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1441

10/11 meters / 11 meter DX Logs 15 November 2015 1600 UTC +

« on: November 15, 2015, 1633 UTC »

SS - Spanish language.  EE - English language.  Other languages noted.

25000 AM - WWV - S8-S9 signal
25750 AM/FM () - carrier heard
25805 AM - SS
25835 AM - EE, possibly truckers (this is Channel 19 "down 3 bands")
25970 FM - Carrier, no audio heard
26225 USB - SS, Dominican Republic and Mexico heard
26485 AM - SS
26555 LSB - SS
26575 AM - SS
26585 AM - SS, OM and YL operators heard
26605 AM - SS, heavy fading, music and roger beeps
26705 AM - SS - Puerto Rico (the usual strong signals for this frequency and 26715
26715 AM - SS, similar to 26705 AM
26855 AM - EE, mobile stations, possibly truckers or hunters
26905 AM - SS, OM and YL dispatcher - likely taxi dispatch (has been heard on this freq before)
26915 AM - EE, Southern USA
26955 AM - EE - "Big Radio 549 Texas" discussing audio quality with another station in South Texas
27025 AM - The Superbowl, usual strong overmodulated signals [CB channel 6]
27065 AM - SS, Puerto Rico.  Latin American AM Calling Frequency [CB channel 9]
27085 AM - EE - US AM Calling Frequency [CB channel 11]
27145 FM - Data Bursts.  Sounds better in FM.  Not a legal CB channel, but referred to as "CB channel 15A"
27185 AM - EE truckers, S5-S9 noise level, several conversations going at once [CB channel 19]
27305 AM - SS, with beeps and other weird sound effects [CB channel 30]
27355 AM - SS [CB channel 35]
27385 LSB - North American SSB Calling Frequency [CB channel 38], with AM carrier QRM in the background
27405 AM - SS, YL - possibly taxi (if it is - this is a terrible frequency choice) [CB channel 40]
27425 LSB - EE, US stations working DX
27435 USB - SS, very strong signals
27455 USB - Latin American 11 Meter Calling Frequency.  Several stations heard, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic
27510 USB - SS
27515 AM - SS Taxicab Dispatcher
27545 USB - French langauge
27555 USB - International 11 Meter Calling Frequency, hearing France, UK, Ireland, Germany, others calling
27640 USB - UK station working unknown station
27675 USB - SS
27690 LSB - SS
27700 USB - SSTV (weak, but there)
27705 LSB - SS
27705 USB - SS
27705 AM - SS, possibly taxi dispatch (QRMing, and being QRMed by, 27700 USB and 27705 USB/LSB)
27725 USB - SS "Hola! Hola! Hola!" with roger beep and OTH Radar QRM

Starting at 2100 UTC:

26135 AM - SS
26385 AM - SS, strong signals.  Mexican accents.  California mentioned
26555 LSB - SS
26570 LSB - SS
26575 AM - SS
26585 AM - SS, not nearly as busy as it was earlier today
26615 AM - SS, with roger beeps/noise toys
26825 AM - SS, YL speaking roger beeps heard.  Likely a taxicab dispatcher
27475 USB - SS
27485 USB - SS, very strong signals
27490 LSB - EE
27495 USB - SS
27605 USB - SS
27665 USB - SS
27745 LSB - SS
27775 AM - SS, weak
27845 AM - SS Taxi Dispatch (presumed)
27875 AM - SS

1442

10/11 meters / 27815 AM Spanish Language YL Dispatcher

« on: November 09, 2015, 1540 UTC »

This is a new catch for me.  Usually the taxicabs hang around the "lows" (25-26 range) as opposed to the higher parts of 11 meters closer to 28000.  I found this one while tuning around for UK FM activity.

27815 AM.  Signal is anywhere from an S4 (nearly the noise level at this location) to a loud and clear S9.  Hearing the female dispatcher only.

1443

10/11 meters / 11 meter DX 8 November 2015 1600 UTC +

« on: November 08, 2015, 1609 UTC »

All logged with Ranger Voyage VR9000 all-mode export radio (25615-28305 frequency coverage) and 11-meter dipole.


26555 LSB - Latin America SSB DX calling frequency (see also 27455 USB)
26585 AM - Mexican AM chat freq, busy
26845 AM - Carrier, strong (S9).  Could be local.
27455 USB - Latin America SSB DX calling frequency (similar to 27555 USB, only for Spanish language operators)
27465 USB - Spanish language traffic
27500 CW - Dasher beacon of some kind.  One dash every second or so.  Gone at 1605 UTC
27825 AM - Spanish language traffic.  Since this is in AM, I'm guessing its truckers.  Would say taxi if there was  YL dispatcher.

Update starting at 1745 UTC:

26585 AM - Mexican calling frequency.  Not as busy as it was earlier today.
26615 AM - Seems like the guys usually on 26705/26715
26635 AM - Spanish language with "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay playing in background.  Rapid fades from S9 down to S3-4
26715 AM - The usual super loud (and sometimes overmodulated) signals from Puerto Rico
27415 AM - Spanish language
27425 AM - Spanish language, with roger beep.  OM talking to other (unreadable) stations.  S3-S4 signal.
27445 LSB - English language.  Southern US accents
27455 USB - Latin America SSB DX calling frequency.  Station in Mexico calling CQ
27535 AM - Spanish speaking OMs talking.  Could be truckers since they're using AM
27555 USB - Hearing beeps.  10AD340 calling CQ requesting QSY to 27600 (said this in Spanish and then English!).
27600 USB - 10AD718 (also IDing as 10AD340 ??) working another Spanish-speaking station in Aruba - other operator corrected him, its actually Curaçao!
27665 USB - Spanish language traffic.  Busy
27675 USB - Spanish language traffic, nice powerful signals.  Operators discussing antennas and their mobile radio setups
27685 USB - Spanish language traffic
27690 USB - Spanish language traffic
27745 AM - Spanish language traffic, getting obliterated by OTH radar QRM
27775 AM - Spanish heard, with roger beeps.  YL and OM.  Possibly taxi dispatch

On a personal note, I have visited Aruba a couple years ago with my VHF/UHF scanning equipment (RadioShack Pro-96) and scanned 25-50 with a VHF rubber duck and heard several very powerful stations in AM and SSB in the 27400-27900 region.  

The very strong signals on 26615 make sense too.  Channel 9 (27065) is listed on Spanish-language 11 meter DXer websites as a AM calling frequency, and 26615 is Channel 9 "down one band".  So I bet they just flicked the bandswitch down from "D" to "C" and continued talking.  

1444

10/11 meters / 11 meter DX 7 November 2015 1700 UTC +

« on: November 07, 2015, 1720 UTC »

Logs 1700 to 1720 UTC


26375 AM - SS
26395 AM - SS
26525 AM - SS, OMs and YLs talking
26535 AM - SS with roger beeps
26555 LSB - SS Latin American DX Calling Frequency, active
26585 AM - Mexican AM DX Calling Frequency, very active
26605 AM - Similar to 26585 AM
26625 AM - SS, heavy fading
26635 AM - SS voice and music
26735 AM - EE US Truckers (channel 19 down one band on export radios)
26885 AM - EE Southern US accents
26915 AM - EE Southern US accents, very loud stations.  Heard station with UK accent talking to US stations as well
26925 AM - SS Taxi Dispatch
27435 LSB - EE Midwestern US accents
27450 USB - SS station OP "Ramon" working another, much weaker station
27455 USB - SS Latin American DX Calling Frequency, active
27480 USB - SS
27515 AM - SS, likely taxis
27515 LSB - EE, Jamaican stations working DX
27545 USB - "34 division" working station 10AD089 Mexico City, very strong clear signals
27555 USB - Stations calling CQ DX, English and Spanish
27575 AM - EE "You can switch to LSB and listen to them"
27595 USB - SS, "Hola! Hola! Hola!" and whistling into mic.  Slightly overmodulated, difficult to tune in at first.
27605 AM - EE Southern US (see 27615 AM)
27615 AM - "I went outside and smoked a cigarette there".  Sounds like Southern US operators.  Later QSYed to "605" (27605 AM)
27645 USB - SS
27665 USB - SS
27695 LSB - SS
27765 USB - SS

1445

10/11 meters / 11 meter DX 4 November 2015 1600 UTC +

« on: November 04, 2015, 1701 UTC »

Since the band seems to be opening up, I'm going to do a log thread instead of a new thread for each frequency/user I hear.

SS - Spanish Language, EE - English Language.  Other languages will be noted.

25735 AM - SS, weak
25775 AM - SS taxi dispatch with YL dispatcher and roger beeps
25970 FM (AM?) - Carrier heard.  This is a STL freq
26045 AM - SS, likely taxis
26225 USB - SS, very strong signals.  Mexico, Dominican Republic mentioned
26375 AM - SS, heterodyne.  Lots of stations.
26395 AM - SS, similar to 26375 AM
26425 AM - SS
26500 USB - SS
26515 AM - SS and EE, weak
26555 LSB - SS, Mexico, QSB
26575 AM - SS
26585 AM - SS - Latin American AM DX calling frequency
26605 AM - SS
26635 AM - SS, roger beeps and music heard
26715 AM - SS - very loud Puerto Rico
26725 AM - SS, much weaker, getting slammed by QRM from 26715 AM
26735 AM - EE Truckers with SS YL (likely taxi dispatch) underneath
26805 AM - SS taxi dispatch
26885 AM - EE, stations mentioning locations in Colorado.  "Have you heard from Grandpa lately?  Is he still on that usual 805 frequency?"
26955 AM - SS
26985 AM - CB channel 3, busy
27015 AM - CB channel 5, busy, Mexican version of channel 6/27025 AM
27025 AM - CB channel 6 - "The Superbowl"
27035 AM - CB channel 7 - American truckers underneath SS traffic (similar to 27015 AM)
27065 AM - CB channel 9 - Puerto Rico - Latin American DX calling frequency
27085 AM - CB channel 11 - Original American AM calling frequency, strong het
27135 AM - CB channel 15 - SS, sounds like truckers
27185 AM - CB channel 19 - Truckstop prostitutes (lot lizards) advertising.  $50 for "truck wash".  El Paso, TX. Lots of traffic, QSB
27195 AM - CB channel "19A" - "306 in the Big Horn Country" - this is actually a R/C frequency (see also 26995, 27045, 27095 and 27145)
27255 AM - CB channel 23 - SS, with pager tones underneath.  
27265 AM - CB channel 26 - US AM DX calling channel
27275 AM - CB channel 27 - SS
27285 AM - CB channel 28 - US AM DX calling channel
27315 AM - CB channel 31 - SS
27375 AM - CB channel 37 - SS, Mexican accents.  SSB heard underneath
27385 LSB - CB channel 38 - SSB calling channel.  US, French, UK/Irish stations heard calling
27395 LSB - CB channel 39 - "World Radio" club stations heard QSO.  With loud AM het tone QRM
27415 AM - Italian "big gun" stations, normally heard on 27465 AM.  Very loud with way too much echo fx
27420 LSB - EE, Southern USA
27425 USB - SS, with AM whine QRM
27425 AM - SS taxi dispatch
27430 LSB - EE
27455 USB - Latin American SSB DX calling frequency.  Active
27470 LSB - EE
27485 USB - SS
27495 USB - SS, beeps
27500 AM/CW - CW heard
27515 AM - SS taxi dispatch
27550 USB - French language
27555 USB - International SSB DX calling frequency
27590 USB - SS
27635 USB - SS voice traffic, with ROS digital mode heard as well
27655 AM - SS, maybe taxi dispatch.  Usually SSB is heard in this part of the band
27665 USB - SS, powerful signals.  Very busy
27695 LSB - SS
27700 USB - SSTV heard
27705 AM - SS
27705 LSB - SS, with AM and SSTV QRM
27725 USB - SS
27845 AM - SS, possibly truckers

1446

10/11 meters / Strong Italian Language 27415 AM 1553 UTC 4 Nov 2015

« on: November 04, 2015, 1556 UTC »

Some European DX coming in now.  Hearing a very loud Italian station on 27415 AM.  Sounds like the high power stations that usually hang out on 27465 AM. 

Getting some fading now at 1556 UTC.  He's working another station and there's some SSB underneath.

1447

10/11 meters / 26805 AM Mexico City La Ciudad de Mexico 1430 UTC 4 November 2015

« on: November 04, 2015, 1432 UTC »

I know this is a freeband frequency often used by taxicab companies (you'll notice the YL dispatcher) but there's now a station playing music on top of/with the taxi dispatcher lady, IDing as "La Ciudad de Mexico" followed by all sorts of roger beeps and noise toys.

This is likely indicative of another 11 meter band opening today

1433 UTC - Now hearing the taxi YL lady again, with music in the background.  
1435 UTC - OM ID something unintelligible followed by "La Ciudad de Mexico" and more music.  Now slightly stronger than the YL taxicab dispatcher.

1448

North American Shortwave Pirate / Germany Calling 6950.7 AM 2325 UTC 29 October 2015

« on: October 29, 2015, 2327 UTC »

Got a carrier 6950.6 or 6950.7 AM (Chris says 6950.7 in the chat room so we'll go with that)

2330 UTC - listening on the K2SDR WebSDR now.  Seems to be at something like 6950.69 kHz.  Religious-sounding music

2352 UTC - Discussing British Expeditionary Force losses...old time news report

1449

10/11 meters / 11 meter DX 23 Oct 2015 1300 UTC +

« on: October 23, 2015, 1322 UTC »

Took the day off from work today (actually not feeling too well, so I'm not technically playing hooky to mess with the radio instead).

Some 11 meter logs.  Starting at 1300 UTC.  This will be updated throughout the day:

1300 - 1330 UTC

25000 AM - WWV
25625 AM - Spanish, YL taxi dispatcher
25975 AM - Spanish, YL taxi dispatcher with OTH radar QRM (loud)
26405 AM - Truckers
26665 AM - Spanish, very weak but there's something there
27410 USB - Spanish (poor frequency choice, being QRMed from AM activity on 27405)
27425 AM - Spanish
27480 LSB - "You can't please everybody" working UK/Irish station S9++ on peaks
27515 AM - Spanish, YL taxi dispatcher
27555 USB - Busy, as usual
27615 AM - Truckers
27630 USB - French, nice quality audio and S9+ signals
27655 USB - Spanish
27665 USB - Spanish
27725 USB - Spanish
27781 FM - Something there, down in the noise
27911 FM - Weak UK stations (!!)
27935 USB - French

1330 - 1400 UTC


25625 AM - Spanish - YL taxi dispatcher
26005 AM - Spanish - YL taxi dispatcher
27425 AM - Spanish
27515 AM - Spanish
27687 USB - French - very loud signals (odd frequency offset..)
27691 FM - UK FM traffic
27781 FM - Now S9 level signals, UK FM traffic
27971 FM - UK FM traffic

1515 ++ UTC


Station 29FB040 (also IDed as 29KP040) working several US and Mexican stations on 27620 USB with UKFM QRM from 27621 FM coming in with him.  Very loud signal peaking at S9 +30.  Stated he was running "800 watts peak"

Other logs for 1515 ++ UTC

26375 AM - Spanish, with regular roger "beep" at end of transmission
26385 AM - Somebody whistling into microphone, Spanish language "Hola! Hola! Hola!" S7-S9 signal
26555 LSB - Spanish, strong signals
26635 AM - Spanish, OM and YL talking, maybe taxis?
26665 AM - Spanish, Mexican accents, roger beeps, tones, music underneath voices, etc
27470 LSB - Southern US accents
27480 LSB - "73s to you" - English/Irish accent, weak
27490 USB - "Long form QSL for you" "copy, that's fantastic" - station talking about working Australian stations through Russian FM QRM
27495 USB - Spanish
27500 AM - CW or possibly MCW
27555 USB - "108 division" (Scotland) station calling CQ, other stations underneath
27577 USB - "10 Charlie Radio 101" working OP named William out of UK
27635 USB - Digital tones, S9 to S9+30 signals
27635 USB - Irish accented station
27640 USB - French
27675 USB - Spanish
27700 USB - several SSTV signals heard, tone bursts
27781 FM UK traffic, heavy fading
27885 AM - Spanish

1450

10/11 meters / Churches On 11 Meters - CADS and WPAS - A Primer With Frequency List

« on: October 21, 2015, 2211 UTC »

Considering the upsurge in recent 11 meter activity (including DX from the UK), I figured I would write a quick bit of information on the UK's Community Audio Distribution System (CADS) and Ireland's Wireless Public Address System (WPAS).

CADS: Ofcom (the UK's communications regulatory agency) allows for broadcasting of religious and community events using low-power transmitters on the 27 MHz (CB) or 11-meter band.  As of March 2007, no license is required in the UK for operation of the CADS system.  CADS uses the "CB 27/81" (commonly known as UK FM CB) allocation which consists of 40 channels spaced 10 kHz apart starting at 27.60125 MHz for channel 1 and ending at 27.99125 MHz for channel 40.   FM modulation is the only mode allowed with 4 watts maximum power.  CADS is commonly used to transmit church services to local residents using regular CB equipment and vertical antennas.  Truly continuous (i.e. leaving the transmitter on 24/7) transmission is not permitted (although sometimes practiced nonetheless).

WPAS: ComReg (Ireland's communications regulatory agency) allows for a very similar system to CADS. WPAS transmitters are only allowed to transmit real-time audio from public events and is only available for non-commercial use.  ComReg requires registration and licensing of transmitters to be used in the WPAS.  It appears, however, that this is rarely practiced or enforced.  WPAS differs from CADS in two important ways.  First, CADS allows for either AM or FM modulation (user's choice - mode must be indicated on license application).  Second, CADS' frequency allocation is actually two sets of 40 "interleaved" channels, spaced at 10 kHz.  Channel Block LW consists of channels LW01 through LW40.  These correspond with the UK FM (and also CADS) channels 1 through 40 respectively.  Channel Block UW consists of channels UW01 through UW40.  Channel UW01 is 27.605 MHz and channel UW40 is 27.995 MHz. Straight 10 kHz spacing up through the channels.

*Legal* 27 MHz Church Frequency List:     - As you can see there is some really tight spacing between these channels.  Especially the WPAS channels.

27.60125 CADS 01 FM - WPAS LW01 AM/FM
27.60500 WPAS UW01 AM/FM
27.61125 CADS 02 FM - WPAS LW02 AM/FM
27.61500 WPAS UW02 AM/FM
27.62125 CADS 03 FM - WPAS LW03 AM/FM
27.62500 WPAS UW03 AM/FM
27.63125 CADS 04 FM - WPAS LW04 AM/FM
27.63500 WPAS UW04 AM/FM
27.64125 CADS 05 FM - WPAS LW05 AM/FM
27.64500 WPAS UW05 AM/FM
27.65125 CADS 06 FM - WPAS LW06 AM/FM
27.65500 WPAS UW06 AM/FM
27.66125 CADS 07 FM - WPAS LW07 AM/FM
27.66500 WPAS UW07 AM/FM
27.67125 CADS 08 FM - WPAS LW08 AM/FM
27.67500 WPAS UW08 AM/FM
27.68125 CADS 09 FM - WPAS LW09 AM/FM
27.68500 WPAS UW09 AM/FM
27.69125 CADS 10 FM - WPAS LW10 AM/FM
27.69500 WPAS UW10 AM/FM
27.70125 CADS 11 FM - WPAS LW11 AM/FM
27.70500 WPAS UW11 AM/FM
27.71125 CADS 12 FM - WPAS LW12 AM/FM
27.71500 WPAS UW12 AM/FM
27.72125 CADS 13 FM - WPAS LW13 AM/FM
27.72500 WPAS UW13 AM/FM
27.73125 CADS 14 FM - WPAS LW14 AM/FM
27.73500 WPAS UW14 AM/FM
27.74125 CADS 15 FM - WPAS LW15 AM/FM
27.74500 WPAS UW15 AM/FM
27.75125 CADS 16 FM - WPAS LW16 AM/FM
27.75500 WPAS UW16 AM/FM
27.76125 CADS 17 FM - WPAS LW17 AM/FM
27.76500 WPAS UW17 AM/FM
27.77125 CADS 18 FM - WPAS LW18 AM/FM
27.77500 WPAS UW18 AM/FM
27.78125 CADS 19 FM - WPAS LW19 AM/FM
27.78500 WPAS UW19 AM/FM
27.79125 CADS 20 FM - WPAS LW20 AM/FM
27.79500 WPAS UW20 AM/FM
27.80125 CADS 21 FM - WPAS LW21 AM/FM
27.80500 WPAS UW21 AM/FM
27.81125 CADS 22 FM - WPAS LW22 AM/FM
27.81500 WPAS UW22 AM/FM
27.82125 CADS 23 FM - WPAS LW23 AM/FM
27.82500 WPAS UW23 AM/FM
27.83125 CADS 24 FM - WPAS LW24 AM/FM
27.83500 WPAS UW24 AM/FM
27.84125 CADS 25 FM - WPAS LW25 AM/FM
27.84500 WPAS UW25 AM/FM
27.85125 CADS 26 FM - WPAS LW26 AM/FM
27.85500 WPAS UW26 AM/FM
27.86125 CADS 27 FM - WPAS LW27 AM/FM
27.86500 WPAS UW27 AM/FM
27.87125 CADS 28 FM - WPAS LW28 AM/FM
27.87500 WPAS UW28 AM/FM
27.88125 CADS 29 FM - WPAS LW29 AM/FM
27.88500 WPAS UW29 AM/FM
27.89125 CADS 30 FM - WPAS LW30 AM/FM
27.89500 WPAS UW30 AM/FM
27.90125 CADS 31 FM - WPAS LW31 AM/FM
27.90500  WPAS UW31 AM/FM
27.91125 CADS 32 FM - WPAS LW32 AM/FM
27.91500 WPAS UW32 AM/FM
27.92125 CADS 33 FM - WPAS LW33 AM/FM
27.92500 WPAS UW33 AM/FM
27.93125 CADS 34 FM - WPAS LW34 AM/FM
27.93500 WPAS UW34 AM/FM
27.94125 CADS 35 FM - WPAS LW35 AM/FM
27.94500 WPAS UW35 AM/FM
27.95125 CADS 36 FM - WPAS LW36 AM/FM
27.95500 WPAS UW36 AM/FM
27.96125 CADS 37 FM - WPAS LW37 AM/FM
27.96500 WPAS UW37 AM/FM
27.97125 CADS 38 FM - WPAS LW38 AM/FM
27.97500 WPAS UW38 AM/FM
27.98125 CADS 39 FM - WPAS LW39 AM/FM
27.98500 WPAS UW39 AM/FM
27.99125 CADS 40 FM - WPAS LW40 AM/FM
27.99500 WPAS UW40 AM/FM

1451

10/11 meters / The taxis are back (26-28 MHz)

« on: October 20, 2015, 2146 UTC »

With the band opening up today, and the UK coming in nicely earlier (around 1600-1700 UTC), I decided to do some loggings:

Now that its around 2130 UTC, the European stations have disappeared and the Latin Americans dominate the 25-30 world.  I am fascinated by the heavy use the taxicab/trucking industries make use of these frequencies, especially in Spanish-speaking countries.

Here's some logs.  I must note that I can hear WWV on 25000 nearly 30dB over S9

All are in Spanish unless noted otherwise.

25615 AM - Taxi Dispatch (this is channel 1 on band A on most export radios)
25645 AM - Taxi Dispatch
25775 AM - Taxi Dispatch, other AM voice traffic, noise toys
25915 AM - Taxi Dispatch - unfortunately right next to 25910 FM (when I can hear it, which I can't today)
26305 AM - Voice traffic, likely truckers (lots of noise toys, heavy QSB)
26375 AM - Same as above
26515 AM - Taxi Dispatch
26805 AM - Taxi Dispatch with roger beeps, noise toys
27045 AM - Taxi Dispatch (this is within the legal CB band, but is not a legal CB channel.  It is, in fact, a RC frequency!)
27425 AM - Taxi Dispatch, with QRM from SSB activity on the same freq and 27420 USB
27445 AM - Taxi Dispatch
27515 AM - Taxi Dispatch (I hear this one the most often and usually with the strongest signal)
27775 AM - AM voice traffic, likely taxis
27905 AM - Taxi Dispatch

The high 25 to low 26 range seems to be the most active when the band is open, followed by just below 28.  All in AM mode. 

1452

10/11 meters / 27781 FM Very Active 1630 UTC 20 Oct 2015

« on: October 20, 2015, 1633 UTC »

Hearing a very loud (S8-S9) station working other UK stations on 27781.25 FM (UK CB channel 19) as well 27901.25 (UK CB channel 31).  Lots of Latin American stations on AM/SSB mixing in, especially around the 27600-27700 region.  Getting a video of the 27781 FM activity right now.

1635 - Now hearing 27841 FM as well as 27781 and 27901.  Other European stations heard on 27385 LSB and 27555 USB calling CQ.  Station on 27841 fading up to S9 and back down to S3 but very clear on peaks.  Nice Sporadic-E opening!

1453

10/11 meters / 27635 USB 1830-1845 + UTC

« on: October 17, 2015, 1853 UTC »

Hearing some sort of polytone "jingle" on 27635 USB.  Usually when the band is open, this frequency is occupied by truckers operating freeband (since it is CB channel 19 with the flick of the bandswitch on export/"10-meter" radios).  Today, however, I've been hearing this weird polytone transmission every few minutes.  Great variation in signal strength as well.  Right now its around S3 but it was a clear S7 about 10 minutes ago (1640 UTC).  

I can hear some USB voice traffic underneath it from time to time.  Anybody know what this is?  I'm thinking its just some sort of elaborate noise toy that somebody is running with high power and/or an awesome antenna but wanted to get a second opinion by more experienced ops (or somebody who can look at it on a SDR waterfall/spectrograph

Edit:  Now at 1654 UTC it has shot up to S9.

1454

10/11 meters / 11 meters 26-28 MHz Open and Active 6 October 2015

« on: October 06, 2015, 2150 UTC »

Did a quick band scan from 26-28MHz:

26215 kHz USB - Spanish language
26225 kHz USB - Spanish language - much louder and more active than 26215, S9+ signals
26405 kHz AM - Spanish language - sounds like a taxicab dispatcher
26535 kHz AM - Spanish language, heavy QSB
26555 kHz LSB - Spanish language - mention of Dominican Republic
26585 kHz AM - Very busy, likely Mexican calling channel (activity on this freq is usually indicative of some sort of opening I've noticed)
26605 kHz AM - Spanish language with roger beeps and noise toys, music, etc
26705 kHz AM - Puerto Rico very loud S9 +++ with splatter from 26715
26715 kHz AM - Puerto Rico mentioned, very strong signals
26885 kHz AM - English language, Southern US accents
27015 kHz AM - CB channel 5 - Spanish language
27025 kHz AM - CB channel 6 - you know what's on this frequency when the band is open
27045 kHz AM - CB channel 7A (not a legal CB freq) - Spanish language QSO,
27065 kHz AM - CB channel 9 - similar to 26705 and 26715, strong signals
27265 kHz AM - CB channel 26 - English language, Southern US accents
27285 kHz AM - CB channel 28 - Same as channel 26
27385 kHz LSB - CB channel 38 - Very busy, heard Mississippi, Indiana, several QSOs at once
27395 kHz LSB - CB channel 39 - SSB activity, likely stations QSYed from 27385
27455 kHz USB - Spanish language calling channel, active with several stations at once
27465 kHz USB - QSO in Spanish between two stations, one is S9 +30, good quality audio
27470 kHz USB - Similar to 27465, strong signals, roger beeps
27665 kHz USB - Busy, S2-S4 signals, Spanish and possibly Portuguese QSOs
27715 kHz LSB - Spanish language QSO
 
Given that most of the traffic heard was in Spanish and the STL frequencies of 25910 and 25990 were quiet, best bet is another Latin American opening.  When these things get really crazy I can hear taxicab dispatchers every 10 kHz from 25615 up to 27995 and sometimes activity up into the CW portion of the bottom of 10 meters!

Update at 2240 UTC 10/06/2015:

26565 AM - Similar traffic to 26585
26665 AM - Spanish language, heavy QSB
26675 AM - Puerto Rico mentioned, roger beeps, music
26735 AM - Sounds like Truckers (this is CB channel 19 "down one band" on export radios so that makes sense)
26915 AM - Southern US QSOs, loud radios, some QSB
27255 AM - CB channel 23 - Data Bursts/Paging (paging is legal on this frequency under Part 95, up to 25w allowed!)
27445 AM - Taxicab Dispatch (Spanish language)
27515 LSB - Jamaican station very loud, some well over S9
27555 USB - voice traffic way down in the noise
27695 LSB - Spanish language traffic, Cali mentioned (possible Columbia traffic??)
27705 LSB - Similar to 27695 LSB
27765 LSB - Spanish language QSO, with OTH radar QRM
 

1455

Other / UNID CW 6920 2300 UTC 16 Sept 2015

« on: September 16, 2015, 2302 UTC »

Hearing a "dot" beep every 3 seconds or so on 6920.00 kHz (in CW mode).  Originally tuned it in on 6919 kHz USB. 

Confirmed the same on the WebSDR (http://k2sdr.dyndns.org:8902/) so this isn't local.