Topband: R: fishing buoys

[Luis Mansutti IV3PRK]

>
> lled CQ JA as usual until their sunrise, but absolutely nothing, that
portion
> of the band was full of buoys QRM!
>
>
> Luis
> I thought this was a Nordic problem only. Sometimes I have a hard time
hearing
> the JAs and even EU stations due to these signals. What are they and what
is
> the purpose?
>
> 73 Rag LA5HE

Rag,
that's not a Nordic problem only, but it's really hard also here to copy
JA's among all those "tah..tah..tih.." signals.
I don't know exactley, but they should be fishing buoys;  for me their
general preferred direction is north-east, right on the JA  path and the
portion of the JA band 1810-1825 sometimes is full of them, but not every
night.
For example on Dec. 15th there were no buoys despite a great JA opening;
they appeared the following day, the 16th, and than 17th and 18th ....and
again not tonite, the 19th, but in true I don't hear any JA station also;
that portion of the band is clear!
Two nights ago I have been listening them well after the sunrise over the
japanese sea, and they were still there in the morning, so I suppose they
could be somewhere in the Northern Sea....
I put here your same question: what are they and what is the purpose?

73
Luis IV3PRK