Y2K radio monitoring

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New Year's Eve & Y2K Radio Monitoring

Make sure that you have a good All-Bands receiver and the "other half" of a good receiver, a proper antenna, or antennas if you want more directional capability. Bob Worn

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Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 15:16:42 -0800 (PST) From: Sheldon Harvey Subject: New Year's Eve & Y2K Radio Monitoring To: "Radio H.F. Accounts" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000

NEW YEAR'S EVE & Y2K RADIO MONITORING: Tips on where, when and what to listen to

Compiled and edited by Sheldon Harvey President, Canadian International DX Club

The following is a listing of various shortwave stations, services and frequencies which will help you to follow the arrival of New Year 2000 as it makes it way around our planet.

There are also some tips on monitoring local services in your city or town, using your scanner. Police, fire departments, ambulances, public works, civil defense, amateur radio; all could become very active with events developing as the New Year approaches.

I have included shortwave broadcast stations in several languages, from numerous countries, beginning with the arrival of New Year in New Zealand at 1100 UTC, December 31 (6 AM Eastern Time, December 31) and then following New Year around the planet in each of the time zones. There is no guarantee that all of the suggested signals will be heard, but the stations listed have the best chances of being heard at the specified times. I would recommend tuning in to the indicated frequencies and stations a few minutes before the top of each hour to catch the sign on of the services.

Following the shortwave broadcast station, you will find a selection of various utility services on shortwave, including aeronautical services, military services (coast guard, air force, national guard, etc), plus other emergency services and stations which should make for interesting listening as Y2K and New Year arrives.

Enjoy listening and feel free to get back to me with your observations and loggings, by e-mail

Best wishes for the Christmas season and all the best for the New Year 2000.

Sheldon Harvey President, Canadian Int. DX Club Owner, Radio H.F. Greenfield Park, Quebec, CANADA

SHORTWAVE BROADCAST STATIONS WORLDWIDE

This list of stations and frequencies are your best chances to monitor throughout the day on December 31, 1999, as the New Year 2000 reaches the various times zones of the world. The majority of these services are for North America, and in English, unless otherwise noted. We begin with 1100 UTC, 6 AM Eastern Standard Time, when New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and far eastern Russia will be the first to welcome in 2000. All times listed are in UTC and all frequencies are in kiloHertz.

1100 UTC Radio New Zealand, 17675 kHz; check also 6105 or 6145 as possibilities 1300 UTC Radio Australia 5995, 6020, 9580, 11650 1400 UTC Radio Australia as above 1500 UTC Radio Japan 9505 kHz 1600 UTC Voice of Russia 9470, 11675, 11775, 15490 1700 UTC Voice of Russia as above and 9560 kHz. 1800 UTC Voice of Russia as above and 7305, 7340, 9765, 9775, 9890 kHz. 1900 UTC Voice of Russia as above and 12070 kHz. 2000 UTC UAE Radio Dubai 13675 (Arabic) 2100 UTC Voice of Iran 15084 kHz (Farsi) Radio Kuwait 9855 (Arabic) 2200 UTC Radio Sofia, Bulgaria 7535, 7545 kHz Radio Cairo, Egypt 9900 kHz. Voice of Turkey 9445, 9460 (Turkish) Voice of Greece 9395, 11595 (Greek) 2300 UTC Radio Austria Int. 5945, 6155, 9870 (German & English) Radio Prague, Czech Rep 7345, 9435 RAI Italy 6010, 9675, 11800 (Italian) R. France Intern'l 9715, 9790 (French) Voice of Germany 6100, 9545, 9730 (German) Radio Exterior, Spain 9540, 9630 (Spanish) Vatican Radio 5880 (Italian) 0000 UTC BBC World Service 5975, 6175, 9590 0100 UTC Brazilian stations between 4750 & 5100 kHz 0200 UTC Brazilian stations between 4750 & 5100 kHz 0300 UTC CKZU St. John's, Newfoundland on 6160 kHz 0400 UTC CHNX Halifax, NS on 6130 kHz Radio Villa, Dominican Rep 4960 (Spanish) Ecos del Torbes, Venezuela 4980 (Spanish) 0500 UTC R. Havana Cuba 9820, 9830 kHz. Voice of the Andes, Ecuador 9745, 12015 WWCR Nashville, TN 5070 kHz WBCQ Monticello, ME 7415 kHz Voice of America 7170, 7295, 9700 0600 UTC Radio For Peace, Costa Rica 6975, 15050 R. Mexico Int'l 9705 (Spanish)

---------------------------------------------

UTILITY SERVICES

VARIOUS EMERGENCY SERVICES Upper Sideband Voice channels

3311 kHz. U.S. Air Force Calling Frequency 4041 Navy/Marine Emergency Frequency 4585 Civil Air Patrol Command and Control 4590 Air Force Calling Frequency 5203 North Carolina National Guard 5211 Federal Emergency Management Agency 5755 Federal Agencies' Emergency Command 6826 US Army MARS (Military Affil. Radio) 6870 Federal Aviation Admin. Command 6999 US Army Emergency 7302 USAF MARS Emergency Net 7635 Civil Air Patrol Alternate Command 7743 Federal Agencies' Command/Control Net 8125 FAA Regional Command and Control Net 10493 FEMA Command and Control Net 11045 Federal Agencies' Command/Control Net 13457 FAA Regional Command/Control Alternate

U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL GUARD - USB Voice

3032 Khz Night-time Primary Net 4442 Night-time Operations 4445 Night-time Operations 4520 Night-time Operations 5202 Night-time Operations 5203.5 Night-time Alternate Net 6766 Evening Primary Operations 6910 Evening Operations 7648.5 Evening Operations 8061.5 (in LSB) Day time Operations 8093 Day time Primary Operations 9121 Day time Operations 10796 Day-time Operations 12168.5 Day-time Operations

SHARES (SHARED RESOURCES EMERGENCY SERVICES) USB Voice

5236 kHz Voice Primary Night Channel 1 14396.5 Voice Primary Day Channel 2

U.S & CANADIAN COAST GUARD USB Voice

5696 kHz. U.S. Primary Night Frequency 5717 Canadian Primary Frequency 8983 U.S. Primary Day Frequency

U.S. ARMED FORCES GLOBAL HIGH FREQUENCY SYSTEM USB Voice

USAF Bases such as Andrews, Edwards, McClellan, Offutt, Ascension, Hickam, Thule, Elmendorf, etc. with worldwide phone patches, Emergency Action Messages, general traffic, etc.

4742, 6712, 6739, 8992, 11175, 11244, 13200, 15016

INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL USB Voice

There has been a lot of talk and concern about potential problems with aircraft, air traffic control and communications. The following are the major international air traffic control routes, cities and frequencies which are normally heard well throughout North America.

NORTH ATLANTIC A ROUTE includes Canary Islands, Gander, New York Paramaribo, Piarco, Santa Maria & Shanwick 30126, 5598, 8906, 13306, 17946 kHz.

NORTH ATLANTIC B ROUTE includes Gander, Reykjavik, New York, Santa Maria & Shanwick 2899, 5616, 8864, 13291, 17946 kHz.

NORTH ATLANTIC C ROUTE includes Gander, Reykjavik & Shanwick 2862, 5649, 8879, 13306, 17946 kHz.

NORTH ATLANTIC D ROUTE includes Bodo, Cambridge Bay, Churchill, Iqaluit, Gander, Reykjavik & Sondrestrom 2971, 4675, 8891, 11279, 13291, 17946 kHz

NORTH ATLANTIC E ROUTE includes New York and Santa Maria 2962, 6628, 8825, 11309, 13354 kHz.

NORTH ATLANTIC F ROUTE includes Gander and Shanwick 3476, 6622, 8831, 11336, 13291 kHz.

CARIBBEAN A ROUTE includes Barranquilla, Boyeros, Guatemala City, Meridia, New York, Panama, Piarco, San Andres, San Jose, Tegucigalpa 2887, 5550, 6577, 8918, 11396, 13297, 17907 kHz.

CARIBBEAN B ROUTE includes Barranquilla, Boyeros, Cayenne, Georgetown, Maiquetia, New York, Panama, Paramaribo, Piarco, San Andres 3455, 5520, 6586, 8846, 11330, 17907 kHz.

AFRICA 1 ROUTE includes, Abidjan, Bamako, Bangui, Bissau, Bobo dioulasso, Bouake, Casablanca, Conakry, Canaris, Dakar, Freetown, Kano, Niamey, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, Roberts 3452, 6535, 8861, 13357, 17955 kHz.

AFRICA 2 ROUTE includes Algiers, Brazzaville, Kano, Gao, Niamey, N'djamena, Tamanrasset, Timimoun, Tripoli, Tunis 3419, 5652, 8894, 13273, 17961 kHz.

AFRICA 3 ROUTE includes Addis Ababa, Aden, Asmara, Bahrain, Benghazi, Bombay, Bujumbura, Cairo, Comoros, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Hargesia, Djibouti, Jeddah, Khartoum, Kigali, Kisimayu, Male, Mogadishu, Nairobi, N'djamena, Sana'a, Seychelles, Tripoli 3467, 5658, 10018, 11300, 13288, 17961 kHz.

AFRICA 4 ROUTE includes Accra, Bangui, Brazzaville, Bulawayo, Cotonou, Douala, Entebbe, Franceville, Garoua, Goma, Johannesburg, Kano, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Lagos, Libreville, Lome, Luanda, Lumbumbashi, Lusaka, Maroua, Maseur, Nairobi, N'djamena, N'djili, Niamey, Niamtougou, Port Gentil, Roberts, Salisbury, Salazar, Seychelles, Windhoek, Yaounde 2878, 5493, 8903, 13294, 17961 kHz.

CENTRAL EAST PACIFIC 1 & 2 ROUTES includes Honolulu and San Francisco 2869, 3413, 5547, 5574, 8843, 11282, 13261 kHz.

NORTH PACIFIC 2 & 4 ROUTES includes Honolulu, San Francisco & Tokyo NOTE: San Francisco covers Anchorage 2932, 5628, 5677, 6665, 8915, 10048, 13294, 13339

CANADIAN FORCES USB Voice

3047.0 CFH: Halifax Military 4560.0 CFH: Halifax Military; CJX: St Johns Military (Maritime Command) 4700.0 CFH: Halifax Military 4739.0 CFH: Halifax Military; CJX: St Johns Military 5198.5 CFH: Halifax Military (Maritime Command) 5684.0 CJX: St Johns Military 5694.0 CFH: Halifax Military; CJX: St Johns Military 5702.0 CJU: Vancouver Military 5717.0 CFH: Halifax Military; CJU: Vancouver Military; CJX: St Johns Military 5850.0 CZW: Halifax Maritime Air Group 6694.0 CFH: Halifax Military; CJU: Vancouver Military 6706.0 CHR: Trenton Military (wkg NATO a/c) 6715.0 CHR: Trenton Military; CFH: Halifax Military; CJU: Vancouver Military 6736.0 CFH: Halifax Military (OR Chg?) 6745.0 CHR: Trenton Military 6751.0 SIDECAR (NORAD) CFH: Halifax Military; CJU: Vancouver 6754.0 CHR: Trenton Military; CJU: Vancouver Military; CJX: St Johns Military (VOLMET) 8110.0 CFH: Halifax Military 8989.0 CHR: Trenton Military 9007.0 CHR: Trenton Military; CFH: Halifax Military; VXA: Edmonton Military 9023.0 CHR: Trenton Military (NORAD) 9027.0 CFH: Halifax Military 11214.0 CHR: Trenton Military (NORAD) 11232.0 CHR: Trenton Military; CFH: Halifax Military; CJX: St Johns Military; VXA: Edmonton Military 11249.0 CFH: Halifax Military 11265.0 CHR: Trenton Military (wkg MAGIC a/c) 13257.0 CHR: Trenton Military 15031.0 CHR: Trenton Military 15034.0 VXA: Edmonton Military (VOLMET) 17994.0 CHR: Trenton Military 18012.0 CHR: Trenton Military 18027.0 CFH: Halifax Military; VXA: Edmonton Military

CANFORCES CFARS Usually USB Voice, possibly LSB

CFARS is the Canadian Forces Affiliate Radio System. CFARS stations are located at various United Nations peace-keeping operations around the world & operate amateur radio equipment that provides phone patches for service personnel to their families. They are also to be found on Navy and Coast Guard ships.

Alpha 6978.5 Bravo 14386.0 Charlie 14460.0 Delta 14463.0 Echo 14446.5 Foxtrot 20971.5 Golf 20963.5 Hotel 29715.0 Juliet 14454.0 Kilo 14449.5 Lima 20977.5 Mike 13954.0 Whiskey 6982.5 X-ray 6962.5 Yankee 4052.5 Zulu 4023.5

COMMERCIAL MARITIME DUPLEX FREQUENCIES USB Voice

You might like to tune throughout the various commercial maritime bands. Ships and other vessels at sea will be placing phone calls to friends and family around the planet via coastal radio service stations. This can make for some very interesting and emotional listening. Tune through the following frequency ranges:

4351 to 4435 kHz. 6501 to 6522 kHz. 8707 to 8812 kHz. 12230 to 12350 kHz. 13077 to 13197 kHz. 17242 to 17407 kHz. 19755 to 19797 kHz. 22696 to 22852 kHz.

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LOCAL VHF & UHF SERVICES

For any of you with radio scanners, there will most certainly be interesting listening available on the various public service frequencies in your city or town, given the New Years Eve partying, plus any special problems which might arise from Y2K related difficulties. In many communities, police, fire, ambulance, civil defense, public works, utilities, and other services will be on stand-by for any problems which might arise.

Amateur radio operators are also on stand-by, as back-ups to communications systems. Amateur clubs and emergency response groups are ready to mobilize, to assist the authorities with communications should the need arise.

Scanning the public service bands on your scanner will keep you abreast of any developments in your community as they happen. Simply program in all the local law enforcement, emergency services, fire, utility and amateur radio repeater frequencies in your area to monitor the developments first hand.

SOURCES: CIDX Messenger, Monitoring Times Magazine, Worldwide Utility News, Passport to World Band Radio, World Radio TV Handbook, Klingenfuss Guide to Utility Stations, Worldwide Aeronautical Communications Frequency Directory.

The Canadian International DX Club is Canada's national radio monitoring club, serving radio enthusiasts worldwide since 1962, with headquarters in the Montreal region. Please visit our club website for more information

http://www.anarc.org/cidx/

If you have any questions regarding this document, or questions about the Canadian International DX Club, please contact me:

Sheldon Harvey President, Canadian Int. DX Club

TEL: 450-671-3773 FAX: 450-671-3775 e-mail

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###

[Up one level]

-- Ed (ed@lizzardranch.com), December 21, 1999

Answers

No shortwave receiver is complete without a GOOD ground (Ed you might be interested in this if you don't already know). There are a lot of ways to get a good RF (radio frequency ground). RF ground is NOT the same a grounding your house with a ground stake. Why? Because currents at radio frequencies tend to HANG around even in the presence of a ground that power line frequencies are happy with. The ABSOLUTE BEST GROUND is a wire dropped into the ocean. Unfortunatly that is rarely possible. Where that is not possible, go to the local hardware and get 4 each 8foot copper clad ground stakes. These are just the same as you get when grounding your house power circuits. Drive one in the ground in the middle of a circle 12 feet in radius. Drive the other three around the circle at 120, 240, and 0 degrees respectively. Dig one foot deep trenches from each of the three outlying posts to the central post. Lay a heavy BARE copper wire between each outlying post and the central post. Now get three five pound bags of rock salt. Put one in each trench. Pour five gallons of water in each trench and cover them back up. Connect your ground to the central stake.... You will be suprised at the difference it makes in your ability to HEAR far away stations.

As for antenna, if you have a long wire tuner. Cut a wire that is six or eight times as long as the frequency you are particularily interested in hearing. This is roughly 300/(frequency in megahertz). This formula is 'close enough'. Set the antenna up so that one end is at the receiving equipment. Drag the other end out in the direction you want to receive. If the antenna slopes downward from the radio to the far end so much the better. Now if things are about right you should be able to hear the station you are most interested in MUCH more clearly. If not try moving the antenna so that it points just twenty or so degrees OFF the target station. That should take care of it.

There are other types of 'field expedient' antennas THE MOST EFFECTIVE is called a VERTICLE HALF RHOMBIC antenna. A search on the web should find something. This is an antenna made by tossing a long wire over a branch or the top of tree which is about half way down the antenna. Try to get this pup thirty feet or so off the ground in the middle. Point the antenna directly at the station of interest. Make your ground as described above. You will be amazed what a 300' wire can do when it is set up this way.

You local ham shack will have 'random wire' tuners. You should get one. This is a little box that you use to adjust the exact frequency that the antenna 'prefers'.

Later -m-

-- (...@.......), December 21, 1999.


[fixed, by request # 3] (T)he measurements mentioned above are in meters ... 39.37 inches is ONE meter.... Measurements are ROUGH measurments round 39.37 to 39 and be happy.

-- (...@.......), December 21, 1999.

Thanks! Been looking for this since my woman got me a scanner for the Hoildays.

-- Mark Hillyard (foster@inreach.com), December 22, 1999.

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