500ms tick on 23856u

[CptFourA]

I was scanning the higher frequencies this afternoon seeing as how the sun has been so cooperative lately and I came across something on 23856 usb.

It's a tick every 500ms. The signal is stable and doesn't seem to alter from this pattern. It's very metronome like. I can't seem to find any record of anything being established on this frequency. Any idea's from anyone out there?

It seems to still be transmitting as I'm writing this. I've also posted a recording. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/45572545/500msBeat_23856u_15Oct2011.mp3

Just curious.

Thanks,
Capt4a

[cmradio]

Hmmm, definately too clean for computer rubbish

Peace!

[weaksigs]

Does that signal fade or could it be a local noise?
I listened to your recording but only with the ears
not using spectrogram or the like.

If it doesn't fade you have one clue!

Cheers!

[CptFourA]

I don't believe that it is local noise. It doesn't fade. I'm able to receive it well day and night. It doesn't seem to be an image or birdie or something like that.

I powered just about everything in the house down and still get it. I also can receive it on my Kaito 1103 as well as the Icom 718. I can also receive it on the 1103 about a mile from my house so its not too local.

I also made a recording of it over that last 18 hours and I found that it does deviate from the fast half-second tick/dit that I had heard on shorter observations. It seems to be an impercise though not necessarily random either. At semi-regular intervals a contious tone will occur for x number of seconds. It will then return for a semi-regular dit interval. Though some times are close, other times seem to repeat. Its wierd its not regular but its not random sounding either. Particularly the 30s / 3m 29s / 7s combo that repeats. Any ideas?

Here is what I analyzed from my recording of about 18 hours (first continuous tone captured ~0858z Oct 28th UTC).

Duration		Tone
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 19m 46s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 19m 46s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 19m 47s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 19m 51s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 20m 06s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
00h 18m 39s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 31s		continuous
00h 03m 29s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 07s		continuous
00h 57m 11s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
00h 19m 37s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 30s		continuous
00h 03m 29s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 07s		continuous
00h 56m 04s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 18m 58s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 19m 52s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 19m 55s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 19m 53s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 05s		continuous
01h 19m 57s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 06s		continuous
00h 10m 18s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 31s		continuous
00h 03m 29s		dits (at 500ms)
00h 00m 07s		continuous

 

[Token]

I don't believe that it is local noise. It doesn't fade. I'm able to receive it well day and night. It doesn't seem to be an image or birdie or something like that.

Here is what I analyzed from my recording of about 18 hours (first continuous tone captured ~0858z Oct 28th UTC).

Several clues there.

"It doesn't fade"  Propagation and fading are normal for a signal on HF that travels any distance at all, this means that at the farthest you are still in ground wave.  Pointing towards local.

"I'm able to receive it well day and night"  At that frequency you should absolutely tell a difference between day and night if it is any distance at all.  At night that frequency should shut down to all but direct path.  Again, pointing towards local.

First capture at about 0857z and watched for the next 18 hours.  It kind of depends on your location, but in the US that means you picked it up on almost 24 MHz at between 0200 and 0500 local, before sunrise, definitely a bad time for that freq and any propagation.  You kept it through the daylight hours and until about midnight, definitely uncharacteristic of any distance again.  If in Europe you picked it up in daytime and kept it through the entire next night, again not likely for anything not local.

I would have to say it is something local.  And by local I would say to the visual horizon or a tad more.  It could be local in the neighborhood or it might be 25 – 30+ miles away.

T!