[time-nuts] !0 MHz standard frequency intruder

David McGaw n1hac at Alum.Dartmouth.ORG
Fri Jun 29 01:48:46 UTC 2012


You know, if one could get accurate delays from a number of locations, 
one could triangulate its location - just thinking.  :-)

David

On 6/28/12 9:40 PM, David McGaw wrote:
> Others are hearing it too:
>
> http://www.hard-core-dx.com/article.php?story=20120617111532649&mode=print 
>
>
> 73,
>
> David N1HAC
>
> On 6/28/12 7:33 PM, EB4APL wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm receiving, maybe from less than a  month, a new station on 10 MHz 
>> which claims it is an "experimental time signals station".
>> The weird thing is that they transmit music between the minute time 
>> marks, heavily interfering with the other standard stations which 
>> share this frequency.  Currently I receive there WWV, the Italian 
>> official standard frequency and time station IBF and its Brazilian 
>> counterpart PPR (BTW PPR broadcasts local time instead of UTC). They 
>> transmit continuously 24 hours a day.
>> Every 15 minutes a female voice says that this is an experimental 
>> time station, gives a web page and its locator.  While I agree that 
>> anybody could run an standard frequency and time station, given 
>> official license from their local authorities (and after 
>> international coordination, I suppose), I think this is a truly 
>> "pirate" station because among their weird "programming" , I also 
>> notice:
>>
>> - Their carrier is currently - 4 Hz off.
>> - The second ticks are offset enough to be perceived by ear with 
>> respect to known standards.
>>
>> The transmission is in USB with full carrier (I don't have the 
>> designation on hand).  The format is:
>> - The whole sequence begins at multiples of 15 minutes.
>> - At second 52 they transmit something like a 2 second burst in FSK 
>> (It can be a fake signal without any useful information).
>> - At second 54 begins 1 sec ticks.
>> - Tick at second 59 is omitted, then only the tick for sec 0 is 
>> transmitted.
>> - After the 0 sec tick a male voice announces the hour and minute. 
>> The voice has an intonation like a news or sports speaker.
>> - A female voice makes an announcement about being an experimental 
>> time station, gives a web page and its locator.
>> . The ticks are discontinued and replace by music.
>> - The first music in a 15 minute cycle is from Peer Gynt, it is 
>> replaced with other music the next minutes.
>> - The next minutes lack the female voice announcement until next 
>> cycle begins.
>>
>> All speaking is done in Italian language.
>> If I copied the locator correctly, the transmitter location is near 
>> Pisa, Italy.
>>
>> Did anybody noticed this transmission?  I receive it in Madrid, Spain.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Ignacio, EB4APL
>>
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