Firedrake Jan 20, 2012 2340Z

[skeezix]

2341Z 13850 45434 S9+
2342Z 12980 55434 S9+!5
2342Z 12370 55434 S9+10
0000Z 4 time pips then all three freqs off the air


No additional broadcasts heard below 12370 to 5 MHz* and nothing above 13850 to 30MHz.


* There were reports of them on 6970 via IRC, however nothing heard here on 6970.



_{Perseus SDR with Wellbrook ALA-1530S+ loop}

[ChrisSmolinski]

Does the Firedrake program content repeat on an hourly basis? That is, is the music heard at say 0917z exactly the same as what was aired at 0817z ?

[Sealord]

...* There were reports of them on 6970 via IRC, however nothing heard here on 6970.

I heard it recently the other morning on 6970 with a good signal, but didn't bother to log it - could not hear any trace of whoever was being jammed though.  I'll post next time I hear it.

[skeezix]

Does the Firedrake program content repeat on an hourly basis? That is, is the music heard at say 0917z exactly the same as what was aired at 0817z ?

Good question. There's a 60 min recording that a guy got off of satellite (which I think is fed to the SW transmitters).
http://www.satdirectory.com/firedrake.html

With this recording, need to confirm if they continue to use the same recording and then if it repeats at the top of the hour.

Would expect it would repeat, as why would they put much effort into a jammer? But then, I'm not a Chinese jammer so perhaps there's some nuance that I can't possibly understand.

[ChrisSmolinski]

Here's where I am going with this... If we know it repeats exactly on the hour, it makes it easier to automagically detect firedrake transmissions with software (if you're so inclined).

I tried the link from that site, but the 60 minute recording doesn't seem to be available for download any longer. Searching the web did produce a site with a copy, however.

[Sealord]

Firedrake on right now on 6970 @ 11:27z - off @ 11:29:37z

I checked the frequency right before the top of the hour ~10:56z with no Firedrake present & then monitored after it left the air from 11:30z to ~11:45z, so I'm guessing this is a half hour jamming block.

Audio (11:28z-11:29z): http://archive.org/download/ShortwaveOddsSodsTransmissions/ChineseFiredrake6970Am1128z-1129z01-23-13.mp3

...checked this morning (1/24) on 6970 and the Firedrake came on right at the top of the hour (11:00z) & ran until 11:29z

[taschenrechner]

Here's an older report that I just found again. I remember reading about it being 55 minutes long and the whole cycle is 60 minutes. Supposedly it's because they will use the 5 minutes to verify that the station being jammed is still transmitting.

http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/prcdragon.pdf

Not sure if this is the case still, though. Or maybe they've revised the cycle to stop every half hour?

Say what you want about it, it's pretty good traditional Chinese music. Lots of good old favorites. Put on the recording in the house every Chinese New Year, actually.