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Re: [TenTec] OT: Strange CW on 80m

To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] OT: Strange CW on 80m
From: "Dr. Gerald N. Johnson" <geraldj@storm.weather.net>
Reply-to: geraldj@storm.weather.net, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:55:03 -0600
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
On Sun, 2009-01-18 at 18:27 -0500, Bwana Bob wrote:
> It is nice to know that someone other than hams is using cw!
> 
> My old copy of Grove's Shortwave Directory lists several freqs in the 
> 80m band as being used by the Russian navy.
> 
> Aren't there some weather codes that make use of 5 letter code groups? 

METAR uses 5 digit groups but four for the callsign. And ships report
METAR data regularly. The rules specify a particular order of the
groups, but not all observers can or have read the rule book. A few
years ago I wrote software to decode the data and it had to be versatile
to identify the group by content and sometimes neighbors, not just the
leading digits.

> Four letter callsigns, like you copied are reserved for ships, if they 
> are legitimate. If so, KMBL would be U.S. and 5HMX would be Tanzania. 
> That doesn't seem likely, so it probably is encrypted military or other 
> clandestine traffic. Over the years, Russian ships have appeared on 20 
> meter cw, as well.
> 
> A couple of days ago, I copied several long strings of 5-letter groups 
> on 8096 kHz. The sending station never id'ed. I've also heard "strange 
> cw" on 3446 kHz, which seemed to be a net because I heard more than one 
> station.
> 
> Is there an e-mail reflector for this ute stuff?
> 
>                               73,
> 
>                               Bob WB2VUF
> 
73, Jerry, K0CQ

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