background
1542 UTC - "Naw, Billy, you're on channel 1"
1544 UTC - Data bursts overwhelming voice comms for a 1-2 seconds
1550 UTC - Off? 

2688

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6925 USB 1500 UTC 2 Feb 2017

« on: February 02, 2017, 1501 UTC »

Sounds like audio from The Boondocks, nice S7 signal.  S4 on the Ohio remote.  OMs talking about cross-dressing Christian theatre cults and Ice Cube with background music and sound effects.  

1517 UTC: "I do bad things.  I don't listen to my grandmother, and I hurt people.  And I smoke wit cigaawettes" - probably the "Smoking With Cigarettes" episode
1519 UTC: Signal up to S7 on the remote, considerably louder than it was at tune-in.
1523 UTC: "Your computer has been infected with a virus, please call our toll-free hotline" fake virus scam ad

2689

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID Pescadores/Freebanders 6925 LSB 2330 UTC

« on: February 02, 2017, 1402 UTC »

If the Nicaraguan Coast Guard is talking to them then that makes the frequencies somewhat "official" right?  Even if they're outside the ITU authorized maritime bands, they are operating in what's called "fixed/mobile" (doesn't that apply to, well, every single type of radio transmission?) bands, of which 6765-7000 kHz is one.

43 meters isn't their only playground, that's for sure.  I've heard them above 75 meters (40xx kHz area) and, of course, the whole 25-30 MHz region is up for grabs when the band conditions are right.  Out of the box, most HF-SSB marine radios do 1.6-30 MHz (or 1.6-27.5 MHz appears to be another common one), so pick a frequency for you and your pescadore buddies and go!  

I imagine its a combination of land-based and marine transmissions that we've been hearing on these frequencies, the big one being 6925 kHz LSB.  I think 6900 kHz - USB and LSB, is, at least when I've listened to it, Mexican in origin (going by the accented Spanish language heard).  Doesn't stop Brazilian fishermen from using that frequency though!

I'm sure that drug traffickers are using HF radios as well, but I doubt they're what we've been hearing.  A smart drug smuggler wouldn't use the same frequency over and over again and be so chatty (danger of being DFed, etc).  I have seen documentaries about narco-submarines and they were shown to be equipped with Icom IC-M710 HF-SSB radios for communication with whichever fishing boat they meet to make the mid-ocean transfers of their cargo.  I imagine its a predetermined time and frequency and the communications are short and to the point, probably using terminology that would sound like usual fishery communications if some DXer (or some law enforcement agency) were to stumble upon their QSO.  

The documentary in question also discussed upon the use of driftnet radio buoys attached to containers trailed behind normal fishing boats.  If law enforcement shows up, the container is released, the buoy floats to the surface, turns its transmitter on, and is later retrieved.  Since this is the same technology used for regular fishing activities, nothing seems out of the ordinary.  The buoys operate in the 1600-4000 and 26000-28000 kHz ranges, before you ask  

I'm sure they're using other frequencies besides 75, 43 and 11 meters.  

2690

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID Pescadores/Freebanders 6925 LSB 2330 UTC

« on: February 01, 2017, 0431 UTC »

Don't worry.  Soon we'll have a wall around the ionosphere.  That Mexico will pay for.

I have a, uh, well, we'll say "working" or maybe "passable" knowledge of Spanish.  Seems like the traffic on 6925 LSB and the dozen or so other frequencies (6900 USB and 6900 LSB being the one that comes to mind) is a combination of land-based transmissions and actual pescadores (that is, fishing fleets operating outside the legal marine bands, which I find interesting because whenever I scan through the nearest marine allocations [6200-6525 kHz and 8195-8815 kHz] when the 43 meter "fixed" band is full of "pescadores" the marine frequencies are usually pretty empty save for a digital transmission here or there and weather/marine information broadcasts.

I think more often than not, the "pescadores" are actually freebanders.  The transmission I heard for this log sounded so much like Latin American CB freebanders (complete with noise toys, clips from songs, people jamming each other, the "HOLA! HOLA! HOOOOLLLAAAAAA!", etc) that I thought for a minute somebody was re-transmitting an 11 meter frequency on 6925 kHz LSB  

2691

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID Pescadores/Freebanders 6925 LSB 2330 UTC 30 Jan 2017

« on: January 30, 2017, 2332 UTC »

Hearing music and lots of sound effects on 6925 LSB.  Much stronger signals than usual.  Reminds me of Mexican CB, that is, Pesky Party Radio?

2692

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6925 LSB 1600 UTC 30 Jan 2017

« on: January 30, 2017, 1607 UTC »

S3 level signal, but readable.  Seems to be a loop of "f*ck Donald Trump" on repeat with a beat in the background.  

Signal went up considerably, then off at 1630 UTC. 

2693

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6925 USB 1300 UTC 30 Jan 2017

« on: January 30, 2017, 1320 UTC »

via Elida, OH remote web SDR (KiwiSDR).  S3 signal peaking to S5.  Some minor radar and ute burst QRM but otherwise great audio.  Pink Floyd sounds awesome in SSB as usual

Sounds like somebody is playing the soundtrack to Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii

Pink Floyd - Echoes Part I
Pink Floyd - Careful With That Axe, Eugene

a slight pause/dead air for a bit at 1321 UTC, then into:

Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets   Signal is now a S5 peaking at S6.  Signal is now also readable on Concord, NH remote KiwiSDR (S3 signal jumped up rapidly to S5 at 1325 UTC!)

another slight pause/dead air for a bit at 1331 UTC, then into:

Pink Floyd - One Of These Days (I'm Going To Cut You Into Pieces) [excellent track!]

sound FX at end of track then, at 1338 UTC into one of my favorite PF songs:

Pink Floyd - Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Pink Floyd - Mademosille Nobs

at 1349 UTC, bird calls and other FX (the start of)

Pink Floyd - Echoes Part II

Off at 1401 UTC

2694

Peskies / UNID Spanish Freebanders 6900 LSB 1300 UTC 30 Jan 2017

« on: January 30, 2017, 1305 UTC »

Woke up, turned on the radio, and the usual traffic on 6900 kHz LSB is even stronger than usual.  Solid S9 signal locally and on several remotes up and down the East Coast 

2695

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6925 USB 1900 UTC 25 Jan 2017

« on: January 25, 2017, 1910 UTC »

UNID station/relay station on 6925 kHz USB.

Hearing what sounds like a relay of two-way communications?  English and Spanish language heard. 

Currently getting nothing but digital QRM on the frequency. 

2696

Other / SHARES North Net 6765 kHz USB 1615+ UTC 25 Jan 2017

« on: January 25, 2017, 1619 UTC »

FEMA SHARES North (also ID'd as "SHARES Northern") net 6765 kHz USB (going simultaneously with SHARES on 6910 kHz USB)

AA5xx NE5PY and "E5PY" along with other IDs heard.  Very strong to medium readable signals.

Missouri, Virginia, KNZ48 Colorado (different callsign format) and several other states checking into SHARES this morning.  Net control reading check in and check out times in Zulu time.  

Net control mentioned "no broadcast heard today" (I wonder if they're referring to Old Time Radio's transmissions on nearby frequency 6770 kHz, or if they're referring to a SHARES network broadcast.)

NNO5xx and several other alphanumeric callsigns heard.  Several "tactical" callsigns heard

NNE5PY, NFA5PY, NNA5BK and others heard in rotation at 1618 UTC

Net control NNA5BK calling any SHARES or MARS stations at 1619 UTC.

NNE5PY working AFA5PY radio checks.  Several stations taking net control, making calls for check ins, then transferring net control to another station and repeating the process.  "SHARES North calling for any MARS, Air Force, Army or SHARES stations, over" "SHARES North calling any station any region over" "SHARES North calling for any relays, over".

Radio checks and requests for check ins continuing at 1622 UTC

NCS 02 liaison monitoring at 1625 UTC.  Once stations are checked in, callsigns are truncated to the last 3 characters.  Very professional operating procedures on this frequency this morning.  

Other SHARES frequencies:

SHARES Nighttime Primary:  5236 kHz USB
SHARES Daytime Primary: 14396.5 kHz USB
SHARES North Central (Northern): 6765 kHz USB
SHARES Central: 6910 kHz USB
SHARES South West: 7320 kHz USB
SHARES South East: 7632 kHz USB

Net closed at 1700 UTC.

Now stations having casual QSOs on the frequency now that the net has been officially closed. 

2697

Other / SHARES Central Net 6910 kHz USB 1610 UTC 25 Jan 2017

« on: January 25, 2017, 1614 UTC »

Hearing several stations working NCS on 6910 kHz USB (SHARES net frequency) NCS and various alphanumeric callsigns checking in.  Very strong signals and good copy this afternoon.  SHARES Central (Region 6) 6910 kHz USB primary frequency. 

On-going net on 6765 kHz (SHARES North/SHARES Northern)

2698

Other / 6920 kHz USB Spanish Language 1530 UTC + 25 Jan 2017

« on: January 25, 2017, 1552 UTC »

Very weak Spanish language two-way traffic heard on 6920 kHz USB this morning.  Just barely above the noise.  Much less chatty than the traffic on other frequencies logged today, perhaps military?  Or more disciplined operators.

Too weak to get a solid enough copy to translate what's being said. 

2699

Other / 6940 kHz USB Spanish Language 1445 UTC + 25 Jan 2017

« on: January 25, 2017, 1456 UTC »

Similar to the traffic heard on 6928.5 kHz USB at the same time, only slightly weaker signals.  Information two-way communications, but much less "chatty" than the guys on 6928.5 kHz USB or the usual nighttime/evening time "pescadores" traffic often heard on various frequencies in the 6800-7000 kHz range (and others). 

I'm considering the fact that these operations may be related to drug smugglers or are simply other radio hobbyists operating out of band.

That, or its fishing fleets that discovered their radios have a "mode" button

2700

Peskies / 6928.5 kHz USB Spanish Language 1445 UTC + 25 Jan 2017

« on: January 25, 2017, 1453 UTC »

Informal Spanish language QSO on what I originally thought was a MARS net (judging by the frequency offset choice).  Very chatty, similar to the pescadore traffic heard later on in the day (usually on LSB).  Logging this since its earlier in the day, they're using USB, and its a "point-five" frequency choice instead of the usual 3/5 kHz steps observed by the pescadores and freebanders that hang around these bands. 

Either distortion or overmodulation on the signals making it a bit difficult to understand.  S4 or so signal levels.  Haven't listened to it enough to gather what they're talking about (with my somewhat limited Spanish comprehension skills).