West Coast Woodpecker

[WA1QHQ]

For the last couple of weeks I have noticed, while listening to the KFS web SDR, a wideband woodpecker signal pretty much taking out the entire 75 meter phone band. It seems to be a contained to the west coast and on in the morning. Anybody have an idea of what it is?

Mark WA1QHQ

[PA0NVD]

Don't know if it still works with the new woodpeckers, but with the old woodpeckers we used to make a recording of the pulses and transmit back. The reaction was often that they seem to receive an echo and moved to an other frequency to verify. Problem solved   

[KL7OF]

Don't know if it still works with the new woodpeckers, but with the old woodpeckers we used to make a recording of the pulses and transmit back. The reaction was often that they seem to receive an echo and moved to an other frequency to verify. Problem solved  

I like this idea...That woodpecker was loud this morning....

[KD6VXI]

Don't know if it still works with the new woodpeckers, but with the old woodpeckers we used to make a recording of the pulses and transmit back. The reaction was often that they seem to receive an echo and moved to an other frequency to verify. Problem solved   

There where concerted coordinated efforts against DUGA (Russian Woodpecker) back when it was active.

I wonder, if Chernobyl never melted down, would DUGA still be going?

--Shane
KD6VXI

[KB2WIG]

Probably not, I don't think the Ukrainians are worried about nuclear attacks from the West.

klc

[KA0HCP]

For the last couple of weeks I have noticed, while listening to the KFS web SDR, a wideband woodpecker signal pretty much taking out the entire 75 meter phone band. It seems to be a contained to the west coast and on in the morning. Anybody have an idea of what it is?

Mark WA1QHQ

IARU Region 1 Monitor (intruder) reports
https://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/latest.pdf

ARRL Intruder Watch
http://www.arrl.org/intruder-watch

ARRL Newsletter article:
Just When You Thought It Was Safe: Chinese Over-the-Horizon Radar Appears on 40 Meters
The International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 (IARU-R1) Monitoring System (IARUMS) reports that one of China's over-the-horizon radar (OTHR) installations has been causing interference in the Amateur Radio 7 MHz band. The IARUMS February newsletter reports on that intruder and others.


The Chinese over-the-horizon radar signal on 40 meters. [Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, image]

Other Top 5 intruders include a "single-letter beacon" transmitting either the letter "K" or the letter "T" on 7039.3 kHz. The source is believed to be in the Russian Pacific, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. A Russian F1B teleprinter signal (RDL) has appeared on 7193 kHz, with an encrypted frequency-shift-keyed (50-baud) signal, originating in Kaliningrad. Authorities in Germany and Switzerland have filed official complaints.

A Russian orthogonal frequency-division multiplex OFDM 60 signal has been showing up on 14.235 MHz, covering nearly 3 kilohertz. It's said to be located in Moscow. Three Russian OFDM 60 signals were active at the same time on February 13. A Russian F1B signal has been observed on 14.308 MHz, 50 baud, 500 Hz shift, also reported to be in Moscow.

In the "miscellaneous or bad news" category, IARUMS Region 1 Coordinator Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, reports Spanish-speaking "fishermen" on 3560 kHz (USB), heard daily at 1600 UTC or later. These signals have been heard on other 80-meter frequencies. Broadcaster Radio Hargeisa in Somaliland continues to be reported on 7.120 MHz (AM) daily.

*****************************

p.s. It's not The Woodpecker and I think we really should not refer to it as such.  Interference from modern OTH radars is not nearly as severe as the real Woodpecker!  

[KD6VXI]

All of this crap is a good argument for 3cx3000A7 finals!

--Shane
KD6VXI

[PA0NVD]

All of this crap is a good argument for 3cx3000A7 finals!

You have one Shane? Try the 3CX6000A7, tremendous nice tube
Worked with many 4 kW Henry generators with the 3CX3000A7, VERY nice tube. Made linears at 27 Mhz for plastic welding with a 3CX6000A7, 10 kW CW,  Designed and build single tube generators upto 50 kW, and a 4 kW generator at 150 MHz with a 3CX3000A7 quite far beyond the tube max. That was a scaled model for a 1 MegaWatt generator with a semi ridged waveguide resonator at 27 Mhz that I designed for harvest dehydration. Still have a new 3CX3000A7 for spare. Made several balanced oscillators for medicine powder dehydrating systems, 25 kW with 2x  8T85 tubes. Low cost Chinese tubes, quite nice due to the very large production quantities So still have an affection for high power stuff. Fun, fun, fun 
And an answer for woodpeckers and African transmitters jamming our bands....  (don't think it is the right way, but still fun..).

[WA2SQQ]

Don't know if it still works with the new woodpeckers, but with the old woodpeckers we used to make a recording of the pulses and transmit back. The reaction was often that they seem to receive an echo and moved to an other frequency to verify. Problem solved   

So if re-transmitting the signal really worked maybe someone can come up with a "roger-beep" circuit that could send out a short dose of their own medicine. Just a thought ....

[KD6VXI]

All of this crap is a good argument for 3cx3000A7 finals!

You have one Shane? Try the 3CX6000A7, tremendous nice tube
Worked with many 4 kW Henry generators with the 3CX3000A7, VERY nice tube. Made linears at 27 Mhz for plastic welding with a 3CX6000A7, 10 kW CW,  Designed and build single tube generators upto 50 kW, and a 4 kW generator at 150 MHz with a 3CX3000A7 quite far beyond the tube max. That was a scaled model for a 1 MegaWatt generator with a semi ridged waveguide resonator at 27 Mhz that I designed for harvest dehydration. Still have a new 3CX3000A7 for spare. Made several balanced oscillators for medicine powder dehydrating systems, 25 kW with 2x  8T85 tubes. Low cost Chinese tubes, quite nice due to the very large production quantities So still have an affection for high power stuff. Fun, fun, fun 
And an answer for woodpeckers and African transmitters jamming our bands....  (don't think it is the right way, but still fun..).

Oh, I quite enjoy high power myself.

One pic below is  3CW30K.  That one, I doubt I'll ever build.  Seriously!   A 4CX15K and a 4cx5k which was under water for a minute or two as well for size considerations!  The 30k water cooled is the same size as the 5k air cooled!  (which is actually 6k PDiss)

Henry generators???  Lol.  Here's a 20 meter deck with a 3000 I'm putting together as well as the racks for it and another one off in the distance in the shop.

 The red stand up rack has a quad of 3-500Z in it.  I finished it with owner supplied parts and when the first video was taken he decided he wanted vac variables!

Their is a video of a 20 - 30 mhz 3cx3000 I built on this site.  It does 6kw plus avg, put the 10kw slug in the corner with modulation.  A 25k slug showed 15 grand into the dummy load!   That one has a 12kva Peter Dahl transformer in it with 6kv on the anode.

Yup, love me some high power!  Even if now it's all into the dummy load 😎

--Shane
KD6VXI

[PA0NVD]

Don't know if it still works with the new woodpeckers, but with the old woodpeckers we used to make a recording of the pulses and transmit back. The reaction was often that they seem to receive an echo and moved to an other frequency to verify. Problem solved   

So if re-transmitting the signal really worked maybe someone can come up with a "roger-beep" circuit that could send out a short dose of their own medicine. Just a thought ....

You need to record, the signal should be in phase with a (slow) variable phase shift to mimic a return of a moving object. The speed instability of  low cost tape recorder seem to work to mimic a return of a moving thing

[PA0NVD]

That's nice stuff Shane!!! A pity that you are living quite far, love to see it and have a talk with you joining a few cold beers!
I had that same water cooled 30K, When I left Spain I gave it to the University of Malaga. Still have some nice big glass bottles (if they survived the trip in the container and the CR customs didn't rob them.)
I will not build big stuff here in Costa Rica no more, it is impossible to purchase materials and very difficult to have some metal work done. So just enjoy life and restore / use old stuff with the materials I have (which is quite a lot) And at 72 it is about time to relax a little

[WB2EMS]

So if re-transmitting the signal really worked maybe someone can come up with a "roger-beep" circuit that could send out a short dose of their own medicine. Just a thought ....

I remember when the original was on the air people would adjust their keyers to be at the same repetition rate and dit back at them. Sometimes 3 or 4 ops would do that and 'herd' the woodpecker right out of the amateur allotment. I suspect the newer stuff is more sophisticated, but then now we have handy digital recording. Perhaps recording 30 seconds of the signal and the echoing it back at them would be confusing enough to get them to move. Or maybe to go to DEFCON 0 and launch! 

[KB2WIG]

K,

check this out,

http://www.qsl.net/n1irz/woodpeck.html

klc