Messages

16

HF Beacons / Re: Long Dasher On 4069.4

« on: April 01, 2022, 0713 UTC »

I hope you're right.  I believe both beacons went off the air on the same day central and southern California had a fairly large rainstorm, which might have silenced them.

17

HF Beacons / Long Dasher On 4069.4

« on: March 30, 2022, 0752 UTC »

At 0745z here in Santa Barbara I am hearing a long dasher on 4069.4.  It does not quite have a pure CW note--a pirate beacon or just another utility signal?  It is stronger on the Token SDR and very weak on the KFS omni.

And what happened to the Desert Whooper and Coastal Slider?  No copy either on the usual SDRs.  Perhaps "Uncle Charlie" got tired of the unlicensed fun?

18

HF Beacons / Re: Teotwaki's Evening Beacon Log

« on: March 19, 2022, 0621 UTC »

0600z  --I can't hear the Desert Whooper or Coast Slider from my home in DM04.  I then try Token's Mojave SDR and can't hear them either.  I also tried the KFS Omni, but it does not load.  So I then listened on the N. Utah SDR and could hear both beacons with no problems.

It appears signals are "going long" tonight.

FWIW, I heard some fast 20+ WPM CW on 4101.4 fairly strong on the N. Utah SDR and much weaker on my own station.  Too fast for me to pick out more than a few letters.  4100 USB has weak Asian language.

19

HF Beacons / Re: 4107.8 slow dasher

« on: March 17, 2022, 0930 UTC »

Guess this is is is a utility signal of some kind.

On the KFS Omni at 0430z there were two long dashers at 4108 and 4109 going at the same time.  When dashing there was also a fairly wide digital signal on either side--strange.

At 0925z on the KFS Omni the 4108 and 4109 dashers are still going, but the nearby digital signal is gone.

20

HF Beacons / Re: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?

« on: March 16, 2022, 0731 UTC »

Tonight at 0715z I am again hearing a beacon on 4108.  About every six seconds it sends either two "dahs" or one "dah".  It is very weak here in Santa Barbara and the N. Utah SDR.  On both the KFS Omni and KFS SE SDR it is a little stronger, about S4.

21

HF Beacons / Re: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?

« on: March 11, 2022, 0649 UTC »

Thanks!  I have a weird work schedule working 3 to 11pm and I often unwind after work spinning the VFO knob on my Icom 7200.  Around midnight local time (0800z) appears to be a good time to be beacon DXing. 

When I was learning CW thirty years ago to get my Novice ham ticket, I especially appreciated slow CW beacons on the air because most ham CW QSOs were too fast and/or poorly sent for me to copy.  So 30 years later I still look for them.  I'm also glad that 10 meters and its many propagation beacons are again active.

22

HF Beacons / Re: "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?

« on: March 10, 2022, 0939 UTC »

Update at 0934z--I checked 4108 two hours later, and no signal...  At 0730z it was fairly strong on the KFS omni and somewhat weaker on the N. Utah SDR, but no signal now on both at 0934z.  The Coastal Slider is still audible.

Perhaps a test of a new beacon?

23

HF Beacons / "5 Dits And A Dah"--4108.0 0730z --New Beacon?

« on: March 10, 2022, 0738 UTC »

Tonight here in Santa Barbara I am hearing in CW mode on 4108.0 five dits and a dah repeatedly being sent.  No other characters sent so far.  Fairly strong--about S4 with some fades.

A new beacon?

The Coastal Slider on 4109.7 is very weak but copyable.

24

HF Beacons / Re: Propagation Beacon "CV53"? 18110 CW 1817 UTC 16 FEB 2022

« on: February 17, 2022, 1132 UTC »

You are copying it wrong.  The callsign is YV5B and it is in Caracas, Venezuela.  Google International Beacon Project for more info.

--Leigh in Santa Barbara.

25

HF Beacons / Re: The 'Coast Slider' 4109.5

« on: February 12, 2022, 0950 UTC »

I heard it fairly strong here in Santa Barbara, about S4 at 0930z.  I was in the CW mode, and logged it at 4109.7.

Thanks for putting it up!  Are you also the sponsor of the F beacon that is sometimes heard around 4100?  I've not heard that one for a week. 

1015z Update:  I can no longer hear it...  Also nothing heard on the KFS SE SDR or the Token/Mojave SDR.

26

HF Beacons / Re: 4110 Whooper-Type Signal At 1035z

« on: January 31, 2022, 0838 UTC »

For the first time in two weeks, I'm hearing it again on 4109.6 at 0830z here in Santa Barbara.  Still no CW in five minutes of listening.

27

Spy Numbers / High Speed CW On 4081.4--Mostly Numbers--Spy?

« on: January 30, 2022, 1035 UTC »

Listening at 0600z on the Token SDR on 4081.4 I heard some high-speed CW, about 30wpm.  I can't copy much at that speed, but could tell it was mostly numbers with a few single letters. 

Another spy numbers station, or? 

28

ID and Translation Requests / UNID CW--0100z on 4075.3--40 Minutes Of Random Dits & Dashes

« on: January 28, 2022, 0321 UTC »

While listening today in the CW mode on 4075.3 at 0100z I heard a 40 minute transmission of random hand-sent dits and dashes, sometimes with a short CW letter, A, N, K.  It sounded like a straight telegraph key was being used by someone who was just learning how to send Morse.

I was hoping it was someone tuning up a transmitter for a new pirate broadcast or beacon, but it stopped after 40 minutes.

My location is coastal Central California.  Any guesses?

Thanks for reading.

29

European Pirates and Private Stations / Re: UNID 4625 USB 0259 UTC 23 Jan 2022

« on: January 23, 2022, 0326 UTC »

Here's a link to one of the copied images on 4625.  I don't know where it was copied from. 
https://ibb.co/FgJRyN4

Vice.com has an article about this interference, by a writer who does not know much about radio.  He claims SDRs are being used to transmit the images.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3vbjj/pirates-spammed-an-infamous-soviet-short-wave-radio-station-with-memes-uvb-76

30

Spy Numbers / UVB-76 On 4625 Being Spammed/Jammed By Pirates?!

« on: January 23, 2022, 0307 UTC »

There's an article on Vice.Com that Russian spy station UVB-76 on 4625 is being interfered with by pirates, possibly from the Ukraine.  Crazy 4chan-type "meme" images and music are being viewed or heard on SDRs.

However, the article's writer does not know much about radio, as he states that SDRs are being used by pirates to transmit the interfering signals.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3vbjj/pirates-spammed-an-infamous-soviet-short-wave-radio-station-with-memes-uvb-76

Link to one of the copied images:
https://ibb.co/FgJRyN4