[TenTec] Radio Science + QSK = Radar

[GARY HUBER]

When the Soviets were running OTHR in the amateur bands, (which used the HF echo to "see" targets) I used QSK CW dits to synchronize with their OTHR pulse timing and jam their "B" scopes. As a former Radar Electronics Counter-Measures and Electronics Counter-Counter-Measures operator, I knew it was simply a matter of transmitting a signal of about the same frequency, duration, and slightly stronger than their "return" to confuse their operators. By setting my keyer speed so that I did not hear their pulse while QSK at 100 W and by calling HH5HH with the beam pointed at the strongest OTHR signal, I'd usually hear them go QRT or find someplace else to play. Calling HH5HH QSK at the OTHR pulse rate worked well until the Soviets started using digital signal processing, then it became a "overload signal game" with less apparent success in forcing them to QSY or QRT.

By the way my RADAR set back then was a Ten-Tec OMNI-D.... 

Best regards,
Gary - AB9M
CSM(r)G.L.Huber
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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Martin, AA6E<mailto:martin.ewing at gmail.com> 
  To: tentec at contesting.com<mailto:tentec at contesting.com> 
  Sent: Monday, January 02, 2006 12:20 PM
  Subject: [TenTec] Radio Science + QSK = Radar


  When operating QSK at 15-20 wpm, I am running into echoes of my
  transmissions.  These occur on certain azimuth bearings at certain
  times of day, most often to the SE, which is over water until hitting
  S. Africa or Antarctica from here.  I've seen this from 20 M to 15 M,
  at least.

  Rarely, I think I've seen long-path echoes that come back to me from
  the opposite azimuth. (The SteppIR bidirectional mode picks them up.) 
  More often, the return bearing is the same as transmitting.  I haven't
  been able to measure the delay time accurately, but it is roughly 2
  dit (element) times at 25 wpm (about 50 msec), indicating a 10,000
  mile roundtrip.

  It seems to be a real effect.  I can get rid of it by changing azimuth
  or using a dummy load.

  My question is whether other ops see this and whether it has been
  written up anywhere in "ham space".  These are not the "long delay
  echoes" that people have claimed to see.  The radio science community
  does run HF radar to study fluctuations in the ionosphere, and this
  phenomenon is probably well known to them.

  The Orion makes a fair radar set, as it turns out.

  73 Martin AA6E
  --
  martin.ewing at gmail.com<mailto:martin.ewing at gmail.com>
  http://blog.aa6e.net<http://blog.aa6e.net/>
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