Messages

2776

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Liquid Radio 6925 AM 0000 UTC 03 Jan 2016

« on: January 03, 2017, 0105 UTC »

On the Ohio remote (KH6ILT KiwiSDR)  

I have Liquid Radio right at the noise floor at 0100 UTC, I can tell there's music there...but not much else.  

I see what looks like two carriers, one on 6925.0 kHz and another one at 6925.1 kHz or 6925.12 kHz.  I imagine the 6925.1 kHz one is Liquid Radio (given how they've been logged on that frequency in the past, etc).  Not sure about the other carrier and as other remotes don't seem to have it.  


Some very minor pescadore QRM on 6925 kHz LSB but its basically nil compared to how bad it has been lately.  Thanks LR!

-----

Trying out some other remotes, K1RA/KW4VA (Virginia) KiwiSDR has a carrier on 6925.1 kHz but is suffering from extreme local storm static or another type of high level static QRN/QRM that's making copying anything on the band almost impossible at this time (0110 UTC).  But I do see the carrier and hear music during the lulls between the static crashes.  Electronic music punching through the pescadore QRM on top of that!

2777

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6920 USB 2040 UTC 2 Jan 2017

« on: January 02, 2017, 2045 UTC »

Via OH KiwiSDR and New Hampshire KiwiSDR.  

S5-S6 signal level on the Ohio remote
S3 signal level on the NH remote

Music and forest sound effects,

Man singing in the background.

2045: YL talking
2046: OM talking, battle sound effects in background
2048: YLs talking English/French, southern accented YLs
2100: Off (or extremely rapid drop in signal strength/fade)

2778

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6925 USB 1614 UTC 1/2/17

« on: January 02, 2017, 1915 UTC »

1915 UTC - Checked the remotes again.

All Virginia-based WebSDRs, the signal appears to have disappeared, except for N4TVC where the signal is now at S2-S3 and barely readable.



New Jersey K2SDR WebSDR - S6-S7 noticeable degradation in quality since earlier
Ohio KH6ILT KiwiSDR - S2-S3 slight reduction in signal strength
Pennsylvania KF6VO KiwiSDR - totally gone
New Hampshire AB1KW KiwiSDR - S3-S4 slightly noisy - signal strength and quality haven't changed since roughly 1830 UTC

2779

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6925 USB 1614 UTC 1/2/17

« on: January 02, 2017, 1816 UTC »

Good audio, old Dragnet radio program relays, with Fatima cigarette ads and old NBC radio interval signal.

Got it on several web receivers,

New Jersey K2SDR WebSDR - S7-S8 nice signal
Ohio KH6ILT KiwiSDR - S3-S5
Virginia N4TVC KiwiSDR - S5-S7
Pennsylvania KF6VO KiwiSDR - S1-S2 barely readable
New Hampshire AB1KW KiwiSDR - S3-S4 slightly noisy

Virginia K1RA/KW4VA KiwiSDR - S6-S7 (checked back in at 1827:  solid S7-S9 very nice signal)

Checked back again at 1842 UTC, signal has dropped down from S7 to S3-S4.  Signal dropped down on this remote, but signal on the New Jersey SDR has stayed in the S7-S9

1829 UTC Still going strong, discussion of a man working the con game for 30 years.
1851 UTC Talk about an attempted murder of a gangster
1938 UTC End of Dragnet episode, Fatima cigarettes ads, NBC tones and off. 

2780

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID (Relay?) 6920 kHz AM 2115 UTC 1 Jan 2017

« on: January 01, 2017, 2122 UTC »

Appears to be a live relay of Electric Circus up on 6925 kHz USB.  Heavy fading and somewhat tinny audio leads me to believe its somebody using a remote receiver as their audio source.  

2117 UTC, heard a conversation between an OM and a YL underneath the Electric Circus relay.  Not sure if that's another station or simply lower-level audio on this transmitter's side.
2122 UTC - S3-S4 level carrier, with weak modulation
2125 UTC - YL heard talking underneath music, difficult to dig what is being said out of the (louder) music.
2129 UTC - Music (from Electric Circus on 6925 kHz USB) dropped off for a second, that or deep fade (or both).
2131 UTC - Signal now down to more of a S3 steady with some fades.  
2133 UTC - Sultry-sounding YL chatter now in the background...
2146 UTC - Relaying SSTV being sent by Electric Circus on 6925 kHz USB...

2781

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6925 USB 2043 UTC 27 Dec 2016

« on: December 27, 2016, 2101 UTC »

2100 UTC "Drop the screen now!"  "How ya doin', Vince?"
2107 UTC Getting killed by OTHR/ute QRM
2108 UTC - QRT? or faded out..pescadores starting to pop up on 6925 kHz LSB, making listening in AM mode quite interesting

K1RA/KW4VA KiwiSDR is showing a carrier on 6925.0 kHz AM as well as the UNID station on 6925 kHz USB.  Perhaps two stations at once?  

2782

10/11 meters / Re: Russia / Former USSR 26-27 MHz CB Echo Parrot Simplex Repeater List

« on: December 24, 2016, 1656 UTC »

I know the 27.620 MHz (27.820 MHz input) one is still on the air.  Used to be part of a four-repeater network apparently.  I'll add it to the list.

Josh, I know that there are videos on YouTube of people sending digital modes such as ROS and PSK31 through repeaters on 27.235 MHz and 27.245 MHz.  The recording times vary from repeater to repeater, some of them are only 20-30 seconds while others are longer, up to 2-3 minutes.

I've also added the link to the Wiki page that contains more information regarding these listings.  Glad to be of help.  It didn't seem like there were any English-language lists anywhere online so I wanted to put one together. 

2783

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID Relay Station Relay 6926.5 kHz LSB 1745 UTC 23 December 2016

« on: December 23, 2016, 1811 UTC »

Been listening to this for the past 10-20 minutes, seems like the UNID on 6926.5 kHz went off the air and a few minutes later this came up.  Currently relaying the audio from Relay Station 5150 kHz AM.  Lots of fading and noise, alternating between the KH6ILT KiwiSDR and the ZL/KF6VO KiwiSDR.

1809 UTC - Blue Christmas Without You
1945 UTC - Peanuts Christmas Theme

2784

10/11 meters / CB Repeater List Echo Parrot 11 Meter Repeaters List Discussion

« on: December 23, 2016, 0410 UTC »

11 meter echo repeater CB parrot simplex repeater listing (Wiki)


After some serious research, I've compiled a list of the 11 meter repeaters operating in Russia, the CIS, the former USSR/Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and, in some rare cases, Western Europe and Northern Europe as well:


Once I do some more minor edits, I'll add this information to the HF Underground Wiki as well.  In keeping with the policy of this forum, all frequencies have been converted to kHz

Frequency Range:  25610 kHz to 27995 kHz (25.610-27.995 MHz)
Step: 5 kHz

Modulation/Modes: AM, FM, SSB.  FM is by far the most common mode.  AM is used on specific channels (the main ones being C15 and C19, we'll get more into that later).

Russia is unique in how its CB channelization is set up.  It is actually two sets of channels.  These sets are referred to be several different names, but here they will be referred to as "European" and "Russian".

The European offset, or “grid “(or “raster”) / Russian offset grid (or “raster” – also called “Polish grid”)

European grid = last digit of channel frequency is a 5 [hence the "fives"]
Russian grid = last digit of channel frequency is a 0  [hence the "zeros"]

Russian grid frequency is always -5kHz from corresponding European grid, for example, European channel 27155 kHz is 27150 kHz on the Russian grid.  Many radios now include a “-5kHz” switch to alternate between the two grids.  The -5kHz switch is often used in conjunction with the +10kHz switch common on most "export" radios.  This allows the user to get to the 5 "hidden" channels per band.  When a radio is equipped with the ability to tune in 5 kHz steps and/or is equipped with -5 kHz and +10 kHz switches, no channels are skipped and full coverage across the radio's frequency coverage is possible.  

Alphanumeric channel name, allocation is broken down into bands of 40 channels each.  Standard CB band (26965-27405 kHz / 26960-27400 kHz) is “band C”.  Other letters are used to indicate if the channel uses the European or Russian offset.  Optionally, the mode AM or FM is included in the channel name.  When operating in SSB, most operators refer to the frequency directly instead of using a channel designation or name.

Channel designation uses the following format:

Band(A, B, C, D, etc), channel #, Grid/Offset (E for European, R for Russian), Mode (Optional).  Mode is optional because most CB communications in Russia are in FM mode.  

So Channel 37 on the standard European CB band, using AM mode, that is, 27375 kHz AM..
is designated C37E AM or C37EA.  If these is no mode letter following the offset/grid designation, the mode is assumed to be FM.

The bands are designated as follows:

Band AE = 25615-26505 kHz
Band AR = 25610-26500 kHz
Band BE = 26515-26955 kHz
Band BR = 26510-26950 kHz
Band CE = 26965-27405 kHz
Band CR = 26960-27400 kHz
Band DE = 27415-27855 kHz
Band DR = 27410-27850 kHz
Band EE = 27865-28305 kHz
Band ER = 27860-28300 kHz

Operating below 25610 kHz or above 28000 kHz is forbidden, however this rule is widely ignored.  While the Russian CB allocation is technically 25615-27995 (or 26515-27855, depending on who you ask/where you look...), CB radios designed for use in Europe/Asia (where there are various different channel plans, mode restrictions, and power level legislation that varies from country to country) are often referred to as "multi-norm" or "multi-country" radios.  

These radios require the end-user to select the country the reside in (usually via a menu setting, holding down a button while turning the radio on, etc) and then the radio's software loads the appropriate channel plan(s), mode(s), and power levels for the country that has been selected.  These radios all include the European standardized 40-channel "CEPT" or "mid band FM" allocation (same as the US 40-channel CB band, only with 4 watts FM max power instead of 4 watts AM).  Many countries in Europe allow AM or AM/SSB in addition to FM, and places like Germany and the UK both have a country-specific set of 40 channels in addition to the mid band channels.  The UK has their 27601.25 kHz to 27991.25 kHz band and Germany has their "auxiliary" 26565 kHz to 26955 kHz band for a total of 80 channels.  

Of course, a clever CB user simply has to select a different country than the one he's in to gain access to these extra channels.  Further complicating matters is the fact that, in the past 2-3 years, CB manufacturers have added Russia to the list of countries you can select from.  Usually referred to as "RU mode" (Germany is "DE", the UK FM band is "UK", etc).   Some radios require the end user to snip a jumper from the board in order for "RU" to be an option.  However it's done, once a multinorm radio is switched to "RU mode", the frequency coverage generally opens up from 25615 to 30105 in 10 kHz (or even 5 kHz!!!) steps.  Power output restrictions are often disabled in RU mode as well.  

Of course, the op could also just buy a regular old "10-meter radio" or "export radio" like they do in the USA and most other parts of the world and then "convert" it to 11-meter coverage.  The frequency coverage is almost exactly the same nowadays.  The modern generation of 10 meter radios (the Anytone AT-5555 and its dozens of clones/upgrades (Alpha Max AM-1000, Superstar 9900, Maxlog M-8900, CRE 8900, Alinco DR-135CB/DR-135DX, AT-6666N, etc, etc, etc) all simply require holding down the right combination of buttons when switching the radio on.  Doing so gives the user the exact same frequency coverage, channeling and frequency steps as a legal European-purchased "multinorm" radio that has been set for "Russia".  


anyway, on to the topic at hand.


CB repeater systems:

Russia is well known for heavy usage of simplex (store-and-forward) repeater systems (sometimes called Parrots, Parrot Repeaters, Echo Repeaters, Echo Relays, RT-SRC1's or ATX-2000s).  Most repeaters simply record and re-transmit whatever transmissions they hear, while others require CTCSS tones (commonly 88.5Hz) or DTMF to open them.  All repeaters operate in FM mode. Several frequencies have more than one repeater operating at once.  Larger cities and metro areas have several repeaters available in addition to that city's agreed-upon simplex channels.  Many repeaters are located on mountain tops or on the top of high-rise buildings in cities.  

Worldwide communication is possible and has been made through these repeaters.

The vast majority of these systems are straightforward simplex repeaters.  They record a signal and then retransmit it on the same frequency.  Some are part of larger linked systems (most often crossband or Xband to the license free PMR446 and LPD433 services).  A handful of these systems actually link several 11 meter CB repeaters together for wide-area coverage or link repeaters through Internet services such as Echolink.  

The frequencies 27235 kHz and 27245 kHz are used throughout Europe (and likely Russia) for digital communications.  The most common data modes are ROS and PSK31 but other datamodes are in use.  Russian taxi cab company dispatchers also make heavy use of these systems.  

Here are some confirmed 11-meter 26 MHz 27 MHz CB repeaters and their channel designations.

26565 kHz (B05E) – linked with 27405 MHz (C40E) - Germany
26575 kHz (B06E)
26675 kHz (B14E)
26685 kHz (B15E)
26715 kHz (B17E) – Chelyabinsk, Russia
26915 kHz (B36E)
26925 kHz (B37E)
26935 kHz (B38E)
26970 kHz (C02R) – Poland, Russia and Klaipeda, Lithuania
26975 kHz (C02E) – Samara, Russia 10w TX power
26985 kHz (C03E) – Samara, Russia, Tver Russia
26990 kHz (not a CB channel)
27000 kHz (C04R) – Kiev, Ukraine
27005 kHz (C04E) – Yekaterinburg (Ekaterinburg), Russia
27015 kHz (C05E) – Samara, Russia 10w TX power, and Naro-Fominsk (Moscow Oblast)
27030 kHz (C07R) – Minsk, Belarus and Shymkent, Kazakhstan
27035 kHz (C07E) – Kiev, Ukraine, 4w TX power
27040 kHz (not a CB channel) – Minsk, Belarus
27060 kHz (C09R) – Kiev, Ukraine
27070 kHz (C10R)
27075 kHz (C10E) – Eastern Russia
27085 kHz (C11E) –  Altai Region, South-Central Russia
27100 kHz (C12R) – Gomel, Belarus 100w TX power, another in Krasnodar, Russia
27105 kHz (C12E) -  Ulyanovsk, Russia 4w TX power, Astana, Kazakhstan
27110 kHz (C13R) – Poland and Russia
27135 kHz (C15E) – Moscow, Russia
27150 kHz (C16R) – Poland
27165 kHz (C17E) – Issyk, Almaty oblast, Kazakhstan
27170 kHz (C18R) – Poland and Russia
27175 kHz (C18E) – Taraz, Kazakhstan
27180 kHz (C19R) – Poland and Russia
27185 kHz (C19E) – Dozens and dozens of repeaters on this frequency
27190 kHz (not a CB channel)
27200 kHz (C20R) – Zaykova, Russia
27205 kHz (C20E) – Several repeaters on this frequency, including one in central Sweden
27210 kHz (C21R) - Zhukovsky (Moscow Oblast), Russia
27215 kHz (C21E) – Several repeaters on this frequency, including one in Almaty, Kazakhstan
27220 kHz (C22R)
27225 kHz (C22E) –  Altai Region, South-Central Russia
27230 kHz (C24R)
27235 kHz (C24E)
27240 kHz (C25R) – Moscow, Russia 7w TX power 5/8th wave vertical
27245 kHz (C25E) – Almaty, Kazakhstan, 1480m/4855ft elevation 12w TX power 1/2 wave vertical
27250 kHz (C23R) – Belarus
27255 kHz (C23E) – Kiev, Ukraine, 4w TX power
27260 kHz (C26R) – Krivoi Rog (Kryvyi Rih), Ukraine
27270 kHz (C27R) – Saratov, Russia, Kiev, Ukraine
27275 kHz (C27E) – Several repeaters here, including a Xband repeater in Kemerovo (paired w/ 434.50)
27290 kHz (C29R) – Minsk, Belarus
27295 kHz (C29E) – Tyumen, Russia
27300 kHz (C30R)
27315 kHz (C31E) – Several repeaters on this frequency
27325 kHz (C32E) – cross-band linked to LPD433 433.075 MHz
27330 kHz (C33R) – Saratov, Russia (located on Sokolova Mountain
27335 kHz (C33E) – Almaty, Kazakhstan
27355 kHz (C35E) – St. Petersburg, Russia
27370 kHz (C37R) – Western Russia
27375 kHz (C37E) – Vladivostok, Russia
27390 kHz (C39R) – Kaliningrad, Russia (10w TX power 5/8 wave vertical)
27405 kHz (C40E) – linked with 26.565 MHz (B05E) - Germany
27415 kHz (D01E) – Yekaterinburg (Ekaterinburg), Russia
27425 kHz (D02E) – Rostov, Russia (CTCSS 88.5Hz Xband link to 433.575 MHz CTCSS 77.0Hz)
27450 kHz (D04R)
27455 kHz (D04E) – Yekaterinburg (Ekaterinburg), Russia
27515 kHz (D09E) – Obninsk (Kaluga Oblast), Russia
27580 kHz (D15R)
27605 kHz (D16E)
27620 kHz (D18R) – linked with 27820 MHz (D37R) - Jamaica/Caribbean area
27625 kHz (D18E)
27630 kHz (D19R)
27635 kHz (D19E)
27665 kHz (D21E) – Russian taxi company operated (5/8 wave antenna)
27675 kHz (D22E)
27840 kHz (D39R)
27875 kHz (E02E) – Rostov, Russia









______

2785

Other / UNID Freebanders Spanish Language QSO 6900 kHz LSB 0345+ UTC 21 Dec 2016

« on: December 21, 2016, 0400 UTC »

I have been listening to two OMs chatting away on 6900 kHz LSB for the past 15-20 minutes.  Spanish speaking stations, with Mexican accents, talking about propagation conditions and antenna systems.  One of the operators gave his cell number over the air and asked the other op to text him.  Other topics of conversation included typical "ham-like" things such as the weather, operating conditions (radios, antennas, frequencies, names of towns/cities, etc).  Polite chatter, nobody jamming or intentionally transmitting over other signals this evening.  My Spanish is decent enough for me to understand the topic of conversation.  

These guys are most certainly freebanders and not pescadores.  If they are fishermen, they're well-versed in the world of radio.  Operators seemed to be referring to each other directly as "4778" and "hermano" (brother).  Most of the time, however, no IDs were heard at all. which further leads me to believe they're freebanders or other land-based transmitters.  

The operating habits of these stations mirror those of the 11 meter ops often heard in the 27405-28000 kHz portion.  For the most part, they are polite ops and when QRM becomes an issue, they change frequencies...or flip the mode switch to the opposite sideband.

I have a feeling these guys are related to the "pescadores" (or maybe they actually are pescadores in the case of the thread I'm linking to) sending SSTV:

https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,31646.0.html

2786

North American Shortwave Pirate / Old Time Radio OTR 6770 kHz AM 2250 UTC + 19 December 2016

« on: December 19, 2016, 2255 UTC »

Barely hearing OTR on 6770 AM but I can tell there's a carrier there.  Bits and pieces of audio heard but I can't tell what's being transmitted as far as the content.  Noisy conditions this evening.

2787

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6925 AM/USB 2030 UTC 14 December 2016

« on: December 14, 2016, 2114 UTC »

I think its different stations, the signal that popped up after 2100 was considerably stronger than what I heard from 2040-2057ish

2115 UTC - Rap song with long intro - OM (with English accent) vocals
2122 UTC - SSTV ID
2124 UTC - OM talking about being a cat (??)
2139 UTC - SSTV
2141 UTC - O Canada!
2144 UTC - Off the air / QRT

Thanks Sekio Radio!

2788

North American Shortwave Pirate / Sekio Radio 6925 AM/USB 2030 UTC 14 December 2016

« on: December 14, 2016, 2044 UTC »

Sounded like a relay of the Relay Station 5150 on 5150 kHz AM, followed by dead carrier/air on 6925.0 kHz.  

At approx 2040 UTC, faint SSTV heard/seen on the USB on 6925, followed by another, stronger SSTV transmission.  

2043 UTC - CW
2044 UTC - More CW (stronger)
2045 UTC - Tones and beeps, sounds like a relay of CHU's time pips
2047 UTC - SSTV (I think its SSTV, its getting slammed by a very loud ute burst/rush)
2048 UTC - Faint CW, still getting slammed by ute QRM
2056 UTC - AM carrier on 6925 kHz gone
2057 UTC - More CW, followed by SSTV

2789

10/11 meters / Re: 27.455 USB

« on: December 09, 2016, 2124 UTC »

It's a local channel in an area near where I'm located as well.  Same with 27445 LSB. 

I know I've posted about this several times before but, there's another example of an "11 meter gentleman's agreement" regarding most US-based transmissions using LSB (with 27555 USB being the big exception) and Spanish language transmissions using USB.  The problem is when some truck driver or taxicab company using AM comes screaming in on top of the SSB traffic on a given frequency 

2790

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: OTR 6770AM 2212 UTC 7 December 2016

« on: December 07, 2016, 2318 UTC »

Carrier fading up, hints of audio here and there at 2316 tune-in.

Nice to hear OTR this time of the evening