Here is a list of ships I intercepted using the marine DSC messaging system on 8414.5 kHz today using the YADD decoder program. All times are UTC. Heard 32 ships from 19 countries today. This was a lot of fun and Dirk Classens YADD program is pretty cool including the price "FREE!"
Time UTC Msg Type To From Callsign Ship Type Ship Name (Flag)
16:19:33 SAF COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans SHIP,271041862 TCYN9 Bulk Carrier Cerba (Turkey)
16:45:47 SAF COAST,003669991,USA,COMMSTA Boston SHIP,258852000 LAKP6 Oil/Chemical Tanker Ravnanger (Norway)
16:55:18 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,239939000 SVVK Asphalt/bitumen Tanker Asphalt Star (Greece)
16:56:56 SAF COAST,003669997,USA,COMMSTA Miami SHIP,239939000 SVVK Asphalt/bitumen Tanker Asphalt Star (Greece)
16:58:47 SAF COAST,005120010,NZL,Taupo Radio SHIP,239939000 SVVK Asphalt/bitumen Tanker Asphalt Star (Greece)
16:59:18 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,366495000 WNFQ Oil/chemical Tanker Overseas Chinook (United States)
17:00:11 SAF COAST,003669995,USA,COMMSTA Portsmouth SHIP,258852000 LAKP6 Oil/Chemical Tanker Ravnanger (Norway)
17:00:47 SAF COAST,005120010,NZL,Taupo Radio SHIP,239939000 SVVK Asphalt/bitumen Tanker Asphalt Star (Greece)
17:01:43 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,366495000 WNFQ Oil/chemical Tanker Overseas Chinook (United States)
17:04:21 SAF COAST,003669991,USA,COMMSTA Boston SHIP,239939000 SVVK Asphalt/bitumen Tanker Asphalt Star (Greece)
17:08:58 SAF COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans SHIP,366495000 WNFQ Oil/chemical Tanker Overseas Chinook (United States)
17:29:38 SAF COAST,003669991,USA,COMMSTA Boston SHIP,353360000 3EXS6 Bulk Carrier K. Coral (Panama)
17:37:31 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,338447000 WDF6180 Pusher Tug OSG Horizon (United States)
17:46:03 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,353479000 H3GR Passenger Ship Carnival Ecstasy (Panama)
17:51:29 SAF COAST,003669990,USA,CAMSPAC Pt Reyes SHIP,636092249 A8ZF4 Bulk Carrier Pavian (Liberia)
17:53:13 SAF COAST,003669991,USA,COMMSTA Boston SHIP,353360000 3EXS6 Bulk Carrier K. Coral (Panama)
17:57:51 SAF COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans SHIP,303603000 WDC5617 Multi Purpose Offshore Vessel DIONNE CHOUEST (United States)
17:59:21 SAF COAST,003669995,USA,COMMSTA Portsmouth SHIP,338447000 WDF6180 Pusher Tug OSG Horizon (United States)
18:02:39 SAF COAST,003669997,USA,COMMSTA Miami SHIP,567049000 HSJL Bulk Carrier LATIKA NAREE (Thailand)
18:05:51 SAF COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans SHIP,354233000 J3E TP 16540.0/16540.0KHz 3FVM2 Bulk Carrier BULK DISCOVERY (Panama)
18:13:07 SAF ALL SHIPS SHIP,477144100 J3E TP 08291.0/08291.0KHz VREO4 Bulk Carrier NORD RELIABLE (Hong Kong)
18:14:16 SAF SHIP,477144100 SHIP,441823000 DSRG4 Bulk Carrier CK BLUEBELL (Korea)
18:22:59 SAF SHIP,477144100 SHIP,375439000 J3E TP 08291.0/08291.0KHz J8B3453 Lpg Tanker MAPLE 3 (St Vincent Grenadines)
18:23:20 SAF SHIP,375439000 SHIP,477144100 J3E TP 08291.0/08291.0KHz VREO4 Bulk Carrier NORD RELIABLE (Hong Kong)
18:25:57 SAF SHIP,375439000 SHIP,477144100 J3E TP 08291.0/08291.0KHz VREO4 Bulk Carrier NORD RELIABLE (Hong Kong)
18:26:34 SAF SHIP,477144100 SHIP,375439000 J3E TP 08291.0/08291.0KHz J8B3453 Lpg Tanker MAPLE 3 (St Vincent Grenadines)
18:36:56 SAF COAST,003669991,USA,COMMSTA Boston SHIP,538003786 V7TD9 Crude Oil Tanker LEYLA K (Marshall Islands)
18:37:15 SAF SHIP,~~3669998 SHIP,354233000 J3E TP 16540.0/16540.0KHz 3FVM2 Bulk Carrier BULK DISCOVERY (Panama)
18:37:46 SAF SHIP,354233000 COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans J3E TP 08291.0/08291.0KHz
18:38:20 SAF COAST,003669991,USA,COMMSTA Boston SHIP,538003786 V7TD9 Crude Oil Tanker LEYLA K (Marshall Islands)
18:52:59 SAF COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans SHIP,564111000 S6AA9 Oil Products Tanker TORM SARA (Singapore)
19:12:31 SAF COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans SHIP,636015005 J3E TP 29.21øN 094.54øW A8YA2 Oil/chemical Tanker STOLT OCELOT (Liberia)
19:26:05 SAF COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans SHIP,357299000 3FPR4 Oil/chemical Tanker AMELIA (Panama)
19:41:07 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,239939000 SVVK Asphalt/bitumen Tanker Asphalt Star (Greece)
19:44:21 SAF COAST,003669997,USA,COMMSTA Miami SHIP,239939000 SVVK Asphalt/bitumen Tanker Asphalt Star (Greece)
19:54:30 RTN SHIP,477728900 COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans J3E TP 02123.5/02148.0KHz
19:56:15 SAF COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans SHIP,226022000 FNDQ Research/survey Vessel CGG ALIZE (France)
20:00:09 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,345070223 XCKJ9 Diving Support Vessel AZTECA (Mexico)
20:13:26 SAF COAST,006221111,EGY,Alexandria Radio SHIP,370805000 3FYI4 Oil Products Tanker LIWA (Panama)
20:23:36 SAF SHIP,403526001 SHIP,403526001 J3E TP 26.05øN 084.44øW HZEX Ro-Ro Cargo BAHRI TABUK (Saudi Arabia)
20:24:37 SAF COAST,003669992,PTR,San Juan Radio SHIP,354530000 3EQT Container Ship MSC CARMEN (Panama)
20:26:33 DIS COAST,002241078,ESP,Madrid Radio SHIP,355638000 DISTRESS RELAY 3FYG5 Chemical Tanker FAIRCHEM SWORD (Panama)
20:42:01 SAF COAST,003669997,USA,COMMSTA Miami SHIP,310467000 ZCDL3 Oil Products Tanker COMPASS (Bermuda)
20:43:41 SAF COAST,003669995,USA,COMMSTA Portsmouth SHIP,352375000 H9LL Container Ship NYK LAURA (Panama)
20:44:25 SAF COAST,003669998,USA,COMMSTA New Orleans SHIP,226022000 FNDQ Research/survey Vessel CGG ALIZE (France)
20:47:55 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,311641000 C6FX9 Container Ship DOLE COSTA RICA (Bahamas)
20:51:11 SAF SHIP,478358400 SHIP,538003041 V7NZ3 Bulk Carrier STAR COSMO (Marshall Islands)
21:05:50 SAF SHIP,563587000 SHIP,311638000 C6FX7 Container Ship DOLE HONDURAS (Bahamas)
21:24:39 SAF COAST,006052117, UNID SHIP,304011010 V2LI General Cargo ANJA (Antigua Barbuda)
21:46:52 RTN SHIP,~~6013000 SHIP,316013000 J3E TP 06227.0/06227.0KHz CGHL Icebreaker HENRY LARSEN (Canada)
21:47:07 RTN SHIP,316013000 SHIP,316013000 J3E TP 06227.0/06227.0KHz CGHL Icebreaker HENRY LARSEN (Canada)
21:47:37 RTN SHIP,316013000 SHIP,316013000 J3E TP 06227.0/06227.0KHz CGHL Icebreaker HENRY LARSEN (Canada)
21:50:00 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,311638000 C6FX7 Container Ship DOLE HONDURAS (Bahamas)
21:54:22 SAF COAST,003660003,USA,Mobile Radio WLO SHIP,366941510 WDB7380 Pusher Tug MORTON S.BOUCHARD IV (United
States)
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
DSC Intercept - 31 Dec 2013 SVVF Asphalt Star
 | ||
|
Received DSC transmission (using YADD)
8414.5 1655 SVVF Greek Asphalt/bitumen Tanker (MMSI 239939000) with SAF message for WLO Mobile 003660003.
DSC Intercept - 31 Dec 2013 LAKP6 Norwegian Ravnanger
 |
| Linked photo courtesy of MarineTraffic.com |
8414.5 1645:47 LAKP6 Norwegian Oil/Tanker Ravnanger (MMSI 25885200) with SAF message for USCG COMSTA Boston 003669991.
DSC Intercept - 31 Dec 2013 TCYN9 Cerba
 |
| Linked photo courtesy of MarineTraffic.com |
8414.5 1619:33 TCYN9 Turkish Bulk Carrier Cerba (MMSI 271041862) with SAF message for USCG COMSTA New Orleans 003669998.
Based on latest information the Cerba has just left New Orleans and is in the Gulf of Mexico.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Big Changes coming to Popular Communications Magazine and CQ Magazine
The days of the printed general radio hobby magazine (i.e. Monitoring Times and Popular Communications) has ended. Only e-zines The Spectrum Monitor and CQ Plus will be available in February 2014.
Courtesy of the BADX list and K1TW:
CQ has announced it is combining Popular Communications, World Radio, and CQ VHF into a single digital publication to be called CQ Plus starting in February. The print editions of PopComm and CQ VHF will be phased out and World Radio will disappear totally.
At least this explains the huge mystery of what is going on at CQ (as we discussed at the holiday party). I guess CQ was spread too thin with too many digital publications to manage. Maybe this will work but I think, if I understand it, there will now be just one digital subscription to CQ Magazine which will include CQ plus and maybe a print edition of CQ without Digital Plus.
And to confirm the story this from the ARRL website:
CQ Communications Inc has announced plans to realign its publications lineup and to launch a new online supplement to its flagship magazine, CQ Amateur Radio.
“The hobby radio market is changing,” said CQ Communications President and Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, “and we are changing what we do and how we do it in order to continue providing leadership to all segments of the radio hobby.”
Effective with the February 2014 issue of CQ, said Ross, content from the magazine’s three sister publications — Popular Communications, CQ VHF and WorldRadio Online — will be incorporated into CQ’s digital edition as a supplement to be called CQ Plus. The print editions of Popular Communications and CQ VHF will be phased out, and WorldRadio Online will no longer exist as a separate online publication. Current Popular Communications, CQ VHF and WorldRadio Online subscribers will be converted to CQ subscribers and receive CQ Plus at no additional charge. Details will be posted on each magazine’s website.
CQ Communications says the change will offer hobby radio enthusiasts a single source for articles from shortwave listening and scanner monitoring to personal two-way services and Internet radio, as well as Amateur Radio. Richard Fisher, KI6SN, currently editor of both Popular Communications and WorldRadio Online, will be editor of CQ Plus.
“Our primary audience is ham radio operators, but very few hams began their radio involvement as amateurs,” Ross said. “Most of us started out as shortwave listeners, broadcast band DXers, CBers or scanning enthusiasts. Many continue to be involved in many different aspects of the radio hobby in addition to Amateur Radio.” Ross said consolidating four specialized publications into one will keep “multidimensional readers” informed on all aspects of the radio hobby, at the same time exposing non-hams “to all the excitement and opportunities that Amateur Radio has to offer.”
The expanded material will be an integral part of the digital edition of CQ and will be included as part of a standard digital subscription. Each month’s digital edition will continue beyond where the print edition ends, offering supplemental material on all aspects of hobby radio communication and selected columns carried over from the other magazines. The added digital content will make full use of the multimedia opportunities presented by digital publications.
A preview of the February issue’s table of contents is available on the CQ website.
Courtesy of the BADX list and K1TW:
CQ has announced it is combining Popular Communications, World Radio, and CQ VHF into a single digital publication to be called CQ Plus starting in February. The print editions of PopComm and CQ VHF will be phased out and World Radio will disappear totally.
At least this explains the huge mystery of what is going on at CQ (as we discussed at the holiday party). I guess CQ was spread too thin with too many digital publications to manage. Maybe this will work but I think, if I understand it, there will now be just one digital subscription to CQ Magazine which will include CQ plus and maybe a print edition of CQ without Digital Plus.
And to confirm the story this from the ARRL website:
CQ Communications Inc has announced plans to realign its publications lineup and to launch a new online supplement to its flagship magazine, CQ Amateur Radio.
“The hobby radio market is changing,” said CQ Communications President and Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, “and we are changing what we do and how we do it in order to continue providing leadership to all segments of the radio hobby.”
Effective with the February 2014 issue of CQ, said Ross, content from the magazine’s three sister publications — Popular Communications, CQ VHF and WorldRadio Online — will be incorporated into CQ’s digital edition as a supplement to be called CQ Plus. The print editions of Popular Communications and CQ VHF will be phased out, and WorldRadio Online will no longer exist as a separate online publication. Current Popular Communications, CQ VHF and WorldRadio Online subscribers will be converted to CQ subscribers and receive CQ Plus at no additional charge. Details will be posted on each magazine’s website.
CQ Communications says the change will offer hobby radio enthusiasts a single source for articles from shortwave listening and scanner monitoring to personal two-way services and Internet radio, as well as Amateur Radio. Richard Fisher, KI6SN, currently editor of both Popular Communications and WorldRadio Online, will be editor of CQ Plus.
“Our primary audience is ham radio operators, but very few hams began their radio involvement as amateurs,” Ross said. “Most of us started out as shortwave listeners, broadcast band DXers, CBers or scanning enthusiasts. Many continue to be involved in many different aspects of the radio hobby in addition to Amateur Radio.” Ross said consolidating four specialized publications into one will keep “multidimensional readers” informed on all aspects of the radio hobby, at the same time exposing non-hams “to all the excitement and opportunities that Amateur Radio has to offer.”
The expanded material will be an integral part of the digital edition of CQ and will be included as part of a standard digital subscription. Each month’s digital edition will continue beyond where the print edition ends, offering supplemental material on all aspects of hobby radio communication and selected columns carried over from the other magazines. The added digital content will make full use of the multimedia opportunities presented by digital publications.
A preview of the February issue’s table of contents is available on the CQ website.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Teak Publishing Adds 2014 Air Show Guide to Their Growing e-Book Catalog
Every year, from March through November, millions of people hit the road to watch the excitement and thrills as military and civilian aero teams put their high performance aircraft through their paces to entertain the crowds and perform at air shows all over the world. Anyone who has attended one of these events will tell you it is thrilling to watch the close quarter flying of the Blue Angels delta formation or the hair-splitting maneuvers of the Thunderbird opposing solos.
While attending the show and enjoying the sights and sounds is an exciting experience that is only half the fun. You can add another whole dimension to that visual experience by monitoring the performing teams’ radio communications.
With a radio scanner in hand you will experience a whole new perspective of the show that few attendees will ever experience – pilot audio from the aircraft cockpit. While everyone else at the air show is just watching and listening to the public address system narrator, you’ll be able to hear what’s happening inside the cockpit, up in the tower and on the ground with the hundreds of players that keep these screaming, state of-the-art air machines thundering through the skies.
But you can’t tell the players without a program, and to indulge in monitoring the air show experience you need a current and well researched list of frequencies that the various performers may use during their performance.
In our new Teak Publishing Air Show Guide e-Book, former Monitoring Times Assistant Editor and Milcom columnist Larry Van Horn delivers the hundreds of frequencies you’ll need if you’re within receiving distance of any air show in 2014.
From the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds precision flight teams to the U.S. service parachute and search and rescue demonstration teams, to the many other military and civilian demo teams from the U.S. and abroad, Larry has the list of frequencies each unit uses. Now you can bring the excitement you see at the show to your ears. Listening to the nonstop action at the air show on over dozens of radio frequencies is the real fun of being there.
But wait, there’s more! Larry also tells you which scanners work best at the air shows, what features you’ll need and which models can cover the military as well as civilian frequencies used at all air shows. There is also a chapter on tips for enjoying a great day at the air show.
You will also get frequency lists for other possible frequencies in use at the air show including GMRS, Family Radio Service, DoD Intra-Squad Radio frequencies, and even Civil Air Patrol VHF/UHF frequencies and call signs. We also include an up-to-date air show Internet resource guide and the latest information from U.S. Department of Defense on the various team activities in 2014. We even have frequency listing for overseas military teams and civilian aeronautical demonstrations teams.
Finally you will get the latest schedule information for 2014 for the three major flight demonstration teams: U.S. Navy Blue Angels, U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds. We will also include with each show location, the latest ATC (Air Traffic Control) frequencies for each facility hosting a show, when known. This schedule information only covers the United States and Canada.
This is the 15th edition of this guide published by this author. The first 14 editions appeared each March in the pages of the former Monitoring Times magazine and were one of the most popular features in the magazine.
This edition of the Teak Publishing Air Show Guide is now the most comprehensive collection of air show information and frequencies ever published for the radio listening hobby. When the Air Force T-Birds and the Navy Blue Angels, dozens of other precision flight teams, skydiving teams and vintage aircraft crews are in the air and on the air, Larry has all the frequencies for them all in this new eBook!
Frequency updates, correction and late additions between editions of this e-Book will be posted on his Milcom Monitoring Post blog at: http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/.
And, the good news is that you do not even need to own a Kindle reader to read Amazon e-book publications. You can read any Kindle book with Amazon’s free reading apps.
There are free Kindle reading apps for the Kindle Cloud Reader, Smartphones (iPhone, iTouch, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry); computer platforms (Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and Mac); Tablets (iPad, Android and Windows 8), and, of course, all of the Kindle family of readers including the Kindle Fire series. A Kindle e-book allows you to buy your book once and read it anywhere. You can find additional details on these apps by checking out this link to the Amazon website at www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771.
The Teak Publishing Air Show Guide is now available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Teak-Publishing-Show-Guide-2014-ebook/dp/B00HAI4V8C/
The price for this first e-Book edition is US$2.99. Since this book is being released internationally, Amazon customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, France Spain, Italy, Japan, India, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia can order this e-Book from Amazon websites directly servicing these countries. All other countries can use the regular Amazon.com website.
For additional information on this and other Teak Publishing radio hobby books, monitor the company sponsored Internet blogs – The Military Monitoring Post (http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/), The Btown Monitor Post (http://monitor-post.blogspot.com/) and The Shortwave Central (http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/) for availability of additional e-books that are currently in production.
You can learn more about the author by going to his author page on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00G1QMO4C.
So if you are an air show enthusiast or military monitoring junkie, this is one eBook you will want in your electronic reference library. This is the one new e-book that will provide you with the inside information on the hottest frequencies in use by all the participants for the whole air show season.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Teak Publishing Adds Another New e-Publication to Their Growing Catalog
The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide is now available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/International-Shortwave-Broadcast-Winter-2013-2014-ebook/dp/B00H8X7LHM/.
That LA Times headline above says it all about the appeal even today of a radio hobby that is over 80 years old – Shortwave Radio Listening.
So why shortwave radio? The best source of global information continues to be shortwave radio. Throughout the world, shortwave remains the most readily available and affordable means of communication and information. It lets you listen to voices from around the world. You'll also learn about the lives and concerns of people from all walks of life, from soldiers, to farmers, to retired scholars. It provides coverage nearly instantaneous of news and events from around the world.
If you live in the U.S., you can easily listen to shortwave broadcast stations from countries like North/South Korea, Iran, Australia, Cuba, China, New Zealand, Pakistan, India, Japan, England, Egypt, Tunisia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United States and many other counties if you have a good shortwave receiver, and you know when and where to listen!
This new e-publication is an expanded version of the English shortwave broadcast guide formerly printed in the pages of Monitoring Times magazine over the last 20 years. This one of a kind electronic e-book will now be published twice a year to correspond with station seasonal time and frequency changes.
If you enjoy listening or monitoring HF shortwave stations, and you miss the monthly English frequency listings formerly published in the late Monitoring Times magazine, and multilingual station listing in the old MTXpress electronic magazine, this valuable tool will now be your new guide to listening to the world.
Frequency updates between editions will be posted on her Shortwave Central blog at: http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/.
And, the good news is that you do not even need to own a Kindle reader to read Amazon e-book publications. You can read any Kindle book with Amazon’s free reading apps.
There are free Kindle reading apps for the Kindle Cloud Reader, Smartphones (iPhone, iTouch, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry); computer platforms (Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and Mac); Tablets (iPad, Android and Windows 8), and, of course, all of the Kindle family of readers including the Kindle Fire series. A Kindle e-book allows you to buy your book once and read it anywhere. You can find additional details on these apps by checking out this link to the Amazon website at www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771.
The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide is now available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/International-Shortwave-Broadcast-Winter-2013-2014-ebook/dp/B00H8X7LHM/.
For additional information on this and other Teak Publishing radio hobby books, monitor the company sponsored Internet blogs – The Military Monitoring Post (http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/), The Btown Monitor Post (http://monitor-post.blogspot.com/) and The Shortwave Central (http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/) for availability of additional e-books that are currently in production.
You can view the complete Teak Publishing book catalog online at http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/. Click on the Teak Publishing radio hobby e-book link at the top of the blog page.
You can learn more about the author by going to her author page on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Gayle-Van-Horn/e/B0084MVQCM/.
The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide will have wide appeal to shortwave radio hobbyists, amateur radio operators, educators, foreign language students, news agencies, news buffs and many more interested in listening to a global view of news and events as they happen.
If you are an amateur radio operator or shortwave radio enthusiasts, and want to hear what is happening outside the ham bands on that transceiver or portable shortwave radio in your shack, then this new e-book from Teak Publishing is a must in your radio reference library.
“War Revives Shortwave Radio's Appeal: Communications: Many consumers, eager for news from the Persian Gulf are snapping up machines that fell out of fashion long ago.” – Los Angeles Times 1991
That LA Times headline above says it all about the appeal even today of a radio hobby that is over 80 years old – Shortwave Radio Listening.
So why shortwave radio? The best source of global information continues to be shortwave radio. Throughout the world, shortwave remains the most readily available and affordable means of communication and information. It lets you listen to voices from around the world. You'll also learn about the lives and concerns of people from all walks of life, from soldiers, to farmers, to retired scholars. It provides coverage nearly instantaneous of news and events from around the world.
If you live in the U.S., you can easily listen to shortwave broadcast stations from countries like North/South Korea, Iran, Australia, Cuba, China, New Zealand, Pakistan, India, Japan, England, Egypt, Tunisia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United States and many other counties if you have a good shortwave receiver, and you know when and where to listen!
The new International Shortwave Broadcast Guide by Gayle Van Horn W4GVH, is that all important information resource you need to tap into the worldwide shortwave broadcast radio spectrum. It is a 24 hour station/frequency guide to all the stations currently broadcasting on shortwave radio. This unique shortwave resource is the only publication that offers a by-hour schedule that includes all language services, frequencies and world target areas for each broadcast station.
This new e-publication is an expanded version of the English shortwave broadcast guide formerly printed in the pages of Monitoring Times magazine over the last 20 years. This one of a kind electronic e-book will now be published twice a year to correspond with station seasonal time and frequency changes.
If you enjoy listening or monitoring HF shortwave stations, and you miss the monthly English frequency listings formerly published in the late Monitoring Times magazine, and multilingual station listing in the old MTXpress electronic magazine, this valuable tool will now be your new guide to listening to the world.
Frequency updates between editions will be posted on her Shortwave Central blog at: http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/.
And, the good news is that you do not even need to own a Kindle reader to read Amazon e-book publications. You can read any Kindle book with Amazon’s free reading apps.
There are free Kindle reading apps for the Kindle Cloud Reader, Smartphones (iPhone, iTouch, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry); computer platforms (Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and Mac); Tablets (iPad, Android and Windows 8), and, of course, all of the Kindle family of readers including the Kindle Fire series. A Kindle e-book allows you to buy your book once and read it anywhere. You can find additional details on these apps by checking out this link to the Amazon website at www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771.
The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide is now available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/International-Shortwave-Broadcast-Winter-2013-2014-ebook/dp/B00H8X7LHM/.
The price for this Winter 2013-2014 edition is US$4.99. Since this book is being released internationally, Amazon customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, France Spain, Italy, Japan, India, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia can order this e-Book from Amazon websites directly servicing these countries. All other countries can use the regular Amazon.com website.
For additional information on this and other Teak Publishing radio hobby books, monitor the company sponsored Internet blogs – The Military Monitoring Post (http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/), The Btown Monitor Post (http://monitor-post.blogspot.com/) and The Shortwave Central (http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/) for availability of additional e-books that are currently in production.
You can view the complete Teak Publishing book catalog online at http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/. Click on the Teak Publishing radio hobby e-book link at the top of the blog page.
You can learn more about the author by going to her author page on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Gayle-Van-Horn/e/B0084MVQCM/.
The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide will have wide appeal to shortwave radio hobbyists, amateur radio operators, educators, foreign language students, news agencies, news buffs and many more interested in listening to a global view of news and events as they happen.
If you are an amateur radio operator or shortwave radio enthusiasts, and want to hear what is happening outside the ham bands on that transceiver or portable shortwave radio in your shack, then this new e-book from Teak Publishing is a must in your radio reference library.
Monday, December 09, 2013
NOAA Weather Radio New York City Remains Out of Service
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
1110 AM EDT FRI SEP 06 2013
...NOAA WEATHER RADIO NEW YORK CITY REMAINS OUT OF SERVICE...
THE NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER THAT SERVES THE NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA HAS BEEN CAUSING RADIO REQUENCY INTERFERENCE ON THE U.S. COAST GUARD CHANNEL 16 TRANSMITTER FOR INTERNATIONAL DISTRESS...SAFETY AND CALLING SINCE LATE JULY.
THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSMITTER BROADCASTS ON A FREQUENCY OF 162.550 MHZ AND THE U.S.COAST GUARD TRANSMITTER BROADCASTS ON A FREQUENCY OF 156.800 MHZ. OTHER TRANSMITTERS...IN VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE NYC TRANSMITTER BROADCAST ON A FREQUENCY OF 168.3 MHZ.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS WORKING WITH SEVERAL U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO ISOLATE AND RESOLVE THIS TECHNICAL PROBLEM. WE HAVE INSTALLED A FILTER ON THE NYC TRANSMITTER...WHICH REDUCED...BUT DID NOT ELIMINATE THIS PROBLEM. WE WORKED WITH ANOTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
AND OVERSAW THE INSTALLATION OF ANOTHER FILTER...ON A TRANSMITTER BROADCASTING OVER 168.3 MHZ...WHICH DID NOT FURTHER REDUCE THE RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE.
WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE U.S. COAST GUARD TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM AND APOLOGIZE FOR THE INTERRUPTION OF OUR ROUTINE WEATHER BROADCASTS.
...NOAA WEATHER RADIO WILL BE PLACED IN OPERATION TO BROADCAST SHORT FUSE LIFE THREATENING WEATHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS...
1110 AM EDT FRI SEP 06 2013
...NOAA WEATHER RADIO NEW YORK CITY REMAINS OUT OF SERVICE...
THE NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER THAT SERVES THE NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA HAS BEEN CAUSING RADIO REQUENCY INTERFERENCE ON THE U.S. COAST GUARD CHANNEL 16 TRANSMITTER FOR INTERNATIONAL DISTRESS...SAFETY AND CALLING SINCE LATE JULY.
THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSMITTER BROADCASTS ON A FREQUENCY OF 162.550 MHZ AND THE U.S.COAST GUARD TRANSMITTER BROADCASTS ON A FREQUENCY OF 156.800 MHZ. OTHER TRANSMITTERS...IN VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE NYC TRANSMITTER BROADCAST ON A FREQUENCY OF 168.3 MHZ.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS WORKING WITH SEVERAL U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO ISOLATE AND RESOLVE THIS TECHNICAL PROBLEM. WE HAVE INSTALLED A FILTER ON THE NYC TRANSMITTER...WHICH REDUCED...BUT DID NOT ELIMINATE THIS PROBLEM. WE WORKED WITH ANOTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
AND OVERSAW THE INSTALLATION OF ANOTHER FILTER...ON A TRANSMITTER BROADCASTING OVER 168.3 MHZ...WHICH DID NOT FURTHER REDUCE THE RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE.
WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE U.S. COAST GUARD TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM AND APOLOGIZE FOR THE INTERRUPTION OF OUR ROUTINE WEATHER BROADCASTS.
...NOAA WEATHER RADIO WILL BE PLACED IN OPERATION TO BROADCAST SHORT FUSE LIFE THREATENING WEATHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS...
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
HFDL Intercepts 3 December 2013 -Btown
Here is a short sample of the HFDL intercepts made yesterday afternoon from here in Brasstown. Frequency 11387 kHz, HFDL Station 04 - Riverhead, NY.
Equipment: Icom IC-706MKIII w/80 meters G5RV, Multipsk Pro, HF Display v1.0.37
A/C Reg A/C Type Airline Flight No Hex Code7T-VJW A332 Air Algerie AH2700 0A0045
B-6053 A346 China Eastern Airlines 79C012
B-6093 A332 Air China International 78037B
B-LJG B748 Cathay Pacific 780A29
C-FITU B773 Air Canada AC0031 C01723
C-FITU B773 Air Canada AC0100 C01723
702 B772 Air Canada C0172E
C-FIUW B773 Air Canada AC0877 C0173F
C-FIVK B772 Air Canada AC0116 C0174D
C-FIVX B773 Air Canada AC0871 C0175A
C-GHPN B763 Air Canada RV1805 C058B8
C-GHPN B763 Air Canada UP2966 C058B8
CN-RGK B738 Royal Air Maroc 0200FB
CN-ROL B738 Royal Air Maroc 20072
ET-AOS B788 Ethiopian Airlines ETH503 40049
F-HPJD A388 Air France 39BD23
G-DHLG B763 DHL Airlines 405F33
G-VBUG A346 Virgin Atlantic 401000
G-VGEM A333 Virgin Atlantic Airlines 8991AF
G-VGEM A333 Virgin Atlantic 406814
G-VINE A333 Virgin Atlantic VS011B 40655D
G-VRED A346 Virgin Atlantic 400F0B
G-VUFO A333 Virgin Atlantic 40683E
G-VWAG A333 Virgin Atlantic 406832
G-VWEB A346 Virgin Atlantic 400F63
G-ZBJA B788 British Airways BAW189 40688E
G-ZBJB B787 British Airways BA0099 40688F
HK-4552 A319 Avianca Colombia AV9765 0AC0AF
HP1370 B737 COPA Panama 0C2004
HP1375 B737 COPA Panama 0C2009
HP1520 B737 COPA Panama 0C200F
HP1521 B737 COPA Panama CM0718 0C2010
HP1532 B738 COPA Panama 0C202B
HP1538 B738 China Eastern Airlines 26T025 0C2047
HP1538 B738 COPA Panama CM0240 0C2047
HP1538 B738 China Eastern Airlines 26T025 0C2047
HP1539 B738 COPA Panama CM0351 0C204C
HP1711 B738 COPA Panama CM0145 0C204F
HP1712 B738 COPA Panama CM0478 0C2050
HP1713 B738 COPA Panama CM0335 0C2051
HP1717 B738 COPA Panama 0C205C
HP1729 B738 COPA Panama 0C206B
HP1825 B738 COPA Panama 0C2081
N12125 B752 United Airlines CO0101 A05A25
N13110 B752 United Airlines CO1054 A0817C
N13113 B752 United Airlines A0817F
N17128 B752 United Airlines A11FA3
N17139 B752 United Airlines A11FC7
N195AV A320 Avianca Colombia A17AD2
N203UW B752 US Airways A19EFF
N204UW B752 US Airways A1A2B6
N205UW B752 US Airways A1A66D
N21108 B752 United Airlines A1BFB2
N251UP MD11 UPS A25D05
N254UP MD11 UPS A2682A
N256UP MD11 UPS UP0009 A26F98
N256UP MD11 UPS UP2560 A26F98
N272UP MD11 UPS A2AFBA
N283AY A332 US Airways A2D937
N283AY A332 America West Airlines US0884 A2D937
N283AY A332 US Airways A2D937
N283UP MD11 UPS UP2774 A2DAF0
N284UP MD11 UPS A2DEA7
N287AY A332 US Airways A2E813
N287UP MD11 UPS A2E9CC
N288UP MD11 UPS A2ED83
N289UP MD11 UPS A2F13A
N33103 B752 United Airlines CO1692 A39BFA
N332UP B763 UPS A39F0D
N34137 B752 United Airlines CO1191 A3C3E6
N34137 B752 United Airlines CO1542 A3C3E6
N390FE DC10 Federal Express A4834B
N40061 DC10 Federal Express A4AFE5
N41140 B752 United Airlines A4DAD4
N417AV A320 Avianca Colombia A4EE35
N422AV A319 Avianca Colombia A50321
N426AV A320 Avianca Colombia A511FD
N446AV A320 Avianca Colombia A560FB
N448AV A320 Avianca Colombia A56869
N459UP B752 UPS A5955B
N481AV A320 Avianca Colombia AV0037 A5EC64
N481AV A320 Avianca Colombia AVA036 A5EC64
N519AV A319 Avianca Colombia A682F2
N524TA A319 TACA International Airlines TA0409 A69974
N538AV A320 Avianca Colombia AV9776 A6CE39
N562AV A320 Avianca Colombia A72E6C
N57111 B752 United Airlines A754B5
N572FE MD11 Federal Express FX0000 A75659
N572FE MD11 Federal Express FX3745 A75659
N578UP B744 UPS A76DF1
N58101 B752 United Airlines A77C11
N584NW B753 Delta Air Lines NW1288 A78605
N586NW B753 Delta Air Lines A78D73
N588NW B753 Delta Air Lines A794E1
N592FE MD11 Federal Express A7A557
N592NW B753 Delta Air Lines A7A616
N596NW B753 Delta Air Lines A7B4F2
N602FE MD11 Federal Express A7CF2F
N609FE MD11 Federal Express A7E930
N616FE MD11 Federal Express FX0000 A8058A
N624FE MD11 Federal Express FX0505 A8259B
N632AV A320 Avianca Colombia AV0073 A8453E
N664AV A320 Avianca Colombia A8C329
N67052 B764 United Airlines A8DEDA
N67134 B752 United Airlines CO0016 A8E24D
N676NW B744 Delta Air Lines DAL276 A8F343
N676NW B744 Delta Air Lines DAL159 A8F343
N68049 DC10 Federal Express A9063D
N68057 DC10 Federal Express A9065E
N686TA A320 TACA International Airlines TA0311 A91B2B
N688TA A320 TACA International Airlines A92299
N743CK B744 Kalitta Air A9FDEB
N76065 B764 United Airlines AA44D0
N8305E B738 Southwest Airlines AB5B66
N851FD B77F Federal Express FDX27 ABAB90
N851GT B748 Atlas Air ABABB7
N855FD B77F Federal Express ABBA6C
N861AM B738 Aeromexico ABD29A
N885FD B77F Federal Express AC30E9
N969AV A332 Avianca Colombia AV0007 AD7DA9
N974AV A332 Avianca Colombia AD9295
N980AV A320 Avianca Colombia ADAB38
OY-KAO A320 SAS-Scandinavian Airlines 440676
OY-KAO A320 SAS-Scandinavian Airlines 440676
VP-BLY A332 Aeroflot 42423F
VP-BNL A320 Aeroflot 4242C3
VQ-BBF A332 Aeroflot 4248F7
VQ-BEE A321 Aeroflot 424942
VQ-BHK A321 Aeroflot 42498A
XA-SUN A320 Interjet 706126
Equipment: Icom IC-706MKIII w/80 meters G5RV, Multipsk Pro, HF Display v1.0.37
A/C Reg A/C Type Airline Flight No Hex Code7T-VJW A332 Air Algerie AH2700 0A0045
B-6053 A346 China Eastern Airlines 79C012
B-6093 A332 Air China International 78037B
B-LJG B748 Cathay Pacific 780A29
C-FITU B773 Air Canada AC0031 C01723
C-FITU B773 Air Canada AC0100 C01723
702 B772 Air Canada C0172E
C-FIUW B773 Air Canada AC0877 C0173F
C-FIVK B772 Air Canada AC0116 C0174D
C-FIVX B773 Air Canada AC0871 C0175A
C-GHPN B763 Air Canada RV1805 C058B8
C-GHPN B763 Air Canada UP2966 C058B8
CN-RGK B738 Royal Air Maroc 0200FB
CN-ROL B738 Royal Air Maroc 20072
ET-AOS B788 Ethiopian Airlines ETH503 40049
F-HPJD A388 Air France 39BD23
G-DHLG B763 DHL Airlines 405F33
G-VBUG A346 Virgin Atlantic 401000
G-VGEM A333 Virgin Atlantic Airlines 8991AF
G-VGEM A333 Virgin Atlantic 406814
G-VINE A333 Virgin Atlantic VS011B 40655D
G-VRED A346 Virgin Atlantic 400F0B
G-VUFO A333 Virgin Atlantic 40683E
G-VWAG A333 Virgin Atlantic 406832
G-VWEB A346 Virgin Atlantic 400F63
G-ZBJA B788 British Airways BAW189 40688E
G-ZBJB B787 British Airways BA0099 40688F
HK-4552 A319 Avianca Colombia AV9765 0AC0AF
HP1370 B737 COPA Panama 0C2004
HP1375 B737 COPA Panama 0C2009
HP1520 B737 COPA Panama 0C200F
HP1521 B737 COPA Panama CM0718 0C2010
HP1532 B738 COPA Panama 0C202B
HP1538 B738 China Eastern Airlines 26T025 0C2047
HP1538 B738 COPA Panama CM0240 0C2047
HP1538 B738 China Eastern Airlines 26T025 0C2047
HP1539 B738 COPA Panama CM0351 0C204C
HP1711 B738 COPA Panama CM0145 0C204F
HP1712 B738 COPA Panama CM0478 0C2050
HP1713 B738 COPA Panama CM0335 0C2051
HP1717 B738 COPA Panama 0C205C
HP1729 B738 COPA Panama 0C206B
HP1825 B738 COPA Panama 0C2081
N12125 B752 United Airlines CO0101 A05A25
N13110 B752 United Airlines CO1054 A0817C
N13113 B752 United Airlines A0817F
N17128 B752 United Airlines A11FA3
N17139 B752 United Airlines A11FC7
N195AV A320 Avianca Colombia A17AD2
N203UW B752 US Airways A19EFF
N204UW B752 US Airways A1A2B6
N205UW B752 US Airways A1A66D
N21108 B752 United Airlines A1BFB2
N251UP MD11 UPS A25D05
N254UP MD11 UPS A2682A
N256UP MD11 UPS UP0009 A26F98
N256UP MD11 UPS UP2560 A26F98
N272UP MD11 UPS A2AFBA
N283AY A332 US Airways A2D937
N283AY A332 America West Airlines US0884 A2D937
N283AY A332 US Airways A2D937
N283UP MD11 UPS UP2774 A2DAF0
N284UP MD11 UPS A2DEA7
N287AY A332 US Airways A2E813
N287UP MD11 UPS A2E9CC
N288UP MD11 UPS A2ED83
N289UP MD11 UPS A2F13A
N33103 B752 United Airlines CO1692 A39BFA
N332UP B763 UPS A39F0D
N34137 B752 United Airlines CO1191 A3C3E6
N34137 B752 United Airlines CO1542 A3C3E6
N390FE DC10 Federal Express A4834B
N40061 DC10 Federal Express A4AFE5
N41140 B752 United Airlines A4DAD4
N417AV A320 Avianca Colombia A4EE35
N422AV A319 Avianca Colombia A50321
N426AV A320 Avianca Colombia A511FD
N446AV A320 Avianca Colombia A560FB
N448AV A320 Avianca Colombia A56869
N459UP B752 UPS A5955B
N481AV A320 Avianca Colombia AV0037 A5EC64
N481AV A320 Avianca Colombia AVA036 A5EC64
N519AV A319 Avianca Colombia A682F2
N524TA A319 TACA International Airlines TA0409 A69974
N538AV A320 Avianca Colombia AV9776 A6CE39
N562AV A320 Avianca Colombia A72E6C
N57111 B752 United Airlines A754B5
N572FE MD11 Federal Express FX0000 A75659
N572FE MD11 Federal Express FX3745 A75659
N578UP B744 UPS A76DF1
N58101 B752 United Airlines A77C11
N584NW B753 Delta Air Lines NW1288 A78605
N586NW B753 Delta Air Lines A78D73
N588NW B753 Delta Air Lines A794E1
N592FE MD11 Federal Express A7A557
N592NW B753 Delta Air Lines A7A616
N596NW B753 Delta Air Lines A7B4F2
N602FE MD11 Federal Express A7CF2F
N609FE MD11 Federal Express A7E930
N616FE MD11 Federal Express FX0000 A8058A
N624FE MD11 Federal Express FX0505 A8259B
N632AV A320 Avianca Colombia AV0073 A8453E
N664AV A320 Avianca Colombia A8C329
N67052 B764 United Airlines A8DEDA
N67134 B752 United Airlines CO0016 A8E24D
N676NW B744 Delta Air Lines DAL276 A8F343
N676NW B744 Delta Air Lines DAL159 A8F343
N68049 DC10 Federal Express A9063D
N68057 DC10 Federal Express A9065E
N686TA A320 TACA International Airlines TA0311 A91B2B
N688TA A320 TACA International Airlines A92299
N743CK B744 Kalitta Air A9FDEB
N76065 B764 United Airlines AA44D0
N8305E B738 Southwest Airlines AB5B66
N851FD B77F Federal Express FDX27 ABAB90
N851GT B748 Atlas Air ABABB7
N855FD B77F Federal Express ABBA6C
N861AM B738 Aeromexico ABD29A
N885FD B77F Federal Express AC30E9
N969AV A332 Avianca Colombia AV0007 AD7DA9
N974AV A332 Avianca Colombia AD9295
N980AV A320 Avianca Colombia ADAB38
OY-KAO A320 SAS-Scandinavian Airlines 440676
OY-KAO A320 SAS-Scandinavian Airlines 440676
VP-BLY A332 Aeroflot 42423F
VP-BNL A320 Aeroflot 4242C3
VQ-BBF A332 Aeroflot 4248F7
VQ-BEE A321 Aeroflot 424942
VQ-BHK A321 Aeroflot 42498A
XA-SUN A320 Interjet 706126
Saturday, November 02, 2013
Teak Publishing Announces New E-book
Well written, especially for newcomers to aviation listening Five Stars By Walter B Turner This publication covers a specific aspect of aviation radio, and it does it very well. The explanation of how the air traffic control system is very clear. This book would be great for someone who wants to listen to aircraft radio but doesn't live near a major airport. Awesome Reference! Five Stars by ScannerfoodWell organized and convenient resource that contains verified (by me after purchasing) accurate information with detail not found elsewhere. A must have for those that love to listen to airplanes! Plug in your local ARTCC's and hear everything you missed last time because you didn't have all the frequencies. Makes following a plane through airspace a breeze!
Definitive Guidance Five Stars By PK766 The author has gone to great extents to provide the most up to date and informative guide to listening to North American Enroute Aviation comms. As an avid monitor of ARTCC comms I can appreciate the portability of this book, which I can now carry almost anywhere on my phone, tablet, laptop, etc... The accuracy of the information at the time of publishing is spot on and I have not found any errors. BRAVO!!! Great Job Mr. Van Horn!
Useful and Portable! Five Stars By C Parris An extremely useful publication for aviation monitoring, made even more useful now that I can carry it in my Kindle or iPad. The information contained by this volume is very complete and organized for easy access. Being that I travel and are often looking up things on-line, having this stored in my portable device makes it that much more useful. And at a very reasonable price, I can give this publication high praise!
Great Reference Immediate Use Information for the Monitoring Hobbyists Five Stars By Kenneth Windyka WOW!!! Got to admit for such a small price this guide is packed with concise frequency information that a beginning or seasoned aviation radio monitoring hobbyist can readily use. It also provides a concise explanation of the organization of the Air Route Traffic Control Centers. As a daily monitor of military and civilian aviation, this is a very handy publication to have on one's tablet, computer or other device for following aircraft's communications. One can also print out the pertinent pages for the geographic areas normally monitored. I think this long time hobby monitoring hobbyist as well as author, again shows us that he can produce a reference publication that is right on target for the radio monitoring hobby to enjoy!
Teak Publishing, owned by Monitoring Times Staffers Larry and Gayle Van Horn, is pleased to announce a new Amazon e-book that is now available for sale – North American Enroute Aviation Guide.
One of the most common misconceptions that most radio hobbyists have about the aircraft monitoring hobby is that you have to live close to an airport in order to hear any civilian or military aeronautical communications.
While it is true that if you live close to any major airport you will hear a lot of air and land mobile radio traffic associated with that aero facilities’ operation, all is not lost if you are not within VHF/UHF line-of-sight range of a major airport.
You can still hear a lot of civilian and military communications by monitoring the frequencies used by any of the 22 Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) or the Area Control Centers (ACC) located in Canada and Mexico.
In this new Teak Publishing e-book, Larry covers all of the known VHF/UHF frequencies broken down by VHF frequency used by various area control centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. Unfortunately, most of the "official" FAA records (especially the ATA-100 series, DoD IFR FLIP publications, etc) available in the public domain, within government intranet systems, and ARTCC frequencies published on a wide variety of Internet scanner websites are notoriously inaccurate. Even FAA officials responsible for some of these "official" lists have admitted they are not accurate.
The author has worked with a number of radio monitors nationwide to refine and provide the most current and updated frequency information available for all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers in the United States. We have also published information for the seven Canadian Area Control Centers and the four centers located in Mexico.
If you do not own a Kindle reader there is no need to purchase one. You can still read our Kindle electronic reader books or any Kindle books with Amazon's free reading apps.
There are “free” Kindle reading apps for the Kindle Cloud Reader, Smartphones (iPhone, iTouch, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry); computer platforms (Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and Mac); Tablets (iPad, Android and Windows 8), and, of course, all of the Kindle family of readers including the Kindle Fire series. A Kindle e-book allows you to buy your book once and read it anywhere. You can get more detail on these apps by checking out this link to the Amazon website at www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771.
The North American Enroute Aviation Guide by MT Milcom columnist Larry Van Horn N5FPW is available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com for $2.99.
Go to the North American Enroute Aviation Guide e-book page at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G0683GG for further details and to order.
Be sure to monitor the Teak Publishing company Internet radio hobby blogs – The Military Monitoring Post (http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/) and The Shortwave Central (http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/) for availability and pricing for additional radio hobby e-books that are currently in production.
One of these new e-publications will include Gayle's new International Shortwave Broadcast Guide e-book (the former MTXpress Shortwave Broadcast Guide) that will be available in January 2014.
Definitive Guidance Five Stars By PK766 The author has gone to great extents to provide the most up to date and informative guide to listening to North American Enroute Aviation comms. As an avid monitor of ARTCC comms I can appreciate the portability of this book, which I can now carry almost anywhere on my phone, tablet, laptop, etc... The accuracy of the information at the time of publishing is spot on and I have not found any errors. BRAVO!!! Great Job Mr. Van Horn!
Useful and Portable! Five Stars By C Parris An extremely useful publication for aviation monitoring, made even more useful now that I can carry it in my Kindle or iPad. The information contained by this volume is very complete and organized for easy access. Being that I travel and are often looking up things on-line, having this stored in my portable device makes it that much more useful. And at a very reasonable price, I can give this publication high praise!
Great Reference Immediate Use Information for the Monitoring Hobbyists Five Stars By Kenneth Windyka WOW!!! Got to admit for such a small price this guide is packed with concise frequency information that a beginning or seasoned aviation radio monitoring hobbyist can readily use. It also provides a concise explanation of the organization of the Air Route Traffic Control Centers. As a daily monitor of military and civilian aviation, this is a very handy publication to have on one's tablet, computer or other device for following aircraft's communications. One can also print out the pertinent pages for the geographic areas normally monitored. I think this long time hobby monitoring hobbyist as well as author, again shows us that he can produce a reference publication that is right on target for the radio monitoring hobby to enjoy!
Teak Publishing, owned by Monitoring Times Staffers Larry and Gayle Van Horn, is pleased to announce a new Amazon e-book that is now available for sale – North American Enroute Aviation Guide.
While it is true that if you live close to any major airport you will hear a lot of air and land mobile radio traffic associated with that aero facilities’ operation, all is not lost if you are not within VHF/UHF line-of-sight range of a major airport.
You can still hear a lot of civilian and military communications by monitoring the frequencies used by any of the 22 Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) or the Area Control Centers (ACC) located in Canada and Mexico.
In this new Teak Publishing e-book, Larry covers all of the known VHF/UHF frequencies broken down by VHF frequency used by various area control centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. Unfortunately, most of the "official" FAA records (especially the ATA-100 series, DoD IFR FLIP publications, etc) available in the public domain, within government intranet systems, and ARTCC frequencies published on a wide variety of Internet scanner websites are notoriously inaccurate. Even FAA officials responsible for some of these "official" lists have admitted they are not accurate.
The author has worked with a number of radio monitors nationwide to refine and provide the most current and updated frequency information available for all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers in the United States. We have also published information for the seven Canadian Area Control Centers and the four centers located in Mexico.
If you do not own a Kindle reader there is no need to purchase one. You can still read our Kindle electronic reader books or any Kindle books with Amazon's free reading apps.
There are “free” Kindle reading apps for the Kindle Cloud Reader, Smartphones (iPhone, iTouch, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry); computer platforms (Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and Mac); Tablets (iPad, Android and Windows 8), and, of course, all of the Kindle family of readers including the Kindle Fire series. A Kindle e-book allows you to buy your book once and read it anywhere. You can get more detail on these apps by checking out this link to the Amazon website at www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771.
The North American Enroute Aviation Guide by MT Milcom columnist Larry Van Horn N5FPW is available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com for $2.99.
Go to the North American Enroute Aviation Guide e-book page at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G0683GG for further details and to order.
Be sure to monitor the Teak Publishing company Internet radio hobby blogs – The Military Monitoring Post (http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/) and The Shortwave Central (http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/) for availability and pricing for additional radio hobby e-books that are currently in production.
One of these new e-publications will include Gayle's new International Shortwave Broadcast Guide e-book (the former MTXpress Shortwave Broadcast Guide) that will be available in January 2014.
The Sounds of Interstellar Space
As Voyager 1 recedes from the solar system, researchers are hoping the spacecraft will beam back tones from plasma waves, a form of "interstellar music" that reveals conditions in the realm of the stars. Find out what deep space sounds like in a new video below from Science@NASA
Thursday, October 31, 2013
LKB/LLE is on the air with new test broadcasts on 1314 and 5895 kHz
LKB/LLE is on the air with new test broadcasts this week under its test and
development license issued by NPT from LLE-2 (1314 kHz) and LLE-3 (5895 kHz),
Morning Broadcast today Wednesday @0615-0900 UTC, and afternoon broadcast
tomorrow Thursday @1500-1700 UTC.
This fall, we've had semi-regular transmissions Tuesday and Wednesday mornings as well as Thursday afternoon. Especially interested in reports today and tomorrow as our CE Øystein made improvements in the modulation on MW last evening. We made a brief test on 1314 then. Especially the morse ident should travel well now. And, we are looking for the specs of our Western Electric! Our QSL card has arrived, and are being sent out, but still reports are welcome! Address: Box 100, N5331 RONG, NORWAY or report@bergenkringkaster.no.
This fall, we've had semi-regular transmissions Tuesday and Wednesday mornings as well as Thursday afternoon. Especially interested in reports today and tomorrow as our CE Øystein made improvements in the modulation on MW last evening. We made a brief test on 1314 then. Especially the morse ident should travel well now. And, we are looking for the specs of our Western Electric! Our QSL card has arrived, and are being sent out, but still reports are welcome! Address: Box 100, N5331 RONG, NORWAY or report@bergenkringkaster.no.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Blue Angels Announce Full 2014 Air Show Season
Editor Note: Since Monitoring Times will cease publication
in December, Teak Publishing will take over publication of Larry Van Horn's
Annual Air Show frequency guide and it will be available soon as a Kindle
publication at Amazon.com. Watch this blog for a release
announcement.
Click here for a really neat video on the Blues return.
The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, will return to its full schedule for the 2014 air show season.
"Community outreach is key to connecting Americans to the military," said Blue Angels Commanding Officer and Flight Leader, Cmdr. Thomas Frosch. "Our performances provide a unique opportunity to inspire millions to connect with and support our service members, and we are looking forward... to an exciting 2014 season."
The Blue Angels originally announced its show schedule for the 2014 season at the annual International Council of Airshows convention in Dec. 11, 2012. Following winter training, the team begins the season Mar. 15 at Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, Calif., and will conclude the season Nov. 8 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla.
The Blue Angels are scheduled to perform 65 shows at 34 locations throughout the U.S. in 2014.
The Navy believes there is value in demonstrating the professionalism and capabilities of our Navy and Marine Corps Naval Aviation team, thus inspiring future generations of Sailors and Marines.
Here is the official 2014 Blue Angel schedule from their public affairs office.
March 15 NAF El Centro CA
March 22-23 March ARB CA
March 29-30 NAS Kingsville TX
April 05-06 Lakeland FL
April 12-13 Fort Smith AR
April 26-27 NAS Fort Worth JRB TX
May 03-04 St. Louis MO
May 10-11 Vero Beach FL
May 17-18 MCAS Cherry Point NC
May 21 US Naval Academy Annapolis MD
May 23 US Naval Academy Annapolis MD
May 24-25 Jones Beach, NY
May 31-June 01 La Crosse WI
June 07-08 Pittsburgh PA
June 14-15 Smyrna TN
June 21-22 Milwaukee WI
June 28-29 Dayton OH
July 05-06 Traverse City MI
July 12 Pensacola Beach FL
July 19-20 Offutt AFB, NE
July 26-27 St. George UT
August 02-03 Seattle WA
August 16-17 Chicago IL
August 23-24 Duluth MN
August 30-31 Selfrdige ANGB MI
September 06-07 Cleveland OH
September 13-14 Baltimore MD
September 20-21 NAS Oceana VA
September 27-28 MCB Hawaii, HI
October 04-05 MCAS Miramar CA
October 11-12 San Francisco CA
October 18-19 Millington TN
October 25-26 Jacksonville Beach FL
November 01-02 Houston TX
November 07-08 NAS Pensacola FL
Click here for a really neat video on the Blues return.
The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, will return to its full schedule for the 2014 air show season.
"Community outreach is key to connecting Americans to the military," said Blue Angels Commanding Officer and Flight Leader, Cmdr. Thomas Frosch. "Our performances provide a unique opportunity to inspire millions to connect with and support our service members, and we are looking forward... to an exciting 2014 season."
The Blue Angels originally announced its show schedule for the 2014 season at the annual International Council of Airshows convention in Dec. 11, 2012. Following winter training, the team begins the season Mar. 15 at Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, Calif., and will conclude the season Nov. 8 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla.
The Blue Angels are scheduled to perform 65 shows at 34 locations throughout the U.S. in 2014.
The Navy believes there is value in demonstrating the professionalism and capabilities of our Navy and Marine Corps Naval Aviation team, thus inspiring future generations of Sailors and Marines.
Here is the official 2014 Blue Angel schedule from their public affairs office.
March 15 NAF El Centro CA
March 22-23 March ARB CA
March 29-30 NAS Kingsville TX
April 05-06 Lakeland FL
April 12-13 Fort Smith AR
April 26-27 NAS Fort Worth JRB TX
May 03-04 St. Louis MO
May 10-11 Vero Beach FL
May 17-18 MCAS Cherry Point NC
May 21 US Naval Academy Annapolis MD
May 23 US Naval Academy Annapolis MD
May 24-25 Jones Beach, NY
May 31-June 01 La Crosse WI
June 07-08 Pittsburgh PA
June 14-15 Smyrna TN
June 21-22 Milwaukee WI
June 28-29 Dayton OH
July 05-06 Traverse City MI
July 12 Pensacola Beach FL
July 19-20 Offutt AFB, NE
July 26-27 St. George UT
August 02-03 Seattle WA
August 16-17 Chicago IL
August 23-24 Duluth MN
August 30-31 Selfrdige ANGB MI
September 06-07 Cleveland OH
September 13-14 Baltimore MD
September 20-21 NAS Oceana VA
September 27-28 MCB Hawaii, HI
October 04-05 MCAS Miramar CA
October 11-12 San Francisco CA
October 18-19 Millington TN
October 25-26 Jacksonville Beach FL
November 01-02 Houston TX
November 07-08 NAS Pensacola FL
Monday, October 21, 2013
North American Enroute Aviation Guide An Amazon #1 Best Seller
To all of you who have purchased it so far a big -- Thank You. And we want to extend to the four buyers who have passed along their 5 star reviews - our deepest thanks.
We have many more radio hobby e-books in the works, including Gayle's exclusive International Shortwave Broadcast Guide so stay tuned.
You can see her QSLing the World e-book for $2.99 at http://amzn.com/B0083M2O4W
And you can see my new North American Enroute Aviation Guide for $2.99 at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G0683GG
Again thank you all for buying our Teak Publishing e-books products.
The Chief, An Amazon #1 Best Selling Author
Monday, October 14, 2013
The Spectrum Monitor Website Has Gone Live!
We just received this press release from the managing editor of The Spectrum Monitor magazine.
The Spectrum
Monitor is a monthly electronic magazine that delivers
full-spectrum coverage of amateur radio, longwave and shortwave listening,
public service scanning, AM/FM/TV broadcasting, satellites, WiFi radio, vintage
radio and more. The Spectrum Monitor is a follow-on publication to
Monitoring Times and is not associated with Grove Enterprises or
Bob Grove. TSM’s columnists and feature writers come directly from the pages of
Monitoring Times, bringing readers an in-depth look at every
segment of the radio frequency spectrum.
Each
month TSM readers will get reviews of the latest receivers, antennas, software
and accessories needed to explore the spectrum, with tips for beginners and
advanced hobbyists alike.
The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format that can
be read worldwide on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device
capable of opening a PDF file. The January 2014 issue will be available for
download from http://www.thespectrummonitor.com/ on
December 15, 2013. Charter subscribers can sign up now and save!
Special charter subscriber rate: $20 for twelve issues. After December 15, 2013, annual rate: $24 for twelve issues. Individual monthly issues will be available for $3 each. You can sign up on the magazine's secure website to become a charter subscriber. Mastercard™, VISA™ and Discover™ cards are accepted. Outside the U.S.? Contact editor@thespectrummonitor.com for subscription instructions.
Special charter subscriber rate: $20 for twelve issues. After December 15, 2013, annual rate: $24 for twelve issues. Individual monthly issues will be available for $3 each. You can sign up on the magazine's secure website to become a charter subscriber. Mastercard™, VISA™ and Discover™ cards are accepted. Outside the U.S.? Contact editor@thespectrummonitor.com for subscription instructions.
The website is now gone live and can be viewed at the URL above.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Whistler Announces Entry into Radio Scanner Market
Contact: Kim Callison, Marketing Director
The Whistler Group, Inc.
Whistler Announces Entry into Radio Scanner Market
Bentonville, AR – (September 23, 2013) – The Whistler Group, Inc., a leading industry supplier of Laser/Radar Detectors, is announcing entry into the radio scanner market. Whistler has purchased the intellectual property of scanner industry leader, GRE America, Inc., and plans to launch a complete line of scanners under the Whistler brand.
Whistler is proud to enter the scanning receiver business, picking up popular scanner models often characterized by hobbyists as easiest to program and use. Whistler scanners will include: handheld and desktop/mobile digital scanners with full keyboard, a handheld scanner with USA/Canada database built in, and two models of VHF/UHF non-trunking scanners. The assortment will include the first and only scanner that works on newer modulation protocols including P25-Phase II.
Models feature an Object Oriented User Interface, context sensitive help menus and three soft keys for easy programming, Digital AGC and superfast DSP for clearest possible audio on digital signals, user upgradable CPU and DSP firmware and an alert LED which can be programmed to light when any object goes active.
Whistler is committed to advancing state of the art technology in scanning receivers. “This is an exciting opportunity to produce quality product that keeps up with changing industry technology. We look forward to making positive contributions to this industry”, states Jesse Hopkins, President/CEO of Whistler.
Whistler brand scanners will be available for retail and distribution in the first quarter of 2014.
About Whistler
Whistler has been a leader in automotive laser/radar detection systems for over 40 years. Throughout the years Whistler has innovated and patented important product advances, resulting in first-to-market accomplishments and top performance rankings. Whistler also offers a complete line of Power Inverters and Diagnostic Inspection Cameras. For more information please visit Whistler Group | High Performance Radar Detectors and Electronics.
The Whistler Group, Inc.
Whistler Announces Entry into Radio Scanner Market
Bentonville, AR – (September 23, 2013) – The Whistler Group, Inc., a leading industry supplier of Laser/Radar Detectors, is announcing entry into the radio scanner market. Whistler has purchased the intellectual property of scanner industry leader, GRE America, Inc., and plans to launch a complete line of scanners under the Whistler brand.
Whistler is proud to enter the scanning receiver business, picking up popular scanner models often characterized by hobbyists as easiest to program and use. Whistler scanners will include: handheld and desktop/mobile digital scanners with full keyboard, a handheld scanner with USA/Canada database built in, and two models of VHF/UHF non-trunking scanners. The assortment will include the first and only scanner that works on newer modulation protocols including P25-Phase II.
Models feature an Object Oriented User Interface, context sensitive help menus and three soft keys for easy programming, Digital AGC and superfast DSP for clearest possible audio on digital signals, user upgradable CPU and DSP firmware and an alert LED which can be programmed to light when any object goes active.
Whistler is committed to advancing state of the art technology in scanning receivers. “This is an exciting opportunity to produce quality product that keeps up with changing industry technology. We look forward to making positive contributions to this industry”, states Jesse Hopkins, President/CEO of Whistler.
Whistler brand scanners will be available for retail and distribution in the first quarter of 2014.
About Whistler
Whistler has been a leader in automotive laser/radar detection systems for over 40 years. Throughout the years Whistler has innovated and patented important product advances, resulting in first-to-market accomplishments and top performance rankings. Whistler also offers a complete line of Power Inverters and Diagnostic Inspection Cameras. For more information please visit Whistler Group | High Performance Radar Detectors and Electronics.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Crisis in Syria - Monitoring Syrian Domestic Broadcast
As the crisis in Syria deepens and attacks by western military forces are imminent we turn our attention to monitoring domestic broadcast services from and to the country.
Radio Damascus has been off of shortwave several years now but during a crisis you never know, they or their old transmitters or frequency assignment may pop up at anytime. Radio Damascus last transmitted on shortwave on 9330 kHz / 31 meter band and 12085 kHz / 25 meter band.
Radio Damascus is still on medium wave at 783 kHz for those in the region with AM monitor capability.
You can also monitor Radio Damascus broadcast podcast at http://www.radio-damascus.net/. The daily program is posted one day after the live transmission so you can always download on the above mentioned page the program of the former day.
If you have C/Ku-band satellite reception capability you can monitor Radio Damascus via this method.
Radio Damascus Satellite Feeds of Radio Damascus
Express AM22 at 53.0°E
Frequency: 12549 Mhz Polarization: Horizontal Symbol Rate: 8800
Directed to : Arab Homeland - North Africa - Europe
Arabsat 5C at 20.0°E
Frequency: 3934 Mhz Polarization: Left Symbol Rate: 27500
Directed to : Africa
Nilesat at 7.0°W
Frequency: 10922 Mhz Polarization: Vertical Symbol Rate: 27500
Directed to : Arab Homeland - North Africa - South Europe
Galaxy 19 at 97.0°W
Frequency: 12146 Mhz Polarization: Vertical Symbol Rate: 22000
Directed to : America - Canada
Hispasat 1C at 30.0°W
Frequency: 12132 Mhz Polarization: Horizontal Symbol Rate: 27500
Directed to : Europe
Asiasat 5 at 100.5°E
Frequency: 3820 Mhz Polarization: Vertical Symbol Rate: 27500
Directed to : Asia
Intelsat 19 at 166.0°E
Frequency: 12726 Mhz Polarization: Horizontal Symbol Rate: 28066
Directed to : Australia - New Zealand - Pacific - Asia
Finally here are other domestic and Internet feeds being streamed on the net from/tom Syria that we are aware of at post time.
FM RADIO 89.0 - Radio Fann Syria|rep - Aleppo [Halab] http://fann-fm.com/
89.0 - Radio Fann Syria - Damascus http://fann-fm.com/
89.6 - Radio Orient|r.[R-Paris] - Damascus http://www.radioorient.com/
90.0 - Sout Al-Sha'ab (Voice of the People) - Damascus http://www.rtv.gov.sy/
92.3 - Sham FM - Damascus http://www.shamfm.fm/
92.3 - Sham FM|rep - Aleppo [Halab] http://www.shamfm.fm/
94.0 - Shahba FM - Aleppo [Halab] http://www.shahbafm.com/
97.3 - Farah FM - Aleppo [Halab] http://www.farah.fm/
97.9 - Melody FM - Damascus http://www.melodysyria.com/
100.5 - Al Madina FM (The City FM) - Damascus http://www.almadinafm.com/
101.5 - Al Madina FM (The City FM)|rep - Aleppo [Halab] http://www.almadinafm.com/
101.8 - Sham FM|rep - Lattakia (Al Ladhiqiyah) http://www.shamfm.fm/
102.3 - Arabesque FM - Damascus http://www.arabesque.fm/
103.3 - Rotana Style FM - Aleppo [Halab] http://www.rotana.net/
103.8 - Radio Gecko - Camp Faouar (Golan) http://www.radio-gecko.com/
104.2 - Syria Al Ghad (Syria of Tomorrow) - Damascus Arabian music,talk http://www.syriaalghad.com/
105.0 - Rotana Syria|rep - ? Arabian music,talk http://www.rotana.net/
105.7 - Mix FM Syria - Damascus http://mixfmsyria.com/
106.1 - Radio Fann Syria|rep - Lattakia (Al Ladhiqiyah) http://fann-fm.com/
106.9 - Arabesque FM|rep - ? http://www.arabesque.fm/
(FM) - El-Bernameg Al-Aam - Damascus http://www.rtv.gov.sy/
Internet Streams via Receivahttps://www.reciva.com/stations/location/358
Radio Dengê Kobanê Classical Syria MP3 32kbps
Sham FM News Oldies World Middle East Syria MP3 40kbps
Version FM 94.4 Varied Syria MP3 96kbps
Internet Streams via Tunein
http://tunein.com/radio/Syria-r101301/
Sham FM 92.3 Damascus
Al Madina FM 101.5 Al Hasakah
Damascus Online 99.8 Damascus
Radio Damascus Arabic (Irregular broadcast)
Rotana Style FM 105.0 Damascus
Version FM 94.4 Damsacus
Hawa Smart 103.2 Damascus
Ninar FM Arabic (Irregular broadcast)
Mix FM Syria Proud 2B Different (Irregular broadcast)
Syria Alghad Arabic (Irregular broadcast)
Melody FM Arabic 97.9 Damascus
Farah FM Arabic (Irregular broadcast)
If additional broadcast information becomes available, we will post updates on this blog
http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/ and on our twitter feed @QSLRptMT https://twitter.com/QSLRptMT.
Our sister site the MilcomMP will also have any utility related frequencies as they become available at http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/. You can follow any updates on the @MilcomMP
https://twitter.com/MilcomMP twitter feeds.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Cherokee SO NXDN or MOTOTRBO?
Well this is interesting. The Clay system is definitely NXDN but I'm not so sure
about Cherokee. A quick check on the FCC website for their 158.970 MHz license shows
a 7K60FXE emission code. That isn't NXDN but MOTOTRBO 7K60FXE (voice). That is
definitely an interesting development.
Welcome to the Digital Age and Paranoia
As of noon today both the Clay County and Cherokee County, North Carolina, Sheriff Departments are using now NXDN encryption on their primary dispatch repeaters.
In Clay County only the mobile units are encrypted, but the dispatcher remains in the clear.
In Cherokee over the last two hours on both their 158.970 MHz dispatch repeater and their 159.105 MHz tactical repeater all day yesterday appear to be encrypted. Until a few minutes ago, nothing was heard in the clear on the Cherokee dispatch repeater. They have again flipped the switch back to analog. Given that they appear to be testing the system using full encryption, one can only assume that will be the state of things when the go operational.
This reminds me of New Orleans when they implemented an unmonitorable EDCAS system that could NOT interface with anyone else. That all blew up in their face when Hurricane Katrina hit and they couldn't communicate with outside agencies.
I asked then of the NOPD and I will ask now directly to both SO departments, "what do you folks have to hide in order that you need encryption on you dispatch stream?"
I can understand a sensitive situation involving a SWAT or detectives surveillance ops, but your main dispatch stream? Do you realize how many eyes and ears you have cut out by shutting down the information stream to the public you serve?
Bottom line, if you own a scanner on Clay and Cherokee Co NC and want to monitor the sheriff departments, you will have to find another activity to pass the time away. I guess Honey Boo Boo is only a channel change away!
BTW as I post this the Cherokee Co SO dispatch stream is encrypted again.
In Clay County only the mobile units are encrypted, but the dispatcher remains in the clear.
In Cherokee over the last two hours on both their 158.970 MHz dispatch repeater and their 159.105 MHz tactical repeater all day yesterday appear to be encrypted. Until a few minutes ago, nothing was heard in the clear on the Cherokee dispatch repeater. They have again flipped the switch back to analog. Given that they appear to be testing the system using full encryption, one can only assume that will be the state of things when the go operational.
This reminds me of New Orleans when they implemented an unmonitorable EDCAS system that could NOT interface with anyone else. That all blew up in their face when Hurricane Katrina hit and they couldn't communicate with outside agencies.
I asked then of the NOPD and I will ask now directly to both SO departments, "what do you folks have to hide in order that you need encryption on you dispatch stream?"
I can understand a sensitive situation involving a SWAT or detectives surveillance ops, but your main dispatch stream? Do you realize how many eyes and ears you have cut out by shutting down the information stream to the public you serve?
Bottom line, if you own a scanner on Clay and Cherokee Co NC and want to monitor the sheriff departments, you will have to find another activity to pass the time away. I guess Honey Boo Boo is only a channel change away!
BTW as I post this the Cherokee Co SO dispatch stream is encrypted again.
Friday, June 28, 2013
The NEW Monitoring Times Blog Now Online!
The new Monitoring Times magazine blog is now online. This blog will feature a wide variety of radio related hobby post gathered from all over the globe. If you are looking to expand your world of radio check out the Monitoring Times blog, Monitoring Times magazine and our full color electronic version of the print magazine - MTExpress.
Friday, May 03, 2013
K1JT Releases New JT9 Software Package / MT May Issues has Ham Digital Operating Articles
Joe Taylor K1JT, has released a new version of his WSJT-x (v0.95, r3251) software package yesterday (May 2) and JT9 fans will love it. This new package has been modernized and has the look and feel of Joe Large W6CQZ JT65-HF package.
This new version of Joe's popular WSJT software series offers a new mode called JT9, designed for use on the LF, MF, and HF bands. JT9 shares many characteristics with the modes JT65 and JT4 made popular in WSJT. All three modes are designed for making minimal QSOs under extreme weak-signal conditions. They use nearly identical message structure and source encoding. JT65 was designed for EME on the VHF/UHF bands and has also proved very effective for worldwide QRP communication at HF; JT4 is used mainly on the microwave bands. In contrast, JT9 is optimized for HF and lower frequencies. JT9 is about 2 dB more sensitive than JT65A while using less than 10% of the bandwidth. World-wide QSOs are possible with power levels around 1 W and compromise antennas, and several dozen JT9 signals fit easily into a 1 kHz slice of spectrum.
I can vouch for the weak signal capability of the new JT9-1 mode. Again yesterday, I worked K0KUK up on 6 meters during a nice E-skip opening into Wisconsin and Minnesota. Arthur was running 50 watts and I was running 10 watts into a PAR 6 meter Moxon antenna. Thanks Arthur and a LOTW entry is on the way for you.
All WSJT modes use timed sequences of alternating transmission and reception. JT9 offers five choices for the sequence durations: submodes JT9-1, JT9-2, JT9-5, JT9-10, and JT9-30 use 1, 2, 5, 10, and 30 minutes, respectively. A minimal QSO with JT9-1 usually takes 4 to 6 minutes: 2 or 3 transmissions by each station, one transmitting in odd minutes and the other even. The remaining JT9 submodes take proportionally longer, so JT9-1 is the preferred submode under most circumstances.
The sub-modes with longer transmissions trade reduced throughput for smaller bandwidth and increased sensitivity. The slowest sub-mode, JT9-30, has total bandwidth 0.4 Hz and operates at signal-to-noise ratios as low as –40 dB measured in the standard 2.5 kHz reference bandwidth. It requires very stable oscillators in both transmitter and receiver. JT9-1 is always the recommended submode unless you really need the additional sensitivity of a slower mode.
According to Julian G4ILO on his blog, "Due to the health issues of the developer Joe Large, it has been some time since there was a new version of his popular JT65-HF application." The good news is that Joe Taylor's plans for future program development call for WSJT-X and WSJT to merge together: WSJT-X will gradually acquire the modes JT65, JT4, FSK441, and ISCAT that are now supported in WSJT.
Joe says that the entire WSJT-related effort is an open-source project. If you have programming skills or would like to contribute to the project in other ways, please make your interests known to K1JT and the rest of the development team. The project’s source-code repository can be found at http://developer.berlios.de/projects/wsjt/.
You can download your copy of the WSJT-x (v0.95, r3251) software package at http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjt.html.
You can get more information on digital modes in the May issue of Monitoring Times. I have written two new features of amateur radio digital modes for this issue.
Digital World Extends Amateur Radio Horizons
Many hams fall into mode rut. They operate either SSB or CW, rarely both and typically never
venturing into the growing world of digital modes. In this article I show you that there’s more
to digital operating than RTTY or PSK31. New low-power, weak-signal modes make it possible
to work the world under the worst possible band conditions. And, thanks to a withering Solar Cycle, there’s more reason than ever to look at the digital way of hamming.
MT’s Digital Mode Operating Guide
A profusion of new digital operating modes are squeezing into areas of more traditional operating modes and you’ll need a detailed program to find out where the players are! Luckily, In this feature article I put together the definitive list of operating frequencies for all digital modes on all bands from
160 meters through satellite frequencies. Once you know where the operators are, you’ll know which modes to use to decode the action.
Thursday, April 04, 2013
Some Personal Thoughts on Government HF Radio Systems
The other day I got to thinking about the big mess we had last September in Benghazi with the loss of our ambassador and others back in that terrorist attack. That triggered a radio related thought just a bit ago. So to those in Congress investigating the mess be sure to add the DoS HF net to your list of things that failed that night in Libya.
The Department of State spend a bunch of our tax money establishing their super secret "US Department of State HF Emergency and Evacuation Network." A net that was designed to help keep our diplomats safe and help get them out of harms way.
So like so many other HF radio systems that we tax payers fund (i.e. SHARES, FEMA, MARS, etc) look at what we have. Another major failure of a radio system to work as advertised. When will we all say that enough is enough and get our U.S. government radio communications systems under control. Our government has way too many layers of waste in money and the RF spectrum with all these HF radio nets and we are not getting much in a way of return for the bucks we spend.
I have a novel idea. For every new good idea HF radio system that some bureaucrat in Washington DC thinks up and implements the feds will then be required to take two existing government HF radio systems offline (especially those that are a total waste like SHARES).
Time and time again the fools in DC think they have a great new idea, spend the money only to have another HF radio system failure on their hands.
And then there is this thought. Why do certain government agencies need an HF presence in the first place? Please, can someone tell me why the TSA needs to operate an HF radio network via Army MARS? Really. Really. Really!
Please will someone in Congress please exhibit some adult leadership and get this mess that is spiraling out of control under control.
I doubt it, but it is Spring and hope does spring eternal!
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are soley those of the original author (me). These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of my employer Grove Enterprise, Monitoring Times or of the staff of that magazine. My employer is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by this blog. So don't be a whimp/loser like a few have and write my boss. If you have a complaint, put your man pants on and complain to me directly.
The Department of State spend a bunch of our tax money establishing their super secret "US Department of State HF Emergency and Evacuation Network." A net that was designed to help keep our diplomats safe and help get them out of harms way.
So like so many other HF radio systems that we tax payers fund (i.e. SHARES, FEMA, MARS, etc) look at what we have. Another major failure of a radio system to work as advertised. When will we all say that enough is enough and get our U.S. government radio communications systems under control. Our government has way too many layers of waste in money and the RF spectrum with all these HF radio nets and we are not getting much in a way of return for the bucks we spend.
I have a novel idea. For every new good idea HF radio system that some bureaucrat in Washington DC thinks up and implements the feds will then be required to take two existing government HF radio systems offline (especially those that are a total waste like SHARES).
Time and time again the fools in DC think they have a great new idea, spend the money only to have another HF radio system failure on their hands.
And then there is this thought. Why do certain government agencies need an HF presence in the first place? Please, can someone tell me why the TSA needs to operate an HF radio network via Army MARS? Really. Really. Really!
Please will someone in Congress please exhibit some adult leadership and get this mess that is spiraling out of control under control.
I doubt it, but it is Spring and hope does spring eternal!
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are soley those of the original author (me). These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of my employer Grove Enterprise, Monitoring Times or of the staff of that magazine. My employer is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by this blog. So don't be a whimp/loser like a few have and write my boss. If you have a complaint, put your man pants on and complain to me directly.
Friday, January 18, 2013
The CHM Inaugural Scanning Guide - now online!
If you are in the DC Area for the POTUS Inaug on Monday, be sure to get your free copy of the Capitol Hill Monitor group DC Area frequency guide. You can download that 12 page pdf at http://henney.com/chm/0113/chm0113.pdf.
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