ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 31

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

Oddities

It has often been lamented that the oddities, the noises, squeaks and bumps – to quote original ENIGMA , ‘the flotsam and jetsam of the airwaves’ - have no value to the serious Number enthusiast. PLondon is currently reading Kenneth Macksey’s ‘The Searchers’ which details Radio Intercept in Two World Wars [Cassell, ISBN 0 304 36545 9]. On pages 154 and 155 Macksey makes reference, 154: ‘The list was long but included new and changing codes, code words within Enigma texts, official returns, radar, observer corps traffic, night fighters, Ground-Controlled-Interception (GCI) – all of which were of immense interest to ADI(Sci) Dr RV Jones, in the on-going radio war of ‘noises’ and new, electronic weapon systems.’ The author then goes on to mention the German radar on 155 as, ‘Germany lagged behind Britain from the outset in this technology and the latter, through intercept of ‘noises’ and other sources, such as the interrogation of POW, was usually well informed about the Freya sets for early warning and the Giant Würzburg sets after they came into service in 1940.’ [That of course led to the Bruneval raid, specifically to steal German Radar technology].

The inherrant message here is, of course, don’t immediately discount the noises. Many can be explained away, but there are many that cannot.

Backward music station

After some absence reports received from Ary and mndbs:

4742kHz

1930z

27/09

Carriers

5404kHz	1933z	29/09		E
6667kHz	0715z	25/09	upto 1550z	E
6752.4kHz	1738z	15/10		E
6942.5kHz	1535z	15/10		E
7880.4kHz	1736z	15/10		E	See PoSW’s comment below:

A few carriers which always seem to be up with no modulation on them. By the way, always make sure a carrier is not coming from something in the shack; in the past I had often kept watch on a carrier before realising it was being radiated from the local oscillator of another receiver running nearby, a broadcast radio running but with the volume turned down on the local BBC medium wave 1,026 kHz so with the usual 455 kHz I.F. the oscillator runs at 1,481, and some single transistor self oscillating mixer frequency changer stages used in cheap domestic radios can produce harmonics well up into the shortwave bands.

By the way, E2K monitors often report a strong carrier on 7,880 kHz. There is no mystery about this, it is the German weather fax station Deutscher Wetterdienst Hamburg which transmits weather charts of various kinds, aimed mainly at seafarers. The transmission mode is the frequency shifting FAX mode which has been around for many years and between transmissions there are long periods of plain carrier. Anyone with an interest in the weather and who has WEFAX software or a stand alone decoder can get some useful information, in particular a chart of the North Atlantic from Europe across to the east coast of America which goes out daily at 1800z or just after.

Carriers noted recently which seem to be on all of the time: 5,177 kHz, in October heterodynes with the third sending of the Tuesday + Friday XPA at 2040z on 5,178 kHz, 6,752 kHz, 6,942 kHz, 8,147 kHz, 9,143 kHz, 11,074 kHz. From time to time there is a strong carrier a bit below 9,070 kHz.

[Tnx PoSW – see Polytones section for update on tones on 5178kHz]

Crackle

Nil Reported

Frogs[XFR]

Nil Reported

Faders

In his search for Polytone info RNGB has discovered that Faders were the US-mil 4 frequency modem. Not heard for some time and now believed to be defunct.

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.

Mazeilka[X06]

7550kHz	1920z	09/09	E off 1931z
9105kHz	2025z	08/09	[Tnx ?]

PoSW comments reinforce the poor returns we have had on X06 recently;

“Only three X06s logged since May, appeared to have become defunct until one found in early September.”

8-Sept-05	Thursday	2030 UTC	9,105 kHz	strong signal, vanished at 2032 and 35 seconds, listened for three minutes afterwards, nothing further heard.
5-Oct-05	Wednesday	2055 UTC	7,680 kHz	signal strength S5 - S6, discovered by chance while searching for the carrier of this evening's expected 2100 UTC E06 transmission, found on 6,955 kHz. X06 had gone upon returning to 7,680 at 2103z.
11-Oct-05	Tuesday	1428 UTC	12,224 kHz	S9+ signal, slight QRM from a weak FSK signal, vanished 1446z approx, nothing further heard. And this same frequency of 12,224 was also reported with X06 by RNGB on 07/07, E2k 30 p.41’

[Thanks PoSW]

Buzzer [formely XB] S28

It buzzes away on 4625kHz. www.geocities.com/uvb76 refers.

S30 [The Pip]

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

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]

Sun	1500z	1600z	1900z
Mon	0900z	1700z	2215z
Tue	1510z	1530z	1600z
Wed	1400z	1500z	1545z
Thu	1600z
Fri	1450z	1600z	2140z
Sat	1400z	1600z	1700z

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

S32 [prevXSW squeaky wheel]

As reported by ML:

01/10/05, 18.30z ish, 3829kHz

18.30 - 18.35z started making some strange distorted multiple tones then ceased.
Nothing heard on 5474 / 6991 either up to 19.00z.
At 19.01z a strong blank carrier S9+10+ noted on 6996kHz, left shack,
At 19.40z there was an old OM speaking unid lang slowly & intermittently, sounded as one half of a duplex, together with a repeating CW of ZYPFA RK ---- JW HORJY etc.

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.

XFR has been mentioned in passing and heard on a range of freqs near to a number of expected number station freqs.