Messages

46

HF Beacons / Re: 2 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 23, 2019, 0446 UTC »

Exo,

thanks for the great thread with pictures and recordings. I was lucky back in Nov. 2016 to catch one driftnet beacon in the Pacific.

It did not transmit continuously, was about 4 minutes between sets. Seemed to send the id BFL4 three times and there was long dash after that then off.

Teotwaki,

Glad that the reports are appreciated.

Your consistent beacon reports over the years are quite a tome of reference!

Yes, the conditions on 2 MHz have been fairly good recently.
The 2008.4 kHz ditter seems to be very consistent, but weak.
The latest 2 MHz report has more details about its timing.
PLAY AUDIO recording of 2008.4 kHz UNID CW ditter beacon 2019JAN23 0452UTC

The fishing buoy beacons are getting more rare in West Coast waters, so good luck catching a few of them while there are still some around. It's doubtful that many MF fishing buoys will be active for more than a few years more around here. We bear witness to their extinction. 

47

HF Beacons / Re: 2 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 23, 2019, 0426 UTC »

Highlight of this report: 2008.4 kHz UNID ditter beacon again and 8 fishing buoy beacons.
This peekaboo beacon was reported by Token many times between 2012 and 2018.
It has changed its duty cycle slightly over the years from a dasher to a ditter, now with shorter CW dits rather than long dahs.
See Token's September 2012 video of the 2008.4 kHz UNID beacon on youtube
https://youtu.be/u_IU6gG938c


Report
2019JAN23 0350UTC

2008.40 kHz CW, UNID, ditter, beacon, land, 150 millisecond dit duration, 2.8 second repetition, ON for approximately 1 minute 40 seconds, OFF for approximately 3 minutes, weak readable, -110 dBm.
2097.28 kHz CW, "A", Morse, beacon, land, good readable, -92 dBm.
2129.01 kHz CW, "KV6", Morse with DF dahs, fishing buoy beacon, 8.4 seconds repetition, weak readable, fading, -112 dBm.
Note: Background noise level 3 kHz bandwidth approximately -122 dBm.

PLAY AUDIO recording of 2129 kHz CW KV6 Morse fishing buoy beacon 2019JAN23 0350UTC

PLAY AUDIO recording of 2008.4 kHz UNID CW ditter beacon 2019JAN23 0452UTC


Report
2019JAN23 1545UTC, just after local sunrise.
2 MHz propagation to the mid-Pacific ocean is good here at this time.
Various fishing buoy beacons were logged.

2006.00 CW, LC6, Morse, fishing buoy beacon, weak readable, ON for 3 Morse IDs, OFF for 3 minutes, -115 dBm
2008.40 kHz CW, UNID, ditter, land beacon, NEGATIVE COPY, (this beacon is rumored to be night-only)
2097.26 CW, A, Morse, land beacon, weak readable, -118 dBm
2106.00 CW, JG2, Morse, fishing buoy beacon, weak readable, ON for 3 Morse IDs, OFF for 3 minutes, -115 dBm
2111.99 CW, ?? UNID, Morse, fishing buoy beacon, very weak unreadable, -122 dBm
2114.00 CW, LQ9, Morse, fishing buoy beacon, weak readable, -114 dBm
2114.98 CW, ZP5, Morse, fishing buoy beacon, very weak readable, -120 dBm
2161.00 CW, ?? UNID, Morse, fishing buoy beacon, very weak unreadable, OFF for 3 minutes, -123 dBm
2163.88 CW, DR2, Morse, fishing buoy beacon, very weak unreadable, -120 dBm
2064.99 CW, ZF8, Morse, fishing buoy beacon, weak readable, ON for 3 Morse IDs, OFF for 3 minutes, -118 dBm
Note: Background noise 3 kHz bandwidth approximately -125 dBm.

48

HF Beacons / Re: 4 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 23, 2019, 0201 UTC »

Report
2019JAN23 0150UTC

4095.78 kHz CW, Viking, dasher, wild beacon, readable, -98 dBm
4096.35 kHz CW, Haystack, dasher, wild beacon, good readable, -92 dBm
4102.36 kHz CW, ZN, Morse, weak readable, -115 dBm
4102.82 kHz CW, Windy, Morse telemetry, slightly chirpy, TMP=50, B=126, good readable, -95 dBm
Note: Noise level in 3 kHz bandwidth, approximately -125dBm average.

Image below shows the ionogram of the nearby Pt. Arguello Digisonde ionosonde at the time of this report:
FoF2=2.700 MHz; fxI=3.3 MHz; 800 km MUF = 4.1 MHz.

[/quote]

49

HF Beacons / Re: 8 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 22, 2019, 1911 UTC »

I can't even hear the fundamentals of the 4096 beacons anymore, but you're getting the harmonics... 

Logging these itsy bitsy emitters is a dirty job.
But, somebody's gotta do it

Totally serendipitous, being located at just the right NVIS distance to hear a milliwatt pin drop out there in the high desert.

Sorry to rub it in, Chris.
But, the shoe is on the other foot, for those elusive east coast pirate stations that you seem to catch with amazing frequency.

50

HF Beacons / Re: 8 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 21, 2019, 0111 UTC »

Report
2019JAN21 0106UTC just before local sunset

8191.50 kHz, CW, "Viking", dasher beacon, (harmonic of 4095.75 kHz fundamental) , weak readable, -128 dBm
8192.71 kHz, CW, "Haystack", dasher beacon, (harmonic of 4096.35 kHz fundamental) , good readable, -120 dBm.

Note: Both beacons were also received simultaneously on their 4 MHz fundamental frequencies.

Local ionogram image below of the Pt. Arguello Digisonde for the report time:

51

HF Beacons / Re: 6 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 20, 2019, 2024 UTC »

Report
2019JAN20 2015UTC

6626.42 kHz CW, "Rainy", ditter beacon, 295 millisecond repetition, 29 millisecond duration, good readable, -122 dBm
6626.46 kHz AM, "Rocky", beacon, audio tone 310 Hz modulation, good readable, -120 dBm
6700.50 kHz CW, "HexY2k", dasher beacon, 907 millisecond repetition, 451 millisecond duration, good readable, -118 dBm

52

HF Beacons / Re: 2 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 04, 2019, 0019 UTC »

Has anyone tried to use KiwiSDR TDoA to locate a fishing beacon? You'd probably have to wait patiently and start the TDoA process just as the beacon begins its series of transmissions, to have a chance.

Regarding the 2 MHz Western USA beacons... A coming in well on 2097 as usual. For fun I am trying for the 2008.4 beacon, no luck, as expected.

I did hear a fishing beacon on 2021, missed the call. I see evidence of some in the 160m band.

Hi Chris,
On a good night, it would probably be possible to kiwi-TDOA some of the stronger and longer duration fishing bouy signals; with the IQ bandwidth set to about 100 Hz, if one can find a few stations with the right geometry and good SNR.
So many stations in the kiwiSDR network are using small whips or loops that are close to RFI sources, that it is sometimes difficult to find 3 sites that are suitable for DFing the weak signals, especially in the MF and lower HF range.
 

53

HF Beacons / Re: 2 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 02, 2019, 2209 UTC »

Thanks for the 2 MHz report!

I've listed to the fishing beacons in the past as well (you can likely find some threads here on the HFU, not sure which board).  They used to infest the 160m band as well, but I don't see as many there.

Chris,
Thanks for your previous fishing beacon postings, they are especially valuable as a reference.
As you've indicated about the Atlantic, those legacy buoy beacons are also scarce now on the 160m band in the Pacific within range of west coast USA.
Perhaps the older beacons are still being utilized in the Pacific and Indian Ocean near southeast Asian and Oceania waters.
For the investment in time and equipment, it is no wonder that the newer GPS beacons are replacing the old battery hog buoys that were sitting ducks for poachers. 
That S.Korean Sajo Oryang tuna fleet probably operates a lot of buoy beacons.

Ever wonder how many of those old buoys were lost and ended up floating around in the Pacific Garbage Patch or Atlantic?

54

HF Beacons / Re: 2 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 02, 2019, 2126 UTC »

Legacy MF buoy beacon, with
whip antenna mount on top center.

Exo, thanks for the reports. Nice to know there are signals lurking about even though we may not hear them on the east coast. Enjoy chasing driftnets on 160m. Activity does seem to have dropped off. The FCC recently made them "legal" on 160 & they left. Maybe it's not as much fun annoying the hams or maybe, as you said, just migration to newer technology. Happy New Year.

Boriken,

Happy New Year!
Yes, we are copying the remnants of old legacy cw buoy beacons with their old lead acid battery packs; probably just the ones that haven't been lost in the ocean yet or traded in for shiny new solar GPS buoys.




Satellite buoy beacon


 

55

HF Beacons / Re: 2 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 02, 2019, 0812 UTC »

Highlight of this report: land beacons mixed with fishing buoy beacons on 2 MHz.

Here on the California coast, there are a lot of Pacific fishing vessels within range, and their drift net buoy beacons can be heard. It is often difficult to tell at first if a mystery signal is out in the ocean or on land. This makes HF and MF beacon hunting even more fascinating in some areas of the spectrum. There are some types of beacons which are easy to spot by their characteristics. There are older dasher fishing buoy beacons and then there are CW Morse ID fishing buoy beacons, both of which require vessels to Direction Find (DF) them, and they both seem to be a lot more rare lately. That is probably because the more modern GPS fishing buoy beacons now use either digital HF/MF modem bursts or Selcall response, or else they use all-satellite fishing buoys (such as L-band IsatData  1525.0 to 1559.0 MHz/1626.5 to 1660.5 MHz), which provide the vessels with exact coordinates and tracking (without the need for DF). This 2 MHz report includes some of the older CW buoy beacons, mixed with at least one land beacon, and one unknown whether it is land or sea.

If you found this detailed report useful or interesting, please take a moment to reply with a comment on it.

Report

2019JAN02 0620UTC

2006.00 kHz CW, "LC6", Morse, fishing buoy beacon, 3 minute OFF cycle, fading, readable, -120 to -130 dBm.
Note on LC6 timing cycle: 3 Morse IDs repeated with a long DF dash, then beacon is OFF for approximately 3 minutes.

2008.40 kHz CW, UNID, ditter, beacon, land, good readable, -110 dBm.

2065.01 kHz CW, "SY6", Morse, fishing buoy beacon, readable, fading, -118 dBm.
Note on SY6 timing cycle: 3 Morse IDs repeated with a 1.5 second long DF dash, then beacon is OFF for approximately 4 minutes 50 seconds.

2097.28 kHz CW, "A", Morse, beacon, land, good readable, -100 dBm.

PLAY AUDIO recording of 2065 kHz CW SY6 Morse fishing buoy beacon 2019JAN02 0620UTC

Spectrum waterfall image below shows 2065 kHz CW SY6 Morse fishing buoy beacon 2019JAN02 0620UTC:


The ionogram below shows the Pt. Arguello Digisonde data at the time of this log report, with foF2=2.175MHz, fxI=2.90MHz.

56

HF Beacons / Re: 6 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: January 01, 2019, 0009 UTC »

Highlight of this report: 6626 kHz Rainy ditter beacon clear audio recording

Report
2018DEC31 2055UTC

6626.20 kHz CW, "Rainy", ditter beacon, 18 millisecond dit duration, 328 millisecond repetition, downward chirp, good readable, -108 dBm
6626.73 kHz AM, "Rocky", tone beacon, main carrier, 5.22 kHz audio tone modulation, good readable, -110 dBm
6631.95 kHz, "Rocky", USB, audio tone modulation upper sideband, -114 dBm
6621.51 kHz, "Rocky", LSB, audio tone modulation lower sideband, -113 dBm

PLAY AUDIO recording of Rainy ditter beacon 6626 kHz in USB mode with 300 Hz bandwidth 2018DEC31 2055UTC

57

HF Beacons / Re: 6 MHz Western USA Beacons

« on: December 30, 2018, 2333 UTC »

Highlight of this report: Rocky AM tone beacon audio harmonics.
If you find these detailed reports useful or interesting, please feel free to reply with any comments.

Report
2018DEC30 2226UTC

6626.48 kHz AM, "Rocky", tone beacon, main carrier, 500 Hz audio tone modulation, good readable, -104 dBm
6626.98 kHz USB, audio tone modulation sideband, -110 dBm
6627.48 kHz USB2, audio tone modulation sideband, 2nd harmonic, -122 dBm
6625.98 kHz LSB, audio tone modulation sideband, -108 dBm
6625.48 kHz LSB2, audio tone modulation sideband, 2nd harmonic, -112 dBm

PLAY AUDIO recording of Rocky AM tone beacon 500 Hz modulation recorded in AM mode with 2 kHz total bandwidth

Image below shows modulation waveform of 6626.48 kHz Rocky AM tone beacon, an asymmetric sine wave with clipped bottom,  2018DEC30 2226UTC.


Waterfall spectrum image below shows the many modulation harmonics of the Rocky AM tone beacon:


Ionogram image below shows the data from the nearby Pt. Arguello Digisonde at the time of the log report, with foF2=5.175MHz, fxI=5.9MHz, 600kmMUF=6.6MHz.

58

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6925.15 AM 0203UTC 29 DEC 2018

« on: December 29, 2018, 0207 UTC »

Report
2018DEC29 0203UTC
6925.15 kHz AM, dramatic voices, old radio show?, fading, lightning static, very weak unreadable, -125 dBm

59

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6925 Khz USB 0130 UTC 29 Dec. 2018

« on: December 29, 2018, 0202 UTC »

Report
2018DEC28 0155UTC
6925.0 kHz USB, music, sign off?, sound fx, modem signals, sstv, 3 kHz bandwidth, fading, lightning static, very weak readable, -118 dBm

60

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Radio Humperdoo 6930 USB 1940 UTC 28 Dec 2018

« on: December 29, 2018, 0141 UTC »

Report
2018DEC29 0130UTC
6930.00 kHz USB Radio HumperDoo, music, sign off, 3 kHz bandwidth, fading, lightning static, weak readable, -115 dBm.

PLAY AUDIO 6930 kHz USB Radio HumperDoo with music and sign off, recorded at 3 kHz bandwidth 2018DEC29 0130UTC