Thursday, January 28, 2010

WebSDR Hits, Mostly Utility #6:

From WebSDR, U. of Twente, Netherlands:

10043.4 CW Unid Time signals? 05/30/09 2115

10051.0 USB NY Volmet. 05/30/09 2118

10066.0 HFDL 06 Hat Yai ARINC, squitters & wkg many aircraft (also hrd) 01/28/10 0045

10075.0 HFDL Squitters. 06/05/09 1953

10088.0 HFDL Squitters. 05/31/09 2251

10100.8 RTTY DDK9, Deutsche Wetterdienst WX, Hamburg, tx at Pinneberg, 50/450 06/02/09 2100

10107.0 ? ? Weird 1-sec bursts 01/25/10 0651

10110.2 STANAG 4285 Unid 88% confidence but no decode/ Encr NATO? 01/25/10 0650

10114.8 ? ? Sounds like 45 baud diddle, 45/1000, no messages 01/25/10 0657

10115.0 ? Unk mode w/4 tones, sounds like slow RTTY but not 01/22/10 0724

10130.0 RTTY Unk 75/850 encr (Center freq) 06/11/09 2324
10130.0 RTTY Unk 50/450 (Center freq) no decode 01/16/10 0647
10130.0 RTTY Unk 45/500 (Center freq) encr 01/22/10 0722

10147.3 Packet Many 30m APRS gateway 06/13/09 2332

14000.0 R3E ART Israeli Intelligence (E10) "Group 78," msg 01/16/10 0700
14000.0 R3E YHF Israeli Intelligence (E10) Callup, something that sounded like "9-2-Foxtrot," two messages in phonetic 5L with voice "message message message" and "end of message." 01/27/10 0730

WebSDR Hits, Mostly Utility: #5

4965.2 STANAG4285 Unid, no decode 01/17/10 0442

4970.0 USB 3 stns in RR(?) using procedures 01/14/10 0701

4996.0 CW RWM, Russia, time pips 01/14/10 0644

5000.0 AM WWV, standard time/frequency stn, CO 01/14/10 0647

5021.0 CW 2 stns Cyrillic QTC 4F groups many fills 01/16/100658

5025.0 AM Radio Rebelde, Cuban mx, annr in SS, amazingly loud! 01/14/10 0641

5953.0 ??? Like 3750.5 01/14/10 0652

7018.0 ??? Center freq of 1000-Hz reversals 01/08/10 2151

7037.9 FSK Packet TA2BBS-4 wkg TA7BB 03/01/09 2016

7038.7 CW SLHFB "D" Sevastopol 01/30/09 0650
7038.8 CW SLHFB "P" Kaliningrad 01/30/09 0659
7038.9 CW SLHFB "S" Severomorsk 01/30/09 0650
7039.0 CW SLHFB "C" Moscow 01/30/09 0650
7039.1 CW SLHFB "A" Astrakhan? 02/03/09 2050

7039.8 CW gx7v, Russian mil, clg: xwr8 xwr8 xwr8 qtc ar, 768 19 23 2306 768 1966 =, then Cyrillic 5F msgs 03/23/09 2022

7040.00 CW AUXA 2 stns, CIS? mil, QSK w/Cyrillic 4F QTC, then "DYYK DE AUXA QTC K" 04/08/09 1710

7054.00 Center freq of 50-baud reversals, sounds military, on frequently, moves +/- 2 kHz, Russian? 03/01/09 2000

7054.85 RTTY Encrypted, no decode 75/200 02/28/09 2019

7098.0 RTTY Center freq, 75/240 no decode 01/25/10 0741

7196.0 ?? Unk 12-band PSK military style mode, tones between messages 01/17/10 0556

Friday, January 22, 2010

Haiti Emergency HF Use Increases

Various sources:

8975.4 USN Link Coordination, Haiti area

14300.0 Andrews Global working hams. Yes, THAT Andrews - really! Also heard working SATERN on 3977.7 LSB.

18012.0 French Air Force

Sunday, January 17, 2010

US Coast Guard Axes Loran-C

At 2000 UTC on 8 Feb, 2010, LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) is dead in the United States. It follows such other systems as Omega, DECCA, and Hyperfix into post-GPS oblivion.

This happened rather quickly, being published in the Federal Register only 10 days ago. It is not much of a surprise, though.

From USCG:

*** Special Notice Regarding LORAN Closure: ***

In accordance with the DHS Appropriations Act, the U.S. Coast Guard will terminate the transmission of all U.S. LORAN-C signals effective 2000Z 08 Feb 2010. At that time, the U.S. LORAN-C signal will be unusable and permanently discontinued. This termination does not affect U.S. participation in the Russian American or Canadian LORAN-C chains. U.S. participation in these chains will continue temporarily in accordance with international agreements. You may read more and download pertinent documents via our LORAN-C page.


More in the April Utility World.

WebSDR Hits, Mostly Utility: #4

3552.0 STANAG 4285 Unid, center at 3553.8, no decode 01/08/10 2219 Again 01/15/10 0317

3577.0 IZ3DVW prop bcn JN55VF 1 watt CW ID IZ3DVW/BEACON 0116/10 0609

3581.5 CW Machine sent 20 wpm code practice QST DE W1AW (ARRL, Newington, CT) 02/19/09 0336 (Listed freq is 3581.5

3583.50 STANAG 4285 Unknown, strong, sync but no decode 03/14/09 1934

3584.6 AM SWBC, YL/NX in EE. ID "This is Bucharest, Radio Romania International" (Freq not listed on RRI web site; possible fqs are 7215 f+3632 kHz, & 9640) 03/07/09 1806

~3585 FAX Unknown fax 120/576, weak, can't stay in sync 03/01/09 1950

3585.0 STANAG 4285 Unknown, short msgs, also voice in non-EE with NATO phonetics, signed "out." 02/19/09 0334

3585.5 ALE Unk, strong, one of several freqs 03/01/09 1958

3586.5 Unid Link-11 (idling) 03/01/09 1956

3587.03 ALE [Call] [from TYMA2 ] [to TXX ] (his BER=22 + SINAD= 2)
3587.6 ALE Unk, different stn, also loud 03/01/09 2010

3593.7 CW SLHFB "D" Sevastopol 02/04/09 0431
3593.8 CW SLHFB "P" Kaliningrad 02/08/09 2142
3593.9 CW SLHFB "S" Severomorsk 02/04/09 0431
3601.5 Unk MPSK Unknown, short msgs, sounds like HFDL but isn't, ~1800 Hz beep at start 03/23/09 2016

3607.0 Unid Link-11 (idling) 01/04/09 0427 (on pretty much nightly)
3610.0 Unid Link-11 (busy) 01/04/09 0427 (same)

3614.42 PSK Unid STANAG 4285, sounds military, no decode 02/28/09 2100

3614.50 CW Unid Cyrillic 5F 03/18/09 0220
3615.00 CW MFWU clg M37L, others, then wkg unheard stn for traffic, sent "QRV," "RPT 4 K," BK, RPT TXT K, also sending "R K" 03/18/09 0238

3618.14 ALE Unk ALE 03/01/09 2014

3699.5 CW "P"-Russian Baltic Fleet, Kaliningrad 01/09/10 0440

3750.5 ??? Center freq of unknown mode. Sounds like STANAG 4285, but isn't. 17 PSK tones spaced 200Hz. Seems a bit wide for amateur. 01/08/10 2143

3756.0 AM 1 beep per second, using slightly swept, harmonic-rich, 600 Hz tone || This is The Pip 01/08/10 2112

Thursday, January 14, 2010

14292 Active w/ Apparent Haiti Activity

Weak signals, can't tell much, and another net uses this frequency, but there has been activity related to the earthquake.

Health and welfare requests are starting to pile up. Internet has answered a few of these, but it's hard to find people.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

WebSDR Hits, Mostly Utility: #3

298.5 MSK Poss DGPS, unknown, no decode 06/14/09 2019

302.0 MSK DGPS, 200 baud 06/14/09
Preamble : 102
Message Type : 9 GPS Partial Correction Set
Station Number : 426 (Gilze Rijen, Netherlands)

303.5 MSK DGPS, 100 baud 06/14/09 2030
Preamble : 102
Message Type : 9 GPS Partial Correction Set
Station Number : 763 (Zeven, Germany)

307.0 MSK ?? weak 06/19/09 2227

308.0 MSK ?? 06/19/09 2227

311.0 CW ID: "LMA" (NDB, Lima, Germany, 51° 22' 15.00" N 006° 23' 42.00" E) 06/14/09 2043

311.1 CW "W" Unknown beacon, weak, seen on Speclab 06/14/09 2050

312.0 MSK DGPS 100 baud 06/14/09 1949
Preamble : 102
Message Type : 9 GPS Partial Correction Set
Station Number : 640 (Oostende, Belgium

312.5 MSK DGPS 200 baud 06/14/09 1953
Preamble : 102
Message Type : 9 GPS Partial Correction Set
Station Number : 425 (Hoek van Holland, Netherlands)

313.5 MSK Unknown, no decode 06/14/09 2001

323.0 CW "ONC" NDB, Charleroi, Belgium 06/14/09 2104

324.0 CW "DP" and long dahs 06/14/09 2100

335.0 CW Unk dasher 06/14/09 2011

411.5 MCW "BET" Very loud NDB, Rheine Bentlage (Air Base?), Germany 06/04/09 2121

406.5 MCW "BOT" loud NDB, Bottrop, Germany 06/14/09 2014

490.0 Unid, sounds like Sitor or fast Baudot, 170 Hz shift, probably European NAVTEX, no decode. 06/01/09 1755

518.0 Unk, Sitor-B NAVTEX in EE, got "ZCZC," 100/170. 06/11/09 2255

1876.70 STANAG 4285 Unknown 01/11/10 2147
1894.70 STANAG 4285 Unknown, no sync or decode. 05/30/09 2133
This whole end of 160 seems to have STANAG 4285 daily.

80 Meters Active At Night for Earthquake

Right now the SATERN night frequency of 3977.7 LSB has traffic pertaining to the Haiti earthquake.

Still No H&W via Amateur

The capability is not in place to answer health and welfare requests, and will not be for quite some time. Typically, rescue and logistics come first.

There is a form available on satern.org for this purpose, or people can try the US State Department at (1) 888-407-4747. Expect it to be quite backed up.

Solar Flux Exceeds 90

Active region 1040, a Cycle 24 spot, has rotated into position to affect Earth. Daily uncorrected solar flux has risen above 90 for the first time in quite a while.

If you thought band conditions were better today, well, that's because they are.

Active Amateur Haiti Earthquake Frequencies

Along with 14265 kHz USB SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Net) we have activity on:

3977.7 (LSB) SATERN alternate
7265.0 (LSB) SATERN alternate, others
14250.0
14300.0 HH6JH, Haiti, has appeared here. Only known active amateur, not in Port-au-Prince. Two known amateur emergency stations in that city, neither has been heard. This freq is 20 meter emergency calling, also maritime mobile net.

In addition, US Air Force and Coast Guard have overflown the area.

Early Haiti Earthquake Active Amateur Frequencies

Confirmed active with earthquake traffic. Hams should not transmit on these unless they have immediate life and safety traffic. FCC has been known to declare emergency protected zones.

3270.0/ 7045.0 (LSB) Regional interisland emergency frequencies

14265.0 SATERN Salvation Army amateur emergency net
**This has been monitored here in California with emergency comm**

The interesting HFLINK (amateur ALE/voice emergency network) has offered its availability, though I know of nothing being found here yet:

HFN net (text/internet/sounding/calling)
3596.0 USB
7102.0 USB
10145.5 USB
14109.0 USB
18106.0 USB
21096.0 USB
24926.0 USB
28146.0 USB

HFL net (emcomm/voice/calling)
3791.0 USB
7185.5 USB
14346.0 USB
18117.5 USB
21437.5 USB
24932.0 USB
28312.5 USB

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Preliminary Haiti Earthquake Scan List

The earthquake is a very serious emergency, and will require a massive international relief effort.

This is a quick extract from the Hurricane Frequency List. It has frequencies that have shown past use in Caribbean disasters. There will, of course, be more. Check news to see which agencies are participating, and look around accordingly.

3815.0 (LSB) Caribbean Net (Alt on 3940 S. FL, 3950 N FL)
3815.0 (LSB) Inter-island 75 meter frequency (24 hr)
3818.0 (LSB) Caribbean
4426.0 USCG, SCN net duplex, ships call on 4134
4724.0 USAF HF-GCS Primary
5400.0 USCG, Puerto Rico
5696.0 USCG air-ground/safety of flight
5732.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN (Scan-1)
6501.0 USCG, SCN net duplex, ships call on 6200
6739.0 USAF HF-GCS Primary
6809.0 FEMA "Foxtrot-21" channel: urban search and rescue, Caribbean relief
7265.8 (LSB) Salvation Army SATERN (Alt) Sat 1630
7527.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-2
7773.5 USCG, Caribbean use
7850.0 Old Caribbean Police Net
8160.0 USCG, Caribbean use
8764.0 USCG, SCN net duplex, ships call on 8240
8912.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-3
8983.0 USCG Air-Ground/ Safety of Flight
8992.0 USAF HF-GCS Primary
10242.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-4
10935.0 USCG, others, in Caribbean disaster ops
11175.0 USAF, HF-GCS Primary
11202.0 US Coast Guard Safety of Flight
11387.0 MWARA CAR net
11396.0 MWARA CAR net
11494.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-5
13089.0 USCG, SCN net duplex, ships call on 12242
13200.0 USAF, HF-GCS Primary
13297.0 MWARA CAR net
13907.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-6
14118.0 'Le Reseau Du Capitaine' Net. Montreal, Canada. In French and English
14185.0 Caribbean emergency frequency
14265.0 Salvation Army SATERN Net Primary
14268.0 UN Radio Readiness Group
14270.0 Red Cross Net
14283.0 Friendly Caribus Connection ("FCC;" a Caribbean net)
14283.0 UN Relief Net
14293.0 Red Cross use
14303.0 ARRL International Assistance & Traffic Net
14313.0 US Coast Guard Amateur Radio Net
14327.0 US Coast Guard Amateur Radio Net
15016.0 USAF HF-GCS Primary
15088.0 USCG Air-Ground safety of flight
15867.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-7
17907.0 MWARA CAR net
18594.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-8
20890.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-9
23214.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-10
25350.0 (ALE/USB) COTHEN Scan-11

Monday, January 11, 2010

WebSDR Hits, Mostly Utility: #2

WebSDR, U of Twente, Netherlands

147.3 DDH47, Deutsche Wetterdienst, ID and WX from Hamburg Meteo. RTTY 50/85, in German, good copy. 06/02/09 2114

153.0 Deutschlandfunk, Donebach, AM longwave broadcasting station 500/250 kW, cfd via match with Internet stream. Also has a low buzz like some kind of data signal @60-80 Hz 01/11/10 2131

162.0 TDF, French longwave broadcast, in French. Identified in-mode. Has a low growly subchannel which is the French time standard station. 06/01/09 2200

198.0 BBC Radio 4, Droitwich, UK, EE AM nx & tx programmes, identified in-mode. (Same XMTR used in WWII to broadcast famous D-Day poem.) ~20-Hz subcarrier pulses for UK electrical load control. 06/01/09 1727

298.5 MSK DGPS? No decode 06/14/09 2019

302.0 MSK DGPS, 200 baud 06/14/09
Preamble : 102
Message Type : 9 GPS Partial Correction Set
Station Number : 426 (Gilze Rijen, Netherlands)

303.5 MSK DGPS, 100 baud 06/14/09 2030
Preamble : 102
Message Type : 9 GPS Partial Correction Set
Station Number : 763 (Zeven, Germany)

307.0 MSK DGPS? weak 06/19/09 2227

308.0 MSK DGPS? 06/19/09 2227

-end part 2-

WebSDR Hits, Mostly Utility: #1

In honor of the WebSDR going back to 7 bands.

All frequencies kHz, all dates US style, all times UTC.

44.2 RTTY? 50?/85 06/05/09 2021
46.0 Mode? Like 68.6 06/05/09 2017
54.0 Mode? Slow multi-tone 06/05/09 2016
57.5 Mode? Like 81.0 06/05/09 2015

60.0 CW MSF, Anthorn, UK, time signals and codes. Successful time/date decode at 1845. 05/30/09 1826

62.6 Mode? Like 68.6 06/05/09 2000 2014

66.6 MCW RBU, Moscow, Russia, standard time/frequency beeps 05/31/09 2212

68.0 Mode? 150-Hz shift stream 06/05/09 2000
68.6 Mode? Multi-tone stream 06/05/09 2000

75.0 CW HBG, Geneva, Switzerland, standard time/frequency beeps. UPDATE: Decoded successfully on 01/13/10 using Clock program that comes with Multipsk.

77.5 AM/PM DCF77, Mainflingen, Germany, time signals and codes. UPDATE: Decoded successfully on 01/13/10 using Clock.

81.0 MSK? Unknown continuous stream, like DGPS. 05/31/09 2156

100.00 Pulse Unk Loran-C, sdr loose timing doesn't permit ID by GRI. 05/30/09 1850

129.1 DCF49-European power grid "ripple control," Mainflingen, Germany, ASCII (7E1?) 200 baud. Idle on 1 tone w/data bursts. FSK, shift 340 Hz. 05/30/09 1930
Station : EFR Berlin
Callsign : DCF49
Transmission site: LW-facility Mainflingen
Radiated Power : 60 kW
Frequencies : 129.1 and 139.0 kHz
Transmission mode: 200 bps ASCII
Modulation : FSK
Control protocol : DIN 19244
Message format : FT 1.2
Service : Long wave Teleswitching

[Basically, a couple of user datagram protocols are used. Subscribers connect to computers, messages queue and automatically go out, for purpose of load management, control of attached devices, etc etc.]

133.2 FSK 85-Hz shift, marker pip in middle, regular cyclic sound, Datatrak vehicle location 06/19/09 2152

135.6 HGA22-European power grid control, Lahihegy, Hungary, ASCII. Idle on one tone w/FSK data bursts. Same purpose as 129.1 and 138.8. Not synced to others. 05/30/09 1930

138.8 DCF39-European power grid control, Burg, Germany, 300-baud ASCII. Idle on 1 tone, FSK data bursts. Same purpose as 129.1 and 135.6. Not synced to others. Possible FSK. 05/30/09 1930

146.5 FSK-Identical to 133.2 06/19/09 2208

-end part 1-

Friday, January 01, 2010

JFX Kagoshima QSL'd in SoCal

Martin Foltz has received an e-QSL from JFX, Kagashima Fishing Radio Station, for a fax fishery chart received at 1500 UTC. This transmission has also been received here, though usually too weak to make much out.

This brings the number of confirmed Japanese fishery radio fax stations received on the US Pacific Coast to four:

JFC Misaki, Kanagawa Prefecture
JFW Fukushima Prefecture
JFX Kagoshima Prefecture
JSC Kagoshima Prefecture (Kyodo News).

JSC uses the old JJC Kyodo frequency of 16971 kHz USB. The others use the common Japanese Fishery Radio frequencies of 6414.5, 8658.0, 16907.5, and 22559.6 kHz USB. As always, FAX dial frequencies are around 1.9 kHz lower than these assigned channel centers.