Military Low VHF Skip

[Teotwaki]

For a few days now I've been receiving good quality voice skip from Fort Bragg, North Carolina on 38.900 MHz. It's in mil wide FM (+/- 8KHz) with a 150 Hz tone.
They've self identified as Fort Bragg Range Control, mentioned 46.750 MHz as another range frequency and at one point seemed to have conversed with another mil radio station that was far away.

Jim
Orange County Calif.

[Teotwaki]

This is my mil low VHF freq list. "NTC" is Ft. Irwin.
Thanks to Bryan Herbert for his contributions to this list! Also R4002 for the 30.45

30.100 Army National Guard at ALB.  UH-60's, Albany, New York
30.300 Los Alamitos ARNG ground units Calif
30.350 Camp Pendleton Range Control Calif
30.450 Ft. Hood Range Control (from R4002 HFU)
32.050 Yuma range control, Texas, RAPTOR Net
32.150 66RQS HH-60, Nellis
32.350 34WPS HH-60, Nellis
32.450 66WPS A-10, Nellis
32.650 66WPS A-10, Nellis
32.675 Unknown
32.700 BYS Range Control, Nellis &  Fort Irwin North Range Control Calif
32.750 Medic Net, Texas
32.850 66WPS A-10, Nellis
34.050 66RQS HH-60, Nellis
34.100 R-2501 FAC-JTAC-TACP, Nellis and Sacramento Mather airfield C/1-168th base ops Calif
34.200 Range Control, Camp Bullis TX
34.850 Los Alamitos helo base ops Calif
36.525 NTC Desert South (Old?)
36.700 NTC Command Post (Old?)
36.775 Los Alamitos 1-140th tac Calif
36.800 NTC ROZ 1 (Old?) and Army Helos, Texas
36.900 Martindale Army Heliport Ops, San Antonio, Texas
38.200 Camp San Luis Obispo range control Calif
38.475 NTC Dustoff (Old?)
38.500 Bearmat, Ft Irwin Rng Sfty bckup, 29 Palms rng cntrl, Ft Chaffee Rng Cntrl, R-2501 Grnd Scndry
38.600 NTC Coyote Metro (Old?)
38.675 Unknown
38.900 Ft. Bragg (verified 2/2023) Ft Irwin Bicycle Lake Medevac/Rnge Cntrl, Cmp Roberts range control, BYS Desert Radio, Nellis, Ft Carson Range Control, Colorado
40.150 422TES A-10, Nellis
40.350 Camp Pendleton, LongRifle Ground Safety Net, Calif
40.500 Mil Common | SAR
40.600 Helos, Texas
40.800 Red Flag CRWO, Nellis
40.825 Yuma range control, Arizona
41.000 NTC Desert South
41.050 Fort Hunter Liggett range control Calif
41.450 422TES A-10, Nellis
41.500 Army Aviation and NTC ROZ 1
41.650 NTC Desert North
41.700 NXP Ground, Nellis
41.950 Bearmat, Ft Irwin Rng Sfty, 29 Palms rnge cntrl, 422TES A-10, Nellis/R-2501 Grnd Pri, Nellis
46.700 B/2916th AVN UH-60A, Nellis
46.750 Fort Bragg, verified 2/2023
46.775 549CTS Green Flag West, Nellis
46.800 29 Palms range safety Calif
46.850 549CTS Green Flag West, Nellis
47.000 NTC Crash/Rescue (Old?)
48.450 BYS Fire Control, Nellis
49.000 Stockton airport B/1-126th base ops Calif
60.300 BYS Metro, Nellis
61.200 NTC Desert Radio
62.300 BYS Metro, Nellis
62.850 Army Aviation
65.050 National Guard Helos Calif
66.100 R-2502 AIC 'Desert Radio', Nellis
66.300 NTC Desert Radio
71.300 NTC Helipad

[R4002]

This is a killer list.  Thank you Teotwaki. 

VHF low band has been going absolutely nuts lately.  There have been numerous days where I can hear Fort Hood Range Control on 30.450 MHz every day like clockwork.

Yesterday I heard an open mic (carrier) with the 150 Hz tone on 34.150 MHz....going for at least several hours yesterday afternoon.  At the same time, 30.45 FM was loud and clear!   Here are two videos I got of the 34.15 MHz FM signal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbptQoCWlYo

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7pF6Z5ixmo



Another one that is military - not US military but military nonetheless, is the Canadian military beacon YSD on 36.600 MHz FM [CSQ].  It is located at the Canadian Forces Base Suffield in Alberta and "YSD" is the identification for CYSD, which is the Suffield Heliport.  That base's air traffic frequencies are listed as 126.200 MHz AM for VHF and 230.500 MHz AM for UHF.  Range control is on 49.900 MHz FM (listed as 49.9 FM). 

The beacon transmits YSD in Morse code, followed by a short tone burst, a second or two delay, and then the ID repeats itself.  Reminds me of a NDB ID in many ways.   I have no idea how much power its running, but I doubt it's a lot.  Probably less than 50 watts.  Maybe less than 20 watts.  The beacon is listed specifically with the Suffield Heliport - but it's smack in the middle of the 30-88 MHz military FM tactical band (and VHF low band in general).   So I'm thinking it could be used for purposes of training "old school" direction finding or homing using VHF FM military radios, or there's another reasoning I'm missing.

Anyway, it's worth checking that frequency when the band is open.  Open your squelch, 36.6 MHz FM mode.  When the signal is nice and strong, it actually sounds better in AM mode, but it's FM. 

Here are some videos I managed to capture of the YSD radio beacon using handheld radios just today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iOG-Q2uCso

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyaTL6glgYA

[Teotwaki]

Thanks R4002!

Yesterday and today I've had good comms on

30.450  Ft Hood
38.675  Female voice. No idea who the users are
38.900  Ft Bragg
41.500  Local Army helos and Los Alamitos ARB tower

[autovon]

Looking to see if someone might be able to help me out with a request.  My VHF lowband setup is not what it used to be otherwise I'd do this myself.
I have a restored military vehicle complete with the radios and I'd like to be able to have some military comms running through the speaker when at car shows etc.   I'm planning on wiring up a bluetooth speaker into the existing setup.

Next good band opening for someone, it would be great to have maybe 30 minutes of a mp3/wav file of military comms.   Not picky at all, scanning through the band is fine as long as there's around 30 mins of transmissions.   If anyone can help out, I'd sure appreciate it!

[Teotwaki]

Looking to see if someone might be able to help me out with a request.  My VHF lowband setup is not what it used to be otherwise I'd do this myself.
I have a restored military vehicle complete with the radios and I'd like to be able to have some military comms running through the speaker when at car shows etc.   I'm planning on wiring up a bluetooth speaker into the existing setup.

Next good band opening for someone, it would be great to have maybe 30 minutes of a mp3/wav file of military comms.   Not picky at all, scanning through the band is fine as long as there's around 30 mins of transmissions.   If anyone can help out, I'd sure appreciate it!

For the moment try out audio from mil videos on Youtube

examples

https://youtu.be/u19f7_jdyBw

https://youtu.be/V_mlg_mD78M

https://youtu.be/7mPWdLJjDQA

https://youtu.be/KNW7K6LhZIc

https://youtu.be/H7vsU8_bZn8

https://youtu.be/eksdc4UMZU0

[autovon]

Looking to see if someone might be able to help me out with a request.  My VHF lowband setup is not what it used to be otherwise I'd do this myself.
I have a restored military vehicle complete with the radios and I'd like to be able to have some military comms running through the speaker when at car shows etc.   I'm planning on wiring up a bluetooth speaker into the existing setup.

Next good band opening for someone, it would be great to have maybe 30 minutes of a mp3/wav file of military comms.   Not picky at all, scanning through the band is fine as long as there's around 30 mins of transmissions.   If anyone can help out, I'd sure appreciate it!

For the moment try out audio from mil videos on Youtube

examples

https://youtu.be/u19f7_jdyBw

https://youtu.be/V_mlg_mD78M

https://youtu.be/7mPWdLJjDQA

https://youtu.be/KNW7K6LhZIc

https://youtu.be/H7vsU8_bZn8

https://youtu.be/eksdc4UMZU0

Long path delay.  Thanks for the links!

[skeezix]

The past couple of days in the morning (roughly 1330-1500 UTC) have been hearing some military on 30.50 with a tone of 151.4. Don't know who it is, sounds like perhaps training.

Callsigns 14 and 14B.

Also have been scanning 29.7-35.0, but nothing else heard other than this frequency.

[~SIGINT~]

FYI that the squelch tone on military radios is set to 150.0 Hz.

~SIGINT~