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Old 8th Feb 2020, 12:27 am   #21
Richard_FM
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

I pass that way going to and from my Sister in Law's house.

It sounds like something from a John Le Carre novel, which often feature outposts of the secret service in inconspicuous premises.
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Old 11th Feb 2020, 7:05 pm   #22
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

Quote:
Originally Posted by broadgage View Post
Is it possible that the observed signal was some form of emergency coded information being transmitted to HM submarines ? or to other parts of our armed forces.
The navy send info to submarines using fsk down in the VLF band around 22.1KHZ. You can easily receive it, but good luck decoding anything.

My mum used to do wireless intercepts in cw around 1941 to the end of WW2 hostilities and during the period of her service she also sent hand written intercept messages down the line, typing thousands of them on a teleprinter. She never knew what it was all about. Said it was all just groups of characters. They worked long shifts around the clock and everything was on a need to know basis, and she didn't need to know.

I now believe she was a small cog in the wheel that we all know was about Bletchley Park and passing information to the boffins there for decrypting. She died without ever really knowing anything about the several years of work she did.
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Old 28th Feb 2020, 10:13 pm   #23
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

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Originally Posted by dsergeant View Post
Without a recording (or transcription) of the morse we are unable to tell you what it was. May well be an amateur (not even local) beating with R4 due to a mixer issue in your radio, spurious from the transmission, or maybe one of the various beacons below the broadcast band. If you hear it again record it, many of us can copy morse..
Well, I managed to record a few snippets with my phone the other night, and have finally cropped them and transferred them to MP3s.

Recorded evening of 10th Feb 2020, from my DAC90A on Radio 4 LW, during this programme: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000dy4y

Any ideas please? I'm fascinated.

Nick.
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Old 28th Feb 2020, 10:30 pm   #24
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

The first clip appears to be a G3 call sign, my Morse is very poor after not using it for many years so I will not post the 3 letters in case I am wrong.

Edit. Third clip appears to be the same call sign, Oxford location.
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Old 28th Feb 2020, 10:42 pm   #25
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

The call sign is G3XGC. Google indicates he is in North Oxford, so possibly very near to you.
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Old 28th Feb 2020, 11:23 pm   #26
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

I doubt that the G3 is transmitting an out of band signal, more likely either external mixing, a receiver problem or design deficiencies.
You could try a trap tuned to the 160m band before the mixer.
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Old 29th Feb 2020, 5:14 am   #27
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

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Originally Posted by mark_in_manc View Post
Goodness, I live <5 mins from there
I notice that in the Radio Officer's magazine web page linked to, it's described as a 'Notorious area of Manchester'!

David
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Old 29th Feb 2020, 8:02 am   #28
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

You can see G3XGCs details on qrz.com (but you need to log in to see the full details). He is a keen 160m dxer and in the clip I could hear he is clearly calling some dx station in a pile up. Image/intermod product in your radio from a strong local station.

73 Dave G3YMC
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Old 29th Feb 2020, 11:29 am   #29
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

I'll stick with Post #8 theory.
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Old 29th Feb 2020, 11:58 am   #30
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

Hi,

And he does have an enviable antenna system!

Kind regards
Dave
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Old 29th Feb 2020, 12:18 pm   #31
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

Wow, well done everyone, I'm incredibly impressed. Thanks to all who have contributed.

The chap lives a mile or so from me at most. I will drop him a line and point him to this thread.

Cheers,

Nick.
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Old 29th Feb 2020, 12:39 pm   #32
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

You may be able to null him out by repositioning the radio. He's very close to you at the north end of Summertown though, and if you null him you may find you're nulling R4 too.
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Old 29th Feb 2020, 1:11 pm   #33
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

It's not a problem really. It's only happened a handful of times and doesn't last very long. It made a dullish programme a bit more interesting!
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Old 29th Feb 2020, 2:27 pm   #34
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon_G4MDC View Post
I'll stick with Post #8 theory.
That seems right, but I suspect the IF is a little higher. Most dx calling in Europe would be around 1825kHz - definitely not on 1806kHz as that is outside our band which only starts at 1810. But yes, second harmonic of the mixing frequency causing a beat note ith Droitwich.

Note that recordings 2 and 3 show a very high pitched beat note which I couldn't even hear earlier when I didn't have my hearing aids in. You should add a 5kHz or so correction to the calculations for that as well.

You don't need high power to cause such effects, even weak signals will do it if the front end filtering of the receiver is low.

Dave
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Old 1st Mar 2020, 10:58 am   #35
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

I agree it seems odd that the IF needs to be so high for the calculations to "come out" inside top band. Maybe some degree of mistuning does explain it as the LO harmonic is moving twice as fast.
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Old 1st Mar 2020, 12:41 pm   #36
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

I must say that the DAC90A has been restored by me. It has not had the alignment altered since built, but nor have I checked it. It performs very well indeed so I used the "if it ain't broke" principle and left well alone.
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Old 1st Mar 2020, 9:42 pm   #37
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

Well that is fair enough - it works so what does it matter?
This thread has been well worth while.

Maybe you will make a new friend.
I certainly hope so.

I remember knocking on a door in such circumstances.
It set me on a path and I owe them so much.

G8BI, G3CSE and one other I wish could remember.
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Old 2nd Mar 2020, 12:28 am   #38
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

Eric G3UKZ and Jim G2DBV, (SKs)

100 and 150 yards respectively away from my house, and first heard as a image reception on my 6 transistor pocket radio, engaged in their regular Sunday morning QSO.
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Old 2nd Mar 2020, 11:28 am   #39
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

Last week I was listening to the midnight news on R4 LW 198 the Droitwich transmitter was cutting in and out for about an hour. I suspect it was power supply problems due to the weather conditions. When the transmitter was on I noticed just on one of my radios, a small Philips portable, that I could hear a weak background telemetry carrier.
Since the transmitter has been back on this telemetry carrier has disappeared. I suspect I was hearing the telemetry control carrier used for remotely switching the transmitter. It was strange that only one radio was responding to this telemetry carrier.
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Old 13th Mar 2020, 12:58 pm   #40
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Default Re: Morse audible over Radio 4 LW last night

Nick,
Did you contact Geoff, G3XGC? He used to be a member of the Oxford club and is a specialist in "top band" CW DX.

Ken M1SLH
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