Dasher 13559.88 kHz 2122 UTC 25 Feb 2017

[ChrisSmolinski]

Not sure if this is a beacon, but I have something sending short dashes (or dits) about every half second. The signal is rather strong, S9.

[MDK2]

13560 is a frequency reserved for scientific and industrial use, IIRC. Could it be something of that nature? Being within 120 Hz of that seems possible.

Here's something I can always hear on that frequency. I once posted it on the Mystery Signals board here on HFU.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQh6ReSZ5jA

[ChrisSmolinski]

It's entirely possible it could be related to ISM. I check out this band from time to time, and don't recall hearing it before.

Now at 2243z I am hearing something else around 13560 sending much faster dits, perhaps 10 per second.

[William Hassig]

Just checking in. I live several miles north of a large commercial/industrial park that is located just west of ohare airport. There is a constant stream of weak beeps and squawks coming from that area centered around 13560. They are there 24/7.

[ChrisSmolinski]

I'm in a fairly rural area, but obviously this kind of junk can propagate quite far. Look at the Part 15 beacons  

The fast pulsing is back, heard at 1335z this morning.

[Token]

I have a fast dasher locally on 13559.95 kHz 24 hours a day.  I have heard this sound miles away from anyone and in the middle of the desert.  I chased it for a while, trying to figure out what it was.  A guy I know (hey, I know a guy, who knows a guy), who is a radio guy and who works for the cable company, says the specific sound I am hearing is a security system on their cable.  He did not have, or at least share, details, but he was able to turn it off one day when we were talking on 2 meters.  When he turned it off the signal I was hearing went away.

The signal I am talking about sounds pretty much identical to the video that MDK2 posted.

T!

[Josh]

Some cable systems leak like a sieve, tune to 14317 usb and see if you have a carrier there 24/7. Also, some of the industrial hifer sigs will go off after business hours, others will remain on 24/7 if the place has multiple shifts. If they're there 24/7 you know it's local, and if it keeps regular business hours it's prolly local too.

[ChrisSmolinski]

OK, one of the signals I heard was a bit like MDK2's recording, it might have been a bit faster, but it also had the occasional double beep.

Right now I am hearing the much faster signal, about 20 per second. It's quite strong, no sign of fading, so may well be local QRM.

[MDK2]

OK, one of the signals I heard was a bit like MDK2's recording, it might have been a bit faster, but it also had the occasional double beep.

Mine does the occasional double-beep as well. If you watch the video, there's one at 0:04 and another at 1:04. I remember wondering if it was some kind of time signal back when I shot it, since they seemed to be spaced a minute apart, but obviously beside the fact that the beeps were spaced apart by more than a second, I wasn't measuring the time with any precision.

[Ed H]

Hi Folks,

Just thought I would add to this conversation, by way of an introduction.

I operate a HiFER beacon "PVC" on 13,558.4 kHz, in the San Francisco Bay Area, and monitor the 22 m band relatively frequently.

Recently (earlier this week) I took a small portable set around town with me, just to monitor the beacon signal whilst out walking. Even in a semi-rural area - houses and utility poles, no industry - there were quite a few spots where other signals sprang up, within +/- 2 kHz of the centre frequency of the receiver. These were often very localised - audible for perhaps a couple of hundred feet along the street and rapid dashes etc. where certainly amongst what was heard. By contrast, the beacon was audible except in a couple of descrete places. It is not often we can get up and walk around whilst listening, but in this band, it can be worthwhile to help discriminate signal types.

By the way, any reports of PVC would be most welcome.

Cheers,

Ed