Topics

1

Shortwave Broadcast / Radio Omdurman Sudan 7200/7205 kHz

« on: July 26, 2022, 0445 UTC »

Presumed R. Omdurman Sudan on 7200 kHz at 0440z, with presumed Sudanese music playing very legibly beneath some somewhat irritated/amused amateur radio ops.

This seems to be the domestic service, per 2021 WRTH. The music is very interesting, a mix of middle eastern and west African and currently featuring an accordian.

2

HF Mystery Signals / 325 hz Tone, 7310 kHz AM, 12/14/2020 0930z (+)

« on: December 14, 2020, 1018 UTC »

Not sure if I'm missing something. This tone was strong at my QTH and Kiwi SDR's in Nevada, Alberta CA, and Missouri. Seems to be gone as of 1000z.

Hopefully these links work...

Audio:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r4tm8jdcj8qw2qp/12.29.214.134_2020-12-14T09_26_46Z_7310.00_am.wav?dl=0
Screenshot:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/joq6sg1uyo4mcyq/Screenshot%20from%202020-12-14%2002-29-01.png?dl=0

3

Propagation / Effects of fires and high altitude smoke on propagation?

« on: September 12, 2020, 2306 UTC »

I found this:

The Signal Propagation Effects on IEEE 802.15.4 Radio Link in Fire Environment
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232708332_The_Signal_Propagation_Effects_on_IEEE_802154_Radio_Link_in_Fire_Environment

and a PhD thesis from Australia. I don't know if they've experimented on the kinds of high altitude smoke atmospherics over CA and the SW right now, which are turning the sun orange, blotting out the stars, and making the sun disappear behind grey before sunset.

The studies were 50 meters and up, for emergency comms. I didn't find much on HF effects.

Also found this map of current air quality:
https://www.purpleair.com/map?opt=1/mAQI/a10/cC0#8.6/32.3781/-111.1294

Which is pretty lousy here, but nothing compared to the West Coast right now.

Mucho thanks in advance for any resources on the subject(s).

4

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6930 USB 0407 UTC

« on: September 06, 2020, 0409 UTC »

Barely S2 out here, but coming in loud and clear on Chris's SDR. "I always feel like somebody's watching me" (parody?), covid-related skits, music I don't recognize. Anyone hear this on the east coast? "Safety Dance" parody (?), "Wear a Mask"  at 0408!

"Hydroxy-clean" covid spoof ad @0417.

5

Spy Numbers / Oldest known numbers station/History of numbers stations

« on: November 02, 2019, 2153 UTC »

So QST had a numbers station article in the last issue. They started their history with the Lincolnshire Poacher.

Of course there were the Enigma decodes in WW2, in fact I've heard the Germans got lazy and re-used their keys, which is how the UK hacked them.

Does anyone know what the earliest "traditional" numbers station was, using one-time pads or other cyphers?

I would guess it goes back to the telegraph... I said in another thread that Amundsen used a cypher to telegraph his message
after reaching the South Pole. I suppose we could go back as far as John Dee, or the Romans, but so far as telegraphs and radio,
anyone know the earliest? It would have to be pre-WW2. (?)

6

North American Shortwave Pirate / YHWH 7470 AM 0328 UTC 9 AUG 2019

« on: August 09, 2019, 0329 UTC »

I think I hear him in his usual "prose style" (?), creeping in under the noise tonight (0328 UTC)...

7

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID - Tibetan drone (?) w/SSTV 6950 0130 UTC 4 Mar 2019

« on: March 04, 2019, 0202 UTC »

Caught the tail end of whatever this was, sounded like Tibetan monks droning, very strong signal here. At first didn't know what it was, around 0132 they signed off w/ SSTV transmission. Whoever did this strangely beautiful broadcast, thank you!

8

Spy Numbers / Continuing Mystery of S06s/E17z

« on: June 26, 2018, 1625 UTC »

I 've only heard S06s on the Twente SDR, so my interest in the station is recent, but given the Priyom pages and this very interesting article in Enigma 2000...

http://www.apul64.dsl.pipex.com/enigma2000/newsletters/En87a.pdf#page=45

... this station still remains an oddity, for all the reasons mentioned by JkC in the article.

So last night via Twente I heard the following at 0730 and 0740:

427 806 5 46062 68672 97478 39685 30485 806 5 00000

which is very, very similar if not identical to the following pattern that JkC in Enigma monitored three plus years ago:

46062 68672 97478 39685 30485 96632 52537 53317 (p. 46 of the Enigma article from 2015)

Just found the pattern by happenstance, I don't usually monitor Twente or this station in general.

I've read the article several times and know the various theories about this station's raison d'etre, curious if Ary on any other monitor knows how common it is for S06/E17z to transmit the same message over a period of many years.

A very strange station, no doubt!

9

Spy Numbers / M12, strong signal, 12193 kHz, 122+null message

« on: June 26, 2018, 0713 UTC »

Heard SIO 333 here, repeating 122 X3 and 000 in CW for a few minutes, 6/26/18. Better conditions here than last night.

10

Spy Numbers / S06 "Pacific Weekdays Network" 15721 kHz 0400z

« on: June 25, 2018, 0432 UTC »

Caught S06 for first time tonight on 15721 kHz @0400. Copied "480" repeated over and over for a few minutes, then static crashes and QRN made it hard to copy preamble, I thought group count was "sem null" but could be wrong as I'm new at Rus. numbers. Copied the odd "chetyre" "odeen" and "tri" here and there, listened to rest on Kobe, Japan KiwiSDR.

Signal out here was SIO 322 with a lot of QRN, still, fun to hear a new station and this one (via Priyom info, "S06" and "Pacific Weekdays Network") seems to have a daily sked and would be audible much of the year. Interesting station totally different from V07 but seems to be coming from the same direction (in a vague "point the PL-880 kind of way").

11

Clandestine Stations / Echo of Hope on 9100kHz 0900z?

« on: June 22, 2018, 0917 UTC »

I 've heard this a lot recently & wondered what it was; tonight/this morning on 9100kHz 0800+... It's a faint SIO 211 tonight and not worth recording, and I can't tell if the language is Korean or French, that's how bad reception is. However it sounds like Korean to me, or maybe a Korean speaking French. Echo of Hope is the only listing I've found for this freq and time...?

12

Spy Numbers / V07 again, excellent reception

« on: May 20, 2018, 0610 UTC »

V07 strikes once again on 14482kHz/13382kHz/11582kHz at 0500/0520/0540 UTC on 20.5.2018. First bdcast was S6; second and third S8 and very, very loud. Local copy on Tecsun PL-880 was super-easy. Once again, I was outside and there was another gorgeous crescent moon in the sky:

435 435 435 1   331 57

04791 40861 02969 46278 05008 20223 68966 34906 41852 36916 20213 49363 05105 58602 03071 77241 72800 65202 99387 29503 19843 86967 27011 75427 81955 35489 58608 82157 35020 83071 84802 02118 94769 65426 23180 89660 58798 05886 59008 78627 29668 41272 44822 91809 65055 05033 37866 60392 31193 99224 76905 79995 58081 73927 84442 56948 29650 000 000   

Regardless of what the brilliant sleuths at Priyom say, "tres" and "seis" are quite easy to differentiate at this volume level, which is extremely loud. One cannot but be floored at the signal strength coming out of Kamchatka or wherever. Really, I haven't heard such a spectacular numbers station in the United States since the Cold War days, this is definitely worth a listen even though according to the Priyom skeds (thanks again! You guys are tops!) this station is about to take a break.

Token: I heard numerous beeps at least half an hour before first transmission, which let me know how loud these stations were gonna be. This station is a fun hunt for old-school numbers station listeners for sure.

13

Spy Numbers / V07 13382kHz/11582kHz 0520/0540 UTC

« on: April 22, 2018, 0604 UTC »

First catch of V07 for me. First transmission at 0500z on 14482kHz was not heard at all, but second at 0520z on 13382kHz  was quite strong and totally copyable. Third, on 11582kHz at 0540z, was totally blasting through my headphones.

"435 1  179 65  12622 76679 70980......000 000"

Long message, received in way better quality than I've heard from the Cubans lately (no offense but 'tis true).  While standing in my backyard with Tecsun pl880 in hand with crescent moon in sky, I felt the awe and wonder of the miracle that is shortwave radio, and was suddenly a teenager again, making me realize why I got into this hobby in the first place. Sheer magic. Seriously, I love the online SDR's to death, they are unbelievable tech achievements, a pleasure to use,   and hugely fun, but this catch was, as we say in this country, "the tits."

Thanks always to priyom.org for the killer skeds, and to HFU for directing me to priyom.

Definitely worth a listen for those of you in the right place at the right time with nothing better to do on a Saturday night.

14

Shortwave Broadcast / [UNID] 6915 USB 0200 UTC 27 Feb 2016

« on: February 27, 2016, 0207 UTC »

Heavily over-modulated signal of (anti?)-Brother Stair, ranting preacher? loud but practically illegible. Mix of preaching and choir music.... Brother Stair? I thought I heard a Walterboro address...anyone else hearing this?

Big rant going on mixed with music for the last half hour. "You're filthy, full of sin" I think I made out. Very poor signal hear but I hear snippets and am recording them. This guy is really pissed off!

15

Other / 98.1 FM Tubac/Tucson KTBX, "Mysterious, ad-free radio"

« on: November 06, 2015, 0141 UTC »

"Mysterious, ad-free radio station draws local fans"

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/mysterious-ad-free-radio-station-draws-local-fans/article_6d04f752-a310-11e4-bb3c-2bfcde567899.html

"“Hello, Mr. Radio, you friendly station,” Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne plaintively sang Wednesday afternoon on Tubac’s 98.1 FM. “So glad of your company, your morning music.”

What followed in the programming lineup were lesser-known songs by some of the most successful artists of the 60s, 70s and 80s, as well as music from acts that never broke through to fame or achieved staying power. What the programming didn’t include were advertisements, nor the voice of any DJ or on-air personality. Just music and an occasional, mandatory announcement of the station’s KTBX call letters. All day.

That formula has drawn a loyal and growing following in Santa Cruz County, but also curiosity about how such a station, which takes in no ad revenue, can stay on the air."

Anyone in the Tucson general area (faint, but completely audible in my car and ICF2010) down to Tubac should check out this station if they like B-side, obscure (for the most part), ad-free 60's-70's rock. This is a killer station, it seems like the owner is some kind of eccentric who makes stations like this and then sells some of them? I've been searching for info -- no website AFAIK. Playing Badfinger and Gallow's Pole (Zep) now but they go all over the map. I wish more rich people (?) would do things like this, it's a big improvement to the local airwaves. No announcements except the call sign and no ads... it's like what I imagine early 70's FM to have been.