Messages

226

Other / Re: Total Newbie Question

« on: January 12, 2014, 2137 UTC »

Thanks, skeezix. I sometimes doubt the ability of my cheap setup.  But every now and then, it really comes through and amazes me. (One of these days I'll be able to afford a better radio).

I have a local NAVTEX schedule. They generally broadcast the signal every four hours.  I live in Seattle, WA and the nearest signal to me is located in Tofino, British Columbia, broadcasting on 518 kHz at 01, 05, 09, 13, 17, 2110 UTC.

Cheers.

227

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.

228

Other / Re: Spooky Noise 6925 USB 0217 UTC 5 Aug 2013

« on: August 06, 2013, 0015 UTC »

Dang, spooky is right!

Feedback loop of some sort, perhaps?

229

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/

230

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

231

General Radio Discussion / Re: George Zimmerman Not Guilty

« on: July 14, 2013, 2047 UTC »

The extreme irony here is that Zimmerman's family now says that they fear vigilantes will come for Zimmerman. Just blows my mind at how senseless this all was.

232

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/

233

Utility / Re: What RTTY Station Is That on 4905 KHz?

« on: July 13, 2013, 1708 UTC »

I'm wondering if I may have recorded this same signal myself. I heard this last night from my home in Seattle, Washington:

http://youtu.be/d1xvcn1n_Rc

Sounds like regular old 170Hz to me.

It's a rock steady S-5 regardless of time when it's on.... dunno, it may be in a perfect path from Cali
 
Thanks!

234

Spy Numbers / Re: UVB-76 offline

« on: July 12, 2013, 1647 UTC »

This may be a dumb question: Is the repeater at the justin.tv/uvb76repeater link supposed to have any sound? If yes, I hear nothing, only see the "waterfall" graphic. . . 

I made sure it was offline by checking multiple servers to see if I could find it, which I couldn't. I also used this: http://www.justin.tv/uvb76repeater?utm_campaign=live_embed_click&utm_source=uvb-76.net#/w/6052195632/137 to see if it was offline, which it was. This is a 24/7 stream of UVB-76. Where this stream is being broadcasted im not sure but every time ive gone there it is always recieving the signal. I could have been (and most probably was) wrong but I thought that this was strange and thought I shoudl report it. I use SDR Radio client v1.5 by the way, also your station Token is quite good I get some good signals sometimes.

235

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

236

General Radio Discussion / Re: Submarine Cable Map & Landing Station Points

« on: July 05, 2013, 1501 UTC »

Yep, 9/11 seems to have squelched many databases such as this.

I'm sure everyone is aware of these already (and they are not communication-related), but just in case, here are a few more interesting links:

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

http://www.flightradar24.com/

If anyone has links to any other cool databases, please post them here.

I was about to post a link to a better interactive map at telegeography and realized it located to the same server.  These type of maps and more used to be more easily accessible before 911. I don't even remember the old map sites I used to use, but yeah, add me to the list of telecom map fools. For "fun" I even like to peruse old images of AT&T switching stations.

237

General Radio Discussion / Re: Submarine Cable Map & Landing Station Points

« on: July 04, 2013, 1954 UTC »

I reckon that the cable system is, in part, a backup for the satellite system (and I am fond of saying to anyone who will listen that shortwave will always work when Internet and telephone systems go down, but I'm preaching to the choir here). 

Very cool map.  It's amazing to think that submarine cables are still used in the day of satellites, especially when considering that they originally were just for telegraphy. 

238

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

« on: July 04, 2013, 0047 UTC »

I totally miss Loran-C; was such an easy system to learn and use.  Reminds me of my days in the Coast Guard and merchant marine.

Have a couple of clocks that have been listening to WWVB for ~15 years. However, my receivers would only go down to 150 or 100 kHz, so never knew what the signal sounded like.

Then got an SDR and was finally able to listen to WWVB last year.

Also was fortunate to listen to the last days of LORAN-C.

239

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Amelia Earhart comms 6925u 0230z 7/3/2013

« on: July 03, 2013, 2313 UTC »

Thanks, Pigmeat, thanks, staticlistener.  Gotta love pirate radio and strange senses of humor, right?

This may be slightly off-topic, but does anyone here believe the TIGHAR group's theory, that Amelia and Fred crash-landed on Gardener Island, has any merit?  More about that can be found at these links:

http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Notebook/notebook.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPko65DtPtM&feature=share&list=PL_hpKREBtDYCXt0peYYvwNXIuzycHhkIS

I was able decode part of the message.

It said, "Al you were right, I should have checked the tire pressure. Amelia."

PCL, the Earhart station shows up every year around this time. It seems to run for hours. Fansome is obsessed with it.

Last night when Radio Free Whatever was on, another pirate was sending what I'm guessing was a transcript of the communications between Amelia's plane and the USCGC Itasca in CW.

240

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Amelia Earhart comms 6925u 0230z 7/3/2013

« on: July 03, 2013, 1530 UTC »

I am fascinated by the Earhart case, but have never heard of the pirate radio station being referred to in this thread. Can someone give me a bit of background on this or provide a link to any further information? Thanks.