What's this Data signal I keep getting in the Evenings?

[IC-R20]

I picked this up on Spectrum Sweeper last year while walking by the park, I've monitored the frequency off an on the past year and notice it seems to be most active right after sunset around 6 and 7PM hours tending to die down after 11PM (which is when the city parks close) where you'll only occasionally hear a few bursts for the rest of the night and following daytime. When most active each transmission is spaced apart by 1 minute at the shortest.


I've found the license for it (FCC Callsign WQWG917 (Kingman, City of)) which also corroborates the Parks and Rec office building there as the control point and I can see a roof top antenna from the backside in the park when looking through the maintenance yard fence. Considering it mostly comes on at night I figured it was some remote for the sprinklers or to remotely shut on/off electricity to things though the license note says: "WE WILL PROVIDES SERVICES TO THE PBULIC FOR A FEE. [SIC]" Which is more inline with what utility companies put on their license and all park facilities are free to use. (Local electric utilities are private companies and have their own licenses so wouldn't use the city)

I've attached a video for reference of what the signal sounds like if anyone can ID what mode this is (dead air edited out):

 

[ka3aaa]

how far away from the park are you because i only see two bars of signal strength which makes me think its coming from another source several miles away.

 

[Ace9133uwu]

It seems like a low power transmission, probably just enough output for the park. I could be wrong, but it kind of sounds like a digital repeater, like DMR. Cool discovery either way.

 

[Ubbe]

It's a data signal, not DMR, and probably information sent out to a pager type receiver that maintenance personnel carries. Probably status and alarms for the whole parks system of all electricity and electronics including break in alarms in their buildings. I see the same type of system at different places, one at a university that uses FFSK always followed by standard POCSAG that I can decode and see different elevator and window alarms and all things that matter a daytime janitor and night watch guards.

/Ubbe

 

[IC-R20]

It's a data signal, not DMR, and probably information sent out to a pager type receiver that maintenance personnel carries. Probably status and alarms for the whole parks system of all electricity and electronics including break in alarms in their buildings. I see the same type of system at different places, one at a university that uses FFSK always followed by standard POCSAG that I can decode and see different elevator and window alarms and all things that matter a daytime janitor and night watch guards.

/Ubbe

Well the staff don't carry anything like that and there's smaller satellite parks spread out over town so I guess it's mostly just telecommand type stuff for all the park utilities around town which lines up with the emission designator on the license 11K2F3E. I was hoping someone hearing the audio would be familiar with the mode though it's nice to have it narrowed down to some telemetry type.

There's also another park downtown isolated on the other side of a mesa that has the fields and lighting that has another similar tall pipe mast on the roof with the same antenna. I'll have to see if I can ever get down there late enough for sunset to see if I can pick up anything off it on the spectrum sweeper.

I just geosearched the FCC database for the coordinates and it's all on the same license so I'll make scan list in ARC500 with all of the frequencies and see what else pops up.

 

[mmckenna]

I've attached a video for reference of what the signal sounds like if anyone can ID what mode this is (dead air edited out):

Sounds like analog data.

Likely, the radio looks something like this:

SD-125EL Series Data Radios

SD-125EL V2 – 5/1W VHF (148-174 MHz) SD-125EL U1 – 5/1W UHF (400-430 MHz) SD-125EL U2 – 5/1W UHF (440-470 MHz) LED Status Indicator 5/1 Watt Power Output 16 Channels (Dip Switch S…

maxonamerica.com

They are often used for collecting data from remote sites, or controlling various systems. You'll often see them for control of irrigation systems, remote control of electrical circuits, etc. Very common devices.

I ran into this exact noise on one of my repeater inputs years ago. Took a while to track it down, but eventually found it. It was an irrigation system for a community college. It would do the same thing: Specific times of the day it would start squawking. It was controlling sprinklers for various parts of the campus. (even though they had their own license, the irrigation company decided to stick them on my repeater input).

 

[IC-R20]

Sounds like analog data.

Likely, the radio looks something like this:

SD-125EL Series Data Radios

SD-125EL V2 – 5/1W VHF (148-174 MHz) SD-125EL U1 – 5/1W UHF (400-430 MHz) SD-125EL U2 – 5/1W UHF (440-470 MHz) LED Status Indicator 5/1 Watt Power Output 16 Channels (Dip Switch S…

maxonamerica.com

They are often used for collecting data from remote sites, or controlling various systems. You'll often see them for control of irrigation systems, remote control of electrical circuits, etc. Very common devices.

I ran into this exact noise on one of my repeater inputs years ago. Took a while to track it down, but eventually found it. It was an irrigation system for a community college. It would do the same thing: Specific times of the day it would start squawking. It was controlling sprinklers for various parts of the campus. (even though they had their own license, the irrigation company decided to stick them on my repeater input).

Ah now this is the insight I was looking for. Thank you very much, nice to know my initial suspicions were probably correct too. I believe this would fall under what is defined as SCADA then yes?

That would've been a perfect time to run your repeater as a single channel trunk with control channel on the output

 

[mmckenna]

Ah now this is the insight I was looking for. Thank you very much, nice to know my initial suspicions were probably correct too. I believe this would fall under what is defined as SCADA then yes?

Exactly, SCADA systems.

That would've been a perfect time to run your repeater as a single channel trunk with control channel on the output

Crossed my mind, but as a professional, I know better. Had a positive experience with the individual in charge, he understood the error in his ways, and I gave him a few days to fix it. Then we had a good 20 minute conversation about radio, he was a new ham and had some good questions.

 

[ecps92]

I picked this up on Spectrum Sweeper last year while walking by the park, I've monitored the frequency off an on the past year and notice it seems to be most active right after sunset around 6 and 7PM hours tending to die down after 11PM (which is when the city parks close) where you'll only occasionally hear a few bursts for the rest of the night and following daytime. When most active each transmission is spaced apart by 1 minute at the shortest.


I've found the license for it (FCC Callsign WQWG917 (Kingman, City of)) which also corroborates the Parks and Rec office building there as the control point and I can see a roof top antenna from the backside in the park when looking through the maintenance yard fence. Considering it mostly comes on at night I figured it was some remote for the sprinklers or to remotely shut on/off electricity to things though the license note says: "WE WILL PROVIDES SERVICES TO THE PBULIC FOR A FEE. [SIC]" Which is more inline with what utility companies put on their license and all park facilities are free to use. (Local electric utilities are private companies and have their own licenses so wouldn't use the city)

I've attached a video for reference of what the signal sounds like if anyone can ID what mode this is (dead air edited out):

View attachment 150021
View attachment 150020

Sit over there, next time see what occurs. Maybe keep the windows up as the Sprinklers kick on

Sounds like Telemetry/SCADA controlling something - Lights, Sprinklers etc

 

[BinaryMode]

Looks like that sample needs to be added here.

I checked all of UHF and VHF at that website and nothing comes close.

Tip: You can add that website to your quick search bar...

Check this out: Artemis

 

[IC-R20]

Looks like that sample needs to be added here.

I checked all of UHF and VHF at that website and nothing comes close.

Tip: You can add that website to your quick search bar...

Check this out: Artemis

My SDR isn't accurate enough for a decodable IQ sample and I don't have a discriminator tap. Is regular FM demodulated audio fine? I can walk right up to it and get a strong sample with the handheld and lossless audio recorder.

 

[BinaryMode]

I don't have any decoding programs currently installed to even try to investigate.

 

[IC-R20]

I don't have any decoding programs currently installed to even try to investigate.

Forgot that my TRX-1 records audio files undiscrimated, I can also turn it on through the headphone jack to record a sample externally if needed (though considering PDW will decode pages captured in the recordings I don't think it will be necessary). Now that we're in the dead of winter though it hasn't been as active which further confirms the sprinkler theory. There's about to be a bunch of soccer stuff soon though so I'll bring the TRX on stakeout to see if it sends out any blips to turn the field lights on as well.