ARISS Finalizes Plans for Silver Anniversary of Amateur Radio from Space

SB SPACE ARL ARLS009
ARLS009 ARISS Finalizes Plans for Silver Anniversary of Amateur Radio from Space

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team is currently celebrating the silver anniversary -- 25 years -- of Amateur Radio operations from space. According to ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, the crew on the International Space Station (ISS) has configured the radio to support cross-band repeater operations. They have also supported some SSTV downlinks and participated in a special test of 9600 baud packet radio operations on the simplex frequency of 145.825 MHz. After December 19, Bauer said he expects the ISS ham radio system to be on the 145.825 MHz frequency supporting 1200 baud packet. If PCSAT is configured during the week, he said double hop APRS is possible.

"During the week of December 21-26, we plan to support the cross-band repeater mode with a twist," Bauer said. "Our intent is to configure the radio for 145.99 MHz uplink -- including CTCSS tone of 67.0 and 437.80 MHz down. This will be performed in low power mode. We should also note that an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) is planned for that week -- Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, RA3DT, plan to perform a spacewalk on December 22. As per standard procedure, the ISS ham radio system will be turned off for the EVA."

Bauer said that from December 28-January 3, the cross-band repeater will be reconfigured for what he called "a special experiment. This will be a test of our L-Band uplink capability, which, to date, has not been proven out. Plan for an uplink of 1269.65 MHz and a downlink on the standard frequency of 145.80 MHz, using low power," he said. "Given the substantial cable losses of the L-band system, we hope some 'big guns' are able to penetrate through, keep up with Doppler and make the connection."

A special certificate is being developed for those who communicate with the ISS from November 30, 2008 to January 15, 2009. This certificate will be awarded to those who have had two-way communications with the ISS on voice, packet (APRS) or through the voice repeater. Those who hear the ISS from space in any of the ARISS operations modes -- voice, SSTV, school contact, voice repeater or digital - will also be eligible to receive a certificate.

To receive the certificate, Bauer said to note the ARISS mode of operation (such as SSTV, voice or school) on your QSL and whether the contact was one-way (receive only) or two-way. "You should send your self-addressed, stamped envelope to the normal ARISS QSL volunteer distributor in your area of the world," he explained. "On the outside of the QSL envelope, please include the words '25th Anniversary Certificate.' Make sure your envelope is big enough to accept an 8.5 x 11 inch certificate and includes the proper postage."

If you do not know where to send your QSL, check the ARISS Web site to find the one that serves your part of the world.

"We will be sending your certificate to the volunteer distributors in bulk after the event is over," Bauer said. "This saves workload and money. So do not expect to see it until 1-2 months after the event closes on January 15." Bauer reminded hams that due to ISS flight requirements related to spacewalks and vehicle activity, the radio onboard the ISS may be off for some portion of this schedule. School contacts and general QSO opportunities by the crew will also preempt this schedule for short periods of time. "But remember that if you hear these," he said, "you still qualify for a commemorative certificate. Enjoy the ARISS ops on ISS!"

NNNN
/EX

And from AMSAT.ORG......

ARISS 25th Anniversary Adds New Modes to ISS Amateur Radio Operations

AMSAT-NA V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs and ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO announced, "Twenty-five years ago this week, Owen Garriott, W5LFL, made history by being the first amateur radio operator to talk to hams from space. Owen's historic flight on the STS-9 Space Shuttle Columbia mission was launched on November 28 and landed on December 8, 1983. Owen's ham radio adventure on STS-9 ushered in a host of outstanding outreach activities that continue today with the ARISS program."

Frank continued, "Many will recall that first set of contacts and downlinks with Owen. Those first contacts allowed each of us to share the excitement of space exploration through Owen's first-hand eyewitness accounts. Owen's ham radio legacy enabled space travelers that have flown on the Space Shuttle, the Space Station Mir and now the International Space Station to share their journey of exploration."

"Owen's son Richard, W5KWQ just a month ago carried the torch further to become the first 2nd generation amateur rdaio operator to talk to hams from space. What other hobby, except amateur radio, could or would open the communications lines of space travelers beyond that of the space agencies or international heads of state?"

To date, the ISS crew has configured the radio to support cross-band repeater operations, they have supported some SSTV downlinks and we have had the opporunity to participate in a special test of 9600 baud packet radio operations on the simplex frequency of 145.825 MHz.

Specifically, the following is being planned in the near-term:

December 15-19 - we expect the ISS Ham radio system to be on the 145.825 MHz frequency supporting 1200 baud packet. If PCSAT is configured during the week, double hop APRS is possible.

December 21-26 - we plan to support the Crossband repeater mode with a twist. Our intent is to configure the radio for 145.99 MHz uplink including PL tone of 67.0 and 437.80 MHz down. This will be performed in low power mode.

December 22 - Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov plan to perform a spacewalk. As per standard procedure, the ISS ham radio system will be turned off for the EVA.

December 28-January 3 - we plan to reconfigure the Crossband repeater for a special experiment. This will be a test of our L-Band uplink capability, which, to date, has not been proven out. Plan for an uplink of 1269.65 MHz and and downlink on the standard frequency 145.80 MHz using low power. Given the subtantial cable losses of the L-band system, we hope some "big guns" are able to penetrate through, keep up with doppler, and make the connection.

And at times, especially during the weekends, you might see some SSTV operations if the crew is available.

We will provide more updates in the near future. We would like to remind everyone that ISS flight requirements related to EVA and vehicle activity may require the radio to be off for some portion of this schedule. And school contacts and general QSO opportunities by the crew will also preempt this schedule for short periods of time. (But remember that if you hear these, you still qualify for a commemorative certificate).

Frank concluded, "In the meantime, enjoy the ARISS ops on ISS! And congratulations to Owen Garriott, W5LFL, on the 25th anniversary of his historic flight!!"

ARISS Commemorative Certificate Information

If you have had two-way communications with the ISS on voice, packet (APRS), or through the voice repeater, or have heard the ISS from space in any of the ARISS operations modes (voice, SSTV, school contact, voice repeater, digital) between November 30, 2008 to January 15, 2009 you qualify to receive an ARISS Commemorative Certificate.

Please note on your QSL the ARISS mode of operation (e.g. SSTV, voice, school, etc) and whether the contact with you was one-way (receive only) or two-way. On the outside of the QSL envelope, please include the words "25th Anniversary Certificate" Make sure your envelope is big enough to accept an 8.5 by 11 inch certificate and includes the proper postage. Please refer to http://www.ariss.org for additional details.

ARISS QSL Addresses:

USA: ARRL Headquarters, 25th Anniversary Certificate, 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA

Canada: Radio Amateurs of Canada, 25th Anniversary Certificate, 720 Belfast Road, Suite 217, Ottawa Ontario K1G 0Z5

Europe: F1MOJ - Mr CANDEBAT Christophe, ARISS-Europe QSL Manager, 25th Anniversary Certificate, 19 Chemin des Escoumeilles, 66820 VERNET les Bains, FRANCE

Japan: ARISS Japan QSL, 25th Anniversary Certificate, JARL International Section, Tokyo 170-8073 JAPAN

Russia: Alexander Davydov, RN3DK, 25th Anniversary Certificate, Novo - Mytishchinsky prospekt 52 - 111, Mytishchi 18, Moskovskaya obl., 141018, RUSSIA

For other countries, please use the US or Canadian address above until such time as an address for your country is available.

Please note that ARISS will be sending your certificate to the volunteer distributors in bulk AFTER the event is over. It will take 1-2 months after the event closes on January 15 to send out the certificates.

Shuttle Endeavor & Carrier 747 Land at JRBFW

The space shuttle Endeavour lands at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth, Texas atop a modified Boeing 747. The shuttle is en route to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. after a Nov. 30 landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class D. Keith Simmons (Released)

International Callsign Handbook v2 Now Available

This blog is supported and sponsored by Teak Publishing, and the sale of its radio hobby publications. We appreciate your support by purchasing our publications that keeps our radio blogs operational.

"I’m impressed. This is a comprehensive collection of worldwide radio identifiers likely (and even some less likely) to be heard on the air. Over the years the Van Horns have earned the well-deserved respect of the monitoring community. Accurately assembling a collection like this is a mammoth undertaking. Congratulations on a job well done." Bob Grove - December 2008 Whats New Column, Monitoring Times magazine

Teak Publishing is proud to announce the release their second eBook – International Callsign Handbook, 2nd edition, by Gayle and Larry Van Horn.

Radio hobbyists interested in receiving and identifying radio stations in the HF/VHF/UHF radio spectrums now have a new whopping 1414 page CD-ROM publication to aid them.

International Callsign Handbook is a concise world directory of various types of radio station identifications covering the military, government, maritime, aeronautical, and fixed radio stations on CD-ROM. Thousands of callsigns and other types of identifiers have been collected from our own personal log book, official sources and dedicated hobbyists who contributed their material.

The 12 chapters of this new eBook cover the following subjects:

● Chapter 1 – Introductory material

● Chapter 2 – Extensive lists of resource information useful in interpreting the individual entries for each identification listed in the book. We have included sections on U.S. Navy ship/squadron classifications; U.S. Coast Guard cutter designators; a massive list of abbreviations and acronyms that appear in the book; a comprehensive country abbreviation list; and the latest Table of Allocations of International Callsigns from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

● Chapter 3 – Special chapter devoted to monitoring ACARS communications. For the aviation buff, we have included an extensive list of the abbreviations and a sample message type used by aircraft when communicating using this digital radio system.

● Chapter 4 – Comprehensive lists of internationally assigned callsigns.

● Chapter 5 – Worldwide listing of airline callsigns and ICAO codes.

● Chapter 6 – Covers the new field of decoding ICAO24 codes from aircraft. Our list in this edition will primarily cover military aircraft.

● Chapter 7 – Provides a large sample of military Selcal codes that have been recently decoded by on-the-air monitoring.

● Chapter 8 – Civilian Marine Vessel Callsigns.

● Chapter 9 – Introductory material on monitoring the marine GMDSS frequencies with coastal and ship MMSI identifications.

● Chapter 10 This chapter covers the new and exciting field of Automatic Link Establishment or ALE monitoring in the HF radio spectrum and includes a very large list of ALE addresses.

● Chapter 11 – The largest chapter in this book is an extensive listing of Tactical Callsign and Code Words. This chapter covers government and military tactical calls and selected code words for services and agencies worldwide.

● Chapter 12 – is a collection of U.S. military call words that change, usually on a daily basis. The call words presented in this chapter are usually used by various elements of the Strategic Forces such as airborne command post, TACAMO aircraft, GEP or ground entry point stations, and other units worldwide.

The International Callsign Handbook is published in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) electronic format and is fully searchable/printable. It can be run on any computer platform and uses the Adobe Acrobat reader program (a free Internet download).

CD-ROM System requirements:
Autorun function supported on Microsoft Windows 98 or later for PCs (Adobe Reader Versions 6, 7 or 8 must be installed to view publication). Publication PDF files can be view on any Apple Macintosh computer that has Preview or Adobe Reader versions 7 or 8 installed (no Autorun function supported on Mac platforms). Vista platform users have special instructions included in order the view the eBook on the CD-ROM.

The book is written by MT QSL Report columnist Gayle Van Horn, W4GVH, and Larry Van Horn, N5FPW, MT's Assistant Editor/Milcom columnist. If you want to identify who you are hearing on your radio, then this book should be on your radio shack shelf.

International Callsign Handbook, 1414 pages. 2nd Edition. © 2008, by Teak Publishing of Brasstown, North Carolina. (ISBN: 978-0-9796311-1-5).

Cost:
United States US$19.95 plus US$3.00 shipping and handling
All International Orders US#19.95 plus US$5.00 shipping and handling

You can order your book directly from Teak Publishing using check (must clear the bank first), money order or via PayPal

If you want to order via credit card, please contact one of our two dealers - Grove Enterprises or Univeral Radio. There are links to these fine companies on our blog resource guide to the right of this article.

To contact Teak Publishing directly write to P.O. Box 297, Brasstown, NC 28902 USA or via email at teakpub@brmemc.net.

If you are a dealer and would like to carry our books we have dealer pricing available. You can see information on our first book at http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/2007/09/world-qsl-book-now-available.html

Observatory's Master Clock Precision Vital to Current Ops

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) formally dedicated its new Master Clock Facility Nov. 7, which will be the repository of the most accurate time-scale available in the world.

Within the walls of the new building, the Observatory's Time Service Department will install and maintain the world's largest collection of "atomic clocks", including three next-generation Rubidium Atomic Frequency Fountain clocks which, together with dozens of Cesium-beam and Hydrogen master clocks, will keep time so accurately that the system will not gain or lose more than one second in 30 million years.

The new facility, built by the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company under the supervision of Naval Facilities and Engineering Command, Washington, incorporates an elaborate environmental control system to keep the clocks in strictly regimented temperature and humidity conditions. The building's temperature will be regulated to +/- 0.1°C and its humidity will be controlled to within a 3 percent tolerance.

John G. Grimes, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration / Chief Information Officer, was the keynote speaker for the dedication.

"As the chairman of the department's senior leadership body on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), I am acutely aware of the importance of precise time for DoD operations. From the onset of locating a threat, to placing a weapon on target, and subsequently evaluating the success of this engagement - all are impacted by the precision of time. And nowhere is this more important than here, where time is generated and maintained. For this reason, I look to the Naval Observatory to be my primary focal point within DoD for all timing-related issues.

"I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that we have one time standard within the department; the Naval Observatory Master Clock is this standard," added Grimes. "For without this standard, operations will fail. This time standard is vital for data fusion of intelligence information, proper operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS), reliable network performance, consistent and secure communications, and maintaining the critical national infrastructure."

The U.S. Naval Observatory has been keeping time for the Department of the Navy and for the nation since 1845, when Superintendent Matthew F. Maury first put the Washington Time Ball into operation.

Timekeeping procedures and technology have evolved dramatically since that time, and the U.S. Naval Observatory Time Services Department has aggressively developed new timing methods and timekeeping equipment to meet increasingly rigorous requirements.

The observatory's current master clock ensemble consists of roughly one-third of the world's operational atomic clocks and correspondingly accounts for one-third the weight of universal coordinated time (UTC).

The new Master Clock Facility will house three of the most precise clocks ever built, the USNO's Rubidium Atomic Frequency Fountain devices, which assure the DoD and U.S. global supremacy in time, will be maintained well into the future. USNO will thus remain the gold standard for global precision timing.

Hamburg German Meteo Audible in Btown

I love to work the ute bands during the winter months. Had a nice long path reception this morning of DDH 9 - the Hamburg Meteo on 11039.0 kHz using RTTY 425/50.

Here is a sample of what we copied.

CQ CQ CQ DE DDH47 DDH9 DDH8

FREQUENCIES 147.3 KHZ 11Ø39 KHZ 14467.3 KHZ

RYRYRYRYRYRYRYTRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY

CQ CQ CQ DE DDH47 DDH9 DDH8

FREQUENNIES 147.3 KHZ 11Ø39 KHZ 14467.3 KHZ

RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY

CQ CQ CQ DE DDH47 DDH9 DDH1

FREQUENCIS 147.3 KHZ 11Ø39 KHZ 14467.3 KHZ

RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY

CQ CQ CQ DE DDH47 DDH9 DDH8

FREQUENCIESN 147.3 KHZ 11Ø39 KHZ 14467.3 KHZ

RYRYRYYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRY

CQ CQ CQ DE DDH47 DDH9 DDH8

FREQUENCIES 147.3 KHZ 11Ø39 KHZ 14467.3 KHZ

RYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRYRRYRYRYRYRY

ZCZC 765

FQMM6Ø EDZW Ø815ØØ

SEEWERBERICHT MITTELMEER VOM Ø8.11.2ØØ8:

WETTERLAGE VON HEUTE 12 UHR UTC:

TIEF 1Ø13 ROTES MEER, NORDZIEHR TROG 1Ø2Ø SUEDLICHE TUERKEI,

WENIG AENDERND. RUSSLANDHOCHKEIL 1Ø23 GRIECHENLAND, VERSTAERKEND,

SUEDAUSWEITEND. HTCH 1Ø25 WESTLICH VON PORTUGAL, VERSTAERKEND,

OSTWANDERND. KEIL 1823 TUNESIEN, ETWAS VERSTAERKEND. WEITERER

KEIL 1Ø2Ø AZOREN, ETWAS ABSCHLAECHEND. TIEF 991 WESTLICH VON

IRLAND. STARK VERTIEFEND, NORDNORDOSTZIEHEND

(WINDSTAERKEANGABEN IN BEAUFORT)

VORHERSAGE BIS MORGEN ABEND:

KANARISCHE INSELN:

NORDOESTLICHE WINDE 4 BIS 5,8GUTE SICHT.

ALBORAN/GIBRALTAR:

SCHWACHWINDIG, SPAETER OST UM 3, GUTE SICHT.

PAOS ( ZWISCHEN SUEDOSTSPANIEN UND WESTALGERIEN ):

OESTLICHE WINDE 2 BIS 3, STRICHWEISE 4, GUTE SICHT.

BALEARN:

NOERDLICHE WINDE 3 BIS 4, VEREINZELT GEWITTERBOEEN, SONST GUTE

SICHT.

WESTLICH KORSIKA/SARDINIEN:

MEIST SCHWACHWINDIG, SPAETER VEREINZELT GEWITTERBOEEN, SONST

GUTE SICHT.

GOLFE DE LION:

SCHWACHWINDIG, IM WESTTEIL ANFANGS VEREINZELT SCHAUERBOEEN,

SONST GUTE FPCHT.

LIGURIECHES MEER:

SCHWACHWINDIG, VEREINZELT SCHAUERBOEEN, SONST GUTE SICHT.

TYRRHENISCHES MEER:

SCHWACHWINDIG, VEREINZELT GEWITTERBOEEN, SONST GUTE SICHT.

ADRIA:

SCHWACHWINDIG, VEREINZELT GEWITTERBOEBN, SONST GUTE SICHT.

IONISCHES MEER4

NORDOESTLICHE WINDE UM 3, VEREINZELT GEWITTERBOEEN, SONST GUTE

SICHT.

AEGAEIS:

NOERDLICHE WINDE 6 BIS 7, VEREINZELT STURMBOEEN, GUTE SICHT.

TAURUS:

NOERDLICHE WINDE 4 BIS 5, STRICHWEISE 6, IM WESTTET ANFANGS

VEREINZELT SCHAUERBOEN, SONST GUTE SICHT.

BISKAYA:

SUEDWEST 6 BIS 7, STRICHWEISE 8, VEREINZELT GEWITTER,

STURMBOEEN, SONST GUTE SICHT.

SEEWETTERDIENSTHAMBURG

=

NNNN

CQ IQ CQ DE DDH47 DDH9 DDH8

FREQUENCIES 147.3 KHZ 11Ø39 KHZ 14467.3 KHZ

Rcvr: Icom IC-706MKIIG
Antenna: 80 mtr G5RV
Interface: Rigblaster Pro
Software: Multipsk v4.10

CFH CanForces Halifax

Had CFH Halifax on 10945.0 kHz RTTY 850/75 sending the following marker:

NAWS de CFH ZKR F1 2822 3394 4155 6254 8303 12830 AR

Also saught a nice strong RTTY (850/75) signal from Halifax this morning sending meteo info below at 1450 UTC on 10535.0 kHz.

CANADIAN FORCES METOC CENTRE, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA TRAFFIC FOLLOWS

FQCN23 CWHX Ø8Ø85Ø
WAVE HEIGHT FORECASTS FOR THE MARITIMES ISSUED BY ENVIRONMENT CANADA
AT 5:ØØ A.M. AST SATURDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2ØØ8 FOR TODAY TONIGHT AND
SUNDAY.
THE NEXT SCHEDULED FORECASTS WILL BE ISSUED AT 5:ØØ P.M.
FORECAST VALUES ARE COMBINED WIND WAVE AND SWELL HEIGHTS. WAVE
HEIGHTS MAY VARY CONSIDERABLY DUE TO SHORELINE AND DEPTH EFFECTS.
FUNDY.
SEAS 1 METRE OR LESS.
GRAND MANAN.
SEAS 1 TO 2 METRES.
LURCHER
BROWNS BANK
GEORGES BANK
SOUTHWESTERN SHORE
LAHAVE BANK
WEST SCOTIAN SLOPE
EASTERN SHORE
SABLE
EAST SCOTIAN SLOPE.
SEAS 2 TO 3 METRES SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 LATE THIS MORNING.
FOURCHU
BANQUEREAU
LAURENTIAN FAN.
SEAS 1 TO 2 METRES BUILDING TO GI TO 3 LATE THIS MORNING THEN
SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 THIS EVENING.
CABOT STRAIT
GULF - MAGDALEN - SOUTHEASTERN HALF.
SEAS 1 TO 2 METRES.
GULF - MAGDALEN - NORTHWESTERN HALF
ANTICOSTI - SOUTHEASTERN HA.
SEAS 3 METRES SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 SUNDAY MORNING.
ANTICOSTI - NORTHWESTERN HALF.
SEAS 1 TO 2 METRES BUILDING TO 2 TO 3 THIS EVENING THEN SUBSIDING TO
1 TO 2 SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
END


CANADIAN FORCES METOC CENTRE, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA TRAFFIC FOLLOWS

BUOY REPORTS FOR NS
ID TDDHH LAT LONG WIND CLD VVWX AIR DEW SEA PRESSURE DV WAVEICE
B44258 Ø8Ø8 44.5N 63.4W 11Ø1/Ø3 11.9 1Ø.2 Ø98 ØØ8 Ø 2.2
B44141 Ø8Ø8 43.ØN 58.ØW 1511/11 15.3 12.9 145 Ø17 Ø 1.9
B44139 Ø8Ø9 44.2N 57.1W 1911/13 11.7 9.6 14Ø Ø13 Ø 1.5
B44137 Ø8Ø8 42.2N 62.ØW /ØØ 15.5 13.6 1Ø5 Ø12 Ø 2.2
B44Ø11 Ø8Ø9 41.1N 66.6W 35Ø1/Ø3 13.2 13.1 12.1 Ø76ØØ4 Ø 1.8
END


CANADIAN FORCES METOC CENTRE, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA TRAFFIC FOLLOWS

BUOY REPORTS FOR NE
ID TDDHH LAT LONG WIND CLD VVWX AIR DEW SEA PRESSURE DV WAVEICE
B44ØØ5 Ø8Ø9 43.2N 69.1W ØØØØ/ØØ 1Ø.4 1Ø.6 Ø 1.5
B44ØØ8 Ø8Ø9 4Ø.5N 69.2W Ø2Ø3/Ø5 13.Ø 12.7 12.7 Ø81 ØØ3 Ø 1.7
B44ØØ7 Ø8Ø9 43.5N 7Ø.1W 22Ø1/Ø3 1Ø.9 1Ø.6 1Ø.8 Ø79ØØ5 Ø 1.4
B44Ø13 Ø8Ø9 42.3N 7Ø.7W 16Ø1/Ø3 11.3 11.2 11.Ø Ø8ØØØ6 Ø 1.Ø
B44Ø25 Ø8Ø9 4Ø.3N 73.2W 2ØØ9/11 14.6 14.2 14.7 Ø85 ØØ5 Ø 1.3
END


CANADIAN FORCES METOC CENTRE, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA TRAFFIC FOLLOWS

BUOY REPORTS FOR NF
B44251 Ø8Ø9 46.4N 53.4W 12Ø3/Ø5 9.1 9.2 173 Ø15 Ø Ø.9

Homeland Security Equipment Missing: Worth Millions

Well, the US Government agency I love to hate is in the news again.

So what has the infamous Department of Homeland Security done this time? It is not hard to guess if you have read the stories I have published on this blog in the past. Yes, they have wasted more taxpayer money, and this latest fiasco has now put this country in more potential jeopardy from a terrorist attack.

Television investigative reporter Brian Collister on the WOAI-TV website has uncovered a very disturbing story involving national security, theft of US government property, and the war on terror.

He reported yesterday that agencies within the Department of Homeland Security have lost over $32 million in missing equipment used to fight terrorism that was paid for from taxpayer money. And what makes matters worse is no one knows if the bad guys have gotten a hold of the missing equipment.

The list of missing equipment includes thousands of computers and laptops, some containing sensitive information US Government information; devices to detect explosives, like the ones used to scan your bags at the airport; and thousands of pieces of surveillance equipment, like night vision cameras used along the Mexican border to spot people illegally crossing into the U.S., including potential terrorists.

You can view the complete video story at http://www.woai.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=615825@video.woai.com

You can read the complete story at
http://www.woai.com/content/troubleshooters/story.aspx?content_id=3966ec08-c1a3-4608-83d8-37ba6f804d86

The Btown MP believes if you were one of the individuals within DHS who lost any of this equipment, especially the computer equipment with sensitive information on on it, you should be held criminally responsible and also have to reimburse the taxpayers for these losses.

Also to those jerks in the US Senate that are so concerned about who sees what NFL football games on TV. Time you quit your stupid political games and get to the bottom of this mess. Get the hearings started on what we pay you to do, or we, the taxpayers will have to see about putting someone in office who will do the job.

Who are these idiot senators wasting the taxpayers time and money?

Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both D-R.I.; Pete Domenici, R-N.M.; Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo.; Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Ken Salazar, D-Colo.; Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent; Wayne Allard, R-Colo.; and John Thune, R-S.D.

Hey gents, DO YOUR JOBS YOU BIG DUMMIES!!!

Willis Island Dxpedition Website

For those who will be keeping track of the WIllis island DXpedition, here is their website:

http://www.vk9dwx.de/index.php

Desecheo KP5----2009 (Press Release #1)

The Caribbean National Wildlife Refuge Complex has selected and announced a team of operators to activate Desecheo Island (KP5) sometime between January 15, 2009 and March 30, 2009. The Team will be co-led by Dr. Glenn Johnson, WØGJ and Bob Allphin, K4UEE.

Background: On June 30, 2008, the Caribbean National Wildlife Refuge office in Puerto Rico sent a letter to persons that had previously made inquiries about an Amateur Radio operation from Desecheo. They announced their decision to allow one group to activate the island and invited proposals that must adhere to strict guidelines and criteria. Applicant's had 45 days to prepare and submit their proposals.

CNWR received seven written proposals. A panel of three Fish and Wildlife Service employees, from areas within the Service outside of the Caribbean refuge, spent September 24 & 25 reviewing and evaluating the proposals. The selection criteria used were those outlined in the proposal invitation letter. Points were awarded for how well criteria were addressed for thoroughness and documentation.

The proposal with the highest ranking was submitted by team leaders Dr. Glenn Johnson, WØGJ, and Bob Allphin, K4UEE.

Their plan involves a team of fifteen operators for a 14-day operation. USFWS has not announced the actual dates of the operation yet, but the DXpedition is expected to take place between January 15, 2009 and March 30, 2009. A Special Use Permit (SUP) will be issued as per USFWS regulations. We expect that the DXpedition team and DXers worldwide will have a minimum of 30 days notice.

A website is being planned and will be announced in the near future.

Information via Ohio/Penn DX Special Bulletin No. 878.1. Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K & the AR TelNet Clusters Network and K4UEE for the following DX information.

Uniden Updates Handheld Trunk Tracker ® Scanner Lineup

An image of the new BCD396XT (Courtesy of Uniden America)

Uniden Raises the Bar for Features and Performance

Uniden America Corporation, a leading manufacturer of wireless consumer electronics, today announced their handheld Trunk Tracker III and Trunk Tracker IV scanner lineup to be debuted in early 2009. “Uniden is making major advances in the category it created” said Paul Opitz, Uniden’s Product Manager for the category. “We’ve listened to our customers and taken these scanners to the next level of functionality and performance based on what they told us they needed to do their jobs better.”

The BC346XT will replace the BC246T as Uniden’s flagship handheld analog Trunk Tracker. Touting 9,000 channels organized using Uniden’s own Dynamic Memory model the BC346XT simplifies scanner programming by modeling the scanner’s memory organization after the real world. The BC346XT also adds GPS support for automatic control of radio features based on location, a first in the industry for a handheld scanner, and a feature Uniden pioneered with the last generation of mobile scanners.

Additional features include:

􀂃 Trunk Tracker III – follows trunked traffic on Motorola, LTR, and EDACS systems (including EDACS systems using ESK)

􀂃 500 TGID Channels per trunked system – doubling the number of channels that can be programmed into a trunked system

􀂃 Temporary Lockout – allows a channel or system to be locked out for a single session and restored by cycling power

􀂃 100 System/Site Quick Key's – provides a way to quickly turn on or off scanning for groups of systems…a feature that provides users of Uniden scanners the most flexibility in programming and operation

􀂃 Startup Configuration Keys – lets specific systems be locked or unlocked automatically when the scanner is powered on

􀂃 System/Channel Number Tagging – makes it easy to jump to a specific channel

􀂃 Multisite Systems – includes support for large systems such as those being installed for statewide operation in some areas.

􀂃 Priority ID Scan -- lets the scanner apply priority to channels as they become active on the system

􀂃 Preemptive Priority (Motorola only) – monitors for priority traffic, even when the scanner is receiving a transmission on the system.

􀂃 Assignable Search Keys – give quick access to favorite search modes

􀂃 IF Exchange – lets the scanner use an alternate IF (intermediate frequency) to help avoid interference sources.

􀂃 Negative dropout delays – resume scanning after the selected time to keep the scanner from hanging on stuck mics or other continuous transmissions

􀂃 Close Call® Temporary Store – buffers the most recent Close Call hits and scans them conventionally

􀂃 Location-Based Scanning – when a compatible GPS unit is connected, turns on and off systems, sites, and channel groups as the location changes

􀂃 Location Alert Systems – allow location-specific alerts to be programmed for such things as dangerous intersections, dangerous roads, or general points of interest

􀂃 Band Scope – gives a rapid graphical display of the strength of signals within a specified range of frequencies

􀂃 Key Safe Mode -- prevents naïve users from accidentally changing programming … a feature that has been a big request from public safety and media radio system managers

􀂃 Private Systems -- prevents a system from being modified or read by PC, to help protect confidential radio system programming

􀂃 Control Channel Data Output – allows the analysis of control channel data without the need to perform invasive modifications to the scanner

􀂃 Volume Offset – lets individual channels be programmed with a volume offset to help balance between channels that are louder or softer than other programmed channels

􀂃 EDACS ESK Tracking – tracks systems that have implemented EDACS System Keys

􀂃 Fire Tone-Out Tone Search – identifies tones used by agencies using two-tone paging for alert signaling

The BCD396XT will provide the same enhancements to Uniden’s Trunk Tracker IV flagship handheld platform. In addition, this new model adds:

􀂃 Trunk Tracker IV – follows trunked traffic on APCO 25, Motorola, LTR, and EDACS systems (including EDACS systems using ESK)

􀂃 25,000 total channels

􀂃 NAC Decoding – allows specific agencies to be monitored on P25 conventional channels

􀂃 P25 One-Channel Trunking – supports P25 conventional systems that include both NAC and TGID access control on a single frequency

􀂃 Automatic P25 Threshold – fully automates the optimization of P25 reception

􀂃 Multicolor Display Backlight – allows the selection of backlight color to meet the user’s own aesthetic taste

􀂃 Visual Alert Notification – lets alerts be assigned to specific display colors, flash patterns, audible tones, and volume levels.

Both models are expected to be released in early 2009 at prices comparable to the models being replaced.

* These models are still under development, so all features are subject to modification or removal based on actual development and testing results. No statement in this press release should be considered as a promise to deliver or guarantee of performance.

Spotless Sun: Blankest Year of the Space Age

Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the "blankest year" of the Space Age.

As of Sept. 27, 2008, the sun had been blank, i.e., had no visible sunspots, on 200 days of the year. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1954, three years before the launch of Sputnik, when the sun was blank 241 times.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/30sep_blankyear.htm?list1066509

This is what a spotless sun looks like.

International Space Station conducts tests for Air Force

by Pete Meltzer Jr. Materials and Manufacturing Directorate

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- Air Force Research Laboratory officials here recently partnered with NASA to conduct materials experiments aboard the International Space Station.

The project incorporates 500 materials samples into two suitcase-like containers attached to the exterior of the International Space Station.

The containers are fully opened and folded back to expose them to atomic oxygen bombardment, solar radiation, extreme temperature changes, and other severe space environmental factors. They will remain in that configuration until retrieved by International Space Station astronauts and brought back to Earth aboard a space shuttle.

Members of the Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing and Propulsion directorates, working with NASA, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Boeing, the Space Test Program, Aerospace Corp., deployed the sixth in a series of materials experiments to the International Space Station via a space shuttle.

The International Space Station provides a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate and qualify promising new materials that may offer weight, performance and cost savings benefits, and to re-qualify existing materials, said Shane Juhl, an engineer at AFRL and current program manager for the Materials on the International Space Station Experiment program, known as MISSE.

"Due to the limited number of qualified materials for space, manufacturers tend to build spacecraft using existing qualified materials," Mr. Juhl said. "MISSE offers a cost-effective means for testing new materials and requalifying existing ones whose suppliers or processing methods have undergone change over time.

"No single piece of equipment or facility currently exists that can simultaneously expose materials to all the damaging environmental effects of space," Mr. Juhl said. "In the laboratory, samples can be exposed to only a limited number of simulated environments at a time. In space -- the ultimate testing environment -- samples are exposed to all the harsh realities of the space environment at once."

Until now, the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate staff has deployed only passive experiments to the International Space Station (experiments characterized before and after deployment). The ongoing mission, MISSE 6, incorporates eight active AFRL experiments that collect and store data in real time continuously or at set intervals for later analysis.

"The transition to more active experimentation will provide unprecedented information about the on-orbit effects on material properties of interest and will help reduce material screening and qualification costs," Mr. Juhl said. "This will free up more funding for mission-critical programs."

MISSE 6 is comprised of two containers and incorporates 40 samples from AFRL including the eight active experiments. Officials say a seventh deployment is in the planning phase.

Government/Military Blogs Logs 9-12-2008

Here are the latest summary of logs of military and government frequencies monitored yesterday (9/12) from here in Brasstown.

STARTED Sep-12/13-2008 18:24 to 0018 UTC

3349.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- KBPNNN
4490.0 SHARES SCN Ch 3:- KNY58 USDAEOC2 ZLSNNN
4765.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- OARNNN WWLNNN
4780.0 NG Primary:- FC6 FR5FEM INDOPS TX6
5015.0 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ch 2:- G334 LRD1
5135.0 US Secure:- MA1NC
5158.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- EDXNNN KBPNNN OARNNN WWLNNN ZLSNNN
5378.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC4FEM FC8FEM
5402.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
5711.0 SHARES SCN Channel 4:- AAT3BF KBPNNN NNN0KEF
5817.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- NRK
5961.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FR5FEM
6806.0 USAF CAP ALE:- 0004WICAP 0011ARCAP 101NCRCAP 101SWRCAP 0355OKCAP 2204LACAP
6809.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC6 FC8FEM FR5FEM TX6 VA3FEM
7348.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM FR4FEM FR5FEM VA3FEM
7480.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC6 TX6
7642.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- OARNNN ZLSNNN
8012.0 USAF CAP ALE:-0048FLCAP 2204LACAP
8037.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- NRK
8047.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- HQ703N L060AN T040NN
8050.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
8622.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- BB2
9025.0 USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network:- ADW HAW JNR NW1 NW2 OFF
9106.0 SHARES SCN Channel 5:- 2PBAFA 9999OKCAP AAT3BF BF741
10194.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
11108.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
11485.0 US NPHRN:- CRB T9ACBP
12216.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
13446.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
16338.5 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- HQ703N I100DN

COTHEN
ALE Addresses: 500 716 C06 I86 J01 J09 J10 J14 J19 J29 J31 J33 CRB LNT OPB PAC T16 T47 T9ACBP TSC

Frequencies: 5732.0 7527.0 8912.0 10242.0 11494.0 13907.0 15867.0 18594.0 20890.0 23214.0 25350.0 kHz

Hurricane Ike GlobalNet Report

For those of you who want to keep track of local Houston area Hurricane Ike coverage, here are some links of audio and video streams on the Internet from the Houston area.

KTRH-AM NewsRadio 740
http://www.ktrh.com/cc-common/ondemand/player.html?world=st

KPRC-2 NBC Houston
http://www.click2houston.com/video/10903347/index.html

KHOU-11 CBS Houston
http://www.khou.com/video/?nvid=178826&live=yes&noad=yes

KTRK-13 ABC Houston
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/feature?section=news/local&id=6102015

KRIV-26 Fox Houston
Video Stream Page
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=7406837&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Video Stream 1
http://mfile.akamai.com/25255/live/reflector:24524.asx?bkup=30571

Video Stream 2
http://mfile.akamai.com/25255/live/reflector:32341.asx?bkup=34157

Studio CAM
http://media.myfoxhouston.com/stream/myfoxlive/cam-fox26studio.html

KBTV-4 NBC Beaumont (no streaming video as of this report)
http://setxhomepage.com/

KFDM-6 CBS Beaumont (no streaming video as of this report)
http://www.kfdm.com/

KBMT-12 ABC Beaumont (no streaming video as of this report)
http://www.kbmt12.com/

More to come from Monitoring Times magazine GlobalNet columnist

Government/Military Blogs Logs 9-11-2008

Here are the latest summary of logs of military and government frequencies monitored yesterday (9/11) from here in Brasstown.

4490.0 SHARES SCN Ch 3:- KNY58
4765.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- WWLNNN
4780.0 IN NG Primary:- INDOPS
5135.0 US Secure:- NA1SH
5158.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 2PBAFA KBPNNN WWLNNN
5402.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
5711.0 SHARES SCN Channel 4 - AAT3BF KFW652
5817.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- NRK RLD
5821.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
6151.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FR5FEM
6785.0 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ch 7:- G334
6806.0 USAF CAP ALE:- 0004WICAP 0048FLCAP 101NCRCAP 0902ALCAP 2204LACAP AVS
6809.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FR5FEM VA3FEM
7348.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- VA3FEM
7642.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 2PBAFA OARNNN
8012.0 USAF CAP ALE:- 0002CTCAP 0011ARCAP 0048FLCAP 0902ALCAP 2204LACAP AVS RIC
8047.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- T3Z238 R24001
8050.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FR5FEM
8622.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- BB1
9025.0 USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network - CRO
10194.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
10202.0 US NPHRN Ch 6:- KGD825
10588.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
11108.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
12087.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- T1Z147 R27069
12164.0 US NPHRN Ch 8:- 010CDCNHQ 494FEMAUX
12216.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
13242.0 SHARES SCN Channel 10/DISA NIPR - DL0001DAT
13446.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FM8FEM3 FM8FEM4D
15094.0 SHARES SCN Ch 7:-043NCS

COTHEN
ALE Addresses: 501 502 716 CRB F40 J14 J23 J27 J39 J40 LNT N01 OPB P22 PAC TSC
Frequencies: 5732.0 7527.0 8912.0 10242.0 11494.0 13907.0 15867.0 18594.0 20890.0 23214.0 25350.

Government/Military Blog Logs 9-10-2008

We are watching a wide variety of military and government frequencies as Ike moves toward the highly populated southeast Texas coast and the Houston-Galveston Metro area. This is a serious situation for the residents in that area if the forecast track for Ike holds.

Several items of note for monitors:

The best area radio station in the Houston-Galveston area is KTRH News Radio 740. The audio stream link is http://www.ktrh.com/cc-common/ondemand/player.html?world=st

As first introduced on our sister blog the Btown monitor post the best hurricane information website is at Storm Pulse. You can reach that site at http://www.stormpulse.com/

Public Safety Scanner feeds:

Galveston area Police, Fire, EMS, Coast Guard (Courtesy of ScanAmerica)
http://tx.scanamerica.us/playlists/tx/galveston/scanner1c-1221132574.asx

Houston Fire (requires quicktime software) http://4alarm.org/
Houston & Harris County Police, Fire, Ham (IBN Teamspeak 70.87.174.165:8796 )
http://www.incidentnewsbroadcast.com/ [Currently offline]
Houston NOAA http://audioplayer.wunderground.com/roniah/cypress.mp3.m3u
Jefferson County Police, Fire http://www.proscan.org/ (Proscan, Video Display)
Montgomery County Police, Fire http://www.thewoodlandsmonitor.com/

Will be adding additional Texas HF specific frequencies to the search later today so watch this blog for updates.

Blog Logs started Sep-10-2008 17:36 Eastern Standard Time

4490.0 SHARES SCN Ch 3:- AAT3BF KNY58
4765.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- WWLNNN
4780.0 IN NG Primary:- INDOPS R22977
5015.0 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ch 2:- LRD1
5135.0 US Secure:- FC8 NA1SH SEMOHQ SEMO03
5140.0 US Secure:- FC8
5158.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- AAN3DCA AAT3BF EDXNNN WWLNNN
5378.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FR5FEM
5402.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM FR5FEM
5711.0 SHARES SCN Channel 4 - AAT3BF
5817.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- NRK RLD
5821.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM FR5FEM
5847.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- RLD
5961.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FR5FEM
6151.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FR5FEM
6785.0 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ch 7:- LRD1
6806.0 USAF CAP ALE:- 0004WICAP 0011ARCAP 100SWRCAP 101NCRCAP 2204LACAP AVS
6809.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM FR5FEM
7348.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM FR3 FR5FEM
7428.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) - FR5FEM
7642.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 2PBAFA
8012.0 USAF CAP ALE:- 0011ARCAP 2204LACAP AVS
8037.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- VAB NRK
8047.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- HQ703N L060AN VAB
8050.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) - FC8FEM FR5FEM
9025.0 USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network - ADW CRO OFF PLA
9106.0 SHARES SCN Channel 5 - AAT3BF 2PBAFA
9122.5 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ch 8:- G323
10816.5 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- HQ703N N040CN
10588.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
11217.0 SHARES SCN Channel 6 - AAT3BF
12087.0 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- HQ703N I100DN N040CN
12216.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS):- FC8FEM
13242.0 DISA NIPR:- ICZNPR MCCNPR
15094.0 SHARES SCN Ch 7:- 043NCS
17485.5 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net:- HQ703N I100DN

COTHEN: 500 501 701 720 A97 D48 F41 I97 J01 J03 J15 J19 J23 J38 LNT N01 PR1PRI PR1SEC TSC VE5
AQC ALE Address: MT8MWF

Frequencies: 5732.0 7527.0 8912.0 10242.0 11494.0 13907.0 15867.0 18594.0 20890.0 23214.0 25350.0

More frequency info to follow...
73 de Chief

Best Hurricane Tracking Site on the Net

If you are looking for the best hurricane tracking site on the net, look no further than Storm Pulse.com. It is absolutely awesome.

Point you browser at http://www.stormpulse.com/

Thanks Mr. Neal for the tip.

BTown Milcom/Gov Blog Logs - 9/2/2008

Emergency vehicles carrying evacuees of Hurricane Gustav stage near a Canadian Air Force CC-177 at Lake Front Airport, New Orleans, LA., Aug. 31, 2008. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and The Department of Defense provided flights to transport citizens to destinations safely outside the hurricanes path. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Shawn Weismiller)

Here are the latest intercepts monitored from in the Btown MP in the last 24 hours.
(All freqs below are kHz and mode is ALE/USB unless otherwise stated)

ALE Addresses observed on the COTHEN Net:
701 790 A10 A40 A47 CNT D02 D03 D45 D70 EST F33 F40 HSD I86 I94 J04 J12 J29 J31 K57 LGV LNT N03 PAC T42 T72 TSC UCG V12

Frequencies: 5732.0 7527.0 8912.0 10242.0 11494.0 13907.0 15867.0 18594.0 20890.0 23214.0 25350.0

3349.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network - WWLNNN
5711.0 SHARES SCN Channel 4 - AAT3BF
5817.0 USA NG - NRK
7428.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) - FR5FEM
8047.0 USA NG - T3Z238 MING
8050.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) - FC8FEM FR5FEM
9025.0 Mexican Army (Planet/Sky/Mythology Network) - Jupiter Pluton
USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network - OFF
9106.0 SHARES SCN Channel 5 - AAT3BF BF741
9224.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network - 2PBAFA
9462.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) - FC1 FC1FMA FC6 MA1 RI1FMA
10194.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) - FC1 FC6 RI1 VT1
10202.0 National Public Health Radio Network - 119CDCS05 (Arkansas)
10816.5 National Guard STARC Nationwide Net - HQ703N M010AN M070ON R010IN
11217.0 SHARES SCN Channel 6 - AAT3BF
11801.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) - FR5FEM
12087.0 USA NG - T1Z147 w R27069/R24610
National Guard STARC Nationwide Net - HQ703N M010AN M080TN W100AN
12216.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) - FC1 VT1
13446.0 FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) - FC6 FC8FEM

Monitoring the Republican National Convention

Thanks to the Gopher Amateur Radio Club ( http://w0yc.com/ ), you can now listen to St Paul and Minneapolis Police and Fire dealing with the crowds due to the Republican National Convention being in town at ScanAmerica.us by going to http://mn.scanamerica.us/index.php?county=Ramsey

Thanks to Gordon and the Live Scanner Audio newsgroup.

Gustav Audio Streams - Broadcast and Public Safety

Scanner enthusiasts and others who are interest:

There is a scanner audio stream for Lafourche/Terrebonne Parish covers about 30-40 miles west of NOLA LA so basically IBN has coverage from NOLA area to Lafayette LA with a small area not covered.

If you would like to listen here is the INB Team speak address.
70.87.174.165:8796

Feeds at the address above:
Lafayette LA FD
Lafourche/Terrebonne Parish Public Safety

You will have to have the Teamspeak audio software package.

Radio Reference website Wiki
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Hurricane_Gustav

NOLA LATIE EOC and State Emergency Operations audio feed:
http://www.radioreference.com:8000/nola.mp3.m3u

LATIE System City of New Orleans Police, Fire, EMS, and Jefferson Parish Public Safety audio stream
http://www.radioreference.com:8000/nola_ps.m3u

LATIE System City of New Orleans Police, Fire, EMS, and Jefferson Parish Public Safety audio stream
http://la.scanamerica.us/playlists/la/orleans/scanner1f-1220359116.asx

WWL-AM 870 the official emergency radio station for the NOLA area is streaming audio. Go to http://reciva.com/ and search for WWL. It is a Windows media player stream.

WWL-TV Channel 4 live streaming video of their local coverage at
http://www.wwltv.com/sharedcontent/video/makeASX.php?title=beloint_wwltv&adurl=adcontent/Ntl/20081130/NtlContextWeb006L577545_052908.wmv&live=1

WDSU-TV Channel 6 live streaming video of their local coverage
http://mfile.akamai.com/12912/live/reflector:57420.asx

WVUE-TV "Fox 8" Channel 8 live streaming video of their local coverage
http://fox8live.com/www/Video/NewStream.asp?v=

WGNO-TV ABC Channel 26 live streaming video of their local coverage
http://www.abc26.com/pages/main

More as we receive it here in the Monitor Post.

Sun Makes History: First Spotless Month in a Century

The record-setting surface of the sun. A full month has gone by without a single spot (Source: Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO))

Drop in solar activity has potential effect for climate on earth.

The sun has reached a milestone not seen for nearly 100 years: an entire month has passed without a single visible sunspot being noted.

See the rest of the story at http://www.dailytech.com/Sun+Makes+History+First+Spotless+Month+in+a+Century/article12823.htm

BTown Milcom/Gov Blog Logs - 8/31/2008

Here is my latest list of active military/government frequencies monitored in the last 24 hours in association with emergency operations on the Gulf associated with Hurricane Gustav. (Mode is ALE/USB and frequencies are in kHz unless otherwise noted)

3345.0 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ch 1:- WUK347 Unknown location

3349.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- WWLNNN USN/MC MARS Unknown location

4490.0 SHARES SCN Ch 3:- AAT3BF USA MARS Newark DE / KNY58 NTCN-HF Gadsden AL / USDAEOC2 US Department of Agriculture Alternate EOC Riverdale, MD

4757.0 National Public Health Radio Network (NPHRN) Ch 2:- 494FEMAUX FEMA Auxillary Station Denver, CO (WGY9494) / 05CDCS16 Idaho Department of Health Pocatello, ID (WNG984)

4765.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 2PBAFA USAF MARS Arlington VA / OARNNN USN/MC MARS Bloomington IL / WKCNNN USN/MC MARS IL / WWLNNN USN/MC MARS Unknown location

4780.0 IN NG Primary:- INDOPS NG Indianapolis IN / FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

5015.0 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ch 2:- WUK Unknown location

5135.0 US Secure:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865) / MA1NC NH EMA Manchester NH / NA1SH NH EMA Nashua NH / SEM003 NY EMA Glen Falls NY / SEM0HQ NY EMA Albany NY

5140.0 US Secure:- 0041MT Montana / FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

5158.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 2PBAFA USAF MARS Arlington VA / WKCNNN USN/MC MARS IL / WWLNNN USN/MC MARS Unknown location

5211.0 IN NG Primary:- INDOPS NG Indianapolis IN

5378.0 FEMA FNARS:- IN NG Primary:- INDOPS NG Indianapolis IN / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

5402.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

5711.0 SHARES SCN Ch 4:- AAT3BF USA MARS Newark DE / KEY798 EPA Portable Unit / KTQ313 US EPA Montgomery AL / NNN0KEF USN/MC MARS Bristow VA / ZLSNNN USN/MC MARS Yorktown VA

5817.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA / RLD NG Richland VA / VAB NG Virginia Beach VA

5821.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

5847.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA / VAB NG Virginia Beach VA

5878.5 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA

5961.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

6020.0 US Army Corps of Engineers:- G323 unknown location

6049.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

6106.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

6151.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

6785.0 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ch 7:- FCJ UV5 Unknown locations, G323 Unknown location

6800.0 SHARES SCN Ch 9:- KTQ313 US EPA Montgomery AL

6803.0 SHARES:- KTQ313 US EPA Montgomery AL

6806.0 CAP ALE:- 0011ARCAP CAP AR / 0011OKCAP OK / 0048FLCAP CAP FL / 054NHQCAP CAP HQ Assignment / 101NCRCAP - CAP North Central Region Unit / 100SWRCAP Southwest Region Unit / 0902ALCAP Unknown location / RIC CAP Region 2 MER/CAP National Technology Center Richmond VA

6809.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865) / VA3FEM FEMA Unknown location

7348.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865) / VA3FEM FEMA Unknown location

7428.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

7480.0 US Secure:- 0041MT Montana

7642.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 2PBAFA USAF MARS Arlington VA / EBCNNN USN/MC MARS West Virginia / OARNNN USN/MC MARS Bloomington IL / WKCNNN USN/MC MARS IL / WWLNNN USN/MC MARS Unknown location / ZLSNNN USN/MC MARS Yorktown VA

7645.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- WKCNNN USN/MC MARS IL

7806.4 US Secure:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

8012.0 CAP ALE:- RIC CAP Region 2 MER/CAP National Technology Center Richmond VA / 0004WICAP CAP WI / 0011ARCAP CAP AR / 0011OKCAP OK / 0048FLCAP CAP FL / 054NHQCAP CAP HQ Assignment / 100SWRCAP Southwest Region Unit / 0902ALCAP Unknown location/
FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

8037.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA

8047.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA / L060AN - NG Baton Rouge LA / HQ703N - NG Readiness Center Arlington VA / T3Z238 - NG 2-238 AVN Shelbyville IN

8050.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

8093.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA / T3Z238 - NG 2-238 AVN Shelbyville IN

8622.0 NG Net:- Z238 - NG 2-238 AVN Shelbyville IN

9025.0 USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network:- 277703 Probable CANFORCE C-17A (#177703) 8 Wing/429 Squadron CFB Trenton, ON
580077 USAFKC-135T 92ARW Fairchild AFB, WA (#58-0077)
ADW Andrews AFB MD / DMLS Unknown station / MCC West Coast McClellan CA / OFF Offutt AFB NE
Mexican Army Net:- Jupiter / Venus

9106.0 SHARES SCN Ch 5:- 2PBAFA USAF MARS Arlington VA / AAT3BF USA MARS Newark DE / BF741 DOMS Washington DC

9122.5 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ch 8:- G323 Unknown location

9143.5 NG STARC Net:- NGTROOPCMD - NG Columbus OH / NRK NG Norfolk VA / RLD NG Richland VA / VAB NG Virginia Beach VA / AQC SND MUZIXV

9224.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 2PBAFA USAF MARS Arlington VA / EBCNNN USN/MC MARS West Virginia / WKCNNN USN/MC MARS IL

9414.5 National Public Health Radio Network (NPHRN) Ch 5:- 494FEMAUX FEMA Auxillary Station Denver, CO (WGY9494) / 033CDCS22 Louisiana

9462.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / VA3FEM FEMA Unknown location

10194.0 FEMA FNARS:- 473FEMAUX Unknown location / FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

10202.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8 FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / KGD825 US EPA Boston, MA

10493.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

10588.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

10816.5 NG STARC Net:- T060XN Camp Mabry (Austin) TX / A040LN Montgomery AL

10899.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

11108.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

11217.0 SHARES SCN Ch 6:- 043NCS US NCC Unknown location / AAT3BF USA MARS Newark DE
UK DHFCS TASCOMM ALE Network:- XSS Unknown location

11801.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

11226.0 USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network:- 290062 USAF C-17 Aircraft #99-0062 / ADW Andrews AFB MD / AED USAF Elmendorf AFB AK / AQC Send D4QCDM

12087.0 NG STARC Net:- T1Z147 NG 1-147 AVN, Madison WI / R27069 US Army aircraft

12216.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR3FEM Unknown location / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865) / VA3FEM FEMA Unknown location

13242.0 NIPR:- DL0005DAT Unknown / ICZNPR NIPR NAS Sigonella (Sicily), Italy / MCCNPR NIPR McClellan, CA
UK DHFCS TASCOMM ALE Network:- XSS Unknown location

13446.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865) / VA3FEM FEMA Unknown location

13473.5 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 6NEAFA USAF MARS Unknown location

13568.0 NG STARC Net:- T060XN Camp Mabry (Austin) TX / A040LN Montgomery AL

13935.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX

14360.0 SHARES:- ICZNPR NIPR NAS Sigonella (Sicily), Italy / MCCNPR NIPR McClellan, CA

14450.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX

14512.5 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 6NEAFA USAF MARS Unknown location

14776.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

15094.0 SHARES SCN Ch 7:- 043NCS US NCC Unknown location / PR13 unknown location / USARC5 - Unknown location (US Army Reserve Command or American Red Cross?)

15708.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

19969.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

More to follow in the post landfall monitor period...Chief Larry

BTown Milcom/Gov Blog Logs - 8/30/2008

Here is the latest list of active military/government frequencies monitored in association with emergency operations on the Gulf associated with Gustav.

3349.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- WWLNNN USN/MC MARS Unknown location

4490.0 SHARES SCN Ch 3:- AAT3BF USA MARS Newark DE / KNY58 NTCN-HF Gadsden AL

4765.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- WKCNNN USN/MC MARS IL

4780.0 IN NG Primary:- INDOPS NG Indianapolis IN / FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

5015.0 USACE:- WUK Unknown location

5135.0 US Secure:- MA1NC NH EMA Manchester NH / NA1SH NH EMA Nashua NH / SEM003 NY EMA Glen Falls NY

5140.0 US Secure:- 0041MT Montana

5158.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- WKCNNN USN/MC MARS IL

5378.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

5402.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

5711.0 SHARES SCN Ch 4:- AAT3BF USA MARS Newark DE / KTQ313 US EPA Montgomery AL / ZLSNNN USN/MC MARS Yorktown VA

5817.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA / RLD NG Richland VA

5821.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

5847.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA

5878.5 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA

5961.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

6020.0 US Army Corps of Engineers:- G323 unknown location

6049.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

6106.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

6151.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

6785.0 USACE:- FCJ UV5 Unknown locations

6800.0 SHARES SCN Ch 9:- KTQ313 US EPA Montgomery AL

6803.0 SHARES:- KTQ313 US EPA Montgomery AL

6806.0 CAP ALE:- 0011ARCAP CAP AR / 0011OKCAP OK / 0048FLCAP CAP FL / 054NHQCAP CAP HQ Assignment / 101NCRCAP - CAP North Central Region Unit / 100SWRCAP Southwest Region Unit

6809.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

7348.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

7428.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

7480.0 US Secure:- 0041MT Montana

7642.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- OARNNN USN/MC MARS Bloomington IL / WKCNNN USN/MC MARS IL / ZLSNNN USN/MC MARS Yorktown VA

7806.4 US Secure:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

8012.0 CAP ALE:- RIC CAP Region 2 MER/CAP National Technology Center Richmond VA / 0004WICAP CAP WI / 0011ARCAP CAP AR / 0011OKCAP OK / 0048FLCAP CAP FL / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

8037.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA

8047.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA / L060AN - NG Baton Rouge LA / HQ703N - NG Readiness Center Arlington VA / T3Z238 - NG 2-238 AVN Shelbyville IN

8050.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

8093.0 NG STARC Net:- NRK NG Norfolk VA

9025.0 USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network:- ADW Andrews AFB MD / DMLS Unknown station / MCC West Coast McClellan CA / OFF Offutt AFB NE
Mexican Army Net:- Jupiter / Venus

9106.0 SHARES SCN Ch 5:- AAT3BF USA MARS Newark DE / BF741 DOMS Washington DC

9143.5 NG STARC Net:- NGTROOPCMD - NG Columbus OH / NRK NG Norfolk VA / RLD NG Richland VA / VAB NG Virginia Beach VA

9224.0 DoD Tri Service MARS HF ALE Network:- 2PBAFA USAF MARS Arlington VA

9462.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

10194.0 FEMA FNARS:- 473FEMAUX Unknown location / FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865) / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

10202.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8 FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

10588.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

10816.5 NG STARC Net:- T060XN Camp Mabry (Austin) TX / A040LN Montgomery AL

10899.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

11108.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

11217.0 SHARES SCN Ch 6:- 043NCS US NCC Unknown location / AAT3BF USA MARS Newark DE
UK DHFCS TASCOMM ALE Network:- XSS Unknown location

11801.0 FEMA FNARS:- FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

11226.0 USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network:- 290062 USAF C-17 Aircraft #99-0062 / ADW Andrews AFB MD / AED USAF Elmendorf AFB AK
AQC Send D4QCDM

12087.0 NG STARC Net:- T1Z147 NG 1-147 AVN, Madison WI / R27069 US Army aircraft

12216.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR3FEM Unknown location / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

13242.0 NIPR:- DL0005DAT Unknown

13446.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO / FR5FEM FEMA Chicago IL (WGY9865)

13568.0 NG STARC Net:- T060XN Camp Mabry (Austin) TX / A040LN Montgomery AL

13935.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX

14450.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX

14776.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC6 FEMA Region 6 Office Denton TX / FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

15094.0 SHARES SCN Ch 7:- 043NCS US NCC Unknown location / PR13 unknown location / USARC5 - Unknown location (US Army Reserve Command or American Red Cross?)

15708.0 FEMA FNARS:- FC8FEM FEMA Region 8 Denver CO

More to follow...Chief Larry

Gustav Now a Cat 4 Hurricane

Hurricane Gustav is now a Cat 4 hurricane of the Safir-Simpsom scale with top winds at 145 mph.

Scanner enthusiasts and others who are interest:

There is a scanner audio stream for Lafourche/Terrebonne Parish covers about 30-40 miles west of NOL LA so basically INB has coverage from NOL area to Lafayette LA with a small area not covered.

If you would like to listen here is the INB Team speak addy.

70.87.174.165:8796

You will have to have the Teamspeak audio software package.

WWL-AM 870 the official emergency radio station for the NOLA area is streaming audio.

Go to reciva.com and search for WWL. It is a Windows media player stream.

More as we receive it here in the Monitor Post.

BTown Milcom/Gov Blog Logs - 8/29/2008

FEMA MERS vehicle (Photo courtesy of FEMA)

Logs on 8/29/2008 from Brasstown, NC. Primary receiver: Icom IC-706 MKIIG, PC-ALE, Rigblaster Pro, Full size 80 meter G5RV.

73 and hope all my friends and family along the Gulf remain safe and sound.

Larry Van Horn, N5FPW

4780.0 INDOPS - National Guard Indianapolis, IN, ALE/USB sounding at 1825 on IN NG Primary freq.

5402.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1548 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

5711.0
AAT3BF - US Army MARS Newark, DE, ALE/USB sounding at 1530/1558/1851 on SHARES SCN channel 4.
ZLSNNN - Navy/Marine Corps MARS, Yorktown, VA, ALE/USB sounding at 1837 on SHARES SCN channel 4.

6806.0
0011ARCAP - Civil Air Patrol ALE/USB sounding at 1532 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.
054NHQCAP - Civil Air Patrol ALE/USB sounding at 1847 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.
101NCRCAP - Civil Air Patrol North Central Region Unit, ALE/USB sounding at 1531/1544/1556 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.

6809.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1548 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

8012.0
0004WICAP - Civil Air Patrol Wisconsin, Wing Communications Officer, ALE/USB sounding at 1537 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.
054NHQCAP - Civil Air Patrol ALE/USB sounding at 1848 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.
RIC - Civil Air Patrol CAP Region 2 MER/CAP National Technology Center Richmond, VA, ALE/USB sounding at 1840 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.

8050.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1548 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

9025.0
DMLS - Unknown station, using ALE/USB on USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network at 1638.
MCC - West Coast, McClellan CA, using ALE/USB on USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network at 1634.
OFF - Offutt AFB, NE, using ALE/USB on USAF HF-GCS Scope Command ALE HF Network at 1631.
Mexican Army Net - Jupiter clg Venus, ALE/USB at 1600.

9106.0
AAT3BF - US Army MARS Newark, DE, ALE/USB sounding at 1525/1554/1818/1846 on SHARES SCN channel 5.
BF741 - Director of Military Support, Washington, DC at 1811 on SHARES SCN channel 5.

9143.5 NRK - US Army National Guard Norfolk, VA, ALE/USB sounding at 1550 on the NG STARC nationwide net.

10194.0 FR5FEM - FEMA Chicago, IL (WGY9865) ALE/USB sounding at 1819 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

10588.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1847 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

11217.0
XSS - UK DHFCS TASCOMM ALE Network, ALE/USB sounding at 1836. I was really surprised to be hearing this station at this hour.
AAT3BF - US Army MARS Newark, DE, ALE/USB sounding at 1823 on SHARES SCN channel 6.

12087.0 R27069 - US Army aircraft calling T1Z147 - National Guard (WI) 1-147 AVN, Madison WI, ALE/USB at 1807.

12216.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1847 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

13446.0 FC6 - FEMA Region 6 Office Denton, TX, ALE/USB sounding at 1810 on FEMA FMARS net freq.

15708.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1846 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

BTown Milcom/Gov Blog Logs - 8/28/2008

WC-130J Hurricane Hunters takes off from Biloxi for hurricane observation ops. (USAF Photo)

With the approach of tropical cyclones Gustav and Hanna, we are monitoring selected frequencies associated with SHARES, FEMA, Secure, National Guard, CAP, US Army Corps of Engineers, and other services that may be involved in any disaster response. All frequencies listed below are in kHz and times in UTC.

Keep an eye on this blog for any late breaking frequency information and you can see my latest list of frequencies to monitor at http://monitor-post.blogspot.com/search?q=hurricane.

4490.0 KNY58 - National Communications System - NTCN-HF Gadsden, AL, ALE/USB sounding at 1753 on SHARES SCN channel 3.

4780.0 INDOPS - National Guard Indianapolis, IN, ALE/USB sounding at 1811/1842 on IN NG Primary freq.

5378.0 FR5FEM - FEMA Chicago, IL (WGY9865) ALE/USB sounding at 1822 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

5711.0 AAT3BF - US Army MARS Newark, DE, ALE/USB sounding at 1652/1818/1916 on SHARES SCN channel 4.

5817.0 NRK - US Army National Guard Norfolk, VA, ALE/USB sounding at 1800 on the NG STARC nationwide net.

5961.0 FR5FEM - FEMA Chicago, IL (WGY9865) ALE/USB sounding at 1821/1921 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

6106.0 FR5FEM - FEMA Chicago, IL (WGY9865) ALE/USB sounding at 1820 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

6806.0 0011ARCAP - Civil Air Patrol, Unknown location in Arkansas, ALE/USB sounding at 1836 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.

6809.0 FC6 - FEMA Region 6 Office Denton, TX, ALE/USB sounding at 1911 on FEMA FMARS net freq.

7348.0
FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1748 on FEMA FMARS
net freq.
FC6 - FEMA Region 6 Office Denton, TX, ALE/USB sounding at 1911 on FEMA FMARS net freq.

8012.0
RIC - Civil Air Patrol CAP Region 2 MER/CAP National Technology Center Richmond, VA, ALE/USB sounding at 1801 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.
0011ARCAP - Civil Air Patrol, Unknown location in Arkansas, ALE/USB sounding at 1828 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.
0048FLCAP - Civil Air Patrol, Unknown location in Florida, ALE/USB sounding at 1922 on the nationwide CAP ALE net.

8037.0 NRK - US Army National Guard Norfolk, VA, ALE/USB sounding at 1915 on the NG STARC nationwide net.

8047.0
NRK - US Army National Guard Norfolk, VA, ALE/USB sounding at 1915 on the NG STARC nationwide net.
L060AN - US Army National Guard Baton Rouge, LA, calling HQ703N - NG Readiness Center Arlington, VA, ALE/USB at 1919 on the NG STARC nationwide net.
T3Z238 - National Guard (IN) 2-238 AVN Shelbyville, IN, ALE/USB sounding at 1859 on the NG STARC nationwide net.

8050.0 FR5FEM - FEMA Chicago, IL, ALE/USB sounding at 1819/1919 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

9106.0 AAT3BF - US Army MARS Newark, DE, ALE/USB sounding at 1650/1748/1817/1914/1943 on SHARES SCN channel 5.

9143.5
NGTROOPCMD - Ohio National Guard Columbus, OH, ALE/USB sounding at 1611.
NRK - US Army National Guard Norfolk, VA, ALE/USB sounding at 1900 on the NG STARC nationwide net.

9462.0 FC6 - FEMA Region 6 Office Denton, TX, ALE/USB sounding at 1911 on FEMA FMARS net freq.

10194.0 FR5FEM - FEMA Chicago, IL (WGY9865) ALE/USB sounding at 1819 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

10588.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1747/1947 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

10816.5 T060XN - Texas National Guard STARC, Camp Mabry, TX, calling A040LN Montgomery, AL, ALE/USB at 1945.

10899.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1947 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

11108.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1847 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

11217.0 AAT3BF - US Army MARS Newark, DE, ALE/USB sounding at 1651/1748/1817 on SHARES SCN channel 6.

13446.0 FC6 - FEMA Region 6 Office Denton, TX, ALE/USB sounding at 1910 on FEMA FMARS net freq.

13568.0 T060XN - Texas National Guard STARC, Camp Mabry, TX, calling A040LN Montgomery, AL, ALE/USB at 1944.

14776.0 FC8FEM - FEMA Region 8 Denver, CO, ALE/USB sounding at 1846/1946 on FEMA FNARS net freq.

15094.0 USARC5 - Unknown location (US Army Reserve Command or American Red Cross?), calling PR13, another unknown location using ALE/USB at 1847 on SHARES SCN channel 7.

New HF Digital Protocol to Debut at DCC

WINMOR, an HF digital protocol designed for use with the Winlink 2000 network, will be unveiled at the upcoming ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference in Chicago, September 26-28.

You can read the rest of the story on the ARRL website at
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/08/26/10284/?nc=1

NY Statewide Wireless Network on Ropes

NY Times Blog Article By Danny Hakim

Source: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/statewide-wireless-network-on-ropes/#more-3697

More bad news will come tomorrow (August 21, 2008), when Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli will release a highly critical audit detailing failures of M/A-Com, a division of Tyco International, in living up to the requirements of its contract to create the network, according to a person briefed on the audit.

An ambitious plan to create an emergency radio network that was intended to connect all emergency agencies and local police and fire departments in New York State appears to be in danger of falling apart. The $2 billion network has been plagued with problems
( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/nyregion/18radio.html?scp=1&sq=%22statewide%20wireless%20network%22&st=cse) and has also been the victim of the latest round of budget cuts, which included a $40 million cut to the project.

A press release detailing budget cuts issued by the Paterson administration Wednesday said, somewhat ominously, that "any decision regarding the future of the Statewide Wireless Network project" would be "made at a later date." At a press conference Wednesday, Gov. David A. Paterson was asked if the project was dead, at which point Speaker Sheldon Silver whispered something that was inaudible in the governor´s ear. "The Speaker just said to me it´s not dead," the governor said, "but it´s in critical condition."

Editorial Comment: Surprise, surprise, another dismal failure of a M/A-COM system. If the Dems in Congres want to do something useful maybe they should hold hearings on all the wasted taxpayer money spent on failed M/A-COM trunk radio systems, like New York state and New Orleans (to name just two). Florida, you have a big target on your back and the clock is ticking.

Lifelong radio buff Tom Kneitel dead at 75

It is my sad duty to announce that my old friend Tomcat has passed away down in Florida on Friday. Here is an obit courtesy of the Orlando newspaper, Jack NeSMith and family. Thanks Jack.

From the Orlando Sentinel newspaper:

Tom Kneitel, who loved radios from the time he was a kid, turned his hobby into a career, writing magazine articles and books for other radio buffs. Known by his CB handle "Tomcat," Kneitel was a storied figure in the world of CBs, shortwaves and scanners.

His 1992 book Tune in on Telephone Calls - which told readers how to use inexpensive equipment to join the "popular pastime" of listening in on other people's cell-phone calls - earned him interviews by The New York Times and The Boston Globe.

Kneitel, 75, died Friday. The DeLand man had been ill for more than a year, with a variety of health problems, said Judy Kneitel, his wife of 54 years.

He began writing about radios in the 1950s. "My goodness, I'm having fun and they're paying me," he told his wife.

His last job had been as editor of Popular Communications magazine, but he had also written for CB Horizons magazine, S9 magazine, Popular Electronics and TV Guide. He also wrote a number of other books.

Born in New York City, Kneitel spent part of his childhood in Florida. He was the grandson of Max Fleischer, the cartoonist who had a Miami animation studio that created Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons.

His family moved back to New York when he was a teenager, and Kneitel spent most of his life there. In 2004, the Kneitels retired to DeLand.

He was a funny man but also a workaholic who would "be at the typewriter 18 hours a day," Judy Kneitel said. "He never missed a deadline. He enjoyed writing."

Even as he was entering a hospice last year, "he turned out three more articles," she said.

Most of his columns contained humor, plays on words and strong opinions. A Pennsylvania newsletter for radio buffs last year reprinted this retort by Kneitel, who'd been taken to task for his criticism of an old organization: "I don't care when it was founded, I just want to know when it will be losted."

Kneitel got his first radio from relatives after he contracted polio when he was 14 - and was hooked.

Though he recovered from the disease, he always walked with a limp, his wife said, and about 15 years ago "post-polio syndrome" landed him in a wheelchair. He'd been suffering from heart disease and diabetes, among other problems, too.

In addition to his wife, Kneitel is survived by seven of his eight children and by 10 grandchildren. The family plans a private memorial service.

RAC announces a newly revised HF Band Plan.

The HF Band Plan is a voluntary, gentleman's agreement, intended for the guidance of and observation by Canadian Radio Amateurs. Without these guidelines chaos would set in. The main mode of enforcement is peer pressure.

Industry Canada as a government department regulates the amateur radio spectrum. They regulate the frequencies and the bandwidth, but not the modes of operation within the amateur spectrum. A Band Plan (even though it is voluntary) is necessary for the guidance of the users.

The Canadian HF Band Plan was formulated by a committee of Radio Amateurs representative of a cross section of each geographical district. After a consensus was reached by the committee, the HF Band Plan was submitted to the Board of Directors of Radio Amateurs of Canada for approval.

The Plan was approved on July 22, 2008.

The HF Band Plan reflects the interests of Canadian Radio Amateurs, while taking into account the regional and international concerns of the International Amateur Radio Union. The plan addresses the needs of Canadian Radio Amateurs for a workable HF Band Plan.

http://www.rac.ca/service/bandplans/hfband_e.php