Topics

31

Spy Numbers / Russian G06 "German Lady" at 5136 kHz (test tone, then null message)

« on: May 08, 2017, 2014 UTC »

Russian G06 "German Lady" number station at 5136 kHz. A few minutes prior to the scheduled transmission "691, null, null" and then a test tone (possibly slow CW for the letters "T" and "V" ?) was sent, then at the scheduled time, a null message was transmitted:

G06 at 5126 kHz.

Earlier, I recorded this: G06 at 5766 kHz.

UTC time/date can be seen via the clock widget at the top right of the videos.

Curt / W9SPY

(Edited to correct spelling)

32

Spy Numbers / G06 "German Lady" at 5934 kHz, Windows XP "shut down" sound.

« on: April 27, 2017, 2207 UTC »

Russian G06 "German Lady" number station at 5934 kHz (long message). Windows XP "shut down" sound can be heard at end of transmission.

Video of transmission

Curt / W9SPY

33

HF Mystery Signals / UNID digital signal at (approximately) 11064 kHz

« on: April 07, 2017, 1651 UTC »

UNID digital signal at 11064 kHz: https://youtu.be/8QJw7nIiuTk

I noticed this signal to the left of the frequency where I was monitoring a Russian number station transmission (E07a). It appears to be some sort of MFSK signal, but I'm not sure which type.

UTC time and date noted in video.

The start of this UNID transmission (1530 UTC) can be seen at the beginning of this video and to the left of the frequency I was monitoring: https://youtu.be/0nuUBlfphyI

I'm not certain that I had this on the correct frequency intended for the transmission. But it is close enough that it would likely decode.

34

Spy Numbers / Russian XPA Polytone Decode at 13509 kHz

« on: February 25, 2017, 0748 UTC »

Russian XPA polytone decode at 13509 kHz: https://youtu.be/CXZLOIe--JA

Full message decode:

11:20:02 PM XPA Start Tones Found (correcting by 5 Hz)
11:22:02 PM High sync tone found
11:22:02 PM Symbol timing found
Block Sync
4444444444
Block Sync
456 456 456 1 456 456 456 1 456 456 456 1
Block Sync
4444444444
Block Sync
6
Message Start
09502 00163 30577 25892 14604 86647 64188 15407 00176 10002 61757 81001 11546 60011 46246
50466 68718 37118 91262 42494 60660 91398 97728 61083 45086 43572 83517 22559 04775 80633
14967 74717 12790 85121 55981 16145 35959 40409 79161 51419 64190 45931 93553 22285 05289
01736 43496 33672 30642 82138 26824 75426 79608 97738 60378 88125 98220 19761 68731 51390
82509 30677 95642 18313
Block Sync
91809 58906 95941 95413 46178 54681 69034 10562 05212 73492 28098 52226 91718 34779 17569
69069 96054 12948 57288 29826 86530 41692 63191 26380 80216 18159 53913 07547 35326 16056
00945 58004 27303 43870 61089 49314 89574 40268 40128 03155 57649 49617 67622 90238 08193
63730 87235 01227 88912 28885 50812 85344 34582 62256 20716 19786 92408 88859 21295 66250
24728 54136 37053 15066
Block Sync
45183 48360 14327 90957 10573 95741 14754 34521 35924 11327 61430 36934 22172 42924 45651
57845 48678 59642 05041 23709 08754 36362 42196 92032 09140 84026 59289 06730 03329 08646
51982 40190 98277 83350 56048 00963 72879 52243

Curt
W9SPY
Seattle, WA USA

35

HF Beacons / How to Build (or Buy) a Beacon?

« on: April 11, 2014, 1924 UTC »

I have become very interested in amateur beacons and the propagation of beacon signals.  

I have virtually no electronic building experience.  I am interested in hearing from anyone who can advise me as to whether building a simple beacon would be too complex of a project for a person who has little to no experience?  

And, if that is the case, whether it would be possible to purchase a pre-built beacon from someone, or somewhere?

Thank you.

Edit/Update: I posted this same query on another radio-related forum and got responses, in case anyone else is wondering about the answer to this question. People recommended some of the following:

RaspberryPi, which has a variety of uses, including being able to transmit via Software Defined Radio setups:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi

Purchasing something called a QRSS Transmitter Kit (I can supply the link, if anyone wants to see it).

And, a ready-made transmitter kit called OpenBeacon, the description of which is as follows: "an open source crystal-controlled QRPp beacon transmitter kit which can output a variety of slow-speed modes, including QRSS, DFCW, and Sequential Multi-tone Hellschreiber. It is configured via USB port, so there are no jumpers to set and you can easily adjust all of the operating parameters via command line. Once configuration is complete, OpenBeacon may be removed from the PC and operate stand-alone."

Cheers.

36

Other / Total Newbie Question

« on: January 12, 2014, 0937 UTC »

What I know about shortwave radio would make for a very thin book but I really enjoy the hobby.

I have discovered a really cool decoder software program called fldigi. You can use it to decode all sorts of transmissions, such as RTTY, CW, and NAVTEX.

Total newbie question: I have a cheap Radio Shack ssb shortwave radio http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=21589936. Should I be able to dial in and hear NAVTEX transmissions on it?  The international NAVTEX frequency is 518 kHz, but I have not been able to locate the signal.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

37

General Radio Discussion / The Creepy, Long-Standing Practice of Undersea Cable Tapping

« on: July 16, 2013, 1945 UTC »

In addition to gaining access to web companies' servers and asking for phone metadata, we've now learned that both the U.S. and the U.K. spy agencies are tapping directly into the Internet's backbone - the undersea fiber optic cables that shuttle online communications between countries and servers.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/07/the-creepy-long-standing-practice-of-undersea-cable-tapping/277855/

38

General Radio Discussion / Pirate Radio Thrives in Internet Age

« on: July 15, 2013, 1539 UTC »

Unlicensed “pirate” radio stations are thriving in the Internet age, despite the fact that most people can now operate their own Web-based radio stations without risking arrest.

“A vibrant pirate radio scene continues in the United States, and also in Europe and to a lesser extent in South America,” said George Zeller, a pirate radio listener/journalist for the past four decades.

“This includes a very energetic pirate radio scene on shortwave, and also a stunningly resilient pirate radio scene on FM and to a lesser extent on medium wave, despite the frequent busts by the FCC of FM pirates.”

http://www.radioworld.com/article/pirate-radio-thrives-in-internet-age/220315

39

General Radio Discussion / Former Black Panther jailed for running Mizrahi pirate radio

« on: July 14, 2013, 2044 UTC »

Former Israeli Black Panther and ‘godfather of Mizrahi music radio’ Israel Bundak goes back to prison for running a pirate radio station:

http://972mag.com/former-black-panther-jailed-for-running-mizrahi-pirate-radio/75740/

40

General Radio Discussion / The teenage radio enthusiasts who helped win World War II

« on: July 08, 2013, 1437 UTC »

There were about 1,500 radio listeners (called "voluntary interceptors") during WWII - civilians helping to intercept secret Nazi codes.

To mark the centenary of the Radio Society of Great Britain, one of its members recalls how the amateur organisation played a key role in a covert operation to safeguard the country's independence:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23162846

41

General Radio Discussion / The Most Important Radio Station You’ve Never Heard of Marks 50 Years on the Air

« on: July 02, 2013, 2209 UTC »

On Friday, July 5, 2013, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (WWVB) marks half a century as the nation’s official time broadcaster.

P.S. The headline used as the subject line for this post certainly doesn't apply to most people who populate this message board!.

Full story at: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/07/wwvb-time-radio/

42

General Radio Discussion / Submarine Cable Map & Landing Station Points

« on: June 14, 2013, 1635 UTC »

  Posting this just because I love databases of this type:

Interactive submarine cable map showing active and planned submarine cable systems and their landing stations:

http://www.submarinecablemap.com/

43

Other / Strange Signal on 14435 kHz

« on: June 12, 2013, 1902 UTC »

Found this signal while scanning around on the 20 meter band, listening to ham radio talkers.

I'm thinking this may be RTTY or some other sort of data stream from a radio modem.  

Anyone else have any ideas as to what this might be?

http://youtu.be/EWWBnmaOZpQ

Update: One person commented on this video at my YouTube channel, identifying the signal as a satellite transmission.  Anyone else agree?

44

General Radio Discussion / Declassified Spy Outpost Lurks on the Dark Side of the Earth

« on: June 11, 2013, 1539 UTC »

The Soniferous Æther is a 35mm film by Charles Stankievech.  The film was shot at the Canadian Forces Station (CFS) ALERT Signals Intelligence Station, a signals intelligence intercept facility that is only 450 nautical miles south of the North Pole.

Check out the haunting trailer here:

https://vimeo.com/studiostankievech/tsa-trailer

Full article at: http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2013/06/charles-stankievech-northernmost-settlement/

45

General Radio Discussion / Please Make Some Suggestions for Seattle SWLing

« on: June 06, 2013, 1526 UTC »

Hello:

I live in Seattle, Washington USA.  I am pretty new to SWLing and find the entire subject to be endlessly fascinating.  I was drawn into the hobby by a life-long interest in World War II history, codes and code-breaking, and from my subsequent discovery of numbers stations via The Conet Project CD set.  Since then, I have read quite a bit on the subject of shortwave and my favorite area of shortwave oddities (the book Underground Frequency Guide: A Directory of Unusual, Illegal, and Covert Radio Communications by Donald W. Schimmel is a good primer on this, though seriously outdated in some aspects).

My two radios are a Radio Shack DSX-350, AM/FM/LW/SW1-9 12-Band Portable Receiver and a Radio Shack Multiband PLL Digital with SSB.  I also have a Sangean ANT-60 Short Wave Antenna which really helps to pull in some of the weaker signals.  I hope to have a good desktop receiver in the future.  For now, I must satisfy my SWL habit through those two cheap portables.  However, I have been able to find some pretty interesting stuff on both of those radios, including the Cuban V2A numbers station.

I am hoping that members of this board will be able to make some suggestions for frequencies and stations that I can likely find and hear from my location here in Seattle, using the radios that I currently have at my disposal.  Any suggestions would be a big help.

Thanks!