Finding the frequencies of a HF site

[juneau]

Hi Gang,

There is a HF radio site near where I live that I have been trying to determine what it is used for and the associated frequencies. The site is unprotected and I can walk right up to the tower. There is a HF Log Periodic as well as a HF vertical with auto tuner.

Any ideas on how I can determine frequencies (when they are transmitting)?

Matt

 

[mass-man]

No sign, no nothing? If its a civilian facility, it is supposed to have a FCC tower designator! Military, not so much...
How far from Juneau???

 

[juneau]

Its in the outskirts of Juneau, It is a shared radio site with City PD & Fire repeaters as well as the states ALMR trucked system, but also has these HF transmitters. I am sure they are GOV, most likely coast guard data or ALE network, but they could be FEMA or something else entirely.

Matt

 

[nd5y]

These are all the HF licenses (non-federal stations) in Juneau "county".
You'll have to look them up and see if any of the locations match the site.
KJF64 ALASKA, STATE OF
KNGX600 ALASKA, STATE OF
KQP39 ALASKA, STATE OF
KQU628 ALASKA, STATE OF
KRI652 State of Alaska
KVD26 ALASKA, STATE OF
KXN52 ALASKA, STATE OF
KXO81 ALASKA, STATE OF
WBH27 ALASKA, STATE OF
WGG93 ALASKA, STATE OF
WHX248 ALASKA, STATE OF
WNHT514 ALASKA, STATE OF
WPQB560 AT&T Corp.
WQMR896 Alaska Aviation Radio, Inc
WRN60 ALASKA, STATE OF
WZK55 ALASKA, STATE OF

 

[Voyager]

I would use an SDR to look at the spectrum. If you get one with a wide span, you can see HF in a couple of chunks. Then just use a very inefficient antenna and look for the strong signals.

 

[juneau]

I think the sdr is a good idea, just wonder how long I would have to camp out to log a hit. I have a old optoelectronics scout for VHF/UHF freq logging. Wish there was a near field HF receiver that auto logged hits.

 

[juneau]

Re: finding freq's for hf site

Went back to the site tonight, there is a U.S. government sign on the base of the vertical, I did look at the autotune feeding the antenna, it is a Sunair cu-9125 coupler rated at 150 watts. I assume there is a Sunair RT-9000 series radio in the comm shelter. One thing I am surprised by is lots of leftover scrap copper laying around the site, if the meth heads only knew! There was a roll of copper grounding wire just sitting there, I bet it weighted 150 lbs or more!

 

[krokus]

Might be FAA, too.

Sent via Tapatalk

 

[juneau]

I had thought about it being FAA, but there is a FAA site right next door, I would think that it would be housed there if it was FAA instead of using a state owned comm shelter. I assume they would have to pay rent. Also the FAA has gotten out of HF in Alaska, there may be some FAA HF ale nets used here but I would be surprised if that was the case.

 

[DaveNF2G]

A site like that could be a dangerous place during transmissions. If it is totally unsecured, I would suspect that it is no longer being used for anything.

 

[n0nhp]

Housed in a state / local site, it may be SHARES / Civil defense and only used during exercises and emergencies. With US govt. sign I would probably put my money there. Keep an eye on the ALE freqs for any activity.

Bruce

 

[juneau]

I am sure the site is still active, its not unusual for a site unsecured around here.

I think you might be right about the SHARES site or something similar. What agency would be operating it? I don't think we have a FEMA office here. I am still wondering about it being coast guard as they have a huge presence here. Does it being Sunair HF equipment narrow it down any?

Thanks for all the input

Matt

 

[majoco]

It seems strange that there is a tuner at the bottom of the tower - obviously it's used for a few frequencies but not at the same time. Have you tried asking here...

Juneau Amatuer Radio Club, Inc.

 

[n0nhp]

Sunaire equipment was high on the Govt purchase list in the late '80s and early 90s. In 2000 we replaced about 30 pieces of Sunaire HF equipment in Antarctica. Very good stuff for it's day but heavy!
I kept 3 receivers hot in the radio shop as backup. This picture is from 2002 in McMurdo station Antarctica. (One of the few things I miss about the place. Almost no RFI and great HF monitoring ;-)

The antenna tuners would stand to reason for ALE operation. Only one freq at a time but with frequency agility.
The operators could be your local emergency manager, FEMA, or other local agency authorized for using the net.
It could also be one of the Zombie sites that an agency received a grant and had to use or lose, that was installed and tested, then when the personnel that knew something about it left fell into dis-use and just stays there forgotten except when it is time to inventory the hardware. Not that any government agencies would do such a thing but just sayin'.


Bruce

 

[RPARTMA]

Simple might be best

How about using a frequency counter?

 

[juneau]

The tuner is mounted to the base of the vertical antenna, fairly standard configuration. Nobody at the local ham club knows anything about it.

 

[juneau]

How would the sunair be remoted over dedicated phone line? What equipment is needed?

 

[juneau]

Too much other RF activity at the site for a freq counter, not to mention it may only be active on occasion, like for weekly tests.

 

[K5MPH]

Is there any way that you can take an photo and post it here.....

 

[n0nhp]

The Sunaire is designed to be remote controlled as well as locally. There are many 2 wire and 4 wire remote control hardware solutions. All you need is keying, TX audio RX audio and control signaling for channel changing. No different than controlling a Public Safety remote base.
I suppose if you have an in with the phone company they might be able to see where the dedicated control line terminates but they might also turn you in to Homeland security..... on second thought maybe just get a big hard drive and set up some broad spectrum SDR DDC recordings.

Bruce