Pirate & Unusual Radio Signals

[Jim]

It's true, amateur radio operators don't 'own' frequencies, they have bands of frequencies in which they are permitted to operate. The examinations required to get an amateur radio licence are intended to maintain a minimum technical standard and to understand the relevant regulations.

If the amateur station transmits on frequencies he/she is not authorised to use (like TV, radio, taxi, aircraft, etc.) either deliberately - or more likely accidentally - he/she can be closed down, fined or both. The exams are required so that the radio operator understands all this.

The problems come when the radio amateur's equipment is found to be operating well within the law, but some piece of nearby badly-designed domestic equipment is susceptible to signals it is not supposed to be.

Not only that, if someone's equipment (for example cheap phone chargers!) causes interference to any licensed radio equipment, they are likely to be required to fix the problem at their expense.

I was at a technical conference when the new form of internet-though-house-mains was being discussed, since it causes horrendous problems in the RF spectrum. Some engineer (quite rightly) ranted that just so that people could get their internet from one fu***ng room to the next, it was wiping out frequencies used for international broadcasting! Luckily this ghastly HomePlug technology is largely replaced by Wi-Fi.

(Mains wiring is unbalanced an not designed to carry large amounts of data. When pumped with internet data, this radiates from the wiring for tens or hundreds of yards causing radio interference and of course can be 'intercepted' by someone so equipped.)

This is true. Most of the signals I've seen carried over the mains were relatively low frequency AM, ASK PSK type signals. The potential for a signal well into the MHz to radiate off the mains would be ever present.

 

[Ermintruder]

haven't used Heathkit in 35 years. Brings on a few memories from my early days

I built this one before I was even ten....wonderfully old-school, lethal raw mains on tag-strips, dial-cord replaced with parcel string, and a BFO (filters? Who cares about filters??)

 

[Jim]

I built this one before I was even ten....wonderfully old-school, lethal raw mains on tag-strips, dial-cord replaced with parcel string, and a BFO (filters? Who cares about filters??)

Totally awesome!!! I haven't heard about a beat frequency oscillator in quite some time.

I got started in the service as a radar repair tech then fooled around later went on to university for electrical. Played with Heathkits here and there, they were great.

 

[Ermintruder]

Here's what we'd need, as a FTMB community, to speak, once we were in the shelters, and the bombs had landed....waiting for the fallout levels to reduce

 

[bakelite brain]

Alas Heathkit disappeared in the early 1990s in the form we remember. But there are active forums discussing much of their gear. There are Heathkit collectors and restorers - I have restored about six items of their amateur radio gear.

My goodness, post #122 has the SW717 - first Heathkit I ever built in about 1976 - and with those headphones! Sold it to my mate decades ago. Saw one in a 'silent key' sale and had to buy it. Absolute rubbish! It was working 'properly' (I even aligned it with fancy gear) but it was just rubbish; unstable, full of spurious sigs, insensitive above 10 MHz. Glad I didn't realise how bad it was as a 17 year old...

Heathkit did some good stuff, but most would have been much better with a bit more time at the design stage.

I like the Civil Defense Communicator. I expect they are very collectable now.

 

[Ermintruder]

and with those headphones!

Didn't they just totally cook your ears? Yes, the SW717s were amazingly-flawed. My HAC OneV was much-older tech, but a lot more stable. Good grief, that had three controls, tune/reaction/spread, no volume (or amp, come to that) and I made that one when I was 7 years old (including a 160v HT battery)

But the Heathkits seemed so good at the time, for those of us that were monitoring (and trying to understand/decode/operate) 'the net', loong before the internet arrived.

Since this is the FTMB....it's long overdue on this thread for us to make mention of this excellent-but-flawed film....one of the more Fortean expositions upon ham/amateur radio.

More good than bad, and with many an over-used trope...but, utterly-gripping. Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, in 'Frequency'...on their Heathkit SB300 at an occasion when the auroral-aided propagation was just a little bit out of the ordinary. 'This is W2QYV calling CQ DX'

[EDIT-a link to the only other mention of Frequency (the 2000 movie) on FTMB]

 

[bakelite brain]

Yes, not a bad film. I'll watch the DVD tonight on my rebuilt 1951 Bush TV22, wood burner on, bottle of wine...

 

[Ermintruder]

my rebuilt 1951 Bush TV22

You've got a functional TV22?? They are beautiful! That's a proper South Bank steam television....perfect for watching Cybermen on, from behind the sofa!

How do you transcode back to 405? And do you cheat, and somehow inject after the detector, or are you putting it out BI/BIII VHF?

I have, ages ago, rebuilt wrecked DAC 90s (all just as therapy, not to pay bills),

I'm tempted to get another one just for myself one day soon, and have it running as a hybrid, with an internet streaming radio and DAB BIII receiver also built into it.

That'll allow the radio to replay Hancock's Half Hour without supernatural propagation paths (via R4Xtra, in fact).

And also gain access to those Russian Pink Floyd fan channels (now, that might be a kind-of modern day pirate radio, don't you think?)

 

[bakelite brain]

Yes, the very TV, run from an Aurora standards converter with 405-line o/p on VHF Ch1.

DAC90A was the first of quite a few vintage sets I've restored. I've made little AM transmitters to 'broadcast' round the house anything I like from FM, DAB or more usually podcasts.

 

[Ermintruder]

I was dimly aware that such standards convertors must exist: that is very interesting.

And the idea of a small, ultra-low powered MW/MF AM transmitter is very intriguing. Are they commercially available? Surely this could become a pirate's paradise, if attached to a real antenna?

I did know that 'The Powers That Be' seem to now turn a blind eye to tiny little VHF FM BII short-range transmitters, which I understand can be used to transpond DAB onto a current in-car radio (or similarly, empowering small MP3 machines) but I hadn't actually thought of them in the context of steam radio rejuvenation.

 

[bakelite brain]

Well just watched 'Frequency'. As you say, more good than bad.

There's someone in the British Vintage Wireless Society (www.bvws.org.uk) that sells home made low power AM transmitters called 'Mini Mods' I think. Email the secretary for details. My mate has one. Only transmits a couple of yards or so (to be legal) but quite a few have been sold to vintage radio enthusiasts who say it's good. £40 or £50 I think.

I don't think Ofcom officially care who does what on MW (or LW) now as long as it doesn't cause widespread interference. They are too thinly spread sorting out more important money-spinning issues.

The TV converter is available from the USA. It'll do 625 to 405 line UK standard, but any standard to any other standard (including Baird 30 line and French/Belgium 819 lines) to almost any other standard I believe.

 

[Jim]

Well just watched 'Frequency'. As you say, more good than bad.

There's someone in the British Vintage Wireless Society (www.bvws.org.uk) that sells home made low power AM transmitters called 'Mini Mods' I think. Email the secretary for details. My mate has one. Only transmits a couple of yards or so (to be legal) but quite a few have been sold to vintage radio enthusiasts who say it's good. £40 or £50 I think.

I don't think Ofcom officially care who does what on MW (or LW) now as long as it doesn't cause widespread interference. They are too thinly spread sorting out more important money-spinning issues.

The TV converter is available from the USA. It'll do 625 to 405 line UK standard, but any standard to any other standard (including Baird 30 line and French/Belgium 819 lines) to almost any other standard I believe.

That's the trouble with the M/W bands. Every time you increase the frequency you decrease the system sensitivity. This is due to the reduced size of the antennae's aperture "effective capture area" near resonance (or anywhere for that matter). The main advantage is that if you go high enough you tend to have less interferers. I'm not sure what frequency your operating at so I don't know if your running into this effect (reduced interferers) or if I'm on base here.

One needs to increase the TX power or the RX sensitivity by 6 dB for every doubling of frequency to maintain the same system signal to noise ratio, all thing being equal.

 

[bakelite brain]

Vintage AM receivers tend to be more sensitive at the high frequency ends of the band. I think this is related to the Q of the RF input circuits. Most low power round-the-home transmitters tend to work above 1 MHz. (Mine work on 1035, 1134, 1566 and 1350 kHz - all European channels chosen for their low occupancy.) It's much easier to get a usable signal on these frequencies than say below 600 kHz.

To get one to put out a decent signal on LW is very hard work simply because it's even harder to get a usable signal out from a few feet of wire!

Doing this on short wave is quite easy, but not many domestic radios (after about 1950) included short wave.

 

[Jim]

Vintage AM receivers tend to be more sensitive at the high frequency ends of the band. I think this is related to the Q of the RF input circuits. Most low power round-the-home transmitters tend to work above 1 MHz. (Mine work on 1035, 1134, 1566 and 1350 kHz - all European channels chosen for their low occupancy.) It's much easier to get a usable signal on these frequencies than say below 600 kHz.

To get one to put out a decent signal on LW is very hard work simply because it's even harder to get a usable signal out from a few feet of wire!

Doing this on short wave is quite easy, but not many domestic radios (after about 1950) included short wave.

As the frequency increases lambda (the guide wavelength) decreases thus allowing for a bit more pickup on a fixed antennae. The antennae for AM is electrically small to begin with, however the Bandwidth is quite narrow so this helps to offset things to a degree.

 

[Doc]

View attachment 2078

When the USAF did test launchings of ICBM's from Vandenburg AFB, the data from the ICBM's was monitored by heavily-instrumented ARIA (Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft - see pic), based at Edwards Air Force Base, until the ICBM impacted with the mid-Pacific ocean. This is a section from a fully-monitored test launch from lift-off to impact (14 recordings - I don't have room for them all).

https://soundcloud.com/doc227/aria10

ARIA One being notified of an ICBM launch from Vandenburg AFB, which they are going to track over the Pacific.

https://soundcloud.com/doc227/aria1

 

[Andy X]

I built this one before I was even ten....wonderfully old-school, lethal raw mains on tag-strips, dial-cord replaced with parcel string, and a BFO (filters? Who cares about filters??)

Automatic Direction Finder radio sets in aircraft (the old ones anyway) tend to have a BFO mode available, although virtually no one knows what it's for. I didn't for ages and nobody seemed to think it important. Turns out in that situation it's for tuning into certain simpler types of NDB (and perhaps other Morse transmisions) where instead of the dots and dashes being transmitted as an audio signal the carrier wave, rather than being modulated, is just keyed on and off. The BFO resolves the on-offness into the familiar beep-beep Morse noises. Not aware of it ever coming up in practice in recent years.

 

[maximus otter]

The U.S. Coast Guard is appealing for information from the public after a command center was sent a series of violent threats and hoax calls.

The transmissions were received via marine band radio off the coast of Florida. The unknown culprit, speaking in an American accent, cited links to the Russian government and threatened to set off anti-submarine weapons known as "depth charges" and shoot down planes.

Listen to the messages here.

The mysterious individual behind the most recent broadcast appeared to be the same person who made previous threats that started with him saying "Mayday" three times before talking about "scrambling all jets we are under nuclear attack," officials said this week.

Audio of the calls was published to the Coast Guard website yesterday but was not working at the time of publication. Navy Times reported it obtained a copy of the August 13 transmission, which lasted roughly 70 seconds and contained a series of bizarre threats.

According to the website, a voice was heard saying: "The next time you send off any aircraft off of any aircraft carriers, or helicopters, I will set off all the depth charges in the Gulf and sink your ships... close down all airports of America, otherwise I'll set off the depth charges."

The call continued: "The next time I see one of your planes in the air, I'm going to shoot that plane down and kill the pilot and the passengers... I'm going to shake your ships all apart."

It added: "You are playing with the Russian government. I'd suggest you back the [expletive] off. Because if you don't back the [expletive] off, you're going to lose a lot of Coast Guardsmen. Do you understand me? Keep your [expletive] airliners and you keep your ships [indecipherable]"

Authorities say penalties for making false distress calls and hoaxes, upon conviction, include up to 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, plus the cost of the search.

https://www.newsweek.com/florida-st...-radio-calls-depth-charges-sink-ships-1459072

maximus otter

 

[Mythopoeika]

I'd say that doesn't sound like the Russian government. They're usually a lot more covert.
This is some saddo individual, doing 'verbal terrorism'.

 

[maximus otter]

This is some saddo individual, doing 'verbal terrorism'.

Yep: The usual Friday night combo of alcohol + Rottweiler mouth + chihuahua balls.

maximus otter

 

[Ermintruder]

The transmissions were received via marine band radio off the coast of Florida

I just love how there's always errors or paradoxes in reports like this.

Firstly, it's odd that the reports are referencing CH22A, which although we're internationally familiar with (as being a North American split simplex channel version of the international standard duplex version) the US Coastguard would nowadays insist on that being referred to as CH1022

Also....if someone were a hoaxer, WHY would they transmit a bogus MAYDAY call on a non-distress channel? Which is internationally-defined (including this time, North America) as being VHF CH16?

To translate what I mean....it's equivalent to someone making a malicious phonecall to the Emergency Services, but not dialling 999/911/112.....and instead, making that call on a non-emergency laison and safety information phoneline (albeit still one which would be widely overheard)

Also: a 70secs radio transmission on VHF channel used for USCG liaison and safety information purposes.

That should've have allowed some degree of triangulation to locate at least the track the source. And if they didn't have that capability in one of the busy challenging sea areas in the world (despite having the facility to record it) there's something really strange going on.

 

[INT21]

Any of you guys watch 'Mr Carlson's Lab' Videos ?

As for Heathkit, I have one of their 'scopes, and a signal generator.

Can't give you the model numbers at the moment as the equipment is in the loft.

INT21.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Ah, Radio Caroline!

I posted this in March, 2009
http://forum.forteantimes.com/index...ld-death-approaches.25458/page-34#post-864182

In the 60s, "I was a student in Exeter, but even there I could pick up Radio Caroline on my tranny in the evenings.

Much later, in the mid 80s, I went fishing for several months on a trawler out of Brightlingsea, Essex. This put me at less than six degrees of separation from the DJs and crews of Caroline, since the trawler owner, Harry Rayner, had used his boat as a supply vessel to the pirate ship back in the 60s!"

Happy days eh?
I got into Radio Caroline in the early 70's.
2024 is Caroline's 60th anniversary and, rather than a crackly old transistor, it's all now on crystal clear DAB radio (which somehow makes it feel less subversive and naughty!).

Still playing great music though, with a load of album-orientated prog-rock.

 

[bakelite brain]

Happy days eh?
I got into Radio Caroline in the early 70's.
2024 is Caroline's 60th anniversary and, rather than a crackly old transistor, it's all now on crystal clear DAB radio (which somehow makes it feel less subversive and naughty!).

Still playing great music though, with a load of album-orientated prog-rock.

View attachment 73456

But if you want to listen on crackly old radios, and you're in SE England, you can hear it on 648 kHz. From the old BBC transmitter site at Orford Ness! How things change...

 

[Ermintruder]

Good grief, hello @bakelite brain ! Rare DX, if I'm not mistook?

Glad to "hear' you back on the forum- I had thought that perhaps your DAC90 triode hexode had open-circuit heaters, and you were no longer receiving us.

What's your thoughts on the probable random demise of BBC Radio Four on 198kHz? They can't get the valves anymore...well, that's not good enough in my book!

Says to me the conspiratorial shift-down a couple of kilohertz under 1500m LW was all just part of a fiendish plan in 1998 to close the station about 30yrs later on

I am afraid the world may end (at least a little bit) as a result of this iconoclasty....I do hope they remember to tell those Poseidon submarine captains once it goes off-air, or there may be all sorts of hell to pay for.

 

[bakelite brain]

Well, well. A fellow traveller! Those DAC90s are a fire risk - despite being stuffed full of asbestos! The DAC90A's are a rather nice and much safer bet, despite there being nothing much to hear on them - or any other LW/MW radios - by the end of the year, unless you know all about pantry transmitters'...

Anyway, the lack of o/p valves for Droitwich always was bollocks as any former BBC tx engineer could testify. For a fraction of what the Beeb wasted on other white elephant projects (involving the discredited software company Autonomy amongst others) they could have some valve rebuilds from at least one company. (This isn't a very Fortean discussion is it?!)

But the demise of AM broadcasting in the UK (and Europe) is inevitable. Young people don't listen to the radio at all, and even those of us of a certain age have discovered the benefits of FM, and even DAB. Add to that the unrestrained interference spewing from modern electronics, SMPS, low voltage lighting, etc. that swamps AM signals and its fate is sealed.

The Droitwitch, Westerglen and Burghead 198 kHz transmitters are costing a small fortune to run and someone somewhere did the listeners per kW (or probably the kW per listener now!) calculation and so poor Auntie has been told to put her dwindling resources where it will do most good. The only thing keeping 198 going is the wrangling over the phase-mod Tele-Switching System on its carrier used for the Economy7 timing of domestic appliances, which wouldn't have been so much of a problem if the design and take-up of 'Smart Meters' wasn't such a cockup!

I think 198 was scheduled to close at the end of March, now they've back-tracked a bit to say separate LW programming will cease then, but the 198 kHz transmitters will close 'later in the year'. That presumably will also include the few MW Radio 4 fill-ins on 720 kHz.

There are some good national security reasons to keep 198 kHz operating, but what's the point if no one has, or knows how to use a LW radio? In any case, it's an open secret the the BBC wants to stop all radio transmissions eventually and be an on-line only 'broadcaster' - as implied by the promotion of BBC Sound and iPlayer.

Did that answer your question...?

 

[Ermintruder]

Well, well. A fellow traveller

In timeless old technology: yes. But not being as active a practitioner in the "lec'n'nic arts" these days as I'd like...perhaps I'll have more time to dabble one day soon.

In the 1960s and early 70s I was a probably a gemanium OC71 child, then something of a BC109 silicon teen.

Utterly-fascinated by the phenomenon of a tiny glass diode extracting ghostly voices from the ether, by sheer technical magic, and no power. And then I went on, beginning to properly love & respect valves/tubes (anachronistically, after grappling with CMOS/TTL &c).

The DAC90A's are a rather nice and much safer bet

Actually those are what I really meant (the 'A' suffix varient, I mean). I haven't ever had the opportunity (or confidence) to attempt an in-depth repair on true pre-1940s thermionics.

But I do also want a TV22 to love, one day: perhaps on a similar basis to the one you have (see earlier in this thread, where you mentioned this before). But I may have to blur the boundaries of past & present though, and make it able to see the world directly in more than just 405 lines (I do mean tastefully, not by merely doing a taxidermy job on it).

unless you know all about pantry transmitters'...

Ohyes, this was talked about between us previously, plus I *am* licensed (not that this is a limiting factor, as such).. this at-home narrowcasting approach is especially-Fortean in its nature when being used to play-back old-world radio shows from the distant past. Or when it emulates an Orson Welles methodology (rather than just an HG Wells style) for telling tales such as War Of The Worlds.

(Forgive me, I shall return to this quasi-Fortean technical conversation later today or tomorrow, as it's too late/early for me to continue now. There is much of value to further discuss: in fact, that could expand into aspects of our wizardry that some other members of this Forum will be interested in, even if they don't know it yet)

(ps Perhaps we also need to talk about whether EVP will survive the inevitable death of analogue broadcasting & recording...I don't believe that conversation has yet been had)

 

[bakelite brain]

Very interesting thought about EVP and the demise of AM broadcasting.

Unrelated, but I made some FM meteor-scatter recordings on the OIRT band some years ago as an example of how they could be misinterpreted as EVPs by the technically over-enthusiastic. Only to be rewarded by a very odd voice, but that's another story...

 

[bakelite brain]

Here's the one I prepared earlier...

 

[uair01]

This one is fun, especially the Ukraine / Russian transmission:

 

[Ermintruder]

This one is fun

Lewis is very good: I've subscribed to his channel for years. Accessible, clear, well-structured

I was astounded that the Russian he was intercepting actually named him on-air: perhaps a little too astounded for comfort.

So: he's on his first (in my mind) warning, remembering that in war, truth is always the first casualty.