ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 24

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

Voice stations | Oddities | Polytones
German branch | Numbers predictions
The Smokey Dragon (1/4) | News Items | Web sites | Stop press | Contribution deadlines
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Polytones

E: The points that you raise concerning three tones is correct; you will hear the carrier rise usually 8 mins before a transmission and occasionally with tones as you report. Full details of tones used by Polytones are listed in ENIGMA Control List [no 20], however here are the tones shown for each system:

Now onto XP message info, following on with logs, from PLondon, JoA, RNGB, AnonUK and others;

There appeared to be changes afoot in the XP[1] schedule. The last full message on this schedule, ID194, was 01802/00227 and sent on the 8^th April. It was a repeat of that sent on 06/04. The next transmission on 13^th April was a null message 000, a condition that remained unchanged until the end of the month. Again, in May the ID changed to ID545 as did the messages, 000. Maintaining the same freqs as May the June ID remained 545 for the 000 transmissions for that month.

Under the ID820 July’s XP[1] transmissions retained the 000 format until the last null message on 15/07. Interested parties searched for transmissions on other freqs without success on 20/07 when the station was discovered to be NRH*, a situation that remains unchanged to date. [*Nil Required Heard].

The evening schedule used to start at 2010/2110z so it is worth looking at those times also to see if a time change has occurred, much as it did a few years back. However read on:

It is interesting to note that evening schedules 1,2 and 3 have apparently now gone. The more eagle eyed of you will have noticed that Sch 2 & 3 only used a 50^th group tally mark [formed by sending the space tone for a longer period]. Schedule 1 did not use the tally mark but like schedules 2 & 3 repeated messages from one sending to another. The morning schedule at the same time was not prone t repeating messages and like evening schedule 1 did not use the tally mark.

As stated above and certainly remarked on E2k there appears to be no Sch 1, 2 or 3 evening schedules now.

It is now noticed that the morning schedule appears to have begun regular repeats of message. The repeats of 23/27 July do not particularly suggest regularity but the repeated messages of 3 & 6 August [05931/00183] and 10 & 13 August [06824/00161] when coupled with the null messages of 17 and 18 August suggest a change. Prior to this three null messages were sent in May, one in June and two in July.

Does the coupling of messages by repeat suggest that the remaining monitored XP schedule is going the same way as Schs 1,2 & 3 and has taken over the task of Sch 1 whilst dropping that of the morning schedule? One factor remains and that is of frequency. The freqs being used are being selected for each month. Prior to our losing Sch 1,2 & 3 the freqs seemed to be those previously recorded.

AnonUK has always said that M12 is the Morse equivalent for XP but the control list states M78 as a possible. AnonUK stated in a report that M12 traffic has increased greatly; he too noted that XP activity had diminished.

A look at just 2 sendings of M12 illustrates at least some similarity:

Although the ident in both examples was not generated by the 100kHz value of each freq used the message ‘run up’ was exactly as XP [1800z as sample]:

124 124 124 1 rptd
A pause
2398 108 2398 108
then 108 groups [hand counted!]
End 000 000

Using the 3rd August 0600z XP :

225 225 225 1 rptd
A pause
05931 00183
then 183 groups
End with alternate tones, each 10 times.

Not a complete mirror but certainly food for thought. [Tnxs for your help AnonUK]. Before anyone suggests that the ident is nothing like that used by XP, April 2004 saw the interception of the ‘474’ net, as found by AnonUK and RNGB. It was termed ‘474’ because that was the id whilst the freqs used did not in any way relate to the figures 474. [see Page 31 Issue 22]. This had occurred before, in the February 04 morning schedule when the expected 818 was actually 833 [page 21 Issue 21 refers]. It was thought to be a mistake, but was it, and why had the message repeats started to appear in that schedule too.?

XP Daily Log [Insert M for message, N for Null message, add ‘o’ if from other source. Underscore indicates 50^th tally mark].

MONTH: July2004

• 0640z 06/07 3^rd freq found by WINOP [Wincyette Intercept Office, Polytone]! 2020z heard by HFD.

• 0640z 16/07 problems with sending. Brief LoS 26.7 & 35.9s with no effect but at 38.4s a 17.43s glitch that caused loss of part of intro: 391 391 391 1 391 391 391 1 391 391 391 __________________ 391 391 1 391 391 391 1 391 391 391 1 391 391 391 1 391 391 391 1

• 20/07 obs by JoA, noticed that 2000z series remained NRH. Not heard via PLondon's auto system either.

• 22/07 2000z remains NRH.

• 0600z 23/07 very poor at PLondon's QTH, better at JoA's - lots of static reported. Likewise 27/06 0600/0620z 0640z best 0620z HFD too

• 0600z 30/07 excellent sigs.

• PoSW reported by letter that he felt that XP[1] had ceased transmission too, finding no trace on 21^st July like JoA and PLondon.

XP Daily Log [Insert M for message, N for Null message, add ‘o’ if from other source. Underscore indicates 50^th tally mark].

MONTH: August2004

• 03/08 0600z poor sigs, better with JoA. Best sending at 0640z with PLondon.

• 06/08 reasonable sendings across 0600z schedule, a repeat of Tues 03/08

• 10/08 0600/0620z sendings very poor. 0600 failed twice in header and twice in the message leading to it being restarted. The 0620 sending was like poor.
  The carrier was wound up to good output prior to the actual message but turned down again. Like the 0600 the signal was par and audio corrupt.

• 0640z produced a strong useable signal – 40dBs in London .

• 11/08 XPH found by RNGB again as 12/05 transmission: 613 613 613 000 09955 repeated, ending 1437z. Also heard by Gert.

• 13/08 0600z/0620z Good sigs producing repeat message of 10/08

• 20/08 0600z although only a null msg very good sigs for both sendings in PLondon’s Crystal Palace QTH.

XPH

RNGB writes

‘Caught XPH this afternoon on 14873 kHz, it started at 1435z and ended 1437z. It was exactly the same message as I recorded on 12th May at same time on 16086. I recorded it in USB as it was much clearer. So you'll have to add about 3Hz to correct it. Message reads 613 613 613 000 09955 613 613 613 000 09955 etc, ended on 09955.”

This transmission was also heard by Gert who wrote,

'Here’s an XPH family related station I found, Wed 11 august 2004, 14.34 UTC (probably started 14.30) 14873 kHz.'

[Tnx RNGB and Gert – excellent stuff].

Voice stations | Oddities | Polytones
German branch | Numbers predictions
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