ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 27

March 2005
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest :enigma2000-owner@yahoogroups.com

Morse stations | Voice stations | Oddities | Polytones
Chirpsounders | Overall view | German branch | Numbers predictions
Jamming | Recycled AGI
Poor conditions | The Smokey Dragon (4/4)
News Items | Web sites | Stop press | Contribution deadlines
Index | E2K NL Home

Oddities

A recent question that has arisen on Group is to the validity of reports of the various noises bumps and squeaks that can be found on at any particular time.

ENIGMA 2000 welcome sensible reports of proper oddities, those in the ENIGMA Control List or those available on Brian Rodgers’ excellent site.

Before you submit a sound please seriously consider if it fits into something unusual that we would be interested in, or is something that is a well known noise that needs no investigation.

Interference was much noted and mentioned in our roundabout of communication. DoK and PLondon both mentioned the continual hash of noise that has dominated the lower frequencies whilst PoSW suffered severe interference of another style of background hash right across the shortwave bands with a level of some several S points.This unwanted blight also peaked on certain parts of the spectrum.

PLondon runs a homebrewed spectrum analyser and he has noticed the rise in the noise floor across the entire spectrum.

He has a plasma screen on his PC and was amazed to see the amount of hash generated between 11 and 22MHz as it cyclically moves across the screen. PLondon mentions the emission is mainly from the actual screen area with some spikes being superimposed on his mains wiring. [He’ll also get to see what hash his new TFT at work will kick up as he intercepts XP from his desk].

PoSW correctly stated that the subject of interference is a growing problem at the best of times and also noted that the subject is largely ignored by radio magazines although PoSW sometimes hears members of the amateur fraternity lamenting on the subject. Plasma TVs are, PoSW states, a source of QRM.

Following some interesting remarks on Spooks ENIGMA 2000 received some “Extracts from “Spooks” Newsgroup postings - 9 Feb 2005 to 10 Feb 2005” from ‘BritAnon’and make for some discussion as to what is going on from our American colleagues:

Extracts from “Spooks” Newsgroup postings - 9 Feb 2005 to 10 Feb 2005

The FCC never had any interest in Sam. There is no evidence to support the theory that they attempted to track it down. There isn't even any evidence that the FCC knows it exists. This was a myth propogated by some busy-bodies who wanted to be involved in a big 'bust'. There was a guy on another mailing list who said he called Homeland Security because this could be terrorists! Give me a break.

I continue to believe that this is a military DF exercise of some sort taking place in the southwest.

Damon (Cassell)

A military exercise that includes transmitting on WWV frequencies?

Chris Smolinski

Last night was the first time I ever heard the transmissions, and I only tuned in to 6500 kHz. The Spy Numbers website lists the other frequencies as 3700 (in the 75m ham band), 4300 and 10500 kHz. I have my doubts that the military would use a frequency in a ham band, but has it also been heard on top of WWV? Which WWV frequency?

Zack

10 and 15 MHz, perhaps 5 and 20 also. I know I heard it myself.

Chris Smolinski

I still believe this is just someone playing around. It wouldn't be hard to do with an HF transceiver and a computer control program. Perhaps the buzz at the beginning is something that will trigger VOX on an HF radio? This would keep the first syllable from being cut off.

I seriously doubt it's a military exercise, such as the SIGINT training station on 10225 and 16303. I don't think that even the military would transmit on 5000 and 10000 MHz under WWV. While it's true that the military can generally transmit whereever they want, they generally do not interfere with other stations. They also tend to stay out of the ham bands, while YS was heard on 3700. The idea of this being terrorists is patently absurd.

At any rate, we can all speculate all we want, but only time will tell what the purpose of this station is. Or, it may just disappear without anyone but the operator ever knowing why it existed.

Tom Sevart N2UHC

If it were Military, their first choice of course would be any frequency assigned to the Military. If it were the Military pulling some secret stunt, I find it more likely they would be using a band full of "hobbyists" (HAMs) rather than sitting on most likely THEIR governments time and frequency standard broadcasts with the possibility of throwing off systems using 10 MHz as their time reference such as seismic systems, traffic signals, some computers, broadcast facilities, Civil Defense stations around here etc..

Kurt (KD7JYK

I know that it seems obvious to us that it would be a bad idea to use frequencies like the same ones WWV uses. This would only attract attention, right? And it would also make sense to avoid frequencies that amateur radio operators use. But we've seen Sam do both of these.

Yes, it's very possible that this could be someone screwing around for kicks. But in the context of a military DF exercise, I think it makes a lot of sense. That is, simulate conditions where you must locate a signal on a crowded band, perhaps even a signal sharing a frequency with a much stronger signal in another location. This would make DFing much more challenging. Especially if the training is intended to ultimately be used in a real-life situation. I doubt that Al Queda fighters are using ITU band plans to coordinate their HF communications in the mountains of Afghanistan. Bin Laden is still out there in the mountains and he surely has some kind of communications network, probably based on HF and VHF radios. I still believe that this could be a military exercise used to train forces in foxhunting.

It is one method that could be used to capture a high value target who is on the run in a very large area.

Damon (Cassell)

If the purpose is to conduct a radio training exercise under conditions of QRM, then the agencies involved can produce the required QRM. I find it highly unlikely that the US military is going to QRM WWV, or operate in a ham band. It simply makes no sense, and proof of this happening would cause far too much bad PR to be worth the risk. To quote Wolfgang Pauli, it is not even wrong.

Chris Smolinski

I agree with you. My suggestion that this could be a military exercise isn't popular but I continue to believe it may be possible. One person suggested that the military and intelligence community has a worldwide network that allows them to DF signals, so exercises in foxhunting are redundant. I'm sure that network does exist, but you still need boots on the ground to go the last mile, especially in inhospitable places.

My theory has been that this could be a remote transmitter placed somewhere in the desert, with the purpose being to have a small group (special forces, paramilitary, etc) tasked with finding the

transmitter using portable equipment. By diversifying the frequencies, playing with antenna orientation, and transmitting on top of other loud signals, you could add to the challenge. This is an exercise that could be valuable despite whatever worldwide DFing network exists. It simply seems far to elaborate to be a hoax.

Damon (Cassell)

Tnx BritAnon and ‘Spooks’

Now onto a few ‘Oddities’

General noise

There seems to be a rise in the noise floor that a few members in Britain and Europe have reported. We’ve heard nothing from the States and little from elsewhere on noise. Even though, I might add, there are probably a good percentage of non -contributing members who could report on this if it wasn’t so difficult to contribute when it’s so much easier just to take the newsletter without contributing. Bloody good value isn’t it? You even qualify for that well known British award, the OBE [Other Bugger’s Efforts].

E writes in with an interesting problem as he reports a continuous buzzing heard on all his radios all hours of the day, relentlessly. He writes that a phone mast has appeared locally and wonders if that may contribute to the problem. The answer is we do not know. However we are aware of interference being caused to mixing within receivers of high power VHF transmissions, especially where the IF is up in the low VHF range. [PLondon and JH both suffer this problem, whilst the front ends of some wideband rx’s owned by DD also suffer interference].

One ENIGMA member once tracked down a source of constant interference to a rusty bolt on a power feed. The bolt was acting as a rectifier and thus an interference source. If you have any HV power feeds nearby E you might like to look into this.

E does mention that a long wire down the garden makes no difference to what he hears – so perhaps battery operation?

E also reports a loud rasping as:

Backward music station (XM)

Nil Reports

Carriers [Blank ].

Nil Reports

Crackle (XC)

Foghorn

Jammers

These can be heard with some regularity on: 5320, 5600, 6420, 6880, 7040, 7050, 7070, 8320, 8340, 8515, 9360, 10280, 10470 and 13410, 16176kHz.

Jet (XJT)

Mazeilka (X06)

PoSW writes,

Also reported by RNGB

S28 [formerly XB]

It buzzes away on 4625kHz.

www.geocities.com/uvb76

S30 [The Pip]

Continues to dominate 3757kHz in the 80M band also 5403.9kHz.

Frogs [XFR]

Following our entry in the last NL26 page 44 [A surprise interception of this peculiarity prior to E11 start up:

Asking what he had heard the answer was supplied as XFR, OHTR/Chirpsounder.

©ENIGMA200013Feb2005

Looking at the above spectral image, taken from the XFR sound sample it is easy to realise why XFR sounds as it does, with a lowering chirp and seemingly longer pulse train.

XFR was heard again on:

Slot machine (XSL)

XSL is heard on 4152.5, 4231, 4290.5, 6249.5, 6416.5, 6444.5, 8312.5, 8587.5 and 8703.5kHz. USB mode

Still being heard in US, Oceania and like areas. E2k would like to receive details of any observations made in Great Britain, Eire and Europe please.

XSL general transmission times [freqs of 8588.0//8703.5]

The text via <http://www.geocities.com/hfasia/files/Japanese-PSK.html> describes the Slot Machine as Japanese PSK with a Vertical bandwidth of 3kHz. It states frequencies in use as:
4152.5, 4231, 4290.5, 6249.5, 6416.5, 6444.5, 8312.5, 8587.5, 8703.5kHz

XSW [squeaky wheel]

3829kHz continues to be the home of XSW.

XWP [wop wop]

This particular sound can be heard doing its stuff around the 6 and 8MHz bands. Note that the signal changes frequency every 20 mins and takes the odd break too. Believed to be Coastal Radar, samples exist in our sound samples file in group.

Teleprinter 4710

Can be heard on the usual frequencies of 4710, 6702, 9000kHz, 11122kHz [daytimes] and 15020kHz [evenings].

Tones

More Info on 'oddities' can be found on Brian of Sussex excellent web pages:
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/brogers/page2.html

Frequency information and trends can be downloaded from:
http://www.cvni.net/radio/

Thanks to AB, AF, Anon UK, AnonNI, AR, BMDartford, CD, D of Kent, 'E', GallusGallus, Gert of Holland, HFD, IB, IW, J of Aylesbury , JM, JMM, K of Kent, LP, LW Ben Mesander, Mike of Kent, Mark Slaten, PLondon, Peter of Saffron Walden, RNGB, and all others for their contributions to the Morse, Voice and Oddities columns.

Morse stations | Voice stations | Oddities | Polytones
Chirpsounders | Overall view | German branch | Numbers predictions
Jamming | Recycled AGI
Poor conditions | The Smokey Dragon (4/4)
News Items | Web sites | Stop press | Contribution deadlines
Index | E2K NL Home