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1456

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

1457

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

1458

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. 

1459

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!

1460

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.

1461

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
 

1462

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.

1463

Other / 6940 CW 0024 UTC

« on: September 06, 2015, 0024 UTC »

Hearing CW on 6940, peaking to S8

Gone

Back on at 0026

1464

10/11 meters / 26.485 data signal

« on: May 07, 2013, 2100 UTC »

I hear it (26485) when the band is open, especially to Mexico/Latin America.  Only in LSB and CW mode.  There's similar activity around 27.650 MHz. 

27.650 is almost always there.  Was wondering if anybody else on the east coast of the U.S. (or anywhere really) could also hear these signals.

I'm interested in what military/government use of the 25-28 is still in existence, even the proliferation of export radios to the point of every 5-10 kHz from 26.5 to 28 has signals on it during a good band opening.

1465

10/11 meters / Taxicab Dispatchers on the 11-meter and 10-meter band.

« on: April 12, 2013, 1658 UTC »

Hey all,  I know in Europe they have a big problem now with Russian/CIS/former USSR taxicab interference on the CB/11 meter freeband and in the bottom of 10 meters.  

The same thing is now happening in North America (at least at my QTH in Richmond, VA).  When the band is open to the south not only can I hear taxicab dispatchers in NFM using 10 or 20 kHz spacing above 30.000 MHz, up into 31 and 32 MHz, with domestic U.S. business band skip... (I've even seen them on 30.115 MHz, AM, I assume that's using CB gear and not land mobile lowband gear because the NFM activity all has CTCSS tones).  

This part of listening to 11-meters really interests me.  My Spanish is not that great but its easy enough to figure out that what you're listening to is taxi dispatchers (or at least another kind of business radio system) vs. just regular freebanders/outbanders/pirates/CB bandits or whatever you wanna call em.  I've noticed that they tend to hang out in the lower parts of the de-facto "11 meter bands" so band A on most exports is either 25.165 - 25.605 MHz or, more commonly, 25.615 to 26.055 MHz.  There's been points where I could hear activity (all in AM save for STLs on 25.990 and 25.910, I bet they're glad they're not using the .xx5 MHz step!) every 10kHz from 25.615 to 26.055, including the "A channels").  Some of these newer exports no longer just cover 25.615 to 28.305 MHz anymore.  Some of them go above the top of 10-meters and into the 30MHz band (keeping the CB-like channel plan of course).  I'm pretty sure the Magnum S9 can go up to 32.990 MHz and down to below the 12-meter band.  Obviously the radio needs to be tuned for the band in question.

Another interesting frequency commonly used appears to be 27.515.  Channel 9 is very popular for some reason, CH9 in the legal band is 27.065 and is nothing but Puerto Rico, CH9 "down one band" is 26.615 and that's another really popular AM calling frequency (see also, 26.585, 26.595, and 26.605) but CH9 "up one band" is 27.515 which is also the Caribbean LSB DX frequency.  Many times I've heard an AM taxi cab dispatcher completely obliterating the high power stations from Jamacia on 27.515 LSB.  Has anybody else experienced this?  

Is it strange that people using 11m for business radio communications needs is one of the things that I consider interesting about this band?  

1466

Equipment / 25-30 MHz "11 meter" gear

« on: April 10, 2013, 0223 UTC »

Hello all,

New to the board, interested in its 10/11 meter board but wanted to post here since this section deals with equipment.  I like to focus my monitoring on the 11-meter "freeband", including taxicab dispatch DX and STLs.  I am currently running a CRE 8900 mobile and a Ranger Voyage VR9000 (Superstar 3900 clone with a frequency counter). 

I'm wondering what the other 11-meter guys on this forum are using for monitoring.  My main antenna is a NMO mounted base loaded quarter wave land mobile antenna cut for 27.5 MHz.