Topics

1

Amateur Radio / UNID 3725 AM 0523 - 0600+ 11NOV23

« on: November 11, 2023, 0612 UTC »

Preaching and mx(?) first heard here ~0523 and still going at 0600+.
Very weak sig here but 59+ when checked on KiwiSDR at CT/MA border.

This station shows up from time to time, generally around this time on 3725 kHz.

2

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6969 USB 1801 UTC 28 OCT 2022

« on: October 28, 2022, 1807 UTC »

UNID @ 1801 w/"Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee. Good sig 58 - 9
1805 YL announcer w/ID of mx, but not station ID
1806 Live recording from somewhere in OH of more Jerry Lee w/"Great Balls of Fire" / "Whole Lot of Shaking"

***Corrected time to UTC ***
1813 Station has faded into noise but can still tell a signal is there
1817 brief partial of "WLSGO"
1818 Sig increasing again w/more of "WLS". Seems I recall seeing reports of a "Jerry Lee Lewis Radio" wonder
          if this is that station???
1823 Sig seems to be gone now...
1827 Back w/"Roll Over Beethoven"

3

North American Shortwave Pirate / Thunder Chicken Radio 6280 USB 2318 UTC 25 SEP 2022

« on: September 25, 2022, 2326 UTC »

2318 - SSTV (from VHS tape cover???) Gud S8 - 9 +10 sig
2325 - unk rock(?) mx

4

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6969 ? 0435 UTC 31 JUL 2022

« on: July 31, 2022, 0440 UTC »

Is anyone else hearing an intermittent sig on 6969?
It mostly sounds like a very over modulated sig and
sometimes sounds better(?) using NFM; other times
it sounds better in ECSS-U. It might be a local spur
but I don't think it is???

0451 - Thanks, Harry. If you are hearing something,
then it's not likely some kind of local crud.

5

Amateur Radio / Dayton Hamvention

« on: May 17, 2022, 1750 UTC »

Any HFU folks planning to attend the Dayton Hamvention this weekend?

6

North American Shortwave Pirate / Ballsmacker Radio 6960 AM 0536 UTC 20 MAR 2022

« on: March 20, 2022, 0555 UTC »

0536 Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
0541 YL ID w/"Wire strung up in the trees Ball Smacker Radio
0541 That Smell - Lynyrd Skynyrd
0547 The Needle and the Damage Done - Neil Young
0554 Signed off

Sig is really way up and down with much QSB and QRN.
  When it's good, it's very good but when it drops, it goes totally away

7

Utility / KPH RTTY & SITOR 12585.5 kHz 1900 08jan22 UTC

« on: January 09, 2022, 2155 UTC »

Sked for Saturday RTTY / SITOR transmissions at https://www.radiomarine.org/mrhs-operations
is off by 1 hour for UTC. Transmission starts at 1100 PST = 1900 UTC, not 1800 UTC. I suspect
the web page was posted during DST and not updated; looks like their operations run on
local Pacific time, not UTC.

Sig was noisy but I copied ~70% for 3 hours of marine nx and wx for Mates, Masters, and Pilots
on RTTY. At 2200 UTC that was repeated using SITOR. I could not decode the SITOR using fldigi
(OpMode / Navtext / SITORB) but did a quick search and found that YaND (Yet another Navtext Decoder),
which I have installed, would decode the SITOR so switched to that and again got ~70% good
decodes. By ~0000 UTC, 12585.5 was fading out but 6324.5 kHz was beginning to fade in and
I copied that for a while. One of the nx stories was an advisory that piracy, armed robbery, and
kidnapping for ransom, of ships is on the increase in and near the Gulf of Guinea including Cameroon,
Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Sao Tome and Principe, and Gabon.

This is a weekly event and a good opportunity to try out RTTY and SITOR decoders. 

8

Longwave Loggings / 1906 Fessenden Transmissions WI2XLQ, 486 kHz, 0440, 01jan22 UTC

« on: January 01, 2022, 0522 UTC »

I've been listening to this station for a while using Chris' KiwiSDR with the 500' beverage pointed toward Europe.
However reception is very good, mostly 59, in spite of much QRN and  the station being kinda off the back of the antenna.
0440 - 0515 Tuned in and listened to a loop consisting of: "O Holy Night" (on violin, I assume), a YL ID and OM description
            of transmission, and short reading from the Bible.

Thanks for this transmission OM and also a big thanks to Chris for providing the KiwiSDR.

9

General Radio Discussion / Grand Ol' Opry - 5,000th broadcast

« on: October 25, 2021, 1533 UTC »

I *think* this is the best place to post this:

From 2300 30oct21 until ~1300 31oct21 UTC my KiwiSDR at WPC4ALP (midtn.dynu.net) will be in 8 user mode
to permit maximum users who wish to listen to 5,000th broadcast of Grand Ol' Opry on WSM-AM 650kHz

10

FM DX Loggings / KUWS, 91.3 Oklahoma (heard near Bowling Green, KY)

« on: July 11, 2021, 0220 UTC »

This morning, Saturday, 10jul21, I was driving southbound on I-65, returning to my home near Nashville, TN. Near Bowling Green, KY,  and just after 10.00 CDT, I turned the radio on to get my weekly Saturday morning Bluegrass mx fix from WKMS, 93.1 in Murray, KY. When I tuned to 93.1, I didn't hear my expected "Music from the Front Porch" and the radio didn't show WKMS, instead I saw KUWS-HD1. It was very unexpected that the radio should show a “K” station. My 2018 Chevy Tahoe radio has HD, can decode short text messages sent by the station, usually information about the mx that is being played but I was listening to a nx program and when I looked at the display (while concentrating on my driving) I would see a few words like "rainy", "windy", "today", and "Duluth". Apparently it was the current or predicted wx. The only city named Duluth that I know of is Duluth, MN! ~1025, an announcer said "You are listening to Wisconsin Public Radio" - WOW!!!! That station faded out just as I got to the KY / TN border and I listened to "Music from the Front Porch" until I dropped down the ridge and into the Nashville Basin.

When I got home, I did a Google search on KUWS and, sure enough, the station is a member of Wisconsin Public Radio Network and is operated by the University of Wisconsin and it is located in Superior, WS / Duluth, MN, at the end of Lake Superior and some ~600 miles from Bowling Green, KY, as the crow flies - not bad reception for a car radio.

Before I left to go to the Cave City (KY) hamfest this morning, I did a quick check of 50.313 FT-8 around 0600 CDT and saw Stateside stations making contacts into southern Europe and northern Africa, so I knew that there was some good conditions going.

11

Amateur Radio / 2021 Armed Forces Day Amateur Crossband and SecDef message

« on: April 21, 2021, 2302 UTC »

From: .pdf at http://www.dodmars.org/home/armed-forces-day-2021 - The .pdf is MUCH easier to read
but I'm not sure how to post it here. Like any other image? Chris???

ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY CROSSBAND TEST (07-08 May 2021)
The Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Cross-Band Test, scheduled for May
7-8, 2021. This annual event is open to all licensed amateur radio operators, and will not impact any public or
private communications. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this event,
which is only an exercise scenario, designed to include hobbyist and government radio operators alike.
The AFD Cross-Band Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way communications between military
communicators and radio stations in the Amateur Radio Service (ARS), as authorized in 47 CFR 97.111. These
tests provide opportunities and challenges for radio operators to demonstrate individual technical skills in a
tightly-controlled exercise scenario that does not impact any public or private communications.
Military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and will announce the specific ARS frequencies
monitored. All times are ZULU (Z), and all frequencies are Upper Side Band (USB) unless otherwise noted. The
frequencies used for the test will not impact any public or private communications, and will not stray outside the
confines of the exercise.
The following stations will be making two way radiotelephone contacts with stations in the ARS between the time
periods listed on the frequencies listed in Kilohertz below.
AAZ / FT HUACHUCA, AZ
081500Z - 082359Z 5,330.5 14,438.5 18,211.0
AAC / BARROW ARMY RESERVE CENTER, KY (USB + RTTY)
081300Z - 082300Z 5,346.5 6,968.5 13,963.5
AAN / U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND, CO
081300Z - 082300Z 6,970.5 14,550.5
AAU / HQ US ARMY GARRISON FORT KNOX, KY (USB + RTTY)
081400Z - 081900Z 5,371.5 7,645.0 14,512.5 18,293.0 20,920.0
ABH / SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI
081500Z - 082359Z 5,357.0 14,438.5 18,272.0 20,997.0
ADB / CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA
081500Z - 082359Z 14,487.0 20,994
AAM3D / DISA CYBERSPACE OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE, FT MEADE, MD
071300z – 082100z 5,403.5 7,421.5 13,993.5 18,254.0
ABM4B / HSC, HHBN, 82ND ABN DIV, FORT BRAGG, NC
081100Z - 082300Z 5,371.5 7,431.5 13,910.5 18,281.5
WAR / PENTAGON WASHINGTON, DC (USB + CW + RTTY)
081200Z - 082359Z 4,018 5,357.0 13,963.5 18,211.0 24,760.0
AIR / ANDREWS AFB
081200Z - 082359Z 4,517.0 7,305.0 15,807.0 20,740.0
AFM4NPD / NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY MID-SOUTH MILLINTON, TN
081200Z - 080300Z 4,802.0 7,375.5 15,712.0
AGA2SY / HANCOCK FIELD, NY
081200Z - 082359Z 4,575.0 7,540.0 13,993.0
AGA5SC / SCOTT AFB, IL
081400Z - 082100Z 4,017.0 5,186.0 7,305.0
AGA5TR / TRAVIS AFB, CA
081600Z - 080100Z 4,017.0 7,329.0 13,996.0 14,411.0
MARSRADIO /
081400Z –090100Z 4,557.0 7,460.0 (LSB) 14,606.0
MARSCOMM /
081400Z – 090100Z 4,448.5 6,994.0 (LSB) 14,877.0
NEPM / USS IOWA BB 61 LOS ANGELES, CA (USB + CW)
081450Z - 082359Z 6,903.5 14,463.5 18,293.0
NIIW / USS MIDWAY CV-41 SAN DIEGO, CA (USB)
071800Z - 082359Z 4,013.5 5,371.5 7,493.5 14,383.5 18,293.0
NWVC / LST-325 EVANSVILLE, IN (USB + CW)
081200Z - 090400Z 4,007.0 6,913.0 9988.5 13,974.0
NSS / US NAVAL ACADEMY ANNAPOLIS, MD (USB + CW)
081200Z - 090400Z 4,038.5 5,330.5 7,533.5 9,447.0 14,487.0 17,545.0
NAF/ NEWPORT NAVAL RADIO STATION MUSEUM NEWPORT, RI (USB + CW)
081200Z - 090200Z 4,013.5 7,542.0 14,383.5
An AFD message will be transmitted utilizing the Military Standard (MIL-STD) Serial PSK waveform (M110)
followed by MIL-STD Wide Shift FSK (850 Hz RTTY) as described in MIL-STD 188-110A/B. Technical
information regarding these waveforms is provided at:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pYDj7kQbm-QAyY4RPtx0dOXKohjaEjq9?usp=sharing
The AFD message will also be sent in Continuous Wave (CW) mode and Radio Teletype (RRTY) as indicated
under the transmission times.
The message will be transmitted on the following frequencies in Kilohertz and at the listed times:
Frequency
1400Z 1420Z 1440Z 1500Z
1900Z 1920Z
1940Z
RTTY
2000Z
RTTY
2200Z
2220Z 2240Z
2330Z
CW
(kHz) CW CW CW CW
RTTY RTTY RTTY RTTY
5,346.50 AAC NEPM
7,540.00 AAU ABM4B AAMED AAC AAC ABM4B AAN NEPM
13,506.50 AAMED WAR AAN AAZ WAR AAU NIIW AAZ WAR
17,443.00 AAMED AAC WAR AAZ WAR ABM4B NIIW ABM4B WAR
For those who wish to document their contacts with a QSL card, go to http://www.usarmymars.org/events and
complete the request form.

12

HF Mystery Signals / Strange data (?) signal on 6860 kHz

« on: March 28, 2021, 0411 UTC »

I usually park on 6925 kHz if I'm not doing anything else; one afternoon last year,
just before Thanksgiving, I started seeing a strong carrier on 6860 kHz. It was of
interest because it was much stronger than any other signals in that part of the band -
 see screenshot below (I hope!). The signal would come on near local sunrise, NOT fade
in but as if someone flipped a switch; it was of more or less stable strength until around
sunset when it would go away just as it appeared in the morning - as if someone
flipped a switch off. One day I decided to see if it was a real signal: 1) fired up the trusty
ol' R-70 and yes, it was there, 2) I logged onto several remote SDRs, from the Northeast to
Point Reyes, with a stop at the Northern Utah SDR - it could be received on all of them. 




Shortly after the first of this year, I noticed a change - I could see what looked like modulation
that seemed to be near random bursts of data. See image below. Also, it did not show up
as regular as in the past.


More recently, it has changed again - the carrier is gone, only the random data bursts
show up! See image below.


This has my curiosity; I have no idea what this is. Any thoughts on this anyone???

10may21 - Looks like the same, or similar, station is using 6885 kHz this morning.

19sep21 - This, or similar, station is now sometimes on 6860 kHz, 6885 kHz, or 6988 kHz
                 Seems to change with time of day. Also, "data bursts" are not as wide as originally seen

 

13

General Radio Discussion / The Codebreaker - PBS

« on: January 12, 2021, 0511 UTC »

This seemed the most logical place to post this for the most folks to see, but feel free to move it if I'm wrong.
I considered Numbers Stations... Sorry for posting it late but it will be repeated in
most areas and should be available on the PBS website. BTW: I thought it was a
very good program.

Tonight PBS American Experience will show "The Codebreaker" at 2000 CST on Ch8 WNPT and at 2100 CST on Ch22 WCTE (and repeated at other times).

"Based on the book The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies, The Codebreaker reveals the fascinating story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst whose painstaking work to decode thousands of messages for the US government would send infamous gangsters to prison in the 1920s and bring down a massive, near-invisible Nazi spy ring in WWII.

Her remarkable contributions to the science of cryptology would come to light decades after her death,
when secret government files were unsealed. Together with her husband, the legendary cryptographer
William Friedman, Elizebeth helped develop the codebreaking methods that laid the foundation for the
National Security Agency (NSA)."

Above quoted text from  "Close-Up" magazine January / February 2021 a publication of WCTE 

14

VHF/UHF Logs, including satellites and radiosondes / Freqs Blue Angels flyover Nashville first responders and healthcare 14may20

« on: May 15, 2020, 0204 UTC »

Monitored during flyover today:
360.700 Coordination with BNA tower
289.800 Aerial refueling
237.800 Some a/c to a/c chatter
284.250 Primary pilot to pilot chatter and commands

Great show and I even got a few reasonable photos!

15

Other / UNID 6977 USB ~2240 08dec 2019 UTC

« on: December 09, 2019, 0109 UTC »

ABOUT 2240 - A net with call signs of CWnnn. NCS seemed to be
                              CW321 who sometimes asked for relays from other
                              stations. Additional calls: CW705 and others. NCS
                              would ask for check-ins by hundreds groups - "Are
                               there any 400 stations wishing to check in", "Any
                               500 stations...", etc. All seemed to be native English
                               speakers.