Fifty-fourth edition of the N&O column / Spooks newsletter

(Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2002 11:07:22 +0100)

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Morse stations

M08

Could it be possible that M08 uses transmitter sites outside Cuba?

It certainly looks like it. I received recently a report from Canada where M08 is unusual loud and it is suggested that the Ottawa based embassy could be the source of the transmission.

This may be also the answer to John's question: "Any speculation on this station's location? Their signal is always well over S-9 here, near Boston. S-9 +20 on most frequencies...."

John reports some M08 problems as well:

4016 kHz, M08 at 0250 UTC with TX keying problem, intermittent callup. ID 83353 34731 11211. Nothing heard after 0301 UTC. Missed sked. Much backwave on keyed signal, difficult copy. TX problem also?

10124.9 kHz, 0344 UTC. ID 11722. Short callup then silent. At 0349 UTC in LSB a male voice "TEST TEST" distorted audio. Sounds like Modulated CW using VOX with audio hum. Testing in both voice and CW."

M16

8BY copied on 10248, 14931 and 20649. Also on 7000 kHz. A very unusual frequency! A harmonic perhaps?

M18

The pseudo time station in Ust'Kamennogorsk, Kazachstan, used to be on 4503 and 4073 kHz but hasn't been heard in Asia and Europe for a while. I wonder if it is still alive....

M21

Russian Air Defence was heard on 4559, 6979.5, 7095, 7913.5 and 9025.5 kHz. Transmissions on 4559, 6979.5 and 9052.5 all had code "8" in the "=99" string and presumably originate from Khabarovsk.

M23

This one slipped thru last month: Ralph noted a curious transmission of M23. Where normally a "310" transmission is heard, M23 sent a 10 minute "3100" message on 7960 kHz at 0200 UTC on 1 September.

M40

Thanks for the M40 logs, Igor!!! You're the only one who has reported this station. Good to know that it's still there.

• Freq: 5782 kHz, 1636 UTC, 17-9-2002, ident 671.

vvv cq671 cq671 cq671
hr hr 28 28 = =
t4938 t5495 7t169 48139 63t67 43712 929t7 92655 t7t83 66937 68973
14819 73967 9t381 71525 31998 19t43 734t8 78414 44484 86558 52614
68913 5t491 1t933 66957 38154 t5774 ar ar sk sk

• 19604 kHz, 0330 UTC, 17-9-2002, ident 611.

vvv cq 611,252 (rptd)
vvv cq252 cq252 cq252
hr hr 42 42 = =
44721 63375 93716 89621 44116 58983 t6744 99511 2t87t 66996
9298t 61t38 64518 t2247 6t251 884t6 5487t 16887 51734 615t4
9151t 88323 68718 64261 t722t 65587 788t4 t5252 99791 53638
25784 93799 56137 t3554 68376 14377 15258 94293 38678 86328
1156t 2281t ar ar
rpt rpt
vvv cq252 cq252 cq252
hr hr 42 42 = =
44721 63375 93716 89621 44116 58983 t6744 99511 2t87t 66996
9298t 61t38 64518 t2247 6t251 884t6 5487t 16887 51734 615t4
9151t 88323 68718 64261 t722t 65587 788t4 t5252 99791 53638
25784 93799 56137 t3554 68376 14377 15258 94293 38678 86328
1156t 2281t ar ar sk sk

M51

Noted on 2548, 4012, 5129, 5407.5 and 5476.5 kHz.

M87

Another one from Igor. Not often reported, so keep your logs coming, Igor!

• 16418 kHz, 0334 UTC, 17-9-2002.

154 154 154 154 154 154 154 000
154 154 154 154 154 154 154 000
154 154 154 154 154 000
154 154 154 154 000
154 154 154 000 000

• 12150 kHz, 1300 UTC, 22-10-2002

698 698 698 698 698 698 698 698 698 698 698 000
698 698 698 698 698 000
698 698 698 698 698 698 698 000
698 698 698 698 698 000
698 698 698 698 698 000
698 698 698 698 698 698 698 000 000

MX

The sudden activity of three European cluster beacons is most likely related to the NATO/PfP exercise "Open Spirit 2002". This is an exercise in the Baltic Sea of the combined Minewarfare Flotillas of Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Sweden. NATO's Standing Mine-Counter-Measure Squadron "MCM Force North" also joined in. Actual mine hunting took place from 21-26 October. Total duration of the exercise: 21 October-1 November.

The beacons C, D and P have been active on the following cluster frequencies:

Other cluster beacons were heard as well:

European cluster beacon "S" Arkhangelsk left the air when "C", "D" and "P" started to transmit. "S" was on 4557.9, 5153.9, 7038.9, 8494.9, 10871.9, 13527.9, 16331.9, 20047.9 kHz till 20 October.

The Asian cluster beacons were also on the air, but as with all the beacons, not as active as they used to be. A cutback in expenditure?

• "F"
  Vladivostok: 7039.2, 8495.2, 10872.2 kHz.
• "K"
  Petropavlovsk Kamchatskiy: 7039 kHz.
• "M"
  Magadan: 7039.4, 8495.4, 10872.4, 13528.4 kHz.

...and a number of channel markers:

• "E"
  on 5455 and 5488 kHz. Not sure if this is a Russian channel marker.
• "F"
  Vladivostok: 7000 (unusal freq)
• "L"
  St. Petersburg: 3335.7 kHz(was defective one night when it sent .-... instead of .-..)
• "P"
  Kaliningrad: 3772 kHz.
• "R"
  Izhevsk: 3195, 5465 kHz.
• "V"
  Khiva: 3658 kHz.

"Pip" stations

I mentioned the pip on 14425 kHz before. Takashi sent me a note in which he says that the 14425 pip is in parallel with 5455 kHz and that it is in fact sending an inverted letter "Z" and pips. The letter that Takashi means is the Cyrillic letter "..--" so it looks like we are dealing with a Russian station here.

Another station sends occasional bursts and a pip on 10096.5//14316.5 kHz.

Both stations occasionally send hand keyed morse messages.

A third station, probably also from the East can be heard on 14050 kHz. This one transmits a pip every 2 seconds and "VVV" every 30 seconds.

Number four uses 14325 and comes from 14300 kHz. It transmits 2 pips per second.

Unid stations

• 5115 kHz: unid station logged by Igor on 24 Oct. at 1430 UTC.
  Possibly S.Korean Intel.

vvv vvv vvv cq cq cq de 815 815 815 qrk5 qtc k (repeated)
hr w33 bt
54172 65897 25896 83765 85421 89013 08463 35724 18423 64120
35257 95150 68120 79103 58769 20968 73426 51746 89724 54135
36275 80510 23980 70031 73096 81493 64724 32659 82596 87259
57249 72562 15018
rpt bt
54172 65897 25896 83765 85421 89013 08463 35724 18423 64120
35257 95150 68120 79103 58769 20968 73426 51746 89724 54135
36275 80510 23980 70031 73096 81493 64724 32659 82596 87259
57249 72562 15018
bt ar k tu va
nnnn

• 5847 kHz: hand sent signal checks (probably military) heard by Mark:

VVV P3 DE A5 HW K K K
S8 DE A5 HW K K K
VVV P3 DE A5 HW K K K
VVV P3 DE A5 HW K K K
VVV P3 DE A5 HW K K K
VVV //stops//silent and dropped at 0115 UTC.

• 14108 kHz: Cyrillic morse, no HAM. Freq is often used by Russian mil.

• 21360 kHz: 5FGs.

Chinese military stations

• "V BFR7 BFR7 BFR7 DE 4XML 4XML" was on 3380, 5756, 8303, 8455, 8457, 8257 and 10822 kHz this month.
• "V LA5S LA5S LA5S DE NH8T NH8T" uses 4874, 5380, 7310, 8042 kHz.
• "2SLC" is on 3330, 4440, 7074 kHz.

Usually two or three parallel frequencies are being used.

2RC8, 6PXJ, L4FC and YTDL went QRT completely and also L9CC was not reported this month.

<sources: Takashi and Tomonori>

Russian / CIS military

Flash messages on 21.1 kHz:

• "uuuuuuuu xxx xxx rdl rdl 76134 83629 slomqik 3050 0501"
• "uuuuuuuu xxx xxx rdl rdl 86962 65913 proolifka 9615 5260"

Frequencies and callsigns on the various nets:

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