jdeverett -
Welcome to utility monitoring! Here are a few sites to get you started:
Milcom Monitoring Post. These are the same guys who wrote the Milcom section for Monitoring Time:
Milcom Monitoring Post
Utility DXers Forum. This site has been around a VERY long time and focus on all things utility on the airwaves, not just military. They'll have some overlap with with the previous site, but also some other, non-military data:
UDXF - Utility DXers Forum
Utility Monitoring Central. This site has also been around for a very long time. They have a great section with signal pictures and sounds.
Utility Monitoring Central
If you Google "utility monitoring" or "utility frequencies" you will get a lot of additional information, but the 3 sites I just listed should give you an excellent starting point.
I love Milcom monitoring. Finding and trying to decode military signals is one of my favorite aspects of radio.
Decoding military data signals is all but impossible these days as pretty much everything is encrypted. However, there are several good programs that can demodulate various signal types so you can see the encrypted text. Get a copy of Fldigi and MultiPSK. Between those two, you'll be able to demodulate many of the signals you hear/see. Fldigi is free. MultiPSK is free for basic modes, but for a one-time license fee you get many additional "professional" modes and additional features. The MultiPSK user interface is cluttered and somewhat difficult to navigate initially. However, like anything else, as you become familiar with it, it's just as easy to use as anything else. MultiPSK decodes more modes than anything else (other than VERY expensive professional decoding software).
Good luck, 73 - David, AG4F
