Matt Blaze
Radio nerditry: looks like another good weekend (at least in the mid-Atlantic region) kicking off for the shortwave pirates. Radio Mix International with a booming signal here on 6950 kHz USB.
11:33pmWeb
Show threadMatt Blaze10h ago

The shortwave pirates are an odd and enduring phenomenon that predates social media and the Internet. They operate intermittent, illegal broadcast stations with potentially wide reach (regional to global), but on frequency bands that most people aren’t equipped to receive. The authorities (in the US, lately) largely ignore them.

The urge to scream into the void is a strong one.

Show threadMatt Blaze9h ago
Most of the shortwave pirates on the air these days focus on fairly pedestrian, conventional music programming, but every now and then you find something truly weird and original. That’s what I look for.
Show threadClark Breyman (he/him)9h ago
@mattblaze - I have a very fond memory of finding Over the Edge (live improv by Negativland) on KPFA’s Central Valley repeater in 1992 at 3am when my ‘72 Valliant gave up the ghost 30 mi North of Coalinga. Something to keep me entertained until assistance came.
Show threadFreddyB Aviation Photography7h ago

@mattblaze Oh god yes. I still play around with the Zenith Trans Oceanic that my dad bout in the early 70's. We lived in the then Yugoslavia from 1976 and 1980 and listened to the BBC, Voice of America and what I know understand to have been a number station.

There also was this one station that I cannot remember the freq. but it basically had a pulse tone then would break into this monotone "at the tone coordinated universal time is....." BEEEP!!!! then the regular pulsed tone would continue

Show threadMatt Blaze7h ago
@cvvhrn that would be either NIST’s (formerly NBS’s) WWV on 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz, or Industry Canada’s CHU, on 3.330 and 7.850 MHz.
Show threadMatt Blaze7h ago
@cvvhrn I also have a Transoceanic Royal 7000. Beast of a “portable radio” at > 15lbs without batteries! Fun fact: it was the prop radio on which Jennings received their numbers broadcasts from Moscow Center in season one of The Americans.
Show threadBill Woodcock6h ago
@mattblaze @cvvhrn

You know about the Cipherling? Mine just showed up last week.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/motherultimate/make-100-cipherling-a-numbers-station-robot
Show threadMatt Blaze6h ago
@woody @cvvhrn oh neat!
Show threadFreddyB Aviation Photography6h ago
@woody @mattblaze Huh I have to admit I know nothing about it lol
Show threaddatarat7h ago
@mattblaze Thanks for the nerditry! It helped inspire me to get a ham license this week (skipped into general)! Next step, equipment.
Show threadMatt Blaze7h ago
@felcryn excellent!
Show threadEmelia/Emi9h ago

@mattblaze I mean, enforcement costs money, and if they aren't really bothering anyone or interfering with licensed interests... (Or doing other illegal things on top of it)

And unlike say camping in a national park, where you leave a mark regardless of how careful you are, with radio, once the transmitter's off, it's like it was never there. (Assuming they're not running enough power to fry any of the local bird population that gets too close, of course)

EDIT: and shortly, I'll have the equipment to listen to them myself. I have a shortwave receiver kit coming in the mail that I can tinker with.

Show threadMatt Blaze9h ago
@becomethewaifu yes, it’s pretty harmless (and I wasn’t suggesting that there should be more enforcement). Maybe too harmless.
Show threadEmelia/Emi9h ago
@mattblaze Oh yeah, wasn't reading that you were suggesting enforcement. Was more just "my guess as to why it currently is what it is."
Show threadmarkc5688h ago
@becomethewaifu @mattblaze I know nothing about shortwave, but it sounds interesting. Can I ask what kit you’re building?
Show threadEmelia/Emi8h ago
@markc568 @mattblaze It's just a random receiver I found on aliexpress for cheap. I mostly got it just to play around with RF fundamentals, as the next-simplest tuner that I currently have is a combo VHF/UHF TV tuner in an old portable TV... (That I promptly disabled and bypassed with a composite jack, as it's just a waste of power budget these days. I did add a jumper header to re-enable it should I discover a need for analog TV reception in those bands though)
Show threadmarkc5688h ago

@becomethewaifu @mattblaze Nice! I built a HiFi vacuum tube amplifier from Ali that turned out pretty decent. I didn’t use the cheapie included electrolytic caps though.

I’ve successfully rebuilt a few pieces of HiFi gear, but I’ve not ever done anything with RF gear.

Show threadChris Goss8h ago

@mattblaze
Preparing alternative infrastructure for when the regime shuts off the internet 'for your protection'.

#othernetworks

Show threadRalph Brandi10h ago
@mattblaze Very loud here in NJ, even though I took down my best antenna yesterday and only have a semi-broken loop available.
Show threadScott Gamble10h ago