Sixty-second edition of the N&O column / Spooks newsletter

(Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2003 21:19:15 +0200)

Morse stations

MX

Channel markers:

3336.2	"L"
3658.0	"V"
4069.6	"L"
4325.0	"R"
4605.0	"P" + various messages (5LGs and 5FGs)
5465.8	"R"
5467.4	"R"
5862.0	"P"
5111.0	"P"

When Franta recently reported the "L" marker and said that he heard it to his south while St Petersburg is NW of him, I tried to get more bearings from various locations. Quite unexpectedly, we noticed that the "L" marker no longer comes from St. Petersburg but for at least 6 years from a location on the Balkan or even further to the south east, roughly on the axis London-Israel. The axis goes through Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Cyprus and Israel.

Looking at the signal strength and comparing the signal and conditions with other stations in the region, a location on the Balkan (Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece) seems to be the most likely possibility. As the angle of the df's mentioned below is too narrow, we need more bearings to get a good fix on this station, so if you can df it, please send me a note mentioning your location and the bearing for "L" on 3336.2 and/or 4069.6 kHz. Bearings from southern Italy, Greece and Russia would make the picture complete, I think.

We have so far bearings from:

Baldock (near London), UK (bearings 119 and 120 degrees.
Netherlands (bearing 125 degrees)
Klagenfurt, Austria (bearing 144 degrees)

This discovery is most interesting because in the late 1980's the "L" marker was df'ed by both US military in Germany and stations from other W. European countries. The bearing was always towards Leningrad. On top of that a Russian navy radio operator confirmed "L" as St. Petersburg a couple of years ago (I think that was in 1995/96). We may safely assume that the Russian "L" is off the air now and we only have a station on the Balkan or further south, but where?

TO BE CONTINUED.............

Cluster beacons:

"D", "S", "C", "F", "K" and "M" have been logged on various cluster frequencies. In addition to this "K" was heard on both 7000 and 7078 kHz and "F" on 7078 kHz. Possibly spurious activity.

M10

Enigma's Paul posted a number of M10 messages. The other logs are from Mark and Jochen.

555 738 37 776 22 (rpt)
738 94 37 ==
94 37 776 72 22 ==
72 22 0 0 0

555 714 39 745 56 (rpt)
714 25 39 ==
21688 ==
25 39 745 54 56 ==
90992 ==
54 56 0 0 0

555 480 28 835 40 (rpt)
480 47 28 ==
39885 ==
47 28 835 62 40 ==
15475 ==
62 40 0 0 0

555 288 36 242 27 (rpt)
288 09 36 ==
09 36 242 64 27 ==
64 27 0 0 0

Date	UTC	Freq	3x	3x	3x	(rpt 5 mins)
06-6	0410	6780	555	738	37	776	22
07-6	0410	6780	555	738	37	776	22
08-6	0210	7380	555	738	37	776	22
08-6	0400	5860	555	186	20	826	32
08-6	0410	6780	555	738	37	776	22
09-6	0400	5860	555	612	41	616	33
09-6	0410	6780	555	738	37	776	22
10-6	0410	6780	555	738	37	776	22
10-6	0450	9165	555	(unreadable)
11-6	0410	6780	555	738	37	776	22
12-6	0410	6780	555	738	37	776	22
13-6	0410	6780	555	714	39	745	56
14-6	0210	7380	555	714	39	745	56
14-6	0400	5860	555	612	41	616	33
14-6	0410	6780	555	714	39	745	56
16-6	0450	9165	555	831	38	191	30
17-6	0410	6780	555	714	39	745	56
20-6	0410	6780	555	480	28	835	40
20-6	2100	3808	555	288	36	242	27
20-6	2100	5735	555	288	36	242	27
22-6	0450	9165	555	704	26	248	39
27-6	0410	6780	555	228	25	046	22
29-6	0400	5860	555	417	31	013	50
30-6	0410	6780	555	228	25	046	22

M18

Heard on 4503 kHz with its typical time strings.

M21 + variants

PVO was logged on 5064.5, 5220, 7190.8 this month. One of the variants was on 5210.4 sending strings like "1992361286162T 299239T1TTT8".

M83

I haven't seen many M83 lately. Fortunately Fritz has been monitoring this net extensively and sends us the schedules of the past 3 months. Before we come to that, first M83's profile.

General.

Every 15 minutes (H+15, H+30, H+45, H+00) a messages is being sent.
Normally QRA is sent 3 times and a series of v followed by +.
Series QTCs are sent sporadically in the morning or evening.
Text is 5LG, 5FG or mixed (two 5LG, one 5FG).
Group count is 20 or 50.
Addressees of the 5FGs/5LGs messages are so far always NJ2P and L8KT.
Addressees of the 3FGs can be anyone in the net.
Time is CE(S)T. Central European (Summer) Time (UTC+1 or UTC+2)
The marker changes every hour at H+15.
About every 10 days frequency changes.
QRA's tend to shift every now and then.

Date/time groups.

Example: L8KT L8KT L8KT DE J2V4 J2V4 J2V4 QTC 22020905 =

`2`	=	message number
`20`	=	group count
`2`	=	date
`0905`	=	Central European (Summer) Time (UTC+1 or UTC+2)

Message formats.

Three different formats were noted so far.

Format 1:	VVV markers

	`MX2N MX2N MX2N VVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVVVV` +
	`JPTP JPTP JPTP VVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVVVV` +

Format 2:	5LGs or 5FGs. Each message consists of 20 or 50 groups.

	`L8KT L8KT L8KT DE J2V4 J2V4 J2V4 QTC` +
	`L8KT L8KT L8KT DE J2V4 J2V4 J2V4 QTC 12020901` =
	`LMXPM NAWQT KVUPD HIHQS XUBUR MFUFV KDVHY WHNHS YLEZF CHUZS`
	`PMUTG UCWSK TNDZP EJVNO ZBLTY BCUKE UQGFA EVWGA AXDGD SZXLZ` +

	`L8KT L8KT L8KT DE J2V4 J2V4 J2V4 QTC` +
	`L8KT L8KT L8KT DE J2V4 J2V4 J2V4 QTC 22020905`
	`16314 65034 60831 86120 80162 17140 46724 49060 85616 12093`
	`36313 46935 18061 37968 14387 59575 82938 27202 69836 29579` +

Format 3:

	`KW2P KW2P KW2P DE JPTP JPTP JPTP`
	`284 686 318 386 886 886 340 731 COL`
	`284 686 318 386 886 886 340 731` +

Schedules from 11 March till 20 May 2003.

	Frequencies (kHZ)/ dates
	5291	5287	5308	5291	5287	5264	5302
	11/20-3	21/31-3	01/10-4	11/20-4	21/30-4	01/10-5	11/20-5
Time (UTC)
0015	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
30, 45, 00	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
0115	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
30, 45, 00	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
0215	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
30, 45, 00	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
0315	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
30, 45, 00	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
0415	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
30, 45, 00	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
0515	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
30, 45, 00	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
0615	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
30, 45, 00	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
0715	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
30, 45, 00	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
0815	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
30, 45, 00	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
0915	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
30, 45, 00	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
1015	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
30, 45, 00	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
1115	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
30, 45, 00	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
1215	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
30, 45, 00	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
1315	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
30, 45, 00	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
1415	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
30, 45, 00	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
1515	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
30, 45, 00	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
1615	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
30, 45, 00	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
1715	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
30, 45, 00	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
1815	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
30, 45, 00	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
1915	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
30, 45, 00	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
2015	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
30, 45, 00	GRXZ	D7CM	HMRV	HMRV	HMRV	LPWP	LPWP
2115	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
30, 45, 00	D7CM	HMRV	F8DL	F8DL	F8DL	MX2N	MX2N
2215	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
30, 45, 00	HMRV	F8DL	GRXZ	GRXZ	GRXZ	JPTP	JPTP
2315	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4
30, 45, 00	F8DL	GRXZ	D7CM	D7CM	D7CM	J2V4	J2V4

The schedules continued in June as follows:

5264, 5277, 5287, 5291, 5302, 5308, 5315, 5319, 5321 kHz.

QRAs:	1st set:	GRXZ, D7CM, HMRV, F8DL
	Addressees:	NJ2P, relayed to: HZ4V, E3XC
	2nd set:	LPWP, MX2N, JPTP, J2V4
	Addressees:	KW2P, ICJM, L8KT

Message samples:

Freq.	Date	UTC	Message
5287	29.3	1745	HMRV HMRV HMRV vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv +
5287	29.3	1802	HMRV HMRV HMRV vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv +
5287	29.3	1816	F8DL F8DL F8DL vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv +
5287	31.3	0721	NJ2P de D7CM QTC 4 20 31 0921 = 5LG +
5287	31.3	0726	NJ2P de D7CM QTC 5 20 31 0925 = 5FG +
5287	31.3	0731	NJ2P de D7CM QTC 6 20 31 0930 = mixed +
5308	09.4	0709	NJ2P de D7CM QTC 2 50 9 0909 = 5FG +
5291	11.4	0722	NJ2P de D7CM QTC 3 50 11 0922 = mixed +
5264	02.5	0802	L8KT de LPWP QTC 6 50 2 1000 = mixed +
5264	02.5	0810	L8KT de LPWP QTC 7 50 2 1008 = 5LG +
5264	02.5	0816	L8KT de LPWP QTC 8 50 2 1015 = 5FG +
5302	14.5	1946	J2V4 J2V4 J2V4 vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv +
5302	11.6	0902	L8KT de LPWP QTC 16 20 11 1103 = 5LG
5302	11.6	0912	L8KT de MX2N QTC 18 20 11 1111 = 5FG

M87

Igor found M87 on 9389 kHz at 0205 UTC on 18 June. He missed the callup.

... 001 20 20 = =
546un 6unt7 4ta75 6573u t4a6d 3n475 d4nt6 4tu6n a73n5 nud53
n4t3a u7563 6a37u 536d7 t6a73 4tda5 d654u 546n7 a7n3t 4adun
= = 333 333 = =
001 001 20 20 = =
546un 6unt7 4ta75 6573u t4a6d 3n475 d4nt6 4tu6n a73n5 nud53
n4t3a u7563 6a37u 536d7 t6a73 4tda5 d654u 546n7 a7n3t 4adun
= = 999 999 999 000 t t t

Another transmission was on 10725 kHz, at 0137 UTC, 22 June.

... 249 249 000 000
249 249 249 000 000
249 249 249 000 000
t t t