shortwave summary, oct 2006 (part 1)

This shortwave summary article focuses on the Firedrake jammer believed to be operated by China. Glenn Hauser's DX Listening Digest is a great source of information about this jammer, with he and others sharing logs of this all-music signal.

While scanning with my Eton E5 on 01 October, I came across a broadcast of Chinese orchestra music. It's the signature sound of China's Firedrake jammer, which typically goes after Sound of Hope broadcasts. I scanned for the Firedrake signal on other frequencies.

During 1840-1910 UTC:

* 10400 khz (SIO 252)
* 11700 khz (SIO 353)
* 13625 khz (SIO 454)
* 14600 khz (SIO 353)
* 15510 khz (SIO 252)

During 2000-2015 UTC:

* 11700 khz (SIO 151)
* 11785 khz (SIO 353)
* 13625 khz (SIO 555)

During 2115-2126 UTC:

* 11940 khz (SIO 353)
* 13625 khz (SIO 454)

On 03 October, during 1902-1915 UTC:

* 11700 khz (SIO 252)
* 11785 khz (SIO 454)
* 13625 khz (SIO 353)
* 15510 khz (SIO 454)

I feel guilty giving these signals a '5' rating for interference; know what I mean?

Here are two recordings of the jammer on 13625 khz. The first one is a bit noisy; the second one is clearer. For those of you that haven't heard it, I hope these recordings help you identify the signals if you find them.

* firedrake_shortwave_jammer_13625khz.mp3 (1m 35s, 372 kb)
* firedrake_shortwave_jammer_13625khz_part_2.mp3 (1m 23s, 326 kb)

Here's an ARRL article about the Firedrake jammer, mentioning its impact on amateur radio frequencies.

Please keep logs if you come across these broadcasts! Publish them online, submit them to Glenn Hauser, and inform your shortwave listening friends and family.