Monitoring Military?

[ProBob]

Hello.. I have a DX394 made by radio shack. I don't know too much about it.

Can anyone tell me if I could monitor frequencies used by the Military in Iraq? I've heard rumors about it, and I wasn't sure how to do so. Can someone help me out with this? Thanks, Bob P.

 

[ka3jjz]

What you might have heard about are flights enroute and returning from Iraq; it's possible they might use the HF-GCS system as laid out here...

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/USAF_High_Frequency_Global_Communications_System

Anything else, rather doubtful. 73s Mike

 

[LarrySC]

In 1987 during Desert Shield and Storm lots of comms were heard from ships and aircraft enroute. I have several tapes that I made. It takes a professional receiver and a simple but accurate antenna to do this. Summer months are not a good time for any long distance receiving because of static. Goggle for ham radio sites, shortwave sites, etc. I use a 66' Windom wire antenna cut at 24' X 42' with an inserted 4:1 TV balun and feed it with RG-59 coax. I can hear a frog fart in Fargo. I use a Yeasu 8800 receiver. Check Monitoring Times Mag because they have a good freq list. In the winter I monitor 11.300 mHz for North Africa Air Traffic Control Stations. Bottom Line. Start thinking about a long wire antenna first, because you have to be able to hear the frequencies. If you get an antenna up then start researching freq's. I've been doing SW thing for 50 years. I'm only 66. Good Luck.

 

[ka3jjz]

You don't need a so-called 'professional receiver to do this' nowadays - all you need is a good HF receiver that's sideband-capable, a good wide band antenna (like a Windom, random wire - not a long wire, which is a different animal altogether) and a good connection to a soundcard for recording.
Knowing when/where to listed is very important. In general, listen above 10 mhz during the day, below that at night. That freq that Larry listed (11300) is part of the Major World Air Route Areas (MWARA) network, and it's outlined here...

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/ICAO_HF_Aeronautical_Stations

73s Mike

 

[ReceiverBeaver]

And you're not going to hear anything exciting. All milcom operational tactical traffic has been encrypted for years and is passed via satellites. Any unencrypted voice traffic on the battlefield would be on VHF & up which is local ground wave only and you have no chance of hearing anything back here.

good luck and have fun with the SW receiver. Lots of other things to listen to.

 

[kb2vxa]

Hi all,

"You don't need a so-called 'professional receiver to do this' nowadays..."

Mike, what the man meant is to do any serious listening you need a proper communications receiver and antenna system. One of those POS portables made for casual broadcast reception won't cut the mustard.

Uh Beaver, what do you mean by "Offer not available in Romania."? Vlad ate more beaver than any man alive so beaver may be an endangerd species. Try some Turkey just over the border, YUM! Don't worry, I won't taunt your avatar, I have more fun taunting YOU! (;->)

 

[ka3jjz]

Hi all,

"You don't need a so-called 'professional receiver to do this' nowadays..."

Mike, what the man meant is to do any serious listening you need a proper communications receiver and antenna system. One of those POS portables made for casual broadcast reception won't cut the mustard.
(;->)

Warren while I agree a small Kaito or Degen portable won't do the job easily, it can be done with them if that's all you have. In addition, computer-based receivers such as the RX-320 are quite capable of receiving and recording such transmissions. I've been doing it for a over a decade with the 320, and using indoor homebrew antennas to boot. Of course, it depends how deep you want to get into the hobby - digital decoding does take more capabilities, for example, than most portables will have available. But a sideband capable portable - with a decent antenna - can easily hear the HF-GCS system, for example. And as a starter, that's the easy way to go.

The 320, as an aside, is an excellant milair and digital rx, given its inherent limitations being tied to a PC.

I was trying not to discourage someone who is obviously something of a newcomer.

It's a matter of skill and knowledge - having a 'professional' receiver might help some, but if you don't understand it or know about what makes HF work, it won't do you - or anyone else - any good.

73s Mike

 

[OutPost]

I've seen this now a couple of times reference a "Windom." Can I assume that a 24x42 66' wire is the best for full range reception? Braided or none braided? 14 guage insulated copper? RG59 or RG8 over 50'?

I only want the best plan for my good old DX-160

Thanks,
Dave

 

[ka3jjz]

For receiving purposes, the type of coax you use is really not all that important, unless you are using some very specialized designs. A Windom is a fine choice for a wide band antenna; to be honest, I've never paid much attention to the classic 'stranded' vs. 'non stranded' arguments. 14 gauge will do just fine - in fact, you should select a gauge that will stand up to your environment's particular needs (for example, are you putting this near any trees? A thicker gauge wire will survive impacts with branches far easier than a thinner one will).

Our HF Antennas wiki (and our loops wiki) have many designs, some homebrew, many commercial - before you go and buy or build something, do some research. Like I mentioned, a Windom is a very good choice - but there are others out there equally deserving of a look. And you may learn something in the process (always a good thing)

Stay as far away as possible from power and phone lines when stringing an antenna - that's a good rule of thumb for putting up any antenna, scanner, HF or whatever.

73s Mike

 

[CSL126]

Is anyone else having trouble recieving the HF-GCS right now? I know that it's summer and most frequencies will be covered with static, but every transmission that I recieve is coming in faded and full of static. I normally can recieve 5.550 (MWARA) just fine, but I no longer can. I'm using a long wire that stretches across my entire back yard. Taking the low frequency into consideration, I made the wire as long as I could. Does it really make that much of a difference if the wire isn't EXACTLY the right length? Also, would I notice a difference if the wire were slanted or vertical instead of horizontal?

 

[ka3jjz]

Just because it happens to be summer doesn't mean that most freqs will have noise - most lower freqs below about 9 mhz or so will be noisier this time of year due to thunderstorms, ect. Noise is a constant problem on HF - probably more so from a local source than our parent star.

Speaking of which, I thought I saw yesterday that we got hit with a M class flare. That might account for signals being somewhat harder to hear. Understanding how the sun interacts with our ionosphere, and what happens when it does, is a key to being successful in the HF game. Our wiki has several links on this topic.

73s Mike

 

[gcgrotz]

Oooh, good night for some summer AM DX tonight. No storms around either.

 

[CSL126]

Maybe it's just my antenna then, does anyone have any additional information on my previous post?

 

[Audiodave1]

Hello,
I have been on and off the HF this weekend. Seems really noisy here on the east coast. Managed to catch CAMSPAC Friday night but little else of interest.

I'm using a dipole in my attic at the peak 32' each direction aimed Nw-SE.

Back when I had the space I played with sloping Hf antennas a good bit (receive only) and yes, it can make a difference but to intentionally make a difference on a specific frequency band got complicated, to me anyway.

Dave

 

[Audiodave1]

Mike speaks the truth but...

It was rumored that there was traffic (within Iraq) in the initial 2 months on 7706usb. I tried tuning into remote radio sites a number of times but never heard a thing (but I didn't really expect to)

You likely can monitor a fair amount of traffic coming into Dover AFB via Phone Patches calling for weather and basic information. These flights will be controlled by regular ATC (MWARA freqs) and use their mil callsigns. Most flights going to Dover will be REACH-xxxx which indicate cargo transports.

Good luck!
Dave

Hello.. I have a DX394 made by radio shack. I don't know too much about it.

Can anyone tell me if I could monitor frequencies used by the Military in Iraq? I've heard rumors about it, and I wasn't sure how to do so. Can someone help me out with this? Thanks, Bob P.

 

[hugodrax]

Hello.. I have a DX394 made by radio shack. I don't know too much about it.

Can anyone tell me if I could monitor frequencies used by the Military in Iraq? I've heard rumors about it, and I wasn't sure how to do so. Can someone help me out with this? Thanks, Bob P.

Not much except the GHFS frequencies. Although if you go to Iraq with a conventional scanner
go and scan the FRS/GMRS freqs you would be surprised at the stuff you pick up in the clear.

 

[kb2vxa]

Hi Mike and all,

These guys pretty much have all the bases covered, so just to tie the ribbon on our little part of it;

"It's a matter of skill and knowledge..."

Mostly, but that can't be aquired using some POS radio, all that gives is a load of frustration and wondering WHY the results are less than pleasing. Such dissatisfaction quickly leads to lack of interest in persuing it any further and learning nothing about RF communications and such a wonderful hobby that often leads to promising professional careers.

"...having a 'professional' receiver might help some..."

Actually it helps a LOT simply because of it's capabilities and ease of operation as opposed to a "noise box" that's hard to tune in and the slightest sideways glance knocks it off frequency. I belive that has something to do with the tuning ratio but I could be wrong. (;->)

"...but if you don't understand it or know about what makes HF work, it won't do you - or anyone else - any good."

Well, reading the manual sure helps one understand how the radio works. (;->) Of course studying a bit of electrical theory helps one understand WHY it works the way it does. As for what makes >HF< work studying propagation theory will clear up the mystery as to why communications are carried on at a particular time of day and season on which bands. It sure helps to know how they get signals from A to B so one can be in the right place at the right time on the right frequency.

As for the finer points like antennas and transmission lines, all things come in time. I started out with a radio chassis removed from a defunct console TV, radio and record player combo and a 50' wire strung through trees in the back yard, burnt my fingers when pulling a hot tube out of it's socket while I was at it too. It took years of aquisition (radios and knowledge) to get where I am now and like everybody else am still learning and upgrading equipment as I can.

I figure that we can save the noobs all that trouble by explaining that starting out with better equipment better suited to the purpose saves a lot of head scratching over that chicken squawk that can be tuned in by the flip of a switch and the turn of a dial. I hope they never find out what a pain it is to listen to SSB on my old National NC-173 that had a BFO only as an afterthought when the Icom 706 has selectable sideband, 10Hz incremental tuning, DAGC and a product detector. (;->)

"Although if you go to Iraq with a conventional scanner
go and scan the FRS/GMRS freqs you would be surprised at the stuff you pick up in the clear."

Fine if you understand Arabic and it's several dielects. How long you'd be listening before something war related catches up with you is another matter. Hmmm, I can see you now on Al Quida Television down on your knees with a swarthy looking gentleman standing over you with your scanner in one hand and an AK in the other. (;->)

 

[n8abd]

using RadioSchack radio for IRAQ reception

Hello.. I have a DX394 made by radio shack. I don't know too much about it.

Can anyone tell me if I could monitor frequencies used by the Military in Iraq? I've heard rumors about it, and I wasn't sure how to do so. Can someone help me out with this? Thanks, Bob P.

Hi Bob:

Seeing as how most of the MILCOMM that is used today, by both sides in the Iraq mess is on VHF and UHF, the answer is a decided no. Even if you could hear them, they would probably be encrypted, which requires special gear to decode that most of us can't afford, the comm would make little or no sense to a casual listener.

However, that little radio shack receiver will receive SSB signals, but I would use an outdoor antenna for listening to Ham and other stuff.

Sorry. 73 de

 

[Stabu]

Monitoring military

My first recommendation would be to can the 394 and get something else. I bought one new and have regretted it ever since. It will do Mil monitoring but it leaves a lot to be desired. Mine is on a 50' long wire and that helps but the performace of the radio plain stinks. It's a magnet for even the slightest RFI to the point one would have to turn off every appliance in the house to listen to it. I had to mod the radio with a cage around the chassis made from heater ducting to get close to anything reasonable. My computer just kills it and when your trying to decode rtty or fax its about useless. Had I known just how bad it was I would have taken my hard earned $ to ebay and bought a better used radio. perhaps something like a Kenwood TS-440 so it could be used later when I pass my 5 wpm.

 

[FFighter81]

Does it really make that much of a difference if the wire isn't EXACTLY the right length? Also, would I notice a difference if the wire were slanted or vertical instead of horizontal?

The length and slope doesn't really matter when you are receiving ONLY. Transmitting is a whole different story. Long wire, windoms, dipoles etc. are DIRECTIONAL!!! I have an 80m inverted V dipole running east/west and another 80m inverted V dipole running north/south. On any given frequency, I can be using the east/west or north/south configuration and hear nothing. Flip the antenna switch to the north/south or east/west antenna and there is traffic.
If you have the room, set up another antenna at 90 degrees from your current antenna. I think you will be surprised.

FFighter81