ITU Monitoring Database Extract #5 (4000-4300)

4000.00 Fishermen J3E French Language
4001.80 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4005.00 Mil F1B 50 Bd
4005.04 ? A1A CW
4008.00 Fishermen J3E
4012.00 Fishermen ? J3E
4012.00 ? F1B 50 Bd
4014.00 R7B
4016.00 ? J3E
4017.00 ? F1B 75 Bd Secure
4017.35 G7D
4020.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4020.00 UVG5 F1B 50 Baud Reversals
4021.00 5ROP [Tac c/s] A1B "XDCJ DE 5ROP SK"
4022.00 Fishermen J3E
4022.00 IDR F1B Italy
4025.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4030.00 Russian Mil J7D 120 Bd MS5
4031.00 "P" A1B [MX]
4031.00 ? J3E Italian Language
4034.00 F1B 50
4040.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4042.00 Mil? F1B 75 Bd
4043.00 Mil? F1B 50 Bd
4044.80 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4050.00 Mil? F1B 50 Bd
4050.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4051.00 P F1B
4055.00 Russian Mil J7D 120 Bd MS5
4057.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4065.00 Fishermen J3E
4067.80 Mil G7D 2400 Bd
4069.80 G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4071.00 Fishermen J3E
4074.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4075.40 Mil F1B 75 Bd
4079.00 RMP A1A Russian CW
4080.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4080.00 Mil J7D 120 Bd MS5
4084.00 Mil J3E
4084.40 Mil F1B Secure
4084.80 ? G7D 2400 Bd
4086.00 ? J7D 120 Bd MS5
4090.00 Fishermen J3E
4093.40 ? G7D 2400 Bd
4094.36 ? F1B 100 Bd Secure
4095.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4098.30 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4109.00 ? J7D 120 Bd MS5
4110.00 Russian Fishermen J3E
4114.40 ? G7D 2400 Bd
4115.60 IDR J3E J2D, 3K00
4117.40 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4128.00 French Fishermen J3E
4135.00 Fishermen J3E
4140.00 French Fishermen J3E
4154.50 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4157.00 Mil J3E Arabic
4161.50 Mil G7D 2400 Bd Data Modem
4166.50 Unid F1B 100/200 FSK/PSK
4185.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4188.50 Ship To (HLF) F1B 100/200 Bd FSK/PSK
4194.50 Ship F1B 200 Bd
4197.00 ? F1B 75 Bd Secure
4199.00 ? J7D 120 Bd
4200.00 Fishermen J3E
4202.97 ? F1B 40.5 Bd RTTY
4205.00 ? G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4206.00 PY 14 / ?PZA J3E
4207.50 219 1000 Lyngby R. F1D DSC
4207.50 366 9995 CAMSLANT F1D DSC
4207.50 366 9998 New Orleans F1D DSC
4207.50 271 1000 Istanbul F1D DSC
4207.50 366 9997 Miami F1D DSC
4207.50 366 9991 Boston F1D DSC
4207.51 237 1000 Olympia R. F1D DSC
4208.00 Unidentified J3E In Russian; DSC band
4210.50 UFZ F1B
4210.50 UFL F1B
4210.50 TAH (ISTANBUL) F1B 100 Bd SITOR MODE B
4210.50 A9M (HAMALA) F1B 100 Bd SITOR MODE A
4210.50 IAR (ROMA) F1B 100 Bd SITOR MODE A
4212.00 IDR3I/IDR2I F1B
4212.00 UGC (ST PETERSBURG) F1B 100 Bd SITOR MODE A
4212.00 UDB (KHOLMSK) F1B 100 Bd SITOR MODE A
4212.50 XSV F1B
4212.92 WLO Mobile F1B TOR 170Hz 100Bd
4213.50 NOJ F1B
4213.50 IDR3I F1B
4214.00 IGJ/IDR Roma F1B Baudot 850Hz 75Bd
4214.50 CBV F1B
4215.00 XSG F1B
4216.00 TAH (ISTANBUL) F1B 100 Bd SITOR MODE A
4216.00 XSG (SHANGHAI RADIO) F1B 100 Bd SITOR MODE A
4217.00 UFH F1B
4218.50 LZW (VARNA) F1B 100 Bd SITOR MODE A
4218.50 XSG Shanghai R. F1B
4219.00 TAH (ISTANBUL) F1B 100 Bd SITOR MODE A
4223.00 Mil F1B 100 Bd
4225.00 No C/S given (WNU) F1B GlobeWireless [Mkr]
4227.00 IGJ J7D
4227.00 IDR8 (ROMA) G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4230.00 PBC94 J7D
4230.00 Unid G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4233.80 RFLIE G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4234.96 NMF Boston F1C Fax 120rpm IOC 576
4238.00 VTP Visakhapatnam A1A Indian Ny
4240.20 G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4242.00 Unid J3E Spx in english
4243.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd
4243.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
4243.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd
4244.00 DAO4A (Kiel) F1B 100 Bd GlobalLink
4250.00 CIT A2A 392Hz
4250.50 HEB24 Bern F1B GlobalLinkNtwk
4251.00 French Fishermen J3E
4255.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4259.00 No C/S given (SAB) F1B GlobeWireless, Goteborg
4259.00 XSG A1A
4262.00 No C/S given (LFI) F1B Globe Wireless, Rogaland
4262.00 HEC/LFI/9MG Berne R F1B GlobaLink
4262.00 No C/S given (LFI) F1B Globe Wireless, Rogaland
4265.20 DAO Kiel Mail F1B GlobalLinkNtwk
4267.90 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4270.00 PCD2 H3E [E10]
4270.85 CFH (Halifax) F1C Meteo FAX 120 RPM
4271.00 Halifax R. F1B Baudot 800Hz 75Bd
4279.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4280.00 PBB Den Helder F1B Baudot 850Hz 75Bd
4280.00 PBC34 Goree Island F1B Baudot 850Hz 75Bd
4282.96 XSV Tianjin R. A1A QSA
4283.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4286.00 Beacon? A1A Repeated H
4290.40 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
4296.80 FUE (Brest) G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285

Air Recon Taskings for Saturday 8/22

000
NOUS42 KNHC 211430
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1030 AM EDT FRI 21 AUGUST 2009
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 22/1100Z TO 23/1100Z AUGUST 2009
TCPOD NUMBER.....09-085

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. HURRICANE BILL
FLIGHT ONE -- TEAL 71
A. 22/1800Z
B. AFXXX 1203A BILL
C. 22/1200Z
D. 34.6N 68.8W
E. 22/1600Z TO 22/2030Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO -- TEAL 72
A. 23/0600Z, 1200Z
B. AFXXX 1303A BILL
C. 23/0400Z
D. 38.6N 67.6W
E. 23/0530Z TO 23/1200Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. OUTLOOK FOR SUCCEEDING DAY: A FIX AT 23/1800Z.

II. PACIFIC REQUIREMENTS
1. NEGATIVE RECONNAISSANCE REQUIREMENTS.
2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK.....NEGATIVE.
JWP
5

ITU Monitoring Database Extract #4 (80M Utility)

Keep in mind that various portions of the 75/80 meter band are shared in much of the world, and so most of these utilities are probably not "intruders" to the amateur spectrum. The band gets especially heavy utility use in Europe.

3500.00 "2016" J7D ALE
3530.00 Russian Navy F1B Idles 36.6/50 Bd
3532.00 Mil B7D Link-11
3553.80 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3555.00 Fishermen J3E
3555.80 Mil F1B 149.55 Bd ARQ
3560.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
3572.00 PDK33 G1D 4 Phase QPSK DGPS
3578.96 DK0WCY (Kiel) A1B AT Propagation Beacon
3593.70 D Beacon A1A Morse [MX]
3593.90 S Beacon A1A Morse [MX]
3608.00 ? F1B 50 Bd RTTY
3626.50 FDI22 F1B 50 Bd ITA2
3676.00 ? F1B Secure
3681.00 Mil A1A 5 LTR GPS
3688.00 Mil A1A
3690.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
3699.50 P Beacon A1A CW Marker
3699.50 Mil? F1B 50 Bd
3699.50 P A1A CW [MX]
3705.00 ? A1A Letters
3712.00 Mil B7D Link-11
3731.50 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3736.00 Russia? J7D 120 Bd MS5
3756.00 The 'Pip' A2X Status Monitor [XT/S30]
3764.40 PBB F1B
3764.41 PBH F1B
3764.42 PBA F1B
3772.00 P Beacon A1A Russian Mil
3782.00 CTP (Ories) F1B 75 Bd ITA2
3787.50 FDI22 F1B 50 Bd ITA2
3800.00 Fishermen J3E
3802.50 Mil J7D 125 Bd (ALE?)
3811.00 ZMLG A1A Mil CW
3813.00 Fishermen J3E
3813.50 ? B7D 75 Bd
3814.49 FDI22 (Narbonne) F1B 50 Bd ITA2
3815.00 Mil G7D 44.44 Bd 39 TONE
3822.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3824.00 ? J7D 120 Bd
3824.50 ? J7D 120 Bd MS5
3825.00 Dutch Fishermen J3E North Sea
3831.00 Cyrano J3E
3840.00 YHF R3E [E10]
3843.00 Dutch Fishermen J3E North Sea
3843.80 Fishing? F1B 100 Bd Secure
3843.81 ? F1B 46.2 Bd
3855.00 DDH3 (Hamburg) F1C Meteo Fax 120RPM
3857.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3864.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3870.00 Mil G7D STANAG 4285
3881.04 FAV22 A1A French Morse Practice
3890.00 UQB A1A Russia
3894.00 RFI A1A Russia
3898.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3900.00 Reykjavik J7D HFDL 1800 Bd
3902.00 Fishermen J3E
3905.00 Spanish Fisherman J3E
3906.50 ? F1B 100 Bd
3916.50 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3955.00 HCJB A3E Ecuador

ITU Monitoring Database Extract #3

These extracts are maybe a tenth of the information in the ITU monitoring database, which is copyright and way too big for this blog anyway. Some of the monitoring stations are better than others, and some of the information is just plain wrong.

I pass along the stuff I find interesting as someone's educated guess, not as the absolute truth.

The sheer bulk of this and any other attempts that have been made at logging everything found on HF should permanently destroy the myth that "There's nothing left on short wave utility."

3340.00 RIO4 F1B
3340.02 UZC2 F1B Call sign in F1A
3361.50 FTJ2 H3E [E10]
3366.00 ? F1B 50 Bd Revs
3386.00 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3412.95 Shannon Volmet R3E
3413.00 Shannon Radio J3E VOLMET
3420.00 Fishermen J9W Scrambled Speech
3435.50 Fishing J3E
3458.00 ? J3E Russian Language
3465.00 French Pirate J3E Non-Conformity RR5
3470.00 Fishing? J9W Scrambled Speech
3475.00 Spanish Fishermen J3E
3476.00 Shanwick Radio J3E Clg Gander
3485.00 VFG J3E Gander VOLMET
3485.00 WSY 70 J3E New York VOLMET
3487.00 Fishermen J3E
3494.00 Stockholm Radio J3E LDOC

Awesome Photo of Bill from ISS

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/e20_bill.html

Air Recon Taskings for Friday 8/21

000
NOUS42 KNHC 201530
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1130 AM EDT THU 20 AUGUST 2009
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 21/1100Z TO 22/1100Z AUGUST 2009
TCPOD NUMBER.....09-084

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. HURRICANE BILL
FLIGHT ONE -- TEAL 74
A. 21/1200Z
B. AFXXX 0803A BILL
C. 21/0645Z
D. BUOY DROP MISSION
E. 21/1000Z TO 21/1500Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO -- TEAL 72
A. 21/1800Z
B. AFXXX 0903A BILL
C. 21/1330Z
D. 27.8N 66.5W
E. 21/1600Z TO 21/2130Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT THREE -- NOAA 49
A. 22/0000Z
B. NOAA9 1003A BILL
C. 21/1730Z
D. NA
E. NA
F. 41,000 TO 45,000 FT

FLIGHT FOUR -- TEAL 70
A. 22/0600Z
B. AFXXX 1103A BILL
C. 22/0100Z
D. 30.8N 68.1W
E. 22/0400Z TO 22/0830Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. OUTLOOK FOR SUCCEEDING DAY: CONTINUE 12 HRLY FIXES.
A POSSIBLE G-IV MISSION FOR 23/0000Z.

II. PACIFIC REQUIREMENTS
1. NEGATIVE RECONNAISSANCE REQUIREMENTS.
2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK.....NEGATIVE.
JWP

ITU Monitoring Database Extract #2

Last one for a bit - it takes time formatting this stuff (so Blogger can strip it again).

3230.0 Unid G1D 200 Bd PSK
3232.0 Sardinia G1D 100 Bd BPSK
3234.0 RMP A1A Russia
3239.81 Unid F1B 50 Bd RTTY
3250.15 Unid G1D 100 Bd MSK
3252.5 Unid J7D 120 Bd MS5
3259.8 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3261.0 Unid A1A CW
3264.4 Unid J2D SAB, Globe Wireless, Goteborg
3264.4 Unid F1B SAB, channel marker
3267.0 Unid A3E Hispanic language
3269.0 Fishermen J3E
3270.0 MIW2 H3E E10
3270.0 ULX2 H3E E10
3270.8 Unid J7B Poss. Jammer
3272.0 Unid A3E Non-conformity rr.5
3276.0 Mil A1A CW Tactical c/s
3279.0 Unid A1A CW 5ltr gps
3282.0 Unid J3E 2 Males, German Language
3282.0 Unid F1B 50 Bd reversals
3287.0 Unid A1A CW
3289.0 GFA21 G7D STANAG 4285
3292.0 Unid F1B 75 Bd RTTY
3293.15 Unid G7D
3296.0 ? F1B 50 Bd RTTY
3296.0 Unid J3E Pirate?
3298.81 Unid F1B 86 Bd ARQ-E CRC4
3299.99 Unid F1B 50 Bd
3300.0 RUU76 F1B
3300.0 EUH87 F1B 100 BAUDS
3302.8 Mil G7D 2400 BD STANAG 4285
3305.1 Mil? G7D
3307.9 ? J7B
3308.0 Mil G7D 2400 BD STANAG 4285
3312.0 Unid F1B
3312.0 Mil J7D Link-11
3315.0 Unid A3E
3316.0 ? F1B
3319.0 * J7D Link-11
3319.99 Unid A3E
3328.8 TPN3 G1D 100 Bd DPSK
3330.0 CHU R3E Canadian Time Standard
3331.2 ? G1D 100 Bd DPSK
3332.2 Unid F1B Globe Wireless
3333.0 Fishermen J3E 2 males
3334.0 ? J9W Scrambled Speech
3334.0 F1B
3334.97 Unidentified A3E
3335.0 G7D
3335.0 Fishermen J3E
3335.0 Radio East Sepik R3E Pidgin
3336.0 Fishermen J3E
3336.94 Unid A1A
3339.0 LDBO A1A CW Tactical C/S
3340.0 RIO4 F1B Russian
3340.02 UZC2 F1B Call sign in F1A
3341.0 Unid A1A Mil CW
3341.0 Unid J3E Voice

ITU Monitoring Database Extract #1

This is the first in an irregular series of extracts from the International Telecommunication Union monitoring database.

This database, distributed in .dbf and .pdf formats, is a list of HF receptions by several participating monitoring stations. There are many thousands of intercepts logged here, some more reliable than others. If nothing else, they debunk the myth that "There's nothing left on HF."

Nothing had been posted from this program since April of this year. This changed on August 18, when more of 2009 was added. The full data is available at the ITU Monitoring site.

---

Freq...Traffic........Mode..Remarks

2870.0 Spanish Fishermen J3E 2 Males
2872.0 Gander/Shanwick J3E Aero
2899.0 Gander/Shanwick J3E Aero
2946.0 Fishermen J3E 2 Males
2962.0 Santa Maria J3E Aero
2967.0 Fishermen J9W Scrambled speech
2971.0 Shanwick radio J3E
3000.0 Unid J3E Fishermen?
3013.5 Fishermen J3E Spanish language
3015.0 Fishermen J3E Dutch language
3016.0 Shanwick Radio J3E Aero
3016.0 New York Radio J3E Aero
3016.0 Santa Maria Radio J3E Aero
3052.0 Unid A1A
3055.0 Fishermen J3E
3066.0 Mil J7D Link-11
3108.0 Unid J3E Russian language
3116.0 Unid J3E Russian language
3140.0 Fishermen J3E
3145.0 Fishermen J3E
3150.0 Israeli Intelligence PCD H3E E10
3150.0 French Fishermen J3E French language
3150.0 H3E Clandestine
3156.01 Unidentified A1A CW
3159.5 Unid F1B 100/200 Bd FSK/PSK
3163.0 Unid J7D 120 Bd MS5
3166.0 ? J9W Scrambled Speech
3174.96 Unid F1B 96 Bd
3182.0 ? J9W Scrambled Speech
3184.0 Unid G7X
3194.0 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3223.0 Mil G7D 2400 Bd STANAG 4285
3224.0 Mil F1B 75 Bd RTTY
3226.0 XPK G1D 125 Bd ALE
3226.0 OYA25 A2B

Hurricane Bill Advisory #18 [Bill is HUGE!]

000
WTNT33 KNHC 192030
TCPAT3
BULLETIN
HURRICANE BILL ADVISORY NUMBER 18
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL032009
500 PM AST WED AUG 19 2009

...BILL REMAINS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE...NOW MOVING NORTHWESTWARD...

INTERESTS IN THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS AND BERMUDA SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF BILL.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA IN THE UNITED STATES...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.

AT 500 PM AST...2100 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE BILL WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 19.8 NORTH...LONGITUDE 57.6 WEST OR ABOUT 335 MILES... 535 KM...NORTHEAST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS AND ABOUT 970 MILES...1565 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF BERMUDA.

BILL IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 20 MPH...32 KM/HR...AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT DAY OR SO WITH A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST FORECAST BY LATE FRIDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 135 MPH...215 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. BILL IS A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

BILL IS A LARGE TROPICAL CYCLONE. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES...140 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 230 MILES...370 KM.

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT WAS 947 MB...27.96 INCHES.

LARGE SWELLS ASSOCIATED WITH BILL WILL BE IMPACTING THE ISLANDS OF THE NORTHEAST CARIBBEAN SEA DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO. LARGE SWELLS ASSOCIATED WITH BILL SHOULD ALSO BEGIN TO AFFECT BERMUDA AND PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN COAST OF THE UNITED STATES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.

...SUMMARY OF 500 PM AST INFORMATION...
LOCATION...19.8N 57.6W
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...135 MPH
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NORTHWEST OR 305 DEGREES AT 20 MPH
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...947 MB

THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 1100 PM AST.

$$
FORECASTER BLAKE

Air Recon Taskings for Thursday 8/20

000
NOUS42 KNHC 191500
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1100 AM EDT WED 19 AUGUST 2009
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 20/1100Z TO 21/1100Z AUGUST 2009
TCPOD NUMBER.....09-083

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. HURRICANE BILL
FLIGHT ONE -- TEAL 70
A. 20/1800Z
B. AFXXX 0403A BILL
C. 20/1430Z
D. 22.5N 62.0W
E. 20/1600Z TO 20/2030Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO -- NOAA 49
A. 21/0000Z
B. NOAA9 0503A BILL
C. 20/1730Z
D. NA
E. NA
F. 41,000 TO 45,000 FT

FLIGHT THREE -- TEAL 73
A. 21/0000Z
B. AFXXX 0603A BILL
C. 20/1730Z
D. NA
E. NA
F. 24,000 TO 30,000 FT

FLIGHT FOUR -- TEAL 71
A. 21/0600Z
B. AFXXX 0703A BILL
C. 21/0200Z
D. 24.4N 64.4W
E. 20/0400Z TO 20/0830Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. OUTLOOK FOR SUCCEEDING DAY: CONTINUE 12 HRLY FIXES.
A POSSIBLE G-IV MISSION FOR 22/0000Z.

II. PACIFIC REQUIREMENTS
1. NEGATIVE RECONNAISSANCE REQUIREMENTS.
2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK.....NEGATIVE.
JWP

STS-128 Launch Set for 8/25, 0536 UTC

The Discovery launch target is early morning on August 25, less than a week from today.

NASA has determined after study of the foam shedding problems on the External Tank that the vehicle is safe to fly. One open issue remains, but the electronic unit involved has been replaced and tested, and the issue will most likely close on the 23rd.

This is another mission to the ISS. It will last 13 days and deliver equipment and supplies.

Participants are:

CDR: Rick Sturckow
PLT: Kevin Ford
MS: Pat Forrester, Jose Hernandez, Danny Olivas, Christer Fuglesang (ESA)
ISS Crew: Nicole Stott.

Stott is replacing Tim Kopra, who is finishing his ISS mission. He will return home on Discovery.

Air Recon Taskings for Tuesday/ Wednesday

53rd Weather Recon "Hurricane Hunters" are flying two missions a day into Bill, which is now a high Category 2. Ana taskings have been canceled. NOAA's P-3 and Gulfstream IV are beginning frequent research flights into Bill.

TEAL aircraft are often heard on US Air Force HF-GCS, and also making morale or logistical patches on Air Force MARS (13927 kHz USB).

NOAA uses normal civil aircraft frequencies for oceanic air control. Their Gulfstream IV flies at 45,000 feet, while the NOAA P-3 and 53rd WRS WC-130Js operate at 10,000.

Here are the two latest TCPODs (Tropical Cyclone Plans Of the Day):

000
NOUS42 KNHC 181530
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1130 AM EDT TUE 18 AUGUST 2009
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 19/1100Z TO 20/1100Z AUGUST 2009
TCPOD NUMBER.....09-082

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. HURRICANE BILL
FLIGHT ONE -- TEAL 71
A. 19/1800Z
B. AFXXX 0203A BILL
C. 19/1530Z
D. 18.8N 56.5W
E. 19/1700Z TO 19/2130Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO -- TEAL 72
A. 20/0600Z
B. AFXXX 0303A BILL
C. 20/0400Z
D. 20.6N 59.0W
E. 19/0500Z TO 19/0930Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. OUTLOOK FOR SUCCEEDING DAY: A FIX AT 20/1800Z

3. REMARKS:
A. AN 18/1800Z TASKING ON BILL WAS ADDED.
B. THE P-3 AND THE G-IV WILL FLY FOUR MORE TWO-PLANE RESEARCH MISSIONS INTO BILL DEPARTING FROM TBPB [Grantley Adams Airport, Barbados] AT 18/2000Z, 19/0800Z, 19/2000Z, AND 20/0800Z.
C. 18/0000Z, 0600Z, AND 1200Z TASKING REQUIREMENTS FOR ANA WERE CANCELED BY NHC AT 17/2010Z.
D. 18/1800Z, 19/0000, 19/0600Z AND 19/1200Z TASKING ON ANA CANCELED AT 18/1110Z.

II. PACIFIC REQUIREMENTS
1. NEGATIVE RECONNAISSANCE REQUIREMENTS.
2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK.....NEGATIVE.
SEF/JWP

--------

000
NOUS42 KNHC 171545
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1145 AM EDT MON 17 AUGUST 2009
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 18/1100Z TO 19/1100Z AUGUST 2009
TCPOD NUMBER.....09-081

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. TROPICAL DEPRESSION ANA
FLIGHT ONE -- TEAL 70
A. 18/1800Z,19/0000Z
B. AFXXX 0402A ANA
C. 18/1500Z
D. 21.5N 75.0W
E. 18/1700Z TO 19/0000Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO -- TEAL 71
A. 19/0600Z,1200Z
B. AFXXX 0502A ANA
C. 19/0200Z
D. 23.0N 78.0W
E. 19/0500Z TO 19/1200Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. OUTLOOK FOR SUCCEEDING DAY: POSSIBLE 3-HRLY FIXES 0N ANA BEGINNING AT 19/1500Z. A FIX AT 19/1800Z AND 20/0600Z ON HURRICANE BILL.

3. REMARKS: NOAA WILL BEGIN FLYING 5 RESEARCH MISSIONS IN A ROW ON HURRICANE BILL AT 18/0800Z WITH THE P-3 AND G-IV. TAKEOFFS WILL BE EVERY 12 HOURS.


II. PACIFIC REQUIREMENTS
1. NEGATIVE RECONNAISSANCE REQUIREMENTS.
2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK.....NEGATIVE.
JWP/SEF

Hurricane Time!

After a slow start, three named storms popped up in a two day period. Ana is pretty much gone, Claudette is now a depression causing heavy rain in the Southeastern US, and Bill is a rapidly strengthening hurricane. Bill's the one we have to watch.

The Hurricane Frequency List is under revision. There won't be major changes this year.

Night of Nights X Videos!

These have been sent to YouTube by Paul Shinn.

The first one is "DA" Stoops, the first female telegrapher in the US commercial Morse service, proving the great ones never lose it. She runs off the closing message on a Vibroplex bug and makes it sound like music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a4scmlC7tI

---

Off in the distance, a large transmitter building vibrates in time with the keying. This is the upstairs. There's another whole floor where the MW equipment lives. The RF practically comes out of your computer screen. Check the huge bank of Henry 5K commercial rigs, and also the older units that have been restored and returned to service. The MRHS has to have the best transmitter department anywhere to get this old station humming like this again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJMMYriZ0WQ

---

WWII vintage Press Wireless HF transmitter used for KFS on 12695.5 kHz. No sound. Put a mike next to the biggest air cooled rig you can secure admission to, crank the gain to 11, and you've got it. This old rig and another like it were rescued from the old Palo Alto site, and restored at Bolinas by the MRHS engineers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIAWEw3C3X0

W1AW To Add New Digital Modes

From The ARRL Letter/American Radio Relay League:

* W1AW to Add New Digital Modes to Transmission Schedule:

Effective August 17, W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, will replace its AMTOR and ASCII transmissions with PSK31 and MFSK16, respectively. RTTY (Baudot) will continue to be the first digital mode used in the transmission schedule. The frequencies used by W1AW for all its digital transmissions will remain the same. "All regular 6 PM and 9 PM (Eastern Time) digital transmissions will begin with RTTY," said W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q. "PSK31 and MFSK16 will be sent as time allows. The Tuesday and Friday Keplerian data bulletins will be sent using RTTY and PSK31." The W1AW operating schedule -- complete with times and frequencies -- can be found on the ARRL Web site.

STS-127 Downrange Ops

Weak USB here on 9043.0 kHz, sounds like Cape Radio.

Freedom Star reported on 9132 and 9043 by Jon in Florida.

STS-127 Made It!

Presumably everyone knows by now that the 6th time did it, and Endeavour is on-orbit. Keep listening as the Booster Recovery Vessels do their jobs downrange.

STS-127 Still Go

The STS-127 count is in its final T-9 minute hold, which will last another half hour or so. Launch time is scheduled for 2203:10 UTC.

Weather now only has a 10% chance of preventing launch.

Poor STS-127 Is Trying Again

BTW, this is not the record for scrubs. They've scrubbed 5 times (leak, leak, lightning, weather, weather). Two earlier missions both had 6.

Tanking is complete, and the count is in the scheduled T-2 hour hold. Weather has a 60 per cent chance of allowing launch, but KSC is currently under a lightning watch. Barring further storms, this should expire at 2000 UTC. Launch is scheduled for 2203.

Poor STS-127 Rescheduled for Wednesday 2203 UTC

Today's attempt was canceled due to poor weather conditions within the launch area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Anvil clouds and storm cells containing lightning flared up toward the end of the countdown, violating stringent launch safety rules.

A postponement briefing will air live on NASA Television at 8 p.m. EDT this evening. (That's in about 7 minutes.)

Poor STS-127 Scrubs Again

Thunderstorms came up, and that was that.

The next launch opportunity is not yet known.

Poor STS-127 Tries Again Today

Poor STS-127 has been postponed 4 times now (hydrogen leak, hydrogen leak, lightning, weather).

They're trying again today. Launch target is 6:51 EDT (2251 UTC).

At this moment, tanking is complete. Astronauts are suiting up.

The weather has a 60% chance of preventing launch. [Corrected from 80% after the weather briefing, but now there are storms forming in the area, so that might be optimistic.]

KPH Now On 426 kHz

I don't know if the band improved at night or they did something, but suddenly a signal that had been buried in the noise is running s3 - s5 with perfect CW copy of a maritime newsletter.

WLO Finally Heard

WLO, Mobile Radio/Shipcom, AL, is now audible here on 8658.0, 12992.0, and 16968.5 kHz CW with a QSX marker. All other freqs are nil here. Meanwhile KPH is running weather (hurricane carlos advisories) with such good signal and keying that even my computer has 100% copy.

Oops! (KPH also on 6 MHz)

Somehow I forgot that one. Figures to blast into here. Sure enough, on 6477.5 kHz CW at 0122 UTC, it's in here s9 with the CQ wheel and that good old solid KPH keying we're all so used to.

KFS on Night of Nights X

KFS was weak and testing around on 12695.5 kHz CW, then it put on a wheel and suddenly jumped to a solid S9 here at 0110. Currently it is sending a QSX marker on the wheel. Love hearing that old call again. You can practically dance to it. dahdidah dididahdit dididit dahdidah dididahdit dididit

MMMMMMMMMM.

Night of Nights X is Underway

KPH is being received on all frequencies here in Southern California. It is running a QSX wheel and various messages in good old Morse code.

At 0013 my reception was:

4247 s9
8642 s9+30
12808.5 s9+20
17016.8 s3
22477.5 in the noise, mostly copyable.

The low strengths on the two highest frequencies are probably due to skip zones, as has been experienced in the past.

Now get your computer or brain in gear and copy some Morse!

STS-127 Scrubs Again

Worsening weather caused a 24-hour scrub before the count would have resumed at the T-9 hold. Florida's notorious afternoon thunderstorms strike again.

Next opportunity is at 2251 UTC tomorrow. As Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part.

Now, let there be code.

STS-127 Holding At T-9

This is a planned built-in hold which will last approximately 45 minutes. A rapidly developing weather system inside the radius needed for a return to launch site abort is currently no go. There might or might not be any improvement before the launch window closes.

STS-127 Still on Time

Holding at T-20 minutes. Weather is fine but there's a chance it might violate criteria at launch time.

I just heard Cape Radio making checks with an unknown station.

Night of Nights X Tonight

CW fans shouldn't forget the yearly Night of Nights, when the end of US commercial Morse code is celebrated (or is it mocked?) by an ether full of the dits and dahs just like it used to be when people communicated with ships instead of machines.

Fun starts at zero zulu (0000 UTC) tonight (or at least night in the USA). Vintage equipment is used, with original wire antennas, and this stuff can put it out. Copy should be possible in all kinds of places.

Full details are here:
http://www.radiomarine.org/non10.html

STS-127 Count Resumes

STS-127 came out of the built-in hold around 2100 UTC. Crew is getting ready to enter the vehicle. Weather shows only a 30% chance of preventing launch.

So far no reports of Booster Recovery Vessels. I continue to monitor 10780 kHz, Cape Radio primary, but so far nothing.

STS-127 Still On Time

Tanking was completed around 1600 UTC, and no leaks were found. NASA TV coverage begins at 1800 UTC though a picture of the pad is up right now. Downrange operations should be on the radio, though I haven't seen any frequencies yet.

STS-127 Delayed Until Sunday 7:13 PM EDT

Lightning strikes around Pad 39A were severe enough to scrub the STS-127 launch. NASA video shows one direct hit to the mast atop the gantry tower. Catenary wires conducted the juice to ground, but systems need to be checked for electrostatic surge damage.

New launch target is Sunday at 7:13 PM EDT (2313 UTC). The Mission Management Team will meet at 8 a.m. Sunday to evaluate the latest data. Fueling of the external fuel tank is scheduled to begin at 9:48 a.m. Sunday.

STS-127 Count On Schedule

No major issues were mentioned at today's mission status briefing. The launch remains scheduled for 7:39 PM EDT (2339 UTC). The Rotating Service Structure will be rolled back at 11 PM EDT (0300 UTC), and tanking will commence around 10:14 AM EDT tomorrow (1414 UTC).

Florida's summer stormy weather has a 60% chance of preventing launch.

STS-127 Countdown Begins

STS-127 launch is targeted for 7:39 PM EDT (2339 UTC) on Saturday, July 11.

Updated Night of Nights X Frequency List

Dean, W9WGV, was nice enough to assemble all this into a nice table. All frequencies, of course, are good old Morse code in CW or MCW:

MRHS Night of Nights X
Courtesy of Dean Lewis/W9WGV

kHz.......Station.........Ship Calling
426.......KPH, KSM..........500.0
488.......KLB.................4184.0
500.......KPH, KSM, KLB..6276.0
2055.5...WLO...............8368.0
2063.0*..KLB...............12552.0
3550.0...K6KPH............16736.0
4247.0...KPH................22280.5
4343.0...WLO
6474.0...KSM
6477.5...KPH
7050.0...K6KPH
8582.5*..KLB
8642.0...KPH
8658.0...WLO
12695.5..KFS
12808.5..KPH
12992.0..WLO
12993.0..KSM
14050.0..K6KPH
16968.5..WLO
17016.8..KPH
17026.0..KFS (after 0430Z)
22477.5..KPH
* Tentative
KLB might not use HF this year.

-----------

It might also be worthwhile to give a listen for CWA, Cerritos Radio in Uruguay. While this station is not directly participating in Night of Nights, it is one of the few CW coastal stations still taking traffic and sending weather/MSI information (in Spanish).

Morgan, AL0I, reports their active frequencies as:

421.5 kHz, A1A, A2A
4346, 8602, 12750, 17230 kHz, A1A

These are +/- around 300 Hz, and skeds don't necessarily start right on the hour. Listed times for MSI and weather are 0000, 1400, and 1900 UTC.

---------------

US Coast Guard stations will not participate this year.

---------------

Remember, this is a public event. If you are in the area you are invited to join MRHS at the RCA receive site, 17000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd in the Point Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco. If using a computer mapping program add "Inverness" after the address above even though the station is well beyond that town. (R. Dillman)

STS-127 Gets Go for July 11

Following the successful completion of tanking tests, NASA has set a launch target for STS-127. Technicians replaced parts on the external tank and no leaks were found after it was filled.

Endeavour's launch on the STS-127 mission is targeted for 7:39 PM EDT (2339 UTC) on Saturday, July 11. The 16-day mission to the International Space Station will feature five EVAs. These will complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

Announcing CW Night of Nights X on July 12!

Can you believe it's been ten years since the first Night of Nights at the Maritime Radio Historical Society and US National Park Service's restored coastal maritime station KPH?

As usual, a number of old CW coastal stations will participate, and some will QSL. KPH itself QSLs on authentic RCA radiogram blanks that were in the station when it was re-occupied, usually typing them out with a telegrapher's "mill."

Here's this year's announcement from Richard Dillman:

The annual Maritime Radio Historical Society "Night of Nights" event is less than [two weeks] away.

This will be the tenth annual Night of Nights!

Every year on 12 July (US time) many famous coast stations return to the air to commemorate what was then thought to be the last commercial Morse stations in the USA.

Since then MRHS coast station KSM has taken to the air and three other commercial coast stations have received licenses for operation in the MF band (KNE, KDR and WFT). Historic ships have reactivated their radio consoles and are active on MF and HF.

The purpose of Night of Nights is to emphasize the objective of the MRHS: to preserve the skills, traditions and culture of the men and women who came before us and who made the profession of radiotelegrapher one of honor and skill.

This year stations KPH, and KSM will be on the air. We anticipate that KFS will be on the air as well. We hope that US Coast Guard stations NMC, NOJ and NMN will join us as they did last year.

Amateur station K6KPH will guard 3550, 7050 and 14050kc for reception reports.

Preliminary information has been posted on the MRHS Web site: http://www.radiomarine.org

Check back often for updated information as it becomes available.

If you would like to receive announcements like this and are not already a member of our mailing list just send a message to: radiomarine-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

VY 73,

RD

K6KPH Field Day Schedule

The amateur radio Field Day has begun in the United States. This contest lights up the bands every summer as special contest stations take to the great outdoors with emergency power.

This contest has a way of making its own ionosphere. There have been some legendary nights where 20 meters stayed usable the whole time. Also, I'm sitting here with a QSL card from a New York station that our club worked on 50.100 MHz at 1700 UTC while set up on a mountain outside Los Angeles. Now THAT is DX!

K6KPH's role in all this is to broadcast the annual Field Day Message from the American Radio Relay League, which puts on this contest. Stations submitting a copy of this message get additional points. K6KPH, with its large antennas formerly used for commercial maritime radio, is well equipped for this.

The station may also be making contest QSOs on several bands, though I haven't heard it yet.

Here's the schedule from Richard Dillman:

Once again this year K6KPH, the amateur station of the Maritime Radio Historical Society, will transmit the ARRL Field Day Bulletin (June 27-28) as the west coast outlet for this message. K6KPH will be probably available on its normal frequencies outside the times shown below. For full Field Day information see:

http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/

KSM Operations will continue as usual.

K6KPH Field Day Bulletin Schedule -

CW: 3581.5, 7047.5, 14047.5, 18097.5 21067.5
RTTY, AMTOR-FEC: 7095.0 14095.0

Saturday CW: 1430 UTC
Sunday CW: 0030 & 1430 UTC

Saturday teleprinter: 1330 UTC
Sunday teleprinter: 1630 UTC

The "normal" K6KPH frequencies are on or around 3550, 7050, 14050 and 21050 kHz.

WebSDR Back To Original Config

The multiband WebSDR setup at the University of Twente, Netherlands, has returned to its original coverage of 80, 40, and 20 meter band segments. The board used to create the other configuration was needed for other projects, and it was also starting to function badly.

Radioreference.com Is NOT Gone For A Year

Confusion stemmed from the change to the new look. Someone erroneously stated on June 21 that the site would be down until the afternoon of MARCH 21. (They meant June.)

It's up and running.

Myers Case Brings More Bad PR for Short Wave Radio

Last week (June 18), the Washington Times ran a somewhat oversimplified and overwrought story regarding the role of HF radio in the recent arrest of a Cuban spy couple.

Anyone with any sophistication in this matter knows they're in for a rough ride when they see the headline:

EXCLUSIVE: Cuban spies' shortwave radios go undetected
Low-tech transmissions no big deal for U.S. intelligence

This, of course, is simply nonsense. The US FBI and possible other agencies have carefully monitored Cuban "numbers" for years. If they haven't made a big deal, it's because the US intelligence community is not in the habit of treating its national security operations as just another reality show. You'll never see "Spooks," where (between lengthy commercial breaks) we see people recording funny voices and Morse code from Cuba.

The story goes rapidly downhill from there:

"While some countries have moved to computer-based communications [for clandestine operations], Havana still largely relies on shortwave broadcasts," Mr. Simmons said.

The International Amateur Radio Union said there are more than 700,000 amateur radio operators in the United States.

"Simmons," of course, is Chris Simmons, a recently retired US counter-intelligence agent specializing in Cuban espionage. He knows his stuff, and everybody quotes him. And, indeed, the IARU may be right on the US ham count. So what? Is the reader supposed to connect these two and assume that hams are all smuggling information out of the country? How many hams even transmit on HF? (I haven't in years, due to urban interference and antenna issues.)

While we do have evidence of an M08a schedule from inside the US, its time and frequency would not support propagation back to Cuba. I've always thought it might be a relay to someone who can only listen in the dead of night and with the simplest equipment. What we do know, thanks to Mr. Simmons, is that Cuba probably has a lot more deep-cover recruits in the US than one would expect from such a small nation.

It gets better:

Though shortwave operators are required to have licenses to transmit in the United States, many do not, said one shortwave user, adding that used equipment is readily sold online.

This, again, may even be true, but there's no evidence whatsoever that the Meyers couple, or any of the others, actually transmitted messages back to Cuba. Well, we know that Meyers made dead drops in shopping carts and switched to Internet cafes. Nowhere in any reports of any of these cases does anyone ever mention transmitting.

There's more at the link. Especially humorous is the photo of their idea for a "covert short wave receiver." We are supposed to tremble and quake at the image of this nasty spy device, but I can't stop laughing. As part of their punishment, maybe we should make the Meyers actually try to copy V2 on this thing!

For some REAL information on the Meyers spy bust, check out Larry Van Horn's Shortwave Central blog. He has excerpts from the actual publicly filed criminal charges. Once again, key evidence consists of duplicates of known Cuban "numbers" transmissions found in the suspects' possession.

Doesn't look to me as if secret covert insidious spook nasty short wave is ignored by US intelligence.

Bye LRO/LCROSS

By now, everyone's probably aware that we're on the way back to the moon. Launch was at 5:32.1, or a whole 1/10 second late. If you can find the replay of the earth disappearing below the vehicle, it's pretty cool.

LRO/LCROSS Weather Is Green

Launch poll is currently in progress for coming out of the planned hold in three minutes, for a 5:32 EDT launch.

LRO/LCROSS Is Holding

The Atlas launch vehicle has gone into a planned hold at t-4 minutes. This is a built in 20-minute hold, but the count cannot resume unless weather improves. When and if they do resume, things will happen fast.

Launch opportunities are at 5:12, 5:22, and 5:32 EDT.

LRO/LCROSS Count Continues (For Now)

The second ETR launch attempt in two days is at T-1 hour, 30 minutes and counting. Tanking has commenced in the Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle. Unfortunately this is Florida in the summer, and thunderstorms threaten to delay the count. Atlas cannot launch if there is lightning within 10 miles of the pad, which is at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

This vehicle is a moon launch. LRO is the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, aimed at scouting sites for future manned landings. LCROSS stands for Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, a specific mission which involves hitting the moon with the Centaur vehicle.

The Guam and Diego Garcia tracking stations have been activated. They will help with spacecraft comms once the vehicle is above the Clarke belt and its geosynchronous NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite network.

STS-127 Launch Scrubbed (Again)

Due to a gaseous hydrogen leak in the same place as last time, NASA has just scrubbed the STS-127 launch. The next launch opportunity is no earlier than July 11.

STS-127 Still On Schedule

Due to thunderstorms, STS-127 tanking began almost three hours late, but the count remains on schedule for the 0940 UTC launch. Range activities should be audible on HF at some point this evening (US time).

STS-127 Count On Schedule

At time of writing, the count was at -8 hours, 14 minutes. Of course, this does not include several built-in holds.

Tanking begins around 0015 UTC tonight (Tuesday in the US). NASA TV will be live.

Launch is still scheduled for 0940 UTC (5:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time). Weather still shows an 80% per cent chance of allowing launch.

My Recent SDR Hits

Latest catches i've made from the WebSDR in the Netherlands. Their 8-band version was still up as of yesterday.

44.2 RTTY? 50?/85 06/05/09 2021
46.0 ? Like 68.6 06/05/09 2017
54.0 ? Slow multi-tone 06/05/09 2016
68.0 ? 150-Hz shift stream 06/05/09 2000
68.6 ? Multi-tone stream 06/05/09 2000
147.3 DDH47, Deutsche Wetterdienst, ID & WX, Hamburg, 50/85, in GG, good cpy. 06/02/09 2114
298.5 MSK Unknown, no decode 06/14/09 2019
302.0 MSK DGPS, 426 (Gilze Rijen, Netherlands) 200 baud 06/14/09
303.5 MSK DGPS, 763 (Zeven, Germany) 100 baud 06/14/09 2030
311.0 CW ID: "LMA" (NDB, 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, 640 (Oostende, Belgium) 100 baud 06/14/09 1949
312.5 MSK DGPS, 425 (Hoek van Holland, Netherlands) 200 baud 06/14/09 1953
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 Unid, Sitor-B NAVTEX in EE, got "ZCZC," 100/170. 06/11/09 2255

10051.0 USB NY Volmet. 05/30/09 2118
10075.0 HFDL Squitters. 06/05/09 1953
10088.0 HFDL Squitters. 05/31/09 2251
10100.8 RTTY DDK9, Deutsche Wetterdienst WX, Hamburg, 50/450 06/02/09 2100
10130.0 RTTY Unk 75/850 encr 06/11/09 2324
10137.4 CW IK3NWX/BEACON 06/05/09 1900
10148.39 Packet TXUV63 de DC2WH-9 via RELAY 06/05/09 1910
10149.5 Packet (10147.3) 30m APRS gateway HB9MM-4 via TRACE3-3 06/13/09 2332

NASA Sets Wednesday for Next STS-127 Attempt

Following a weekend of meetings, NASA has resolved the scheduling issues for use of the Eastern Test Range. This means that STS-127's next target launch time is 5:40 a.m. EDT (0940 UTC) on Wednesday, June 17.

The range became available with the rescheduling of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS. Their new launch target, aboard the same Atlas V booster, is the very next day. There are three launch opportunities from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Thursday, June 18: 5:12 p.m., 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m. (2112, 2122, and 2132 UTC).

Sounds like a busy 36 hours for communications on the Eastern Test Range.

STS-127 Postponed At Least 4 Days

According to NASA, the time required to inspect the hydrogen line, effect repair, and pick a new launch target will delay launch for at least 96 hours.

This is the same hydrogen system that gave trouble on an earlier flight. It conducts gaseous H2 boil-off to a flare where it can be burned safely.

STS-127 Launch Scrubbed!

NASA has scrubbed Saturday's Space Shuttle launch after a leak was found in a gaseous hydrogen return line during tanking. The decision to postpone was made at 12:26 AM EDT (0426 UTC). There is no new launch target time yet.

STS-127 Weather Still Looks Good

Launch is still scheduled for 7:17 AM tomorrow (1117 UTC). The Rotating Service Structure has been moved back. Tanking starts this evening.

Check the usual frequencies for downrange traffic such as Booster Recovery Vessels. This launch's early morning time means better propagation on the lower frequencies they usually use.

Latest Cuban Spy Bust Spotlights V2 and M8

Once again, well-placed US government workers (in this case, retired) have been arrested on espionage charges.

Following an FBI sting, agents arrested Walter Kendall Myers, a former State Department analyst with a top-secret clearance, and his wife. They allegedly passed documents and intelligence to their Cuban handlers for something like 30 years.

FBI's 3-year investigation produced alleged evidence that they had received instructions from short wave voice and Morse code broadcasts, and made document drops in shopping carts. When surveillance cameras in markets improved, they switched to encrypted e-mail from Internet cafes.

Past testimony has given ample evidence that the mysterious V2, M8, and SK01 numbers broadcasts are indeed aimed at low-level, deep-cover spies operating in the US. Given the sloppy engineering of these, it's a wonder anyone gets their messages at all, but they apparently do just that.

Don't Forget DTV Transition On Friday

Friday, June 12 is the day most US high-power TV stations turn off their analog signals and broadcast exclusively in digital.

I would imagine that anyone who can understand this blog is already technically sophisticated (OK, geeky) enough to know this, but I thought I'd pass it along anyway.

Friday promises to be an interesting day from an engineering standpoint. There is no sudden, dramatic event where all analog channels go dark at once.

Stations are changing over in 6-hour windows. There is considerable engineering required, since in most cases the existing UHF digital simulcast will be moved to the former analog frequency, or to an altogether new one. VHF channels 2 through 6 are being vacated, so many large network affiliates in big markets will broadcast on UHF after the change.

In many cases, there is a loss in coverage due to the frequency changes or other technical factors. This is shown on the FCC's list as a "2% loss." Actually, it's a >=2% loss.

Spectrum freed up after the change will be reallocated to public safety and probably some kind of mobile data communication for consumers.

The acting FCC chair is in Los Angeles today for a media event aimed at generating publicity that might be seen by the estimated 4% of households in that market which still haven't done anything to get ready for the change.

A complete schedule of all US DTV cutovers is available from the FCC in an Excel spreadsheet. It's pretty interesting.

STS-127 Countdown Starts Wednesday Morning

The launch of the next space shuttle mission is still tentatively scheduled for Saturday, June 13, at 7:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time (1117 UTC). There is the usual 10 minute launch window. While the weather has been bad in Florida for several weeks now, there's an 80% chance it will be favorable on Saturday.

BREAKING NEWS II: Tentative US Navy/ Marine Corps MARS Cutbacks

The following message was transmitted to all stations in mid-May from Chief, Navy/ Marine Corps MARS. It's written in typically opaque military bureaucratese, with references to various DoD directives. As far as I can tell, it describes orders (not yet implemented) to pretty much eliminate Navy and Marine Corps participation. There would still be a Navy/ Marine Corps MARS, but not as we currently know it.

My reading of all this is that the Navy is negotiating, so far unsuccessfully, to get out of new budgetary funding requirements concerning MARS. I seem to perceive all this as a high-stakes bargaining chip. Others closer to the situation seem to agree.

It'll be interesting to watch all this play out. Here's the message, reformatted for blog readability but otherwise unedited:

DE NNN0ASA 040
R 162200Z MAY 2009
FM CHNAVMARCORMARS WILLIAMSBURG VA
TO ALNAVMARCORMARS
INFO ZEN/CHIEF ARMY MARS FT HUACHUCA AZ
ZEN/CHIEF AIR FORCE MARS SCOTT AFB IL

BT

UNCLAS

SUBJ: CHNAVMARCORMARS BCST 03-09

A. DOD DIRECTIVE 4650.2 DTD 26 JAN 1998
B. DOD INSTRUCTION 4650.02 (PROPOSED) NOTAL

1. COMMANDER, NAVAL NETWORK WARFARE COMMAND (NNWC) HAS DECIDED TO 'SUNSET' THE MARS MISSION WITHIN NAVY AS OF 30 SEP 2009. NNWC HAS REQUESTED ALL MILITARY BILLETS AND MY CIVILIAN POSITION BE DELETED AND UNFUNDED AFTER THAT DATE. OPNAV HAS NOT YET APPROVED THIS REQUEST.

2. ALL THREE MARS SERVICES HAVE OPERATED UNDER THE MANDATE OF REF A, WHICH IS STILL VALID. REF B IS A PROPOSED UPDATE TO REF A AND IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING COORDINATED BETWEEN DOD AND THE THREE SERVICES. REF B INCREASES THE SERVICES REQUIREMENT TO SUPPORT THE MARS PROGRAMS WITHIN THEIR SERVICE. ARMY AND AIR FORCE HAVE AGREED TO THE CHANGES BUT NAVY (OPNAV) HAS ASKED TO BE LET OUT OF THIS REQUIREMENT. THIS NEGOTIATION IS STILL IN PROCESS AND WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN IT WILL BE RESOLVED.

3. AS A CONSEQUENCE OF NNWC DECISION TO 'SUNSET' THE MARS MISSION, I AM FORCED TO INITIATE ACTION TO CLOSE DOWN NAVY-MARINE CORPS OPERATIONS AND FACILITIES BY 30 SEP 2009. ACCORDINGLY:

A. AREA DIRECTORS WILL TRANSFER ALL MEMBERSHIP RECORDS TO HQ NLT THAN 31 JUL 2009. WHEN RECORDS HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED, STATE DIRECTORS WILL SEND ALL MEMBERSHIP RELATED MATTERS DIRECTLY TO CHNAVMARCORMARS VICE THE AREA DIRECTOR.

B. AREA DIRECTORS WILL CLOSE DOWN THEIR OFFICES AND TURN IN ALL EQUIPMENT TO DRMO NOT LATER THAN 30 SEP 2009.

C. NONE OF THE EQUIPMENT AT THE AREA DIRECTORS STATIONS WILL BE ALLOWED TO BE TRANSFERRED TO ANY MEMBERS. THE EQUIPMENT MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO OTHER OFFICIAL NAVY ORGANIZATIONS (LIKE MWR OR SPECIAL SERVICES) TO HELP EQUIP OR START UP MILITARY RECREATION STATIONS. THESE TRANSFERS WILL BE APPROVED BY HQ ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS.

4. IF NAVY'S REQUEST TO BE DELETED FROM REF B IS NOT APPROVED, THERE WILL BE A NAVY-MARINE CORPS MARS PROGRAM BUT IT WILL NOT HAVE AREA DIRECTORS (THEY WILL HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED). ALL MEMBERSHIP CORRESPONDENCE WILL BE HANDLED BETWEEN THE STATE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF, NAVMARCORMARS DIRECTLY. AREA DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND AREA STAFF POSITIONS WILL BE RETAINED TO COORDINATE FREQUENCY MATTERS, TRAINING, ETC.. ALL OPERATIONAL MATTERS WILL BE HANDLED BY STATE AND REGION DIRECTORS.

5. I WILL INFORM YOU AS SOON AS I FIND OUT THE FINAL RESOLUTION OF NAVY'S REQUEST TO 'SUNSET' NAVY-MARINE CORPS MARS.

BT
NNNN

BREAKING NEWS: SkySweeper Decoder Program Is Discontinued!

This terse announcement was posted on Saturday to the SkySweeper mailing list:

Hello All,

All sales, marketing and development of SkySweeper Std, SkySweeper Plus and SkySweeper Pro will be discontinued from 1st of June 2009.

SkySweep Technologies LTD is now fully concentrating on the SkySweep Messenger product family and some other professional systems development.

SkySweeper support continues as it is until 1.1.2011.

The latest versions and manuals can be downloaded here:
http://www.skysweep.com/index-6.html

We would like to send our warmest thanks to all the SkySweeper users!

Mikko Huttunen

General Manager
SkySweep Technologies

Given the time difference between here and Finland, where the program was produced, June 1 has already come. SkySweeper is no more.

SkySweep Messenger is a commercial-grade messaging suite based on STANAG 4285, 4539, and 5066. It is also capable of the American MIL-STD-110A/B and MIL-STD-141 (more commonly known in the hobby as "ALE"). It has the usual e-mail and Internet connectivity. It is aimed at government users and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

SkySweeper was intended for either the more geeky hams or the hard core digital utility fans (in other words, us). It was a good deal for the price. It contained a great number of highly modular sub-programs, some working better than others, which could be combined in endless ways at the will at the user. More money got you more modules, not better code.

Dedicated, more specialized programs could often produce more accurate decodes of a few modes at a time, but with the loss of this modularity. SkySweeper allowed the user to string together decoders, analyzers, filters, processors, and transmitters into truly mind boggling series and parallel configurations. One could spend years experimenting with all this.

Best of all, Mikko was always available on the mailing list to answer newbie questions, gripes, and bug reports.

Mac users are lucky to still have Chris Smolinski's excellent MultiMode package. On the PC side, however, the departure of SkySweeper leaves a real gap in the market. There are still MixW and MultiPSK, both excellent multimode packages, but obviously aimed more at hams. On the high end, we still have the professional multi-mode products by HOKA, Wavecom, et al, but these are rightfully priced well beyond the means of most hobbyists.

I'm hoping that I'll still be able to move SkySweeper to new computers, because I'll be using it for a long time to come.

WebSDR Temporarily Has More Bands

The Web Software Defined Radio site that I have written about before is running a special wideband setup in which a lot more bands are available. Especially fun for listeners on the US West Coast is the VLF/LF/MF band, from essentially DC to 600 kHz. Along with some utilities that I've never heard personally, it's also a chance to hear the European longwave broadcast band.

Other bands usually not available are amateur 160, 30, 20, 18, and 15 meters. Some weak CW was coming through on 15, despite the non-resonant antenna for this band. 160 was hopping due to the contest. 30 is wide enough to hear some adjacent utilities, notably New York VOLMET, which comes blasting in.

This will end soon. It was supposed to go back to normal on May 27, but this was extended due probably to a major ham radio contest this weekend.

As we've mentioned before, the SDR is at a university campus in the Netherlands, and maintained by a student amateur radio club.

Here are some catches I made this morning (local time):

60.0 kHz CW
MSF, Anthorn, UK; standard time signals and codes. The CW timing deviates slightly from the expected 1 interruption per second in such a way as to send a time code that can be decoded for time and date. A successful decode was made here at 1845 UTC. 05/30/09 1826

77.0 AM/PM
DCF77, Mainflingen, Germany;, time signals and codes. This is a more complex encoding scheme than MSF, and decode was not achieved due to SDR link latency/instability. 05/30/09 1904

100.00 Pulse Unk Loran-C. 05/30/09 1850

129.1 FSK ASCII
DCF49-European power grid control, Mainflingen, Germany. Continuous idle on mark with ASCII bursts. I've never heard this here via the air. Usually only Ary Boender reports it. 05/30/09 1930

Here's some more details from the web:

Agcy : 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

135.6 FSK ASCII
HGA22-European power grid control, Lahihegy, Hungary. 05/30/09 1930

138.8 FSK ASCII
DCF39-European power grid control, Burg, Germany, 300-baud ASCII. Carrier w/data bursts. Not synced to others. Possible FSK. 05/30/09 1930

Slight SAQ Change

*FLASH FLASH FLASH*

* *

The *planned* transmission with the Alexanderson alternator on 17.2 kHz at Grimeton Radio/SAQ at Tuesday 19 May is *moved to Wednesday 20 May* at the same times, 07:00 UTC and 07:30 UTC. Sorry for trouble.

--Lars Kalland

Yes, that is 17.2 kilohertz, using an RF alternator with a truly huge antenna. Coverage is worldwide, if you can dig it out of the noise down there.

T-9 and Counting

The ice constraint has been cleared, and the bird is go for launch. The count picks up at -9, and I'm QSY to a larger TV screen.

T-9 and Holding

If anyone wonders, the T-9 hold is longer than usual. Launch is still on schedule for 1801:56 UTC. This optimum launch time changes slightly as Hubble's orbit is tracked. The window for a launch actually lasts until 1843 UTC.

Count resumes at 1752:56 UTC.

Preliminary examination of the ice team's photos indicates no constraint, but needless to say there'll have to be a meeting on this.

Freedom Star Now On 6751 USB

3 hours ago, Allan Stern in FL heard Cape Radio and DoD Cape go to 6751.0 for range comm with Freedom Star.

STS-125 Remains on Schedule

NASA just exited the planned T-20 hold, and has resumed count toward a 2:01:57 EDT launch of the space shuttle mission STS-125 to the Hubble telescope.

At 1700 UTC, NASA TV shows an ice team examining icing on a LH2 return line. If this becomes too large, it's a no go for launch.

Cape Radio at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station has been heard working Booster Recovery Vessel Freedom Star on 5711 and 10780 kHz USB.

STS-125 Launch Scheduled Monday

The Hubble repair mission is scheduled to launch, if all goes well, on Monday, May 11, at 1401 Eastern or 1801 UTC. As always, radio traffic downrange will start the night before, on the usual NASA frequencies.

From the NASA press release:

NASA will provide online updates at:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

A webcast May 10 at noon will start the in-depth online coverage of the mission. Host Damon Talley of NASA's Digital Learning Network and correspondent Rebecca Sprague will preview the mission and examine the remarkable history and discoveries the Hubble observatory has made. Astrophysicist Mario Livio of the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute will discuss the telescope's impact beyond the scientific community.

A blog will provide launch countdown updates beginning at 8:30 a.m. May 11. Originating from the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the blog is the definitive Internet source for information leading up to launch.

During the STS-125 mission, visitors to NASA's shuttle Web site can read about the astronauts' progress and watch their five spacewalks live. Also, updates will be provided to the NASA News Twitter feed.

To access the feed, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/nasa

As Atlantis' flight wraps up, NASA will update a blog detailing the spacecraft's return to Earth.

SAQ 17.2 kHz Schedule for 2009

GRIMETON RADIO/SAQ PLANNED TRANSMISSIONS, SUMMER AND AUTUMN 2009

There will hopefully be transmissions with the Alexanderson alternator on 17.2 kHz, CW (A1A) at the following dates and times during 2009:

1)

Tuesday, May 19 2009 at 07:00 and 07:30 UTC.

There will be a transmission to celebrate the Japanese VLF-station Josami Radio/JND when it will be nominated to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Milestone and also celebrate its start 80 years ago. The radio station is now a museum.

No reports required and no QSL-cards are given.


2)

Sunday, May 24 2009 at 10:55 UTC.

A transmission will take place to celebrate the First Swedish Coast Radio Station and 100 years of Karlskrona Radio/SAA. The station is still working on military frequencies.

No reports required and no QSL-cards are given.



3)

Sunday, June 28 at 09:00 and 12:00 UTC.

The annual transmission on "Alexander Day". The station is open to visitors.

We are glad to receive reports and will exchange QSL-cards.



4)

Saturday, October 24 at 09:00 UTC.

As last year we will transmit on United Nations Day.

No reports required and no QSL-cards are given.



5)

Thursday, December 24, Christmas Eve at 08:00 UTC.

The Christmas transmission as before.
The stations is open to visitors.

We are glad to receive reports and will exchange QSL-cards.

We will start tuning up some 30 minutes before message.

Also read our web site: www.alexander.n.se

QSL-reports are, when indicated, kindly received via:

- E-mail to: info@alexander.n.se
- or fax to: +46-340-674195
- or via: SM bureau
- or direct by mail to: Alexander - Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner, Radiostationen, Grimeton 72 S-430 16 ROLFSTORP
SWEDEN

Yours

Lars Kalland SM6NM

Thanks to Lars for making this available, and Ary Boender for posting it to his UDXF list.

2009 Armed Forces Day (Pt. 2: SECDEF Message)

PART II. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MESSAGE TEST VIA DIGITAL MODES.

The Secretary of Defense message will be transmitted via digital modes including RTTY, PACTOR, AMTOR, PSK-31, MFSK and MT63 from the stations listed below, including frequencies, mode, and date/time in Zulu (UTC). All frequencies are listed for center of intelligence. Offset as appropriate for your TNC. Sound cards modes will use standard factory settings (Note: Not all stations may necessarily operate on all the frequencies listed, depending on propagation and available equipment.)

Army Stations
STATION: AAZ (HQ Army MARS and Western Area Gateway, Fort Huachuca, AZ)
Frequency Mode Broadcast Date/Time
6988.0 kHz RTTY 10 May/0110Z
PACTOR FEC 10 May/0130Z
MT63 10 May/0220Z
PSK-31 10 May/0250Z
14402.0 kHz RTTY 10 May/0110Z
PACTOR FEC 10 May/0130Z
MT63 10 May/0220Z
PSK-31 10 May0250Z

STATION: WAR (Pentagon MARS Station, Washington, DC )
Frequency Mode Broadcast Date/Time
6988.0 kHz Olivia 09 May/1700Z and 2300Z
MT63 09 May/1715Z and 2315Z
14440.0 kHz PACTOR FEC 09 MAY/1730Z
RTTY 09 MAY/1745Z
4020.9 kHz PACTOR FEC 09 MAY/2330Z
RTTY 09 May/2345Z

STATION: AAV
Frequency Mode Broadcast Date/Time
3243.5 kHz MT63 10May/0030Z
7358.5 kHz RTTY 10 May/0100Z

Air Force Stations
STATION: AIR-2 (Scott Air Force Base)
Frequency Mode Broadcast Date/Time
7831.1 kHz RTTY 09 May/1930Z
MT63 09 May/2030Z
MFSK 09 May/2100Z

14877.1 kHz RTTY 09 May/2130Z
MT63 09 May/2230Z
MFSK 09 May/2300Z

Navy/Marine Corps Stations
STATION: NAV (HQ NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, WILLIAMSBURG, VA)
FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME
7346.5 KHZ RTTY 75 BAUD 09 MAY/2340Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0010Z
MT63 10 MAY/0040Z
14480.0 KHZ RTTY 75 BAUD 09 MAY/2340Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0010Z
MT63 10 MAY/0040Z

STATION: NAV3 (NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, CORPUS CHRISTI, TX)
FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME
7393.0 KHZ RTTY 09 MAY/2340Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0010Z
MT63 10 MAY/0040Z
13975.5 KHZ RTTY 09 MAY/2340Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0010Z
MT63 10 MAY/0040Z

STATION: NAV4 (NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, GREAT LAKES, IL)
FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME
7375.0 KHZ RTTY 10 MAY/0240Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0310Z
MT63 10 MAY/0340Z
14468.5 KHZ RTTY 10 MAY/0240Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0310Z
MT63 10 MAY/0340Z

STATION: NBL (NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, GROTON, CT)
FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME
7370.0 KHZ RTTY 09 MAY/2340Z
PACTOR FEC 10 MAY/0010Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0040Z
14393.0 KHZ RTTY 09 MAY/2340Z
PACTOR FEC 10 MAY/0010Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0040Z

STATION: NPL (NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, SAN DIEGO, CA)
FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME
7350.0 KHZ RTTY 10 MAY/0240Z
PACTOR FEC 10 MAY/0310Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0340Z
14465.0 KHZ RTTY 10 MAY/0240Z
PACTOR FEC 10 MAY/0310Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0340Z

STATION: NUW (NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, NAS WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA)
FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME
7380.0 KHZ RTTY 10 MAY/0240Z
PACTOR FEC 10 MAY/0310Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0340Z
13530.0 KHZ RTTY 10 MAY/0240Z
PACTOR FEC 10 MAY/0310Z
AMTOR FEC 10 MAY/0340Z

SUBMISSION OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE TEST MESSAGE ENTRIES.
Transcripts of the RTTY, PACTOR, AMTOR, PSK-31, MFSK and MT63 receiving test should be submitted "as received". No attempt should be made to correct possible transmission errors. Provide time, frequency and call sign of the military station copied, including name, call sign, and address (including ZIP code) of individual submitting the entry. Ensure this information is placed on the paper containing the test message. Each year a large number of acceptable entries are received with insufficient information, or necessary information was not attached to the transcriptions and was separated, thereby precluding issuance of a certificate. Entries must be sent to the appropriate military address as follows:

a. Stations copying Secretary of Defense message transmitted from AAZ/WAR/AAV send entries to:

Armed Forces Day Celebration
Commander NETCOM/9th ASC
Armed Forces Day Celebration
Attn: NETC-OPE-MA (MARS) (31)
Fort Huachuca, AZ 85613-5000

b STATIONS COPYING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MESSAGE TRANSMITTED FROM
NAV, NAV-3, NAV-4, NBL, NPL OR NUW SEND ENTRIES TO:
ARMED FORCES DAY CELEBRATION
CHIEF, NAVY-MARINE CORPS MARS
CHEATHAM ANNEX BLDG 117
108 SANDA AVE
WILLIAMSBURG, VA 23185-5830

c. Stations copying Secretary of Defense message transmitted from AIR-2 send entries to:

Armed Forces Day Celebration
AFCA / Chief, AF MARS
203W Losey St
Scott AFB, IL 62225

2009 Armed Forces Day (Pt. 1: Crossband Tests)

This one usually brings out some good military/ MARS stations. They do it the week before so people can go to Dayton.

------

ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY CROSSBAND MILITARY/AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS TEST (09 MAY 2009)

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual military/amateur radio communications tests in celebration of the 59th Anniversary of Armed Forces Day (AFD). Although the actual Armed Forces Day is celebrated on Saturday, May 16, 2009, the AFD Military/Amateur Crossband Communications Test will be conducted 09 May 2009 to prevent conflict with the Dayton Hamvention (15-17 May 2009), which is the same weekend as the actual Armed Forces Day.

The annual celebration features traditional military to amateur cross band communications SSB voice tests and copying the Secretary of Defense message via digital modes. These tests give Amateur Radio operators and Short Wave Listeners (SWL) an opportunity to demonstrate their individual technical skills, and to receive recognition from the Secretary of Defense and/or the appropriate military radio station for their proven expertise. QSL cards will be provided to those stations making contact with the military stations. Special commemorative certificates will be awarded to anyone who receives and copies the digital Armed Forces Day message from the Secretary of Defense.

MILITARY-TO-AMATEUR CROSS BAND SSB & CW TEST CONTACTS.
Military-to-Amateur cross band operations will take place on the dates/times in ZULU (UTC), and frequencies listed below for each station. Voice contacts will include operations in single sideband voice (SSB). Some stations may not operate the entire period, depending on propagation and manning. Participating military stations will transmit on selected Military MARS frequencies and listen for amateur radio stations in the Amateur bands indicated below. The military station operator will announce the specific amateur band frequency being monitored. Duration of each voice contact should be limited to 1-2 minutes. The following stations will be transmitting on MARS frequencies listed below which are provided as "Window/Dial Frequency" in kHz. Some stations will use CW to provide the opportunity to check in by Morse Code.


Army Stations
STATION: AAZ (09 May 1400Z - 10 May 0300Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
4038.9 kHz LSB 80M
6913.0 kHz LSB 40M
14.402.0 kHz USB 20M
13996.0 kHz USB 20M
18211.0 kHz USB 17M
7577.0 kHz CW 40M
13507.0kHz CW 20M
7639.5 kHz RTTY 40M
13512.5 kHz MT-63 20M
Location: Fort Huachuca, AZ
Address:
Commander NETCOM/9th ASC
ATTN: NETCOM-OPE-M (MARS) (31)
2133 Cushing Street
Ft. Huachuca, AZ 85616-7070
POC: Mr. Dewayne Smith
DSN: 821-7324
Commercial: (520) 533-7324



STATION: AAC (09 May 1300Z - 10 May 0100Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
3348.5 kHz LSB 80M
7363.0 LSB 40M
9180.5 MT63 USB 30M
13910.5 kHz USB 20M
Location: Lexington, KY
Address:
HQ 1st BDE, 100th DIV (IT) MARS Station
Barrow Army Reserve Training Center
1051 Russell Cave Pike
Lexington, KY 40505
POC: Barry Jackson
Commercial: (859) 227-0137

STATION: ABH (09 May 1600Z - 10 May 2300Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
3195 kHz LSB 80M
3360 kHz LSB 80M
4440 kHz LSB 80M
4466 kHz LSB 80M
7360 kHz LSB 40M
7720 kHz LSB 40M
8040 kHz LSB 40M
8094.5 kHz LSB 40M
14483.5 kHz USB 20M
14489.5 kHz USB 20M
17443.0 kHz USB 17M
17592.5 kHz USB 17M
20978.0 kHz USB 15M
20559.0 kHz USB 15M
Location: Schofield Barracks, HI
Commander, 396th Signal Company
30th Signal Battalion, 96857
POC: WO1 William Pemberton
Commercial: (808) 655-3387

STATION: ALM (09 May 1600Z - 10 May 2300Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
13741.5 kHz USB 20M
4003.0kHz LSB 80M
7317.0 kHz LSB 40M
Location: Fort Wainwright
Commander, 507 the Sig Co, 99703
POC: CW4 Roderick Mitchell
507th Signal Company
Commercial: (907-353-0082

STATION: WAR (09 May 1200Z - 2400Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
4020.9 kHz LSB/CW 80M
7504.0 kHz LSB/CW 40M
13512.5 kHz USB/CW 20M
20518.5 kHz USB/CW 15M
Location: Pentagon, Arlington VA
Address:
Pentagon ARC
PO Box 2322
Arlington VA 22202
POC CAPT Rick Low, USN
Station telephone:
Commercial: (703) 693-8423 DSN 223-8423


STATION: WUG-231 (09 May 1300Z - 10 May 0200Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
4032.9 kHz LSB 80M
7.360.0 kHz LSB 40M
6.826.0 kHz LSB/CW 40M
14486.0 kHz USB 20M
14663.5 kHz USB/CW 20M
20973.5 kHz USB/CW 15M
Location: Memphis, TN
Address:
USACE Memphis District Office
ATTN: Jim Pogue
Public Affairs Office Room B-202
167 N. Main St.
Memphis, TN 38103-1894
POC: Mr. Jim Pogue
Commercial: (901) 544-4109


STATION: AAV (09 May 1300Z - 2000Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
4038.9 kHz LSB 80M
7360.0 kHz LSB 40M
13963.5 kHz USB 20M
FORT MONMOUTH NJ
POC WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS
DIRECTOR REGION 2
N2LMU@JUNO.COM

Air Force Station
STATION: AIR (09 May 1200Z - 2400Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
4517.1 kHz USB 80M
6996.1 kHz USB 40M
13985.1 kHz USB 20M
20737.6 kHz USB 15M
ROBERT WILLIAM STROH, A1C, SCORB, USAF
GLOBAL SYSTEM RADIO OPERATOR
89 CS/ 89 ASG
ANDREWS AFB, MD
DSN: 858-3109
COMM: 301-981-3109



STATION: AIR-2 (09 MAY 1200Z TO 2400Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
4590.1 KHZ USB 80M
7540.1 KHZ USB 40M
13993.1 KHZ USB 20M
POC: Mr. AL EIERMANN
ADDRESS: AFCA / AF MARS
203W LOSEY ST
SCOTT AFB, IL 62225
COMMERCIAL: (618) 229-5963

Navy/Marine Corps Stations
STATION: NAV (09 MAY 1200Z - 09 MAY 2330Z)
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4010.0 KHZ LSB 80M
7348.0 KHZ LSB 40M
14478.5 KHZ USB 20M
20994.0 KHZ USB 15M
ADDRESS: HQ NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION NAV CHEATHAM ANNEX BLDG. 117
108 SANDA AVE
WILLIAMSBURG, VA 23185-5830
POC: BO LINDFORS
COMMERCIAL: (757) 887-4494 DSN: 953-4494

STATION: NAV3 (09 MAY 1200Z - 10 MAY 0400Z)
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4014.0 KHZ LSB 80M
7394.5 KHZ LSB 40M
13974.0 KHZ USB 20M
20997.0 KHZ USB 15M
ADDRESS: NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION NAV3
9035 OCEAN DR SUITE 3A
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 78419-5234
POC: ITSC (SW) BROWN
COMMERCIAL: (361) 961-5002 DSN: 861-5002

STATION: NAV4 (09 MAY 1200Z - 10 MAY 0400Z)
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4011.5 KHZ LSB/MT63 80M
7376.5 KHZ LSB 40M
14467.0 KHZ USB 20M
21758.5 KHZ USB 15M
ADDRESS: NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION NAV4
615 PREBLE AVE
CAMP BARRY, BLDG. 153
GREAT LAKES, IL 60088-2850
POC: ITC (SW/AW) STEPHEN ANDERSON
COMMERCIAL: (847) 688-3787 DSN: 792-3787

STATION: NBL (09 MAY 1200Z - 10 MAY 0400Z)
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4041.5 KHZ LSB 80M
7371.5 KHZ LSB 40M
14391.5 KHZ USB 20M
20623.5 KHZ USB 15M
ADDRESS: NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION
4 LANTERN LANE
CHELMSFORD MA 01824-1316
POC: ROBERT VETH, DIRECTOR REGION ONE
COMMERCIAL: (978) 256-5264

STATION: NPL (09 MAY 1500Z - 10 MAY 0400Z)
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4003.0 KHZ LSB 80M
7351.5 KHZ LSB 40M
14463.5 KHZ USB 20M
20936.0 KHZ USB 15M
ADDRESS: NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION
937 NORTH HARBOR DRIVE
SAN DIEGO, CA 92132-5100
POC: ITC (SW) TIGHE
COMMERCIAL: (619) 532-1490 DSN: 522-1490

STATION: NUW (09 MAY 1500Z - 10 MAY 0400Z)
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4044.0 KHZ LSB 80M
7381.5 KHZ LSB 40M
13528.5 KHZ USB 20M
20952.5 KHZ USB 15M
ADDRESS: NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION
260 W. PIONEER FSC BLDG.
NAS WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA 98277
POC: MR. DIGGER O'DELL
COMMERCIAL: (360) 675-2823 DSN: 820-8038

Tentative May 11 Launch for STS-125

After the flight readiness review, NASA has voted unanimously to give the Space Shuttle a go for launch on May 11. This is the STS-125 mission, to service the Hubble Space Telescope for the last time. This should extend Hubble's service life long enough for its replacement to be completed.

Interestingly, the shuttle cannot reach the International Space Station from Hubble's orbit, so another complete shuttle stack has been moved to the other NASA pad in case an on-orbit rescue becomes necessary. There are great videos and stills around the Internet showing both pads occupied for the last time in the shuttle program.

NASA will conduct a post-flight readiness review press conference today (Thursday) at 5 PM Eastern Daylight Time (2100 UTC).

National Public Health Radio Network Activates

Sporadic US East Coast ALE activity is being reported on the US Federal interagency National Public Health Radio Network (NPHRN). So far nothing has been heard in the West.

Participants include Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), possibly US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), and many state and local public health departments.

Frequencies are 4442.0, 4757.0 (possible), 4780.0 (possible), 8023.0, 9414.5, 10202.0, 12164.0, and 13488.0 kHz USB.

QRP Update

Here are some updates to the information in the latest Utility World column dealing with amateur weak-signal modes.


QRSS Beacons:

10140.000 WA5DJJ DM62PH WA5DJJ DM62PH
10140.055 KC7VHS KC7VHS KC7VHS
10140.078 5DV NM 5DV NM 5DV NM [faded]

(Channel frequencies. All low speed Morse, heard in California. 10140.0 is FSK with a 5-Hz shift with a 3-second long dit. This gives a speed of 1 WPM. The rest are CW. All are best copied through use of spectrum displays like ARGO.)


WSJT:

14076 +301 Hz JT65B 10 March UTC

013200 CQ KL7OO CN88
013300 KL7OO WY5R DM95
014400 JA3CAY KL7OO -16 1 0


WSPR:

Activity on 80, 40, 30, and 20 meter bands. Typical:

10138.7 +187-263 Hz WSPR 10 March UTC

2048 -17 1.2 10.140195 0 K5XL EM12 33
2052 -21 1.5 10.140261 0 KL7OA BP51 33
2058 -24 1.7 10.140221 0 K1JT FN20 37
2122 -24 2.2 10.140187 0 W1XP FN42 37

Other runs here have produced loggings of stations in Japan and other DX. Some were barely audible in the noise.


OK0EU Propagation Net, Czech Republic:

3594.492 kHz Vackov (JO60EF)
3594.496 kHz Dlouhá Louka (JO60TP)
3594.500 kHz Panská Ves (JO70GM)
3594.504 kHz Průhonice (JN79GX)
3594.508 kHz Kašperské Hory (JN69SD)

7038.500 kHz Panská Ves (JO70GM)

All stations are 1-watt continuous beacons. On 80 meters, the close spacing creates a 5-tone cluster that shifts continuously due to fading. Changes in this cluster over time can track infrasonic phenomena in the ionosphere. Heard via SDR and verified from web site.


Amateur CW beacons:

3577.0 IZ3DVW/BEACON JN55VF 1 watt
7039.6 IZ3DVW/BEACON, yoopy tone & ID
(Heard via webSDR)


PHFER beacons:

PHFER is what the HF Beacon Society calls them, and since they place most of them, that's what we'll use. I'll have to find out what it stands for. It's probably a modification of HiFer, a different HF beacon type.

The new (and very low power) "47 Dasher" is now on Pike's Peak, and intermittently transmitting near 7997.9 kHz.

"Echo" is now on 10236.6, 24/7 from Florida.

The following beacons were heard here in late March:

2097.38 "A" every 9 seconds
3449.83 "OK" Oklahoma 300mw
4079.64 "TMPnn" CA Temperature beacon
4096.00 6 dits, one dah, Virginia
5484.00 "SD" San Diego, higher power now, blasts into here

Some SW Broadcasters Still In 40 Meters

It would appear that the new rules which move broadcasting to above 7300 kHz are being ignored in China. Asian listeners are hearing multiple broadcast programs, often on the same channel, pretty much as before.

7100-7200 Now Amateur

At the end of March, the long awaited radio regulation change became final on the spectrum between 7100 and 7200 kHz in ITU Regions 1 and 3.

This is the 40 meter amateur band. Amateurs are now primary in this allocation. International broadcast stations should have all moved out, though it's likely a few stragglers remain. However, now they are intruders, not valid authorized users.

In exchange, the spectrum above this band, which goes to 7300 in the Western Hemisphere, is now primarily broadcasting. Canadian time station CHU changed frequency at the beginning of this year as a result of broadcast interference to this formerly fixed-service primary allocation. The new frequency is 7850 kHz R3E (reduced-carrier upper sideband).

New PLT Product Brings HF Doom A Step Closer

Let's forget the tech speak, and the engineering talk of decibels and signal levels.

Here's what is happening, in plain English:

What we are facing is the design and high-powered marketing of a whole large family of new products which cannot operate normally without ENDING SHORT WAVE RADIO, FOREVER.

Period.

It's no more technical, or esoteric than that. NO MORE SHORT WAVE. EVER. The entire HF band, 2 to 29 megahertz, JAMMED by the most highly distributed system of wideband HF noise generators EVER INVENTED. If WE do not act proactively, NOW, these will be in every building in the industrialized world.

Is that simple enough?

The latest such invention being heavily marketed, amid glowing praise in magazines, sends audio through power lines using HF carriers at a high enough power to jam the entire spectrum in a radius of hundreds or thousands of feet depending on conditions.

This particular product was tested by someone on the UKQRM list and was found to have NO NOTCHES! Amateur radio frequencies are NOT PROTECTED! This matches the experience in Portugal, where products are distributed without these notches.

Got that? No more utility. No more ham. No more use of marine USB while dockside. NO MORE SHORT WAVE RADIO, ANYWHERE IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED WORLD, EVER AGAIN.

I don't know why I bother with this cause. The apathy is complete, and the regulatory indifference is shocking. Unless a movement starts, right now, involving people who traditionally distrust political movements, it will be over. The regulatory agencies will say, well, that's the breaks. Sorry about that.

The people of this Earth will lose the most accessible and democratic (small d) communication medium ever invented. This will have a tragic effect on all history.

Now... is that clear enough?

STS-119 Is On Orbit

Do check out the pictures of the launch. It was right at twilight and absolutely gorgeous.

STS-119 On Time for 2343 UTC Launch

The Discovery countdown continues. Crew is in the vehicle and last close-outs are in progress.

For the first time I can ever remember, there is a 0% chance that weather will violate launch constraints.

STS-119 Count Continues

Discovery is still on target for a Sunday launch at 7:43 PM EDT (2343 UTC). The Rotating Service Structure was rolled back at 0030 Saturday UTC, and tanking begins in about 10 hours.

Check for range and Booster Recovery Vessel activity on the usual frequencies. At night, the best ones are around 5 MHz.

ISS Crew Back In Station

The space debris has passed without incident, and the crew has left the Soyuz and gone back to normal operations.

Space Station on Debris Watch

The crew of the ISS has put the station on auto and evacuated to a Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station. This is after space debris from a spent satellite kick motor drifted into the danger box.

The closest approach is at 1639 UTC, in other words right about now. The crew should be re-entering the station shortly.

Just In: LORAN-C Is Dead in the USA!

In a major policy reversal required by economic belt-tightening in this year's US government budget, the US Coast Guard has announced that the United States LORAN-C navigation system will shut down at a time to be determined.

It appears that LORAN was specifically defunded in the budget, which refers to it as "outdated."

Better hope GPS keeps working.

Here's the terse release at NAVCEN:

The Operating Status of LORAN-C

LORAN-C provides coverage for maritime navigation in U.S. coastal areas. It provides navigation, location, and timing services for both civil and military air, land and marine users. LORAN-C is approved as an en route supplemental air navigation system for both Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) and Visual Flight Rule (VFR) operations. The LORAN-C system serves the 48 continental states, their coastal areas, and parts of Alaska.

On February 26, 2009, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) publicly announced the President's Fiscal Year 2010 Budget. In the section for the Department of Homeland Security, the budget "supports the termination of outdated systems such as the terrestrial-based, long-range radionavigation (LOrAN-C) operated by the U.S. Coast Guard resulting in an offset of $36 million in 2010 and $190 million over five years." For more information on the proposed FY2010 Budget, visit the OMB website under President's Budget.

The Coast Guard will continue to operate the current Loran C system through the end of FY2009 and is preparing detailed plans for implementing the FY2010 Budget.

STS-119 Now No Earlier Than Sunday

Following the meeting mentioned in the last post, the STS-119 launch to the space station has been postponed until this Sunday at the earliest.

A Sunday launch would be at 7:43 PM EDT, with the usual launch window of around 7 minutes to achieve proper orbit to reach the ISS. However, this remains contingent on exactly how much work will be required to fix the problem with the gaseous hydrogen vent line.

Another meeting will take place tomorrow to assess how well troubleshooting is going, then a firmer decision will be made.

STS-119 Scrubs 10 Minutes After My Last Post

Launch count has recycled one day. New launch target is 8:54 PM EDT Thursday, but this is contingent on a meeting of the mission directors that is taking place right about now.

Scrub was caused by a leak in a gaseous hydrogen line leading to the flare where the hazardous gas is burned off.

Sorry I'm the last to post this. I went to lunch, and when I got back the shuttle had not gone to launch. (Sorry about that too.)

Revised MT NASA Guide Now Available

Larry Van Horn has just announced an update of the Monitoring Times guide to monitoring NASA.

It's at the MT Web site. Download is free to all.

The STS-119 countdown is still on time for a 9:20 PM EDT launch. Fuel loading should be complete right around now. Weather still shows only a 5% chance of violating constraints.

Shuttle Still Counting for Wednesday Night Launch

STS-119 is targeted to launch at 9:20 PM Wednesday evening local time, or 0120 Thursday UTC. The flight is going to the International Space Station to add the last solar panel. Launch window is therefore only a few minutes.

NASA TV has begun coverage. Booster Recovery Vessels and range operations will begin soon, and they will be audible on HF. Cape Radio has been heard testing on all frequencies. Specific loggings have been made on 6550, 10780, 11548, 13212, and 14937 kHz USB. There are usually a few other low frequencies that light up closer to launch. Keep watching this and other blogs for hits.

Also go to http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle for latest NASA info.

WSPR@Home

I've been running WSPR fed by my own radio instead of the WebSDR. Guess what: it's active in the USA too! Here are some hits:

10138.6 2 mar
0504 -22 0.8 10.140175 1 W3HH EL89 33
0510 -16 0.7 10.140190 0 AA0DW DN70 37
0514 -11 5.9 10.140186 -1 WT5N EL09 37
0526 -16 6.1 10.140151 -1 WT5N EL09 37
0544 -22 0.8 10.140134 0 AA0DW DN70 37

7038.6 2 mar
0606 -15 1.8 7.040069 0 K0FT EM17 37
0608 -21 0.9 7.040077 0 KC2QII FN20 40
0616 -11 1.5 7.040069 0 K0FT EM17 37
0620 -19 0.9 7.040078 0 KC2QII FN20 40
0626 -19 1.0 7.040078 0 KC2QII FN20 40
0628 -12 0.6 7.040070 0 K0FT EM17 37

10138.7 2 mar
0634 -16 0.7 10.140151 0 AA0DW DN70 37
0636 -23 0.6 10.140122 1 WD8INF EM79 37
0638 -25 0.6 10.140138 0 W3HH EL89 33

For those interested in propagation spotting, I'm in DM04.

All signals are deep in the noise. Typical transmitter powers are around one watt, or lower. In fact, the program does not work as well on very strong signals. No wonder they call it whispering.

30 meters was completely dead otherwise. Maybe we've found a way to communicate on HF in the post-sunspot, pre-HomePlug era.

Here's a list of suggested WSPR frequencies, all USB. Park on one, make sure your computer clock is in perfect sync, and check back every even minute to see what your computer has found for you.

Band Dial freq (MHz) Tx freq (MHz)
160m 1.836600 1.838000 - 1.838200
80m 3.592600 3.594000 - 3.594200
60m 5.287200 5.288600 - 5.288800
40m 7.038600 7.040000 - 7.040200
30m 10.138700 10.140100 - 10.140300
20m 14.095600 14.097000 - 14.097200
17m 18.104600 18.106000 - 18.106200
15m 21.094600 21.096000 - 21.096200
12m 24.924600 24.926000 - 24.926200
10m 28.124600 28.126000 - 28.126200
6m 50.293000 50.294400 - 50.294600
2m 144.488500 144.489900 - 144.490100

(I've also seen 10138.6. It really doesn't seem to make a difference for casual utility receiving.)

Links:
WSPRnet
http://wsprnet.org/drupal/
Where to get the program
http://www.physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/
And how to use it
http://www.frenning.dk/OZ1PIF_HOMEPAGE/Whisper_Guide.html

The Great WebSDR Tour - Part 4 (40m)

We conclude The Great WebSDR Tour with some stuff found on 40 meters.

7033.3 (listed 7037.9)
I probably should have switched to LSB before getting a frequency on this one. It's TA2BBS-4, node #4 of a packet/Pactor mailbox and bulletin board system. The transmitter is in Ankara, Turkey.

7034.0 (see above, listed freq is much higher)
This is also packet, but I couldn't get an ID

7038.7
This is the infamous 40 meter SLHFB cluster that European hams have been serenaded by for decades now. Like 80m and the others, it's a cluster of propagation beacons (?) used by the Russian Navy. They bang away in CW, with single-letter IDs spaced 100 Hz that are consistent from cluster to cluster. That's why you'll remember some of these from 80.

Here's what I have so far:

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

(Again, thanks to Ary Boender.)

Quite the racket when these are all coming in at once, with different letters fading up and down at different rates.

7054.0
Indicated center frequency of what sounds like a loud teleprinting idler. May be an image, I don't know. It's REALLY loud, and it appears (much weaker) the same distance from the other side of the IQ mixer center frequency. Appears to be 75/200 and sounds like some military and diplo stuff but I have no way of knowing if I'm right. Fades in and out with the night time skip. ?????????????

Happy SDR'ing!

The Great WebSDR Tour - Part 3

3589.7 (Dial, listed 3588.0)
This is an output frequency for an interesting European data network called PSKmail. Those who have used "packet" mailboxes get the concept, except that this one is in PSK250. This is a much faster, and much wider, version of the PSK31 that everyone's probably heard on 14070 kHz. It works better than HF packet, and you don't need a US $1500 modem to receive it, like you do for Pactor-II and III. The shareware MultiPSK program does it just fine, even over the grungy webSDR.

The station on this frequency identifies as DK4XI-8. It seems to dump large files of amateur callsigns and coordinates on the hour. I don't know if these are APRS or obtained in other ways. Many of the stations are afloat. At hour +15, it dumps an even larger file of Deutscher Wetterdienst WX and NAVTEX Hamburg, both in German. This contains weather observations and maritime safety information from the German weather and hydromet offices.

I've also copied another PSK250 station, DA5UWG, on 3588.5. This is also PSKmail.

3592.6 (listed, dial can vary all over)
This is an interesting world propagation spotting net using a semi-automated amateur mode called WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter, aka "whisper"). WSPR is implemented in another small computer program resembling WSJT. Look and feel are similar, since both are written by K1JT, but WSPR is even less intuitive if that's possible.

This mode is designed for very bad HF circuits. It is precisely timed, with transmissions beginning exactly 2 seconds into each even UTC minute and lasting around 110 seconds. DEFINITELY sync your computer to an Internet time server if you're going to use THIS mode.

The information rate is very slow, around 1 baud. The signal is only about 6 Hz wide. It uses a very narrow 4PSK modulation and a lot of redundancy (FEC, etc). Therefore the dedicated WSPR software decoder can extract very weak signals, well below the noise.

Even when it's audible, WSPR is easy to confuse with just another dirty carrier or more local computer grunge. This makes it easy to miss, but if you park WSPR on the SDR at or near 3592.6 USB, you'll hear it eventually. At home, try this one and 10138.6 USB.

So far my only successfully decoded hit is:

0622 -4 1.7 3.594074 0 OE1SMC JN88 30

and yes, the actual transmitted frequencies are between 3594 and 3594.2 kHz.

3595.7
Our tour comes to an end with the Russian Navy SLHFB Single-Letter HF Beacon cluster. Like all these clusters, this one consists of several CW Morse beacons spaced 0.1 kHz repeating one letter forever. These have been on the air for a very long time, and they are thought to be propagation beacons. It's possible to tune in the whole range at once and see where the band's open to.

So far, on 80, we have nailed:

3593.7 "D" Sevastopol 02/04/09 0431
3593.8 "P" Kaliningrad 02/08/09 2142
3593.9 "S" Severomorsk 02/04/09 0431

(Thanks to Ary Boender for the locations).

There should at least be "C" (3594.0, Moscow) audible at some point, and also an "A" on 3594.1 and maybe a "K."

Well, that's the 80 meter part of our tour. Sure a lot more to hear than around here.

For those who want to do the WebSDR thing, there's a list of these here. Note that K7UEB has just brought up a new one at his US location near Walla Walla, WA. It covers 14000-14095 kHz (or most of the 20 meter digital band).

Happy decoding!

The Great WebSDR Tour - Part 2

We continue our tour of 80 meters on the Dutch WebSDR.

3582.1 (dial; listed is 3581.5)
This is W1AW, the ARRL Headquarters superstation in Newington, CT. Code practice and bulletins are audible nightly. I wish I could get it as well here.

~3585
One of several weather FAX stations in this range. These are very weak. This and the SDR's woozy timing guarantee poor reception of these faxes, but they are identifiable as weather charts sent at 120/576.

3585.5 (listed 3584.5)
One of several ALE frequencies. It might be worthwhile to park on these, but I hate to tie up their server. By the time I can tune them in, it's too late to sync up and get an ID. I would guess this one is amateur, since it's a listed ALE calling frequency for Regions II and III.

Other ALE frequencies include, but are not limited to, 3587.6 and 3618.2.

3585.0
Unknown STANAG 4285, that jet-plane noise made by a NATO data communications mode about 3 kHz wide. Started and stopped. Also voice in a language other than English, using military-sounding procedures and NATO phonetics. STANAG 4285 has also been heard on 3614.4.

3586.5
VERY approximate frequency of NATO tactical data linking in Link-11 mode. There's Link-11 all through this part of 80 at night. That's what it is. Hams have nothing similar. It's the military.

Other Link-11 frequencies include, but are not limited to, 3590.5, 3607.0, and 3610.0 kHz.

--------
Break, more to follow

The Great WebSDR Tour - Part 1

The WebSDR in the Netherlands just keeps getting more popular. Maybe it's too popular. The server is getting pretty hammered.

It's easy to see why, because this box gets everything. Maybe it's the full size antenna. 20 is dead, but 80 and 40 sound like old times, with stations from one end to the other of the SDR's little segments. Back here in The Land That Shortwave Forgot, I haven't heard the low bands this active since I was a small boy with a big antenna.

Let's begin our tour on 80 meters. This band is shared in Europe. Amateurs co-exist with military utilities and even weather faxes.

The SDR coverage begins around 3576.0 kHz. Frequencies are corrected to documented listed ones where available, otherwise it's the reading of the SDR "dial."

3576.0-3578.0
This is a JT65 working frequency range. Stations pick frequencies plus or minus QRM. JT65 is part of a computer program named WSJT which has several digital modes designed for EME (Earth-Moon-Earth communication, aka "moon bounce"). This is done on VHF and UHF, making 80 meters an unlikely place to find these extremely slow polytone-like transmissions. However, a quick session with WSJT decodes them, proving that's what it is.

Here's one morning's decoding done here. It's right off the Internet, rubbery timing and distortion and all:

1836 CQ UT0TV KN39
1843 CQ UA1ZFL KP67
2024 CQ TF3HZ HP94
2025 TF3HZ UA1ZFL KP67
2027 TF3HZ UA1ZFL R-20
2032 UA0AET RA4NCX RRR
2033 GM0AXY
2034 GM0AXY UT0TV -06
2036 CQ RA4NCX LO49

JT65 has three submodes, A through C, depending on the amount of frequency shift made by the single sine wave tone. On receive, WSJT can pick the right one. The sound in your speaker really does slightly resemble the slow preamble sent by the Russian polytone numbers stations (XP and XPH). It's a steady beep changing frequency at regular intervals.

This net sounds weird, which might explain why it seems to have picked up some jamming. Maybe the jammers don't know what it is, or maybe they want them to do it somewhere else. Since the jamming (manually swept carriers) follows the stations around, we know there are people sitting at radios turning knobs. It's definitely a ham turf battle.

3577.0 IZ3DVW Italian Propagation beacon, ~1 watt. Always loud and right in the middle of all the JT65 fuss. Sends long carriers and the callsign plus "BEACON" in CW Morse.

-----
Break, more to follow.