Updated July 12 Night of Nights IX Information

Each year the Maritime Radio Historical Society commemorates 12 July 1999, the date on which the supposed last commercial message was sent in the US. On that date we pick up the thread, keep the faith and maintain the traditions of maritime radio communications so that the skills and traditions of all the radiotelegraphers who came before us will be maintained.

While MRHS station KSM is on the air every Saturday, on Night of Nights we originate stations KPH and KFS in addition to KSM. Other stations join us on the air, this year including KLB, WLO, NMC and NMN.

Flash! The SS AMERICAN VICTORY/KKUI radio department has advised that they will try to work every coast station on the air for Night of Nights XI. KKUI can most often be heard on 12Mc ITU channel 3 (see KPH listing for channel 3 frequencies) but may use other channels as well. If KKUI contacts KPH, KFS or KSM all the transmitters for those stations will be keyed during the contact so listeners will have a good chance of hearing at least the shore side of the exchange.

You can participate by listening or by visiting the ex-RCA receive site to see the action in person. If you'd like to operate K6KPH just bring your key. No license required!

Here are the details of the event:

Date: 12 July 2010 Pacific time, 13 July gmt
Time: 5:01pm Pacific time, 0001 gmt

Station and frequency information (subject to change):

-----

KPH

KPH will transmit on 426, 500, 4247.0, 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.8 and 22477.5kc.

MF and 22Mc will be on Henry transmitters, rest of KPH HF on 1950s vintage RCA K and L sets.

KPH operators will listen for calls from ships on ITU Channel 3 in all bands. The Channel 3 frequencies are 4184.0, 6276.0, 8368.0, 12552.0, 16736.0 and 22280.5kc on HF and 500kc on MF.

Reception reports may be sent to:

Ms. DA Stoops
P.O. Box 381
Bolinas CA 94924-0381
USA

-----

KFS

KFS will transmit on 12695.5 and 17026.0 -

12695.5 will be on a 1940s vintage Press Wireless PW-15, formerly at the KFS transmitter site in Palo Alto, CA and one of the transmitters on the air on 12 July 1999. 17026.0 will be on a Henry transmitter.

KFS will listen for calls from ships on HF Channel 3 (see KPH listing for frequencies).

Reception reports - same as KPH

Ms. DA Stoops
P.O. Box 381
Bolinas CA 94924-0381
USA

-----

KSM

KSM will transmit on 426, 500, 6474, 8438.3 and 12993kc.

We don't have enough antennas to accommodate the other KSM frequencies when KPH and KFS are on the air. A failure of any of the RCA transmitters may cause a KSM tx to be diverted to cover KPH.

KSM will listen for calls from ships on 500kc and HF Channel 3 (see KPH listing for frequencies).

Reception reports - same as KPH

-----

WLO

WLO will transmit on 2055.5, 4343.0, 8658.0, 12992.0 and 16968.5kc

WLO will listen for calls from HF Channel 3(see KPH listing for frequencies).

Reception reports may be sent to:

WLO Radio
7700 RINLA AVENUE
MOBILE, ALABAMA 36619
USA

-----

KLB

KLB will transmit on 488, 500 (A1 & A2), 8582.5kc

KLB will listen for calls from ships on 500kc and 8368.0kc.

Reception reports - same as WLO

-----

NMC - US Coast Guard Point Reyes, CA

NMC will transmit on 448, 472, 500, 6383.0, 8574.0 and 17220.5kc

NMC will listen for calls from ships on HF Channel 3 (see KPH listing
for frequencies).

Reception reports may be sent to:

Commanding Officer
USCG CAMSPAC
17000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956-0560
Attn: Operations Specialist in Charge (OSIC)


-----

NMN - US Coast Guard Chesapeake Bay, VA

NMN will transmit on 8471.0, 12718.5 and 16976.0kc

NMN will listen for calls from ships on HF Channel 3 (see KPH listing
for frequencies).

Reception reports may be sent to:

Commanding Officer
USCG CAMSLANT
4720 Douglas A. Munro Rd.
Chesapeake, VA 23322
Attn: Operations Specialist in Charge (OSIC)

-----

K6KPH

Amateur station K6KPH will transmit and listen on 3550, 7050 and 14050kc for KPH, KFS and KSM reception reports.

Professional operators will be at the key and commercial procedures will be used. But please don't hesitate to call, no matter what your code speed or experience level may be.
K6KPH verification reports may be sent to:

Ms. DA Stoops
P.O. Box 381
Bolinas CA 94924-0381
USA

-----

Remember, this is a public event. If you are in the area you are invited to join us 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.

Doors open at 3:00pm Pacific time. Snacks will be served. Tours of the transmitting station may be arranged for "true believers" by appointment only.

[Plus you can get a piece of Night of Nights cake! -Hugh]

GL de MRHS

Tropical Depression Two Public Advisory #1

000
WTNT32 KNHC 080304
TCPAT2
BULLETIN
TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWO ADVISORY NUMBER 1
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL022010
1000 PM CDT WED JUL 07 2010

...SECOND TROPICAL DEPRESSION OF THE ATLANTIC SEASON FORMS OVER THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO...TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS ISSUED...


SUMMARY OF 1000 PM CDT...0300 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...23.9N 93.9W
ABOUT 265 MI...425 KM ESE OF BROWNSVILLE TEXAS
ABOUT 245 MI...395 KM E OF LA PESCA MEXICO
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...35 MPH...55 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 310 DEGREES AT 14 MPH...22 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1005 MB...29.68 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY...

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED ALONG THE TEXAS COAST SOUTH OF BAFFIN BAY TO THE MOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE...AND THE GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WARNING ALONG THE COAST OF MEXICO FROM RIO SAN FERNANDO TO THE MOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* FROM SOUTH OF BAFFIN BAY TEXAS TO RIO SAN FERNANDO MEXICO

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA...IN THIS CASE WITHIN 24 HOURS.

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 UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.


DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
AT 1000 PM CDT...0300 UTC...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION TWO WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 23.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 93.9 WEST. THE DEPRESSION IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 14 MPH...22 KM/HR... AND THIS GENERAL MOTION ACCOMPANIED BY A SLIGHT DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS OR SO. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE DEPRESSION IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL NEAR THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER THURSDAY AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 35 MPH...55 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME GRADUAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST AND THE DEPRESSION COULD BECOME A TROPICAL STORM BEFORE LANDFALL OCCURS ON THURSDAY.

THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE BASED ON NOAA AIRCRAFT RECONNAISSANCE DATA IS ESTIMATED TO BE 1005 MB...29.68 INCHES.


HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
RAINFALL...THE DEPRESSION IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES OVER PORTIONS OF FAR NORTHEASTERN MEXICO AND COASTAL TEXAS...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 10 INCHES.

WIND...TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH THE COAST WITHIN THE WARNING AREA BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON.


NEXT ADVISORY
-------------
NEXT INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY...100 AM CDT.
NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY...400 AM CDT.

$$
FORECASTER STEWART/CANGIALOSI

Air Recon Taskings for TD-2 7-8 July

000
NOUS42 KNHC 061530 COR
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1130 AM EDT TUE 06 JULY 2010
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 07/1100Z TO 08/1100Z JULY 2010
TCPOD NUMBER.....10-036 CORRECTION

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. SUSPECT AREA (GULF OF MEXICO)
FLIGHT ONE - TEAL 70
A. 07/1800Z
B. AFXXX 01BBA INVEST
C. 07/1600Z
D. 23.0N 91.0W
E. 07/1715Z TO 07/2200Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO - TEAL 71
A. 08/0600, 1200Z
B. AFXXX 0202A CYCLONE
C. 08/0330Z
D. 25.0N 93.5W
E. 08/0445Z TO 08/1200Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK: POSSIBLE 3-HRLY FIXES
BEGINNING AT 08/1500Z IF SYSTEM DEVELOPS.
3. REMARKS:
A. TASKING FOR 06/1800Z, 07/0600Z AND 07/1200Z
CANCELED BY NHC AT 06/1210Z.
B. NOAA'S P-3 WILL BEGIN A SERIES OF FOUR RESEARCH
MISSIONS INTO THIS AREA AT 06/2000Z TODAY AND
THEN DEPARTING EVERY 12 HRS. OPERATING ALTITUDE
12,000 FT.

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


000
NOUS42 KNHC 071600
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1200 PM EDT WED 07 JULY 2010
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 08/1100Z TO 09/1100Z JULY 2010
TCPOD NUMBER.....10-037

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. SUSPECT AREA (WESTERN GULF)
FLIGHT ONE - TEAL 70
A. 08/1200Z
B. AFXXX 01BBA INVEST
C. 08/0945Z
D. 25.5N 96.5W
E. 08/1100Z TO 08/1700Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO - TEAL 71
A. 08/1800,2100, 09/0000Z
B. AFXXX 0202A CYCLONE
C. 08/1530Z
D. 26.0N 97.0W
E. 08/1730Z TO 09/0000Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK.....NEGATIVE.
3. REMARKS:
A. TASKING FOR 07/1800Z, 08/0600Z, AND 08/1200Z
CANCELED BY NHC AT 07/1220Z.
B. NOAA WILL CONDUCT RESEARCH MISSIONS INTO THIS
AREA WITH THE G-IV TAKING OFF AT 07/1730Z AND
A P-3, OPERATING AT 12,000 FT., TAKING OFF AT
07/2000Z AND AGAIN AT 08/0800Z.

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

Air Recon Taskings for Hurricane Alex 1 July

000
NOUS42 KNHC 301400
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1000 AM EDT WED 30 JUNE 2010
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 01/1100Z TO 02/1100Z JULY 2010
TCPOD NUMBER.....10-030

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. NEGATIVE RECONNAISSANCE REQUIREMENTS.
2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK.....NEGATIVE.
3. REMARKS: MISSIONS TASKED FOR HURRICANE
ALEX ON TCPOD 10-029 WILL FLY.

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

HURRICANE ALEX ADVISORY #22

000
WTNT31 KNHC 010237
TCPAT1
BULLETIN
HURRICANE ALEX ADVISORY NUMBER 22
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL012010
1000 PM CDT WED JUN 30 2010

...ALEX MOVING INLAND OVER NORTHEASTERN MEXICO...

SUMMARY OF 1000 PM CDT...0300 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...24.3N 97.8W
ABOUT 35 MI...55 KM N OF LA PESCA MEXICO
ABOUT 110 MI...180 KM S OF BROWNSVILLE TEXAS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...100 MPH...160 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...W OR 260 DEGREES AT 10 MPH...17 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...947 MB...27.96 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY...

THE HURRICANE WARNING IS CHANGED TO A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE COAST OF TEXAS SOUTH OF BAFFIN BAY TO THE MOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* THE COAST OF MEXICO FROM THE MOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE TO LA CRUZ

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IN IN EFFECT FOR...
* THE COAST OF TEXAS FROM THE MOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE TO PORT
OCONNOR
* THE COAST OF MEXICO SOUTH OF LA CRUZ TO CABO ROJO

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 UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.


DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
AT 1000 PM CDT...0300 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE ALEX WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.3 NORTH...LONGITUDE 97.8 WEST. THIS POSITION IS JUST INLAND OF THE COAST OF NORTHEASTERN MEXICO IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF SOTO LA MARINA. ALEX IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 10 MPH...17 KM/HR...AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT DAY OR SO. ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER OF ALEX WILL MOVE FARTHER INLAND OVER NORTHEASTERN MEXICO ON THURSDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 100 MPH...160 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ALEX IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. STEADY WEAKENING WILL OCCUR AS THE TROPICAL CYCLONE MOVES OVER LAND...AND ALEX IS EXPECTED TO DISSIPATE OVER MEXICO WITHIN 1 TO 2 DAYS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 35 MILES...55 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 205 MILES...335 KM.

AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT REPORTED A MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE OF 947 MB...27.96 INCHES...JUST BEFORE LANDFALL.


HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
RAINFALL...ALEX IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES OVER PORTIONS OF NORTHEASTERN MEXICO AND SOUTHERN TEXAS...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 20 INCHES. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES... ESPECIALLY OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.

WIND...HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS ARE SPREADING INLAND OVER A PORTION OF THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA OVER NORTHEASTERN MEXICO. THESE WINDS WILL DECREASE ON THURSDAY.

STORM SURGE...A DANGEROUS STORM TIDE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY
AS MUCH AS 4 TO 6 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST TO THE NORTH OF WHERE THE CENTER HAS MADE LANDFALL. THE WATER COULD PENETRATE INLAND AS FAR AS SEVERAL MILES FROM THE SHORE WITH DEPTH GENERALLY DECREASING AS THE STORM TIDE MOVES INLAND. NEAR THE COAST...THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE WAVES. THE STORM TIDE AND WAVES WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH ON THURSDAY.

TORNADOES...ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS OVERNIGHT.


NEXT ADVISORY
-------------
NEXT INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY...100 AM CDT.
NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY...400 AM CDT.

$$
FORECASTER PASCH/BERG

Air Recon Taskings for Hurricane Alex 30 June

000
NOUS42 KNHC 291430 COR
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1030 AM EDT TUE 29 JUNE 2010
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 30/1100Z JUNE TO 01/1100Z JULY 2010
TCPOD NUMBER.....10-029..CORRECTION

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. FLIGHT ONE - TEAL 72
A. 30/1800,2100, 01/0000Z
B. AFXXX 1201A ALEX
C. 30/1445Z
D. 24.9N 96.2W
E. 30/1630Z TO 01/0000Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO - TEAL 70....CORRECTED
A. 01/0300,0600,0900Z
B. AFXXX 1301A ALEX
C. 30/2345Z
D. 25.3N 97.0W
E. 01/0130Z TO 01/0900Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK.....NEGATIVE.

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

HURRICANE Alex Advisory #18

000
WTNT31 KNHC 300231
TCPAT1
BULLETIN
HURRICANE ALEX ADVISORY NUMBER 18
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL012010
1000 PM CDT TUE JUN 29 2010

...ALEX BECOMES THE FIRST HURRICANE OF THE 2010 SEASON AND THE FIRST JUNE ATLANTIC HURRICANE SINCE 1995...


SUMMARY OF 1000 PM CDT...0300 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...23.1N 94.8W
ABOUT 195 MI...315 KM ESE OF LA PESCA MEXICO
ABOUT 255 MI...415 KM SE OF BROWNSVILLE TEXAS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75 MPH...120 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...W OR 280 DEGREES AT 9 MPH...15 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...973 MB...28.73 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY...

NONE.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* THE COAST OF TEXAS SOUTH OF BAFFIN BAY TO THE MOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE
* THE COAST OF MEXICO FROM THE MOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE TO LA CRUZ

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IN IN EFFECT FOR...
* THE COAST OF TEXAS FROM BAFFIN BAY TO PORT OCONNOR
* THE COAST OF MEXICO SOUTH OF LA CRUZ TO CABO ROJO

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 UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.


DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
AT 1000 PM CDT...0300 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE ALEX WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 23.1 NORTH...LONGITUDE 94.8 WEST. ALEX HAS MOVED MOSTLY WESTWARD NEAR 9 MPH...15 KM/HR...OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS BUT A GENERAL WEST-NORTHWESTWARD MOTION IS EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT 24 TO 48 HOURS. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF ALEX WILL APPROACH THE COAST OF NORTHEASTERN MEXICO OR SOUTHERN TEXAS ON WEDNESDAY AND MAKE LANDFALL IN THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA LATE WEDNESDAY OR WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ALEX IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST PRIOR TO LANDFALL. ALEX WILL BEGIN TO WEAKEN AFTER ITS CENTER CROSSES THE COASTLINE.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 15 MILES...30 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 175 MILES...280 KM.

THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER PLANE WAS 973 MB...28.73 INCHES.


HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
RAINFALL...ALEX IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES OVER PORTIONS OF NORTHEASTERN MEXICO AND SOUTHERN TEXAS...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 20 INCHES. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES... ESPECIALLY IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. RAINBANDS ASSOCIATED WITH ALEX ARE SPREADING ONSHORE IN NORTHEASTERN MEXICO AND SOUTHERN TEXAS.

WIND...TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH THE COAST WITHIN THE HURRICANE AND TROPICAL STORM WARNING AREAS BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT OR EARLY WEDNESDAY...MAKING OUTSIDE PREPARATIONS DIFFICULT OR DANGEROUS.

STORM SURGE...A DANGEROUS STORM SURGE WILL RAISE WATER LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 3 TO 5 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST TO THE NORTH OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL. THE SURGE COULD PENETRATE INLAND AS FAR AS SEVERAL MILES FROM THE SHORE WITH DEPTH GENERALLY DECREASING AS THE WATER MOVES INLAND. NEAR THE COAST... THE SURGE WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE WAVES.

TORNADOES...ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF EXTREME SOUTHERN TEXAS ON WEDNESDAY.


NEXT ADVISORY
-------------
NEXT INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY...100 AM CDT.
NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY...400 AM CDT.

$$
FORECASTER PASCH/BERG

Short Wave Radio Figures In Yet Another Spy Bust

From CBS News:

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, June 28, 2010

FBI: 10 Russian Spies Arrested in U.S.

Suspects, Arrested in Four States, Were Highly-Trained Spies Seeking Access to "Policy-Making Circles," FBI Says

[...]

Eight of the 10 arrested were "carrying out long-term, 'deep-cover' assignments" the FBI said, while two had lesser roles in the Russian intelligence program. The arrests took place Sunday in Montclair, N.J., Yonkers, N.Y., Manhattan, Boston, and Arlington, Va.

[...]

The court papers describe the defendants' communicating with purported Russian agents using a method not previously described in espionage cases here: by establishing a short-range wireless network between laptop computers of the agents and sending encrypted messages between the computers while they were near each other.

[...]

The complaint states that such agents - known as "illegals" - are highly trained in "foreign languages; agent-to-agent communications, including the use of brush-passes; short-wave radio operation and invisible writing; the use of codes and ciphers, including the use of encrypted Morse code messages; the creation and use of a cover profession; counter-surveillance measures" and more.

Here are the links to the full FBI criminal complaints (pdf):

Complaint 1
Complaint 2

Air Recon Taskings for T.S. Alex 28-29 June

000
NOUS42 KNHC 271500 COR
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1100 AM EDT SUN 27 JUNE 2010
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 28/1100Z TO 29/1100Z JUNE 2010
TCPOD NUMBER.....10-027 CORRECTION

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. TROPICAL STORM ALEX
FLIGHT ONE - NOAA 49
A. 29/0000Z
B. NOAA9 0601A ALEX
C. 28/1730Z..........CORRECTED
D. NA
E. NA
F. 41,000 TO 45,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO - TEAL 70
A. 29/0000, 0600Z
B. AFXXX 0701A ALEX
C. 28/2030Z
D. 21.1N 93.4W
E. 28/2300Z TO 29/0600Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT THREE - TEAL 71
A. 29/1200, 1800Z
B. AFXXX 0801A ALEX
C. 29/0845Z
D. 21.8N 94.2W
E. 29/1100Z TO 29/1800Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK: CONTINUE 6-HRLY FIXES.
POSSIBLE G-IV FLIGHT FOR 30/0000Z.

3. REMARKS: NOAA 42 WILL BE DOING RESEARCH FLIGHTS INTO
ALEX WITH TAKEOFFS EVERY 12 HRS FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS.
(28/0800Z, 28/2000Z ETC.) OPERATING ALTITUDE 12,000 FT.

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


000
NOUS42 KNHC 281430
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1030 AM EDT MON 28 JUNE 2010
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 29/1100Z TO 30/1100Z JUNE 2010
TCPOD NUMBER.....10-028

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. TROPICAL STORM ALEX
FLIGHT ONE - NOAA 49
A. 30/0000Z
B. NOAA9 0901A ALEX
C. 29/1730Z
D. NA
E. NA
F. 41,000 TO 45,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO - TEAL 70
A. 30/0000,0300,0600Z
B. AFXXX 1001A ALEX
C. 29/2200Z
D. 23.5N 94.2W
E. 29/2330Z TO 30/0600Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT THREE - TEAL 71
A. 30/0900,1200,1500Z
B. AFXXX 1101A ALEX
C. 30/0700Z
D. 24.1N 95.3W
E. 30/0830Z TO 30/1500Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK: CONTINUE 3-HRLY FIXES.
POSSIBLE G-IV MISSION FOR 01/0000Z.

3. REMARKS: NOAA 42 WILL BE DOING RESEARCH FLIGHTS INTO
ALEX WITH TAKEOFFS EVERY 12 HRS FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS.
(29/0800Z, 29/2000Z THROUGH 30/0800Z) OPERATING
ALTITUDE 12,000 FT.

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

T.S. Alex Public Advisory #12A

000
WTNT31 KNHC 281736
TCPAT1
BULLETIN
TROPICAL STORM ALEX INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 12A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL012010
100 PM CDT MON JUN 28 2010

...ALEX MOVING SLOWLY NORTH-NORTHWEST WITH NO CHANGE IN STRENGTH...

SUMMARY OF 100 PM CDT...1800 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...20.3N 91.7W
ABOUT 85 MI...135 KM WNW OF CAMPECHE MEXICO
ABOUT 535 MI...860 KM SE OF BROWNSVILLE TEXAS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...60 MPH...95 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNW OR 330 DEGREES AT 5 MPH...7 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...990 MB...29.23 INCHES

WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY...

NONE.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* THE COAST OF TEXAS SOUTH OF BAFFIN BAY TO THE MOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE
* THE COAST OF MEXICO FROM THE MOUTH OF THE RIO GRANDE TO LA CRUZ

A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA. A WATCH IS TYPICALLY ISSUED 48 HOURS BEFORE THE ANTICIPATED FIRST OCCURRENCE OF TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS...CONDITIONS THAT MAKE OUTSIDE PREPARATIONS DIFFICULT OR DANGEROUS.

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 UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.

DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
AT 100 PM CDT...1800 UTC...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ALEX WAS LOCATED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT NEAR LATITUDE 20.3 NORTH...LONGITUDE 91.7 WEST. ALEX HAS MOVED LITTLE OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS...BUT IS EXPECTED TO RESUME MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST AT AROUND 5 MPH...7 KM/HR...LATER TODAY. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS FORECAST ON TUESDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 60 MPH...95 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AND ALEX IS EXPECTED TO BECOME A HURRICANE ON TUESDAY.

TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES...110 KM FROM THE CENTER.

THE LATEST MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY THE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT WAS 990 MB...29.23 INCHES.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
RAINFALL...ALEX IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES OVER THE YUCATAN PENINSULA... SOUTHERN MEXICO...AND THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF GUATEMALA THROUGH TUESDAY. ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 10 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER MOUNTAINOUS AREAS. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES.

HEAVY RAINS COULD REACH THE COASTAL AREAS OF TAMAULIPAS...NORTHERN VERACRUZ...AND SOUTH TEXAS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY.

WIND...TROPICAL-STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO APPROACH THE COAST WITHIN THE HURRICANE WATCH AREA DURING THE DAY ON WEDNESDAY... MAKING OUTSIDE PREPARATIONS DIFFICULT OR DANGEROUS.

NEXT ADVISORY
-------------
NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY...400 PM CDT.

$$
FORECASTER BRENNAN

Air Recon Taskings for T.S. Alex 27-28 June

000
NOUS42 KNHC 251415
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1015 AM EDT FRI 25 JUNE 2010
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 26/1100Z TO 27/1100Z JUNE 2010
TCPOD NUMBER.....10-025

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. SUSPECT AREA (WESTERN CARIBBEAN)
FLIGHT ONE - TEAL 70
A. 26/1800Z
B. AFXXX 0301A CYCLONE
C. 26/1400Z
D. 18.5N 86.5W
E. 26/1630Z TO 26/2100Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK: BEGIN 6-HRLY FIXES
AT 28/1200Z IF THE SYSTEM SURVIVES OVERLAND.

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

000
NOUS42 KNHC 261430
WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1030 AM EDT SAT 26 JUNE 2010
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
VALID 27/1100Z TO 28/1100Z JUNE 2010
TCPOD NUMBER.....10-026

I. ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
1. TROPICAL STORM ALEX
FLIGHT ONE - TEAL 70
A. 28/0000, 0600Z
B. AFXXX 0401A ALEX
C. 27/2100Z
D. 20.5N 91.0W
E. 27/2300Z TO 28/0600Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

FLIGHT TWO - TEAL 71
A. 28/1200, 1800Z
B. AFXXX 0501A ALEX
C. 28/0900Z
D. 22.0N 92.5W
E. 28/1100Z TO 28/1800Z
F. SFC TO 10,000 FT

2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK: CONTINUE 6-HRLY FIXES
IF ALEX REMAINS A THREAT.

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

K6KPH to Transmit Field Day Bulletin

Anyone who's operated Field Day (currently in progress) knows the importance of copying the annual ARRL Field Day Message. This is broadcast in CW and digital modes. Field Day clubs and stations earn extra points for submitting an accurate copy with their contest entries.

K6KPH, the MRHS amateur station, will once again be the west coast outlet for the Field Day bulletin message.

The Maritime Radio Historical Society station K6KPH will transmit
the W1AW Field Day 2010 bulletin for the benefit of West Coast
stations on 3.5815, 7.0475, 14.0475, 18.0975 and 21.0675 MHz using
CW.

K6KPH will transmit the Field Day bulletin using Baudot, FEC AMTOR,
BPSK31 and MFSK16 on 7.095 and 14.095 MHz.

K6KPH Field Day Bulletin Schedule

Mode Pacific Mountain Central Eastern

CW 7:30 AM 8:30 AM 9:30 AM 10:30 AM
Digital 9:30 AM 10:30 AM 11:30 AM 12:30 AM

For full information about Field Day see the ARRL Web site at:

http://www.arrl.org/field-day

Richard Dillman
Chief Operator, Coast Station KSM
Maritime Radio Historical Society
http://www.radiomarine.org

RSGB Responds on PLT/PLC Report

The Radio Society of Great Britain has posted the following response to inquiries about its position on the recently published consulting report regarding the electromagnetic compatibility issues surrounding home power line communications in the UK.

This discussion is on the UK QRM group on Yahoo. From the start, this group has played a key role in the discussion of this issue among hams and SWLs in the United Kingdom. It was started by long time Utility World contributor Mike in West Sussex, who has hung in there despite personal tragedies which would have defeated lesser people.

Given the context, we should best regard this as a semi off the record statement. Here you go:

I have seen several requests here for a comment from someone in RSGB on all this.

In the GB2RS script for this week should be the following:

Ofcom has this week published its long-awaited report "The Likelihood and Extent of Radio Frequency Interference from In-Home PLT Devices" This 156 page report assesses the likelihood of interference to various users of the radio spectrum over the next decade. The main conclusion is that action is needed to reduce the interference footprint of PLT devices. This action could take various forms, and the Society is considering the report in detail prior to initiating discussions with Ofcom about the follow-on actions it intends to take. We expect the position to become clearer over the next few weeks and months.

As background, there are a number of issues to consider about the report's recommendations, not the least is whether Ofcom has accepted them! Beyond that there are questions about the effectiveness of the mitigation measures which PA recommend, and whether they go anywhere near meeting the essential requirements of the EMCD.

RSGB is considering all these matters, and will make its views known in due course.

Don, G3BJ

UK Ofcom Publishes Key PLT/PLC Report

A long-awaited report from PA Consulting Group, as commissioned by the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom), has been released.

The report is entitled "The Likelihood and Extent of Radio Frequency Interference from In-Home PLT Devices." It carries a publication date of "21 June 2010."

This is a dense, highly detailed document with 156 pages. However, its conclusions are clearly written and easy to understand.

Basically, if nothing changes in the design of the home network adapters sold to the public, the UK can expect significant degradation of many radio systems and some hardwired services such as DSL, by 2020. Affected radio comm spectrum would include nearly all of HF outside amateur bands, and most of VHF.

PA, however, remains hopeful that design changes can reduce such interference.

Here are the most relevant parts from the conclusions in the summary at the beginning. Those wanting to read more and make their own conclusions can get the entire document at this link.

Page 1:

1 Executive summary

Power Line Telecommunications (PLT) devices are used for data distribution in the home

Power Line Telecommunications (PLT) is the collective term for various forms of communication over wiring used for supplying electricity (termed the 'mains' wiring throughout this report). The most recent developments in PLT devices address the consumer market for in home connectivity as an alternative to WiFi or data cabling. It is these in-home PLT devices that are the specific focus of this study. In-home PLT devices are growing in popularity and, in particular, their use in BT Vision installations in the UK has made the UK one of the biggest users of in-home PLT devices in Europe.

Ofcom has received complaints of interference caused by PLT devices and has requested this study The majority of PLT devices on the market today operate at HF frequencies and, while they are not intended to radiate, there is evidence of interference to other HF users which has resulted in a number of complaints to Ofcom. While most of these complaints have been resolved, Ofcom is concerned that the problem may grow as the number of PLT devices deployed increases over time. Higher data rate PLT devices operating up to 300MHz have also started to emerge in the UK market and so potential interference at VHF is also a concern.

Ofcom has asked PA to assess the likelihood and impact of RF interference from in-home PLT devices over the next 5 to 10 years.

Our results show that users of sensitive radio systems may increasingly suffer interference from PLT devices

In this study we have taken a statistical approach to quantifying the probability of interference occurring as PLT devices become more commonplace. We have concluded that if uptake increases in line with our market forecasts, there will be a high probability of interference to some existing spectrum users at both HF and VHF by 2020 if PLT device features do not change from those currently implemented.

However, within this timescale, in addition to the existing practice of notching International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) bands, interference mitigation features such as power control and smart notching are expected to have been implemented in PLT devices. Our results indicate that the introduction of these features will be enough to reduce interference to negligible levels in the majority of these cases. The exception to this is the safety critical aeronautical bands which we recommend are notched by default rather than by smart notching. [Smart notching only responds to very strong and persistent signals like SWBC, not weak USB comm. -Hugh]

And Page 3:

It is important that mitigating features are implemented in future PLT devices.

The majority of PLT devices in the UK to date have been issued as part of the BT Vision package; however, there is churn in this market, and it should not be assumed that the existing installed base is traceable or could be updated to incorporate these features. We do however assume that the current practice of PLT devices being upgraded in cases where they have been identified by Ofcom as sources of interference will continue and ensure that the existing installed base is gradually replaced where needed.

While power control and smart notching are already part of the product roadmaps of the PLT vendors that we consulted as part of this study, we recommend that where possible the introduction of these features is formalised to ensure that their introduction can be relied upon.

CAP Comm Exercise Postponed Until Fall

This post comes from Tom, DL8AAM, via the UDXF list:

Larry,

FYI, just got an email from Michael regarding the planned CAP ALE-exer mentioned on your blog on http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com

> > Actually, because of another major CAP Communications activity,
> > I have deferred that exercise to the fall. (...)

73, Tom

Meanwhile, here's what I have on CAP so far this month:

ALE address has two formats:
NNNN+SS+CAP
NNN+RRR+CAP
Where
N = figure 0-9
S = letter in US postal code for state
R = letter in abbreviation of CAP region
CAP = US Civil Air Patrol

Stations copied:

0004AZCAP
0004NVCAP
0008WICAP
0011ARCAP
0011CACAP
0011NVCAP
0100NDCAP
0112GACAP
0135ORCAP
0140NVCAP
0303WACAP
030PCRCAP
0323AZCAP
0327COCAP
043MERCAP
060PCRCAP
0708NVCAP
100SWRCAP
9101ORCAP

MER = Middle Eastern Region
PCR = Pacific Coast Region
SWR = Southwest Region

Frequencies heard (kHz; USB ALE):

4477, 5006, 6806, 7602, 8012, 9047, 10162, 11402, 12081, 13415, 14357, 15602, 17412, 19814, 29894

All transmissions were soundings.

Correction to Vietnamese Numbers Post

The information concerning language and translation in the previous post regarding the Vietnamese numbers station has been double and triple checked and is as accurate as I can get it.

I wish I could say the same for the frequency and time log. I copied some stuff off a file name I'd given the recording, and made a major boo-boo. [Red face.]

Yes, the frequency is 10255, same one they always use. And the time is around 1600 UTC, 9 AM PDT, same slot as always. Actually, Token out on the desert has a 1604 start for this one, and there's no reason not to believe him, since I don't believe I ever put a time in my log.

Sorry about that. Thanks to Original Token for pointing out this rather embarrassing mess up. It's been changed in the previous post.

Vietnamese Numbers Translated!

A native Vietnamese speaker, who has worked as a translator in the United States, has listened to my recording of the 10255 kHz ~1600 UTC "numbers" station.

This translation contains some new information. It also corroborates other details that were posted to the ENIGMA 2000 group.

Here's her report. Italicized numbers are for my own footnotes.

I just listened to the audio. It sounds like they were making an announcement using coding. And I don't know exactly where it comes from but it's a Northern Vietnamese voice. [1] Here's the translation:

Sơn Ca gọi Hải Đăng năm hai năm ba (x9)
"Son Ca [2] is calling Hai Dang [3] 5253"

Số điện sông năm tám hai hai (x3)
"Phone number: 05822" [4]

Số nhóm bảy một (x3)
"Number of groups: 71" [5]

Ngày [?] ba chín số một trong (once)
"Date: 3/9/2010" [6]

Nội dung của đầu (x3)
"Content's beginning:"

[message in 5F groups, no repeat] 05711 21249 05433 56985.....12289

Sơn Ca gọi Hải Đăng năm năm năm eigh
"Son Ca is calling Hai Dang 5558." [7]

[1] The translator used by an ENIGMA 2000 member also said the voice was in a Northern dialect.

[2] Possibilities:
Đảo Sơn Ca, an island in the South China Sea.
Generic for Cay or Key (small island in a group).
Popular Vietnamese record label.
Someone's name, perhaps a singer.

[3] Google translates Hải Đăng as "Lighthouse."

[4] She translated it as "phone number." A colloquialism? Or is it really a standard "numbers" callup signifying a group or message router?

[5] There are indeed 71 groups in the message. I counted. Twice.

[6] This transmission was recorded on March 18, 2010. This is a further indicator that recorded broadcasts are repeated on subsequent days until the message changes.

[7] You have to listen carefully, and the number at the end really is different than the one at the beginning. I wonder if this is true for other broadcasts.

US Civil Air Patrol Frequencies

Here's what I have for the CAP on ALE. A star (*) designates ones that I have heard as active in the past couple of months.

3204.0
4477.0 *
5711.0
6806.0 *
7602.0 *
8012.0 *
8294.0
9047.0 *
10162.0 *
11402.0 *
12081.0 *
13442.0
20107.0
25571.0

Most CAP ALE addresses are 4 figures + 2-letter state postal abbreviation + CAP. If the transmitter is a region station, the 3-letter abbreviation for the region is used instead of the state postal code. Ones copied here include MER (Middle Eastern Retion), PCR (Pacific Coast Region), and SWR (Southwest Region).

Civil Air Patrol Exercise Soon

The CAP is apparently going to have a radio communication exercise at a time to be announced immediately before it commences, sometime between now and July 4th.

See Larry Van Horn's excellent MT Milcom blog for the full story.

SAQ VLF Alternator Transmissions Are July 4

This year's "Alexanderson Day" transmissions will be Sunday, July 4, at 0900 and 1200 UTC. Transmitter tune-up will start a half hour sooner.

As always, the frequency is 17.2 kHz (not MHz), in CW, from Grimeton Radio in Sweden, callsign SAQ.

The transmitter is a vintage Alexanderson RF alternator. This is a type of AC generator once used around the world to replace "King Spark" right before vacuum tubes replaced everything. The 200 kW or so go to a truly majestic wire antenna on huge towers. The signal is audible worldwide with the right equipment (though that is saying a lot).

A WebSDR receiver that successfully receives other European signals (mostly military) in this low range is at: http://websdr.pa3weg.nl/. Its location gives an excellent chance of hearing SAQ.

The full announcement, with QSL information, is here.

New E-Mail Address for Utility World **IMPORTANT**

TO ALL SHIPS AND STATIONS
FLASH OVERRIDE

In the previous week or so, my e-mail address has been barraged with hundreds of spam messages per day, all forwarding from my column's "official" mail drop at monitoringtimes.com. On any given day, 10-20 of these will have viruses attached. Most of the others are phishing or links to malware.

In order to keep Utility World functioning at all for the continued benefit of our hobby, it is now necessary for me to put in a hard block of the entire monitoringtimes.com domain. This means that, effective immediately, no e-mail sent to my "official" column address at the magazine will ever reach me.

I am working with MT to change the e-mail address shown on my column. Due to the nature of magazine lead times, however, the change will not appear until the August issue.

Therefore, I am using other means of getting word to people whose loggings and input I value. Anyone wanting to contact Utility World can do so at this address (broken up for anti-spam):

aetherwellen-utilityworld

(common ASCII symbol meaning "a t")

yahoo.com

(Obviously you would concatenate all this together to get a standard e-mail address format. You know, like person@name.tld. One of those.)

Sorry for the inconvenience, but it had gotten so bad that no other recourse was left. It is too bad that abuse of the Internet makes it so hard for honest users to get work done.

END FLASH TRAFFIC

Maritime CW "Night of Nights" Coming July 12!

Night of Nights will be held on 12 July 2010.

Night of Nights is the annual event of the Maritime Radio Historical Society, commemorating that sad day on 12 July 1999 when what were thought to be the last commercial Morse messages in the US were sent. However the reports of the demise of commercial Morse were exaggerated. By the next year the MRHS had restored enough of ex-RCA station KPH to hold the first Night of Nights. Since then the event has expanded to include the return to the air of not only KPH but KFS and KSM, the station of the MRHS. Other coast stations typically join us on the air. In the past these have included WLO and KLB. This year we hope that at least two US Coast Guard stations will be on the air as well.

Night of Nights is a public event. You're invited to join us at the RCA receive site in Point Reyes, CA. Special visits to the transmitter site can be arranged for "true believers". Wherever you are you can tune in to the event at 5:01pm Pacific time/0001gmt as we pick up the thread and keep the faith with all the radiotelegraph operators who came before us.

More details will be posted as Night of Nights draws near.

If you would like to receive information about Night of Nights and other MRHS activities directly just send an email to radiomarine-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .

VY 73,

RD

NWS Proposal to Remove "All Caps" Format of Products

The US National Weather Service has announced its intention to distribute text products in caps-lower case format, rather than the traditional (and somewhat unreadable) "all caps." I don't know for sure, but I suspect the text has been in ITA2 since it used to go over teletypes.

Here's the text of the announcement (all caps, of course).

NOUS41 KWBC 281715 PNSWSH

SERVICE CHANGE NOTICE 10-28
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON DC
115 PM EDT FRI MAY 28 2010

TO:
SUBSCRIBERS:
-FAMILY OF SERVICES
-NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE
-EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK
-NOAAPORT
OTHER NWS PARTNERS...USERS AND NWS EMPLOYEES

FROM:
JASON TUELL
ACTING CHIEF
...PERFORMANCE AND AWARENESS DIVISION

SUBJECT:
USE OF UPPER AND LOWERCASE LETTERS IN NATIONAL
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENTS...SERVICE CHANGE AND
TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION NOTICES EFFECTIVE
AUGUST 16 2010

REFERENCE: PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT ISSUED MAY 28 2010
SOLICITING PUBLIC COMMENTS THROUGH SEPTEMBER 15 2010
ON CHANGE TO ALL NWS TEXT PRODUCTS TO USE MIXED CASE
AND EXPANDED CHARACTER SET

EFFECTIVE AUGUST 16 2010 NWS WILL BEGIN PROVIDING ALL NOTICES SUCH AS THIS ONE IN UPPER AND LOWERCASE ALPHABETIC CHARACTERS RATHER THAN ALL UPPERCASE AS IS PRESENTLY DONE. ADDITIONAL PUNCTUATION AND OTHER CHARACTERS THAT ARE PART OF THE INTERNATIONAL REFERENCE ALPHABET NO. 5 WILL ALSO BE INCLUDED IN NOTICES AS NEEDED. THIS CHANGE WILL APPLY TO PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENTS... SERVICE CHANGE AND TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION NOTICES WITH THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION /WMO/ HEADING OF NOUS41 KWBC AND AWIPS IDENTIFIER OF PNSWSH. THIS CHANGE EXPANDS ON A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT IN WHICH JUST THE EMAIL ATTACHMENT OF NOTICES WAS SENT IN MIXED CASE.

MANY NWS PARTNERS AND USERS HAVE IDENTIFIED THE NEED FOR ALL NWS TEXT PRODUCTS TO BE PROVIDED IN MIXED CASE AND TO INCLUDE AN EXPANDED PUNCTUATION AND CHARACTER SET. INTRODUCTION OF MIXED CASE AND EXPANDED PUNCTUATION CHARACTER SET IN NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND CHANGE NOTICE MESSAGES ALLOWS FOR A RISK REDUCTION EFFORT USING NON-OPERATIONAL PRODUCTS. USERS OF NWS TEXT PRODUCTS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY AND CORRECT ANY ANOMALOUS BEHAVIOR OF THEIR SYSTEMS AND THEIR CUSTOMER/S SYSTEMS THAT MAY BE CAUSED BY MIXED CASE AND EXPANDED CHARACTER SET. THIS CHANGE WILL MAKE TEXT PRODUCTS EASIER TO READ AND ALLOW USERS TO CLICK ON INTERNET LINKS DIRECTLY RATHER THAN CONVERTING THEM TO LOWERCASE OR MIXED CASE.

NWS IS SEEKING COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSAL TO CHANGE ALL NWS TEXT PRODUCTS TO INCLUDE USE OF MIXED CASE AND EXPANDED CHARACTER SET. PLEASE SEE THE REFERENCED PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT SOLICITING PUBLIC COMMENTS ON CHANGE TO ALL NWS TEXT PRODUCTS TO USE MIXED CASE AND EXPANDED CHARACTER SET.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS... PLEASE CONTACT:

HERB WHITE NWS DISSEMINATION SERVICES MANAGER
1325 EAST WEST HIGHWAY SILVER SPRING MD 20910
HERBERT.WHITE@NOAA.GOV
301-713-0090 EXT. 146

ITU to focus on emergency communications

Business Standard, India:

2010-06-05 01:00:00

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), which after 12 days of deliberations concluded here on Friday, adopted the Hyderabad Action Plan, outlining a road map to foster the global development of information and communication technology (ICT) networks and services over the next four years with more emphasis on emergency telecommunications.

Telecommunications and ICTs also play a critical role in disaster detection, early warning, preparedness, response and recovery. The Hyderabad declaration calls upon administrations to support polices and strategies that facilitate the use of telecommunications and ICTs for disaster management, in particular radiocommunications, said ITU secretary-general Hanadoun Toure.

"ICTs can save lives and help reduce the impact of natural disasters that could impede sustainable development. ITU has played a critical role in restoring telecommunications in disaster-hit areas around the world and was one of the early responders in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti earlier this year," he added.

...

Bletchley Park WWII archive to go online

From BBC News:

Bletchley Park WWII archive to go online

By Dhruti Shah
BBC News

Millions of documents stored at the World War II code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, are set to be digitised and made available online.

Electronics company Hewlett-Packard has donated a number of scanners to the centre in Milton Keynes so volunteers can begin the ground-breaking task.

...

The centre hopes that once the work starts, previously untold stories about the role Bletchley Park played in the war, will be revealed.

Power Line Communications on agenda at ITU

From Southgate Amateur Radio Club, UK:

Power Line Communications on agenda at ITU

ITU Working Parties 1A and 1B will meet in Geneva between June 21 and 28. A major item of discussion will be protection of radio services from interference from Power Line Communications (PLC) also known as PLT or BPL.

IARU has already contributed to the ITU-R report SM2158 “ Impact of power line telecommunication systems on radiocommunication systems operating in the LF, MF, HF and VHF bands below 80 MHz“ where the acceptable criteria for degradation of the HF radio noise floor caused by PLT is defined as being 0.5dB. Work in WP1A will concentrate on the protection of radio services from the effects of PLT in range from 80 to 200MHz.

The IARU delegate to SG1 and its working parties is Peter Chadwick G3RZP: three input contributions have been prepared for this meeting. One of these is a report on the effects of intermodulation in power supplies causing the amateur band frequency notches in the PLT spectrum to be degraded: this report has been prepared from the work by Richard Marshall, G3SBA published in the RSGB RadCom magazine, and also points out the difficulty such effects could have on the PLT system itself.

A further input establishes the protection criteria for amateur stations operating in the 2 metre band: Ian White, GM3SEK contributed to this input, and it is considered that the amateur and amateur satellite services require protection such that PLT interference does not exceed -45dB m V/m in the main lobe of the antenna, with a separation between antenna and the PLT installation being at least 10 metres.

The third input is of a more general character showing that there are a number of non-amateur services that could suffer interference from PLT or its harmonics, such applications including social alarms for the elderly, pagers, medical implant telemetry, as well as broadcast, and when aggregation of radiation is concerned, aircraft navigation and communications. When the differences in range between PLT and mains leads and the social alarms and medical implant ‘base’ stations etc., are taken into account, the acceptable levels of radiation to protect the amateur services are of the same order as those needed to protect these other services.

In another posting to this club's excellent web site, VK3PC notes that "Access BPL" is for all purposes extinct in Australia. He says that it never really reached a critical mass in the market down there, and it is rapidly being abandoned for other systems.

Thankfully, a similar process seems to be at work in the USA, with the infamous Manassas system being the latest victim.

"Access BPL" differs from PLC aka PLT aka In-Home BPL in that it uses the power company's wires, which have been demonstrated to be excellent (if inadvertent) transmitting antennas. Less is known about the real-world, non-laboratory-conditions RF emission from PLC/ PLT/ In-Home BPL. This completely different system uses the house wiring to distribute high-bandwidth applications such as video on demand. Originally, wi-fi was not up to this task, though the technology is evolving rapidly.

While a bad situation has existed for some years in the UK, compounded by regulatory abdication, the problems there may or may not ever actually happen in the United States. US house wiring differs considerably from the 200-volt loops with fused plugs that are still fairly common in the UK.

Introducing the Utility Nerd

L.A. Times has a long article about a blogger in Santa Barbara, CA, who goes by "Scanner Guy." He writes rambles about stuff he hears on his police scanner.

I decided HF utility deserved its own recognition. Enter The Utility Nerd. Most of this blog's readers look for information, frequencies, and numbers, and they will continue to get these. For the rest - it's The Utility Nerd.

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10255 kHz has been on all day. I do my Morning Viet Nam Check daily at 9:00 AM local, 1600 UTC. (Vietnamese "Lighthouse" numbers station, USB, somewhere in SE Asia.) Actually, I do it at 1555, because this guy is always early. 1557 or 1558 are typical. (REAL Utility Nerds are obsessive-compulsive about setting clocks to WWV. There is a BIG difference between 1557 and 1558!)

Lately it's been recordings of a really wired guy who sounds as if he's in an awful hurry to get through it. Shout-out to the agency responsible for these transmissions: Get a computer voice synthesizer, OK? There have to be cheap ports of DECTalk out there. Many of us miss Perfect Paul, and you can help us here. It would also force you to broadcast in English, and I'd have less trouble trying to get "Sung hai bos, hai dang, numnum numbai" translated.

(Don't laugh, several agencies have been known to follow what we're speculating about them. Really. I wouldn't lie to you.)

Now... this Viet Nam numbers guy. Shouldn't ENIGMA be giving this thing a designator, so I can stop calling it the Vietnamese Lighthouse Station, since that's probably wrong anyway? One native speaker seems to think "Lighthouse" is actually the station/ group/ whatever being called, not the caller.

The speculation over whether this was a shipping company started largely because there was a company, vessel, or something over there called Hai Dang (Lighthouse). Well, yeah. Viet Nam is a coastal nation. It's a little skinny thing sort of like a partially deflated California, with a lot of coast. It has MANY lighthouses. Something like 80 of them.

Their culture is as big on lighthouses as ours is. You know, we have a lot of references to lighthouses in our culture. They can mean beacons, guidance, leadership, enlightenment, divine grace, rallying places, protection from danger etc etc etc etc. Well, they have all these too.

It would be like saying that, since there has to be a Lighthouse Gospel Mission somewhere in the USA, that the Vietnamese numbers station is a religious broadcast. Wouldn't that be a hoot? Some cult in Westminster, CA might be frantically scribbling down numbers and looking for their one-time pads. But not likely.

Just saying.

May ALE Hits #4 (8050 & 9025 kHz)

The 8050 Connection:

8050.0 kHz USB has at least three different agencies using it, and probably more. Interoperability? Coincidence?

DKB - - - -- - - US JSOC, Ft. Bragg, NC, sounding
FC8 - - - - - - - FEMA Region 8, Denver, CO, sounding
HUNGRIA2 - Mexican Army, clg HUNGRIA ("Hungary")
PASTOR - - - Mexican Army, wkg CANDELA ("Candle")


The 9025 Connection:

9025 kHz USB is a primary US Air Force SCOPE Command radio system autopatching frequency. It's mostly USAF, but other DoD users come up there, and at least one agency in Mexico also uses it.

000 - - - - - - Unknown US military, clg HIK (Hickam AFB, HI)
460034 - - - Unknown USAF, sounding
523506 - - - USAF KC-135 #62-3506, wkg MCC (McClellan/West Coast, CA)
591480 - - - USAF, unknown a/c, clg self
717 - - - - - - USCG HC-130, CG 1717, clg O7SO2R
ADW - -- - - USAF, Andrews AFB, sound and wkg JNR (Puerto Rico)
E31408 - - - USAF E-3B AWACS, calling OFF (Offutt AFB, NE)
GHM - -- - - US military "3-letter net," possible NAOC mission, clg AED (Elmendorf AFB, AK)
HAW - -- - - USAF, Ascension Island, sounding
HIK - - - - - USAF, Hickam AFB, HI
JNR - - - - - USAF Salinas, PR, sound and wkg ADW
MCC - - - - - USAF "McClellan," CA, sound and wkg 523506
OFF - - - - - USAF, Offutt AFB, NE, clg E31408
PLA - - - - - USAF, Lajes AB, Azores
R23573 - - - Possible US Air National Guard, clg OFF

May ALE Hits #3 (FEMA/SHARES)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):


FC0FEM - - - - - Region 10 Comm Mgr
FC0FEM002 - - Region 10 Auxiliary
FC0FEM004 - - Region 10 Auxiliary
FC1FEM - - - - - Region 1 Comm Mgr
FC1FEM002 - - Region 1 Auxiliary
FC4FEM - - - - - Region 4 Comm Mgr
FC4FEM002 - - Region 4 Auxiliary
FC6FEM - - - - - Region 6 Comm Mgr
FC6FEM002 - - Region 6 Auxiliary
FC8 - - - - - - - - Region 8, Denver
FC8FEM - - - - - Region 8 Comm Mgr
FC8FEM002 - - Region 8 Auxiliary
FC8FEM006 - - Region 8 Auxiliary
FR4FEM - - - - - Region 4


Frequencies: 2658, 3341, 4780, 5402, 6809, 7348, 8050, 9462, 10194, 10588, 11108, 11126, 11446, 11485, 12129, 12216, 13446, 13894, 14776, 14885 15708, 16201, 17519, 19969, 21866, and 24526 kHz USB.


SHARES (SHAred RESources, Federal freq pool & interoperability capability for ~20 agencies, plus a heavy participation by MARS):


5QWAFA - - - - - - USAF MARS AFA5QW
9BNAFA - - - - - - USAF MARS AFA9BN
9FAAFA - - - - - - USAF MARS AFA9FA
9TCAAA - - - - - - US Army MARS AAA9TC
AAT3BF - - - - - - USAF MARS AAT3BF, Shares Coord. Stn, DE
AQPNNN - - - - - - USN/MC MARS NNN0AQP
KGD34 - - - - - - - - NCC, SHARES Coord. Stn, VA
KOG55C - - - - - - Possible FBI, Las Vegas, NV
OARNNN - - - - - - USN/MC MARS NNN0OAR
OPMHQ2 - - - - - - Unknown US Government
SEJNNN - - - - - - - USN/MC MARS NNN0SEJ
WWLNNN - - - - - USN/MC MARS NNN0WWL
YXPNNN - - - - - - USN/MC MARS NNN0YXP

Frequencies: 4490, 4765, 5711, 6800, 7642, 9064, 9106, 14396.5, 15094, and 17487 khz USB.

May ALE Hits #2 (COTHEN)

COTHEN = Customs Over-The-Horizon Enforcement Network.

The original COTHEN was one of the first autoscanning HF networks, using a SELSCAN mode made by Rockwell/Collins. Modulation was based on FED-STD-1045, and used 8FSK with a voice-channel bandwidth. This was replaced by ALE (MIL-STD-188-141).

Recently, use of COTHEN has greatly expanded, especially by the US Coast Guard. It's the busiest US Federal net on HF.

The original net uses these frequencies: 5732, 7527, 8912, 10242, 11494, 13907, 15867, 18594, 20890, 23214, and 25350 kHz, all USB ALE and voice. Stations sound, and also establish link before follow-on voice comms. ALE and voice calls nearly always differ.

More recently other freqs have been added. Mark Cleary has heard 4614.5, 5250, 5909.5, 11222, 13312, and 14582. I can confirm use of these here. Other frequencies are used by COTHEN players, but so far they are not in the same scan.

Identifications come from lists maintained by Mark Cleary and Larry Van Horn/ Tiare Publications.

003 - - - - USCG HC-130J, CG 2003
500 - - - - USCG HC-130H, CG 1500
501 - - - - USCG HC-130H, CG 1501
713 - - - - USCG HC-130, CG 1713
714 - - - - USCG HC-130, CG 1714
716 - - - - USCG HC-130, CG 1716
717 - - - - USCG HC-130, CG 1717
718 - - - - USCG HC-130, CG 1718
720 - - - - USCG HC-130, CG 1720
A23 - - - - CBP/ICE UH-60, Omaha 423
A39 - - - - CBP/ICE AB139 #N139HS
A65 - - - - CBP/ICE UH-60A
A70 - - - - CBP/ICE UH-60A, Omaha 670
A82 - - - - CBP/ICE UH-60A
CBE - - - - USCG Cutter Tahoma (WMEC-908)
CNT - - - - Central Regional Comm Node
CPDST - - Unknown
D01 - - - - CBP/ICE Q400 #N801MR, Omaha 1MR
D05 - - - - CBP/ICE Q400 #N805MR
D07 - - - - CBP/ICE Q400 #N807MR
D08 - - - - CBP/ICE
D14 - - - - CBP/ICE P-3A, Omaha 314
D23 - - - - CBP/ICE P-3B Slick, Omaha 23SK
D31 - - - - CBP/ICE P-3B Slick, Omaha 31SK
D46 - - - - CBP/ICE P-3B #N146CS
D48 - - - - CBP/ICE P-3B #N148CS
D49 - - - - CBP/ICE P-3B #N149CS
D95 - - - - CBP/ICE P-3A, Omaha295
DENPRI - Remote TX, near Denver, CO
EST - - - - Eastern Regional Comm Node
F29 - - - - USCG Falcon Jet, CG 2129
F31 - - - - USCG Falcon Jet, CG 2131
F41 - - - - USCG Falcon Jet, CG 2141, Foxtrot 41
HKW - - USCG Cutter Confidence (WMEC-619)
I00 - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N1200N
I08 - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N5408G, Omaha 08G
I1L - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N6001L, Omaha 01L
I21 - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N26621, Omaha 621
I31 - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N2531K
I37 - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N6637G
I43 - - - - CBP/ICE Beech #N43SA, Omaha 3SA
I4J - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N5314J
I52 - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N752CC, Omaha 2CC
I63 - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N26663Y
I86 - - - - CBP/ICE Cessna 550 #N586RE
IKL - - - - USCG Cutter Tampa (WMEC-619)
J01 - - - - USCG MH-60J, Juliet 01
J03 - - - - USCG MH-60J, Juliet 03
J06 - - - - USCG MH-60J, Juliet 06
J08 - - - - USCG MH-60J, Juliet 08
J09 - - - - USCG MH-60J, Juliet 09
J10 - - - - USCG MH-60J, Juliet 10
J16 - - - - USCG MH-60J, Juliet 16
J19 - - - - USCG MH-60J, Juliet 19
J21 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6021
J24 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6024
J25 - - - - USCG MH-60J, Juliet 25
J27 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6027
J29 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6029
J31 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6031
J32 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6032
J40 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6040
J41 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6041, Juliet41
J42 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6042
J43 - - - - USCG MH-60J, CG 6043
K02 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6502
K11 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6511
K20 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6520
K36 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6536
K40 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6540
K57 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6557
K59 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6559
K60 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6560
K66 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6566
K72 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6572
K75 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6575
K84 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6584
L08 - - - - USCG MH-65C, CG 6608
LNT - - - - USCG CAMSLANT Chesapeake, VA
LPB - - - - Unknown
N01 - - - - USCG HC-114A, CG 2301
N03 - - - - USCG HC-114A, CG 2303
N05 - - - - USCG HC-114A, CG 2305
N06 - - - - USCG HC-114A, CG 2306
N07 - - - - USCG HC-114A, CG 2307
OMNI - - Unknown omnidirectional rmt
OPB - - - - DEA OPBAT, Bahamas
P26 - - - - Unknown COTHEN Rmt
PAC - - - - USCG CAMSPAC Pt. Reyes
PR1PRI - Primary Remote Tx, PR
RDC - - - - USCG Cutter Campbell (WMEC-909)
T42 - - - - CBP/ICE Piper #N9142B, Omaha 42B
T6P - - - - CBP/ICE Beech #N7166P, Omaha 66P
T85 - - - - CBP/ICE Piper #N9085U, Omaha 85U
T91 - - - - CBP/ICE Piper #N9091J, Omaha 91J
T9F - - - - CBP/ICE Beech #N76509F, Omaha 09F
TSC - - - - CBP/ICE Technical Service Center, FL
UHC - - - - USCG Cutter Decisive (WMEC-629)
VAI - - - - Unknown
VM1 - - - - ICE
YWL - - - - USCGC Thetis (WMEC-910)
VY1 - - - - ICE
WST - - - - West Regional Comm Node
Z14 - - - - USCG Sector St. Petersburg, FL
Z15 - - - - USCG
Z28 - - - - USCG
Z29 - - - - USCG Sector San Diego, CA

KSM CW Now Up, All Freqs

500 kHz is not being copied in SoCal (wrong time of day). Everything else is audible at 1851 UTC, with 8 MHz loudest and 6 MHz just behind. The station is currently running a VVV de KSM wheel.

MRHS Ship Simplex now on 12552 CW

At 1821 UTC, KKUI is calling KYVM on 12552 kHz CW. Signal is good in SoCal. So far no joy.

KSM Special Event in Progress

KSM is currently up on 6474 kHz CW working an unknown vessel. Signal is typically strong in Southern California.

The vessel is one of three that are participating in special contacts for the Sacramento River cruise of the SS Jeremiah O'Brien (KXCH).

Other participating vessels are the SS Red Oak Victory (KYVM), and the SS American Victory (KKUI).

All vessels will be using 500 kHz (calling) and 425 kHz (working), in CW. KSM, on the shore side, will simulkey all of its HF frequencies, making reception possible over a very wide area. These are:

4350.5
6474.0
8438.3
12993.0
16914.0
22445.8

In addition, ship-to-ship contact may be audible on 12552 kHz CW.

This operation is scheduled to continue until 2200 UTC, with a lunch break at local noon (1900 UTC).

May ALE Hits #1

US Air Force:

000 - Clg HIK - Unknown USAF
523506 - Wkg MCC - USAF KC-135 #62-3506
ADW - Wkg various - USAF HF-GCS Control, Andrews
ADWSPR - Snd - USAF, Andrews SIPRNET gateway
DL0005DAT - Snd - USAF, E-3B AWACS, data
E31408 - Clg OFF - USAF, E-3B AWACS
HAW - Snd - USAF HF-GCS, Ascension Island
HIK - Snd - USAF HF-GCS, Hickam AFB, HI
JNR - Snd - USAF HF-GCS, Salinas, PR
JNRSPR - Snd - USAF, Salinas SIPRNET gateway
MCC - Snd - USAF HF-GCS, old "McClellan"
MCCSPR - Snd - USAF, McClellan SIPRNET gateway
OFF - Wkg various - USAF HF-GCS, Offutt AFB, NE
OFFSPR - Snd - USAF, Offutt SIPRNET gateway
PLA - Snd - USAF, Lajes AB, Azores

Frequencies: 4721, 5708, 6715, 6721, 8968, 9025, 11181, 11226, 13215, 13242, 15043, 15091, 17976, 18003, 23337


US Civil Air Patrol:

0004AZCAP - Snd - AZ CAP
0004NVCAP - Snd - NV CAP
0008WICAP - Snd - WI CAP
0011ARCAP - Snd - AR CAP
043MERCAP - Snd - CAP Middle Eastern Region
060PCRCAP - Snd - CAP Pacific Coast Region
0100NDCAP - Snd - ND CAP
0135ORCAP - Snd - OR CAP
0140NVCAP - Snd - NV CAP
0303WACAP - Snd - WA CAP
0708NVCAP - Snd - NV CAP
0748MOCAP - Snd - MO CAP
100SWRCAP - Snd - CAP - Southwest Region
9101ORCAP - Snd - OR CAP
9101T2CAP - Snd - Unknown CAP

Frequencies: 3204, 4477, 5006, 5447, 6773, 6806, 7602, 8012, 9047, 10162, 11402, 12081


MARS (Military Auxiliary Radio System):

5QWAFA - Snd - USAF MARS AFA5QW
9BNAFA - Clg 9DUAFA, 9KJAFA - USAF MARS AFA9BN
9FAAFA - Snd - USAF MARS AFA9FA
9TCAAA - Snd - US Army MARS AAA9TC
AAT3BF - Snd - US Army MARS, not reversed
OARNNN - Snd - USN/MC MARS NNN0OAR
SEJNNN - Snd - USN/MC MARS NNN0SEJ
YXPNNN - Snd - USN/MC MARS NNN0YXP
WWLNNN - Snd - USN/MC MARS NNN0WWL

Frequencies: 4490, 4765, 5211, 6765, 6800, 7487, 7642, 9106, 11217, 13242, 15094, 17847, 20107, 26812
(Some of these are SHARES, SHAred RESources)

Swedish Radio - Another SWBC Bites the Dust

On Halloween of this year, the trick is on Sveriges Radio International listeners.  Per the R. Sweden web site, that's the last day of MW and SW international broadcasting.

Swedish Radio’s international broadcasts on short and medium wave will close down from October 31, 2010. This is part of a decision by Swedish Radio’s management on our output and distribution announced on March 16 this year.

This means that from October 31, Radio Sweden’s programming in English will be broadcast nationally (on FM), as well as available on the Internet, and our podcast will be available here and on iTunes for downloading.

 So it goes.

STS-132 Launch On Schedule

Launch director at KSC has just cleared a constraint regarding an engineering issue in a payload bay camera.  Weather looks good, and scheduled launch target is about 20 minutes from now.

I haven't seen any reports of range or BRV traffic, but check the usual frequencies like 10780 kHz and the ones reported last mission.  There should be something.

Countdown to Atlantis' Liftoff Begins Today

NASA:

The countdown to liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis on its STS-132 mission is set to begin today at 4 p.m. EDT. Launch controllers will report to their consoles in NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center at 3:30 p.m. to be in place when countdown clocks start counting back from the T-43 hour mark.

"Teams at the Kennedy Space Center and at other centers around the country have been working very hard to get this vehicle ready to fly, and I am happy to report everything is going quite well at [Launch Pad 39A]," NASA Test Director Steve Payne said Tuesday morning. "Atlantis, crew and launch team are ready to go and looking forward to a beautiful launch Friday afternoon."

During the 12-day mission, Atlantis and the mission's six astronauts are delivering an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station. Technicians will close Atlantis' payload bay doors today, although a few experiments will be added to Atlantis' middeck about 28 hours prior to launch.

Atlantis' astronauts arrived at Kennedy on Monday evening, touching down at the Shuttle Landing Facility in four T-38 jets at 6:49 p.m. Today the crew members will review flight day file material and take part in a checkout of their orange launch-and-entry suits.

Liftoff is scheduled for May 14 at 2:20 p.m. According to Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters, weather is expected to be favorable, with a 70 percent chance of good conditions. The primary weather concern for Friday is the possibility of a low cloud ceiling. Partly cloudy and generally dry conditions will dominate the afternoon hours throughout the week.

Vietnamese Numbers Mystery Continues

The latest ENIGMA2000 newsletter #EN58 has some great stuff in it regarding the mysterious numbers station that broadcasts short 5F messages daily around 1600 UTC (plus or minus three minutes), in Vietnamese.

ENIGMA2000 notes, on page 3, that their Vietnamese speakers have been unavailable.  One is in Viet Nam.  Funny they should bring that up.  That's where mine is too.  There's a big Vietnamese community in SoCal, and so I'll keep at it.
 
(A post on UDXF mentioned that a different (as in available) Vietnamese speaker has listened to one of the many recordings in existence. They thought the radio announcer's dialect sounded northern, maybe the Hanoi area.)


Page 11 has an excellent research result sent to ENIGMA2000 by a California listener who goes by Token. He's done a lot of grunt work on this one.  He's out on the (quiet) desert with good equipment, knowledge of how to use it, and my dream antenna - a rhombic pointed at Asia.  I could sort out the Japanese fishery fax in a hurry with one of THOSE puppies up in the air, dominating our entire suburban neighborhood, with poles sunk into neighbor's flower gardens, keeping lightning away from everyone's houses... but that's not important now.

He mentions that a shipping company might not have a lot of reasons to repeat a broadcast 30 times.  I tend to agree that, until we get something definitive, it's safest to assume it's some kind of encrypted transmission sent to or from Viet Nam, for the purpose of passing coded information of a highly sensitive nature to an unknown person or persons whose identities are not for public knowledge.

Either that, or someone who listened to Conet once too often.

More when we get it.....

Rare Voice Traffic on the Pip!

A listener named Marco reports that he heard the 3756 kHz Russian marker known as The Pip stop for voice traffic on May 3rd. A female spoke for about two minutes in a Slavic language before the marker restarted.

Voice on The Pip has been heard before, though not very often.  The origin is suspected to be military. ENIGMA2000 reclassified the station from XT to S30 on the basis of intercepts like this.

Auroral Storm Trashes HF

There's nothing wrong with your antenna.  A solar wind event May 2nd caused unusually strong aurora, with photos being posted from the northern US.  Conditions are still pretty in and out.

NASA Unveils SDO First Light

NASA has publicly presented data from its new Solar Dynamics Observatory in a news conference that just ended.  SDO gathered a great deal of data on the recent flares and CMEs that messed up band conditions a few days back, and the presentation was pretty jaw-dropping for those who are really into solar-terrestrial physics and how they influence what we hear on the radio.

NASA has the first light images and videos here.

Discovery Prepares for Tuesday Landing

From NASA:

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:59:09 PM PDT

At 10:21 p.m., mission control played “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson as the wakeup call for Commander Alan G. Poindexter, Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. and Mission Specialists Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Rick Mastracchio, Stephanie Wilson, Clayton Anderson and Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki.

Space shuttle Discovery’s crew is prepared to return home Tuesday, as mission managers closely monitor weather that could affect their entry and landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The first Kennedy opportunity Tuesday would see a deorbit burn at 5:28 a.m. with a landing at 6:34 a.m. For the second opportunity the deorbit burn at 7:02 a.m. would lead to a landing 8:08 a.m.

For Edwards, the first opportunity deorbit burn would be at 6:56 a.m. with landing at 8:01 a.m. The next would have a deorbit burn at 8:30 a.m. and a landing at 9:35 a.m. while the third would begin with a deorbit burn at 10:05 a.m. leading to a landing at 11:11 a.m.

STS-131 Set to Land Tuesday

After a Monday wave-off of both KSC landings for bad weather, STS-131 has several opportunities to land on Tuesday, starting early in the morning local time.

Weather permitting, Discovery is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center's shuttle landing facility Tuesday at 7:34 a.m., 40 minutes after sunrise. The second landing opportunity at Kennedy is at 9:08 a.m.  Edwards Air Force Base in California is expected to be called up as a possible landing site. The first landing opportunity at Edwards is at 9:01 a.m.

All of the KSC opportunities are on descending paths over much of the continental US, allowing many people an opportunity to see a pretty spectacular re-entry in a dark or early morning sky.  The Edwards opportunities go right down the West Coast, and may do similar.  The rain storm that is moving into California should not affect Edwards in this time frame.

Check web sites for which orbit will actually have a landing.  Also, a table of passes for your US city can be generated by entering orbit number and KSC or EDW somewhere on NASA's site at spaceflight.nasa.gov.

STS-131 May Land Monday (If Weather Permits)

The first landing opportunity is on the KSC runway at 8:48 AM (1248 UTC).  If this landing happens, the ground track is different than usual, making the re-entry potentially visible to much of the continental US.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast is for conditions violating several constraints.  Another KSC opportunity exists Monday, and this one also uses the descending node track that would take it over the US.  If this is also waved off, STS-131 has several shots at KSC and Edwards on Tuesday.

Bletchley Park #3

Showing a few examples from Bletchley's large collection of WW II code machines.

This is a standard 3-rotor ENIGMA machine, like the ones used by the German army.  Note the Steckerbrett (plugboard) at the front that added more possible electrical paths for determining substitute characters for those typed on the keys.  This greatly complicated decipherment.

Bletchley has one of the world's few surviving "Abwehr" ENIGMAs, as used by the German military intelligence department. It has four rotors instead of three, but lacks a Stecker. This may be the machine which was stolen in 2000, leading to a (fortunately) rather badly organized ransom attempt. Offers to pay the ransom were unanswered, and finally the machine was sent (anonymously) to a BBC journalist, minus three of the rotors. These turned up later, when an arrest was made in the case.

This imposing collection of heavy metal shows the notorious 12-rotor Lorenz machine, with associated tape reader and teleprinter. The setup was used to encrypt and decrypt the teleprinter communications at the higher levels of German command. Colossus was built to attack this encryption, with considerable success.

Finally, this isn't a code machine at all.  It's a vintage (late 1950s) K.W. "Vanguard" ham radio transmitter with 30 watts.  These were typically built from kits sold by a British company.  This particular old rig is at one of the operating positions set up by the Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Club upstairs in B Block.  The antenna tuner on top is modern.

Hope you liked my photo trip to Bletchley Park.

All photos Copyright © 2010 Hugh Stegman

Bletchley Park #2

Part 2 of our tour begins when we leave B Block and explore the extensive grounds of Bletchley Park.  This entire complex is always adding exhibits and special programs, some on more diverse subjects such as model railroading. There's a lot to do there, and a lot of opportunities to volunteer.

Pictures of the rather flamboyant mansion house are all over the Internet, and we are about radio here, so a quick Google is recommended for those wishing to see some truly dotty British country architecture.  This neat old place is available for weddings, if you can talk your non-radio-nerd fiancee into it.

Our first photo is of Hut 1. It was built in 1938 or '39 as early wartime operations outgrew the mansion.  As the sign suggests, it once housed radio transmitters, connected to a giant rhombic antenna on the grounds.  This activity was moved away from Bletchley to avoid attracting attention to the site.  Today, Hut 1 houses vintage radio gear from the "Diplomatic Wireless Service," but due to low staffing it is only open weekends.

The low brick wall was added in 1942. It is only a few centimeters from the building, making access to the walls difficult. It was intended as partial protection for the hut, which by then was used for ENIGMA activities.

At a far corner of Bletchley, one comes upon H Block, which is arguably the birthplace of modern computing.  It housed an activity related to attacking German High Command teleprinting traffic, which was on-line encrypted and decrypted at the Baudot bit level with a fearsome multi-rotored mechanical device called the Lorenz machine.  Appropriately, the building is now becoming a British museum of computing.

Geeks won't want to miss H Block.  One wing of it tells the whole story of the Lorenz project.  The next photo shows a recreation of a rather impressive rack from the  dedicated intercept station in Kent. Note the battery of RCA receivers plus two HROs, and associated gear.  These fed the intercepts to an Undulator tape inker for storage and transfer to Bletchley for attempted decryption.

At Bletchley, the encrypted traffic was attacked using a series of increasingly large and sophisticated computing machines.  Early versions were like the "Heath Robinson" machine that's been recreated in this room of H Block:

This line of attack led to the famous Colossus, a true computer using 1500 thermionic valves (radio tubes). Certain features in the Colossus design made it more like modern programmable digital computers than the American ENIAC or other such wartime projects.  Toward the end of the war, 10 of these machines were operational at Bletchley.  All were destroyed for security reasons.

Here's the recreated Colossus Mark 2.

The large frame in the foreground is where the inked tape loops were threaded up and run at a high speed (for the time) past optical readers.  Other racks hold the various parts of the computer.  The black battery of switches was used for manual programming.  A series of counters analyzed the bits for statistical patterns useful for determining the proper wheel settings for decryption.  When the operator got it right, resulting plaintext was printed out by a local teleprinter.

This machine was operating at the time, producing the regular 2-second clicking of relays by which Colossus is known.  You can see some of the clustered tubes all pulsing away.  They don't make any of these tube types any more, so it took some real scrounging to find enough to make this machine go.

This recreation of Colossus has been used several times to decrypt leftover WW II Lorenz text, or newer messages encrypted using Lorenz machines or emulations on the PC.  Again, operator insight is very helpful.  In the right hands, Colossus still performs surprisingly well for this application, with decryption times stacking up fairly well against modern equipment.

Bletchley Park's very comprehensive web site is at http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/ .

All photos Copyright © 2010 Hugh Stegman

Bletchley Park #1

One reaches Bletchley from London, England, in the manner we described in a previous blog post. Once you're at Euston Station with your tickets, there are several choices of train. The best ones stop only once before reaching Bletchley, which is the last stop before Milton Keynes. This train gets there in good time, and it's a pretty ride out there.

Bletchley Park is literally across the street from the Bletchley railway station. It was constructed by the UK crypto department on the grounds of a typically flamboyant Victorian-era mansion that had been purchased by Naval Intelligence at the onset of the war. It is organized into "blocks," many of which are groupings of "huts." Some of the huts look like the name suggests, while others can be substantial brick buildings.

One walks up a long path past vintage-looking barbed-wire fences to B Block, a former center for decryption of Italian and Japanese traffic.  The beam antenna on top is for amateur radio. Upstairs are three operating positions with an interesting mix of vintage and modern gear. These will be replaced by an RSGB "National Amateur Radio Centre" which is under construction nearby.

This is where the self-guided audio tour starts. You pay your admission, watch an informative orientation film, and go through an absolutely first-rate collection of WW II cipher, crypto, and cryptanalysis machines. These are displayed alongside a rather quirky and interesting collection of all things 1940s, from product boxes and ration cards to vacuum cleaners and even metal toys.

Here is a striking reproduction of the radio room ("Funkraum") in a Nazi command bunker. Note the authentic vintage gear and the ENIGMA machine.

Moving on, we see a recreation of a typical Allied "Y-station" intercept position.  These were deployed in many places to capture enemy traffic for analysis and decryption/ decipherment at Bletchley. This combined COMINT effort considerably shortened WW II and maybe even turned the tide altogether.  Many, if not most, Y-stations used what "boat anchor" fans will immediately recognize as the National "HRO" receiver. From all the radios available, they picked the American HRO, with James Millen's indestructable tuning system.

We continue past many glass cases full of every imaginable WW II code machine, not to mention parts, tubes, and associated gear. One room is dominated by a megalithic black machine built like a bank vault and just as imposing.  This is the amazing Bombe recreation.

The original iteration of this electromechanical Godzilla was used to reverse-engineer the day's changing ENIGMA rotor and Stecker (plugboard) settings. This used a combination of brute force (each Bombe was equal to at least 36 ENIGMA machines) and operator insight to attack the ENIGMA cipher.  Bombes ground away 24/7 at Bletchley and other sites.  Operators used "cribs" (known or suspected plaintext), and other ideas to set the initial states for a run.  Successful solutions ("stops") would be tested on other machines until one worked. Then another round of ENIGMA enciphered traffic could be deciphered, usually the same day.

The Germans never lost faith in the ENIGMA machine, though they refined it as the war went on. Allies did not act on all intelligence, for fear the other side would catch on that its communications were no longer secure.  This sometimes caused heartbreaking decisions in which commanders knew that men would have to die.

After the war, all 200 or so existing Bombes were destroyed to keep the technology from falling into the wrong hands. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

The last photo in this set shows the extreme complexity of the Bombe's guts. Rebuilding one from scratch was NOT an easy task! 

All photos copyright © 2010 Hugh Stegman

The Blog Is Back

Returned from England just before the Iceland volcano closed much of the North Europe air space. I'll bet the NAT frequencies were interesting listening when that first happened. There could be issues with this volcano on and off for quite some time, so I suspect Atlantic aircraft monitoring just got better for the whole summer.

Will be posting more about Bletchley Park soon.