Is it normal for business handhelds to send morse indentifier?

[IC-R20]

So I have been doing SIGINT around my town and checking all the stores to see if any had visible radios, specially the ones from the "Stores" wiki page. I manage to spot the sales floor staff using Bearcom BC130 handhelds and waited around outside to see if the spectrum sweeper of the WS1040 and sure enough it got a hit matching the wiki list exactly. Later on while listening at home since I don't live too far away I noticed some morse beeps coming through occasionally, same frequency and average signal strength as when someone talks but without the DPL to the HTs wouldn't pick them up.

Is it normal for these radios to do this? I've heard packet burst IDs like MDT and e-mic and the like but never came across anything like morse identifiers on non-repeater conventional setups. I also found an old thread on here where someone referenced hearing some form of ID but doesn't specify: JC Penney Corp frequencies


Also is there anyone here proficient in code that could copy the ID for me? My TRX-1 is on other recording duties so I put an external recorder up to the WS1040 speaker on VOX then clipped just the morse audio out in audacity:

Vocaroo | Online voice recorder

Vocaroo is a quick and easy way to share voice messages over the interwebs.

voca.ro

 

[IC-R20]

So I did something I did in the past and looked at the spectrograph in Audacity to visually see the dots dashes and spaces and came up with WPVX841. Is this correct? I looked in the ULS and it seems to be.

 

[tvengr]

Some base stations use Morse Code identification of their call sign. That eliminates the necessity of having to do voice ID's.

 

[nd5y]

So I did something I did in the past and looked at the spectrograph in Audacity to visually see the dots dashes and spaces and came up with WPVX841. Is this correct?

Yes.

It's probably not being sent by a hand held radio.

 

[IC-R20]

Some base stations use Morse Code identification of their call sign. That eliminates the necessity of having to do voice ID's.

Right I know those do but these are simplex and portables only with no repeater which was a little bit of an odd but interesting find. You can even see the signal move around as they walk across the store just like with the voice comms.

 

[mmckenna]

Many of the newer Kenwood portables and mobiles are capable of sending CW ID.
Or, could be a repeater output using the same frequency as the handhelds on simplex.

Not send CTCSS or DCS, as you noted, makes it so the radio users don't have to hear it.

 

[IC-R20]

Many of the newer Kenwood portables and mobiles are capable of sending CW ID.
Or, could be a repeater output using the same frequency as the handhelds on simplex.

Not send CTCSS or DCS, as you noted, makes it so the radio users don't have to hear it.

Ah very nice, I would guess that's it since the callsign comes back to JC Penney for sales floor use. You find interesting new things all the time still when scanning. Thanks.

 

[kd7jfv]

I am receiving CW of WPVX841 in Bend OR on 467.225 mzh. No voice yet, but we've been on quarantine since I found this frequency activity.