ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 24

September 2004
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest :enigma2000-owner@yahoogroups.com

German branch report

Hallo liebe E2K Freunde und Mitglieder der deutschen Branch [Hello dear E2K friends and members of the German Branch]

Here’s my third report of the German Branch, which was created at the beginning of March and still counts almost 20 members. Also in these two months, only a few of them sent me their logs and reported about events regularly. But there are plans to make the German Branch more popular in Germany (look below).

The summer months July and August were the vacation months for most people in Europe, also in Germany. But nevertheless, the most active members of our branch were at work with monitoring and logging numbers stations.

In July and August, also DanielE2Kde (Münster) and KopfE2Kde monitored the XM “Whales” on 11363 kHz again with fading signals and different sounds. Daniel and I monitored it on July 10 at different times; signal was very strong, and it sounded like “experimental backwards music”. Also I could monitor the station several tims iN August. I would say, that 11363 is a standard freq of XM.

The July began with a logging of G06 on July 5 at 1900, on 11425 with a 0-msg for “308” (KopfE2Kde). One day later the “Kopf” could confirm the signal on 8625, which was also heard by the English hobbyfriends PLondon, Brogers and Gary Whitewolf. It brought 2 pulses a second and we don’t really know, where it is coming from (some folks presume, it could be the CODAR). On July 8 there was an E07 log by KopfE2Kde: 2010 on 13526 with a 0-msg for “573”.

July 13 was an important date. Daniel monitored a Spanish lady on 12121 at 0130 (V2A?) in LSB. But more important: Simon Mason from UK reported, that his competition makes progresses. He received a quartet of recordings from the 70s, sent in by Andrew T. (probably UK). That note moved the “Kopf”, also to send in rare recordings and so to take part in the competition. I sent him two G14 recordings from the 70s in July, and another quartet of G16 recordings in August, so that I now have two ID numbers.

Exactly one week later, July 20, V6 “Russian lady in Spanish” was monitored by the “Kopf” on 14937 at 0620 with a 0-msg for “893” (signal very strong), even as I was searching for the XP[1] morning skeds. All three of them can be confirmed (i. P.), as usual with strong signal (9+45). But the XP evening skeds can’t be confirmed for whole July and August by the German Branch! Also on July 20: S06 at 2015 on 7654, also again with a 0-msg, this time for “198” (then the OM said the number group “20355” one time) [also monitored by KopfE2Kde].

The August brought us more logs, events and one new member. First the logs by the “Kopf”: X06 was heard again at 1713 till 1717 on 7822. After signal stopped, carrier stayed for half a minute, and after it went off, nothing further heard. Also the August XP[1] skeds can be confirmed: the 1^st freq (9236 at 0600), the 2^nd freq (10235 at 0620) and the 3^rd (11536 at 0640) with ID=225, GC=00161 [the 1^st one monitored on August 13, the two others on August 10]. Also the two E10 strings, beginning with “KPA” can be confirmed: the 1st one on August 9 on 6370 at around 2000, and the 2^nd one a day later on 4360 and 5170 at 2115. This 2^nd E10 string filled one whole 90-minute-cassette! August 11: E06 i. p. at 1500 on 12218 August 12: V2A i. P. on 8097, monitored at 0640 (probably start: 0630?) in my parents’ house in Friedberg – in the same country of Germany as Marburg belongs to, but further in the south. Better reception conditions there as in this high house here in Marburg.

We have a new member in the German Branch. DirkE2Kde (Schlüchtern – this QTH is difficult to pronounce in English – in HTML you write it “Schlüchtern”), an old school friend of mine, phoned me on August 12, saying, that he just heard a Morse station on 4030 (at around 1615) with different speeds (transmission i. P.). He hasn’t an email address yet, but if he will have one, we will be in correspondence via mail, before that via telephone [Tnx Dirk].

August logs from DanielE2Kde: He could receive E11 “Oblique” and its Slavic sister station S11A “Cherta” in August. In detail: E11 on August 13 at 1230 on 9448 in USB with a 0-msg for “321” (“321/00”). Five days later: S11A at 2100 on 5358 in USB with a 0-msg for “571” (“571/00”). As he writes, it ended around 2105 with “Kanyet”, but he couldn’t catch this “end” signal because of heave local QRM. On the same day (August 18) he could also catch E07 at 2000 on 14911 with a msg for “950” (msg i. P. caught). Also on this day: E06 at 2100 [the same time as S11A was on air] on 10229 with a 0-msg for “801”. On August 21: G06 at 2200 on 6834 with a 0-msg for “531”. Daniel remarks, that he found the most of these stations through Gert’s prediction list. [Tnx DanielE2Kde for these logs.] Also the German Branch has to thank Daniel for the article about the TV transmission of the film “ENIGMA – das Geheimnis” (“ENIGMA – the secret”) and PLondon for the images from Bletchley Park, which he made at the end of July.

As I [KopfE2Kde] was back in Marburg, I could confirm the musical signal on August 16, which was audible on 6825, and which was found by Ary. This “What is it” sample, what we called it, you can find on Ary’s homepage in a better quality than I had found it [listen at http://home.luna.nl/~ary]. I could monitor, that the signal stopped at 1815.

At the end of this report two things – one more serious and one more funny. Unfortunately, the most logs brought here are from me and only less are from other German hobby friends. Unfortunately OliverE2Kde from Darmstadt didn’t send me logs, but I will hope, that he and others will send more logs or reports about events in the media or literature about our topic in future. But: In this month I contacted the moderator of a German mailing list for blind and partially sighted radio amateurs. I am not member of that list, and I don’t want to become one. I only asked the moderator, if there are some people, who also deal with numbers stations. Our hobby is very interesting for this group of persons. I can say that, because I am also blind, as you know, and I always was fascinated about these stations. I really hope, that we can get more people for the German Branch of our world-wide numbers stations movement, presented through E2K. Remember: I will also speak at the “Days for acoustic Media” in Boltenhagen/East Germany at the end of October about the numbers stations. Hopefully, I can also pay the attention of these people there.

And now the funny thing at last: HendrikE2Kde (near Aschaffenbug) told me, that at the end of the “Ham Radio”, a radio amateurs’ exhibition, which is presented once a year, at the end of June, in Friedrichshafen/South-West Germany, they play the sound of S2 “Drums and trumpet”, which Hendrik also found on Simon’s excellent homepage. Perhaps the numbers stations are also of interest for some people there.

Until next time “Auf Wiedersehen” and good-bye

Jochen Schäfer, “Kopf” of E2K’s German Branch

[Tnx Jochen]