Why Monitor HF???
- Thread starter Iknox
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Get ready for the flood, but here are a few things:
Air Traffic Control (usually over the ocean and seas of the world)
US Military Comms 11175 USB can be quite active at times during the day
COTHEN (us govt hf network) Anti-Drug and Other OPS
Many militaries of the world use HF
Countless numbers of Shortwave broadcast stations
Spies reading of coded lists of numbers
Hams ragchewing
Hams doing emergency/disaster comms
HF scanning can be a bit like fishing in my estimation, you spin the VFO knob around and sometimes you never know what you will find.
On an opinionated note, I hope agencies learn what works from Katrina, and maintain or restablish their HF capabilities.
Air Traffic Control (usually over the ocean and seas of the world)
US Military Comms 11175 USB can be quite active at times during the day
COTHEN (us govt hf network) Anti-Drug and Other OPS
Many militaries of the world use HF
Countless numbers of Shortwave broadcast stations
Spies reading of coded lists of numbers
Hams ragchewing
Hams doing emergency/disaster comms
HF scanning can be a bit like fishing in my estimation, you spin the VFO knob around and sometimes you never know what you will find.
On an opinionated note, I hope agencies learn what works from Katrina, and maintain or restablish their HF capabilities.
USAPatriot
Member
kb5udf said:
I was always intrigued when I found such broadcasts...
Pirate Radio Stations on or near 6.955 are fun to catch.
mkewman
Member
number stations are very active near me. i've fallen asleep to them on occasion.
good times.
good times.
LarrySC
Member
US Coast Guard 5 Meg and 8 Meg Primary. North African ATC's on 11,300 after sunset on east coast.
safetyobc
Member
kb5udf said:
What is a good HF (cheap) scanner to monitor these. Base/mobile or handheld?
RyltnVFD
Member
mkewman said:
That'd give me nightmares. I always have found it freaky to listen to numbers stations at night, alone in the dark.
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
<sigh> I must have written this half a dozen times by now....oh heck, what's one more?
I've constructed a Wiki for both HF listening and utilities which lists a few popular places (such as Eham) where you can read online reviews (some user reviews, others a bit more in depth). RadioIntel has an extensive set of links for this on 2 seperate pages; take your time and do your research. You need to narrow your needs between portables and tabletops, as there is a VAST difference of performance characteristics between the 2.
As to numbers stations - yes, I've heard a few as well; some of them are thought to be run by the Mossad (Isreali secret service), and I've also heard a few in Spanish as well. There are also numbers stations that use CW....
All the answers I've been seeing here have to do with utility or clandestine, but miss the broadcast topic completly, so here goes...
- In many cases, you will hear a foreign language that is spoken by a native. If you study languages, there's no better way to practice listening - and understanding - a language, with its nuances and accents then to hear it from a native. This is particularly true of the smaller, more regional stations such as those from Latin America
- You get a viewpoint about America from someone not of this country. If you are involved at all in a job that represents foreign interests, or has foreign clients, this can be to your advantage. In addition it's worthwhile just from a purely educational viewpoint
- If you are a music buff, you will get to hear styles and varieites you will never hear on a US outlet.
73s Mike
I've constructed a Wiki for both HF listening and utilities which lists a few popular places (such as Eham) where you can read online reviews (some user reviews, others a bit more in depth). RadioIntel has an extensive set of links for this on 2 seperate pages; take your time and do your research. You need to narrow your needs between portables and tabletops, as there is a VAST difference of performance characteristics between the 2.
As to numbers stations - yes, I've heard a few as well; some of them are thought to be run by the Mossad (Isreali secret service), and I've also heard a few in Spanish as well. There are also numbers stations that use CW....
All the answers I've been seeing here have to do with utility or clandestine, but miss the broadcast topic completly, so here goes...
- In many cases, you will hear a foreign language that is spoken by a native. If you study languages, there's no better way to practice listening - and understanding - a language, with its nuances and accents then to hear it from a native. This is particularly true of the smaller, more regional stations such as those from Latin America
- You get a viewpoint about America from someone not of this country. If you are involved at all in a job that represents foreign interests, or has foreign clients, this can be to your advantage. In addition it's worthwhile just from a purely educational viewpoint
- If you are a music buff, you will get to hear styles and varieites you will never hear on a US outlet.
73s Mike
ahh yes North African ATC on 11300 is very interesting. It is amazing those planes even make it.. LOL
There is lots of good stuff on HF
There are still some good drug ops on COTHEN, especially in the SW USA. I was tuning around and overheard "...Got the load, got the vehicle, got the airplane..." as I tune across 8912 early in the morning a while back. There are also many fishing nets and bootleg comms all throughout HF. You can hear a lot of boaters heading down to Cabo this time of year, I think they use 4054 KHz USB in the evening. If you are into Hams, there is plenty of that and you can even listen to Art Bell and the group on 3840 KHz LSB most evenings.
Once conditions improve I imagine we will hear a lot more again.
There is lots of good stuff on HF
There are still some good drug ops on COTHEN, especially in the SW USA. I was tuning around and overheard "...Got the load, got the vehicle, got the airplane..." as I tune across 8912 early in the morning a while back. There are also many fishing nets and bootleg comms all throughout HF. You can hear a lot of boaters heading down to Cabo this time of year, I think they use 4054 KHz USB in the evening. If you are into Hams, there is plenty of that and you can even listen to Art Bell and the group on 3840 KHz LSB most evenings.
Once conditions improve I imagine we will hear a lot more again.
corbintechboy
Member
I just think it great you can flip it on and hear the other side of the world. There is no cheating involved, just a transmitter, and one reciever. One would argue that you could google a web site and listen to the whole world, while this is great, I consider it cheating. I can hook my reciever into my soundcard and recieve wefax, rtty, *cars, and the list goes on and on. The world at your finger tips from technologies of years gone by, call me nostalgic but I love it. (Man this site needs a spell check, I know I am bad, oh well!)
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