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Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only. |
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20th Sep 2020, 1:46 pm | #1 |
Octode
Join Date: Oct 2019
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Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Hello, just decided to fire up my regentone today, in the garden with a small 3m wire aerial.
Happened to pick up this on SW (I think) around 15m Turn the volume up https://youtu.be/rNBu0q7ka7Y Is this Morse code, or are we going to face an "independence day" type 👽 invasion? Gabriel |
20th Sep 2020, 1:59 pm | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2011
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
There's a Ham band close to 15 Metres.
Lawrence. |
20th Sep 2020, 2:16 pm | #3 |
Nonode
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Sounds like a contest on 20 metres. Several Morse stations at once.
Cheers Aub
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20th Sep 2020, 2:18 pm | #4 |
Nonode
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Should have said 21 MHz.
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20th Sep 2020, 3:11 pm | #5 |
Octode
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
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20th Sep 2020, 3:50 pm | #6 |
Dekatron
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
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20th Sep 2020, 3:54 pm | #7 |
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Why would aliens use morse code?
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20th Sep 2020, 3:59 pm | #8 |
Heptode
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Hi
The radio is showing it tuned roughly to 14MHz (20 metre ham band). There are several morse code contests in progress today. Kind regards Dave. |
20th Sep 2020, 4:12 pm | #9 |
Octode
Join Date: Oct 2019
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
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20th Sep 2020, 4:25 pm | #10 |
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Whatever the pun is I don't get it.
Morse code aka Carrier Wave (CW) is far from dead on the amateur bands. It enables long distance contacts using simple equipment. The filter between your ears enables you to pick up the wanted signal when it's mixed in with unwanted ones.
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20th Sep 2020, 4:32 pm | #11 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: North Somerset, UK.
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
I doubt that they would.
It is however a reasonable assumptions that aliens would develop a somewhat similar code that uses simple pulses rather than anything more sophisticated. Useful in marginal or unknown conditions, or when only basic equipment is available. Humans have developed all sorts of more sophisticated communications, but there is still a field for morse. It is most unlikely that any code used by aliens could be understood by humans, at least initially, though we would probably recognize it as being a product of intelligence. |
20th Sep 2020, 6:32 pm | #12 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Reading/Fakenham, UK.
Posts: 1,323
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Sounds like a mix of Morse and RTTY beating with each other without a BFO.
(No aliens required.) |
20th Sep 2020, 6:51 pm | #13 |
Moderator
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Independence Day had lots of ludicrously implausible postulates, the most bizarre one being that the huge alien mothership had USB sockets everywhere, handy for hacking by Jeff Goldblum.
Back on topic now please. |
20th Sep 2020, 11:38 pm | #14 |
Dekatron
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
There are at least four Morse signals in there to my ears. It's the nature of 20m propagation that it's unlikely any of the signals will be local or even from the UK
I've boosted the amplitude, applied a lot of noise reduction and slowed it down to about half speed. The strongest one resolving at about 700Hz says something like CQ TEST SSN BES The dots are very staccato at the beginning, and I'm assuming CQ is being sent (general call) TEST in this context is short for "contest". You would expect the stations callsign (which would indicate the country) to be next, but SSN BES (which is very clear) makes no sense to me. It's a pity the clip is so short really. The signals must have been heterodyning against something acting as a BFO, there are several possibilities.
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20th Sep 2020, 11:51 pm | #15 |
Dekatron
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
If you want to complain about Morse misused in films try rewatching 'Enemy Of The State' (Will Smith, Gene Hackman), as I did recently. Every time one of the 'government' surveillance satellites is shown sweeping across the sky, allegedly repositioning, the shot is accompanied by rapid Morse...
'CQ CQ CQ....' |
20th Sep 2020, 11:55 pm | #16 | |
Dekatron
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Quote:
Everyone knows it should be HI HI HI HI
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21st Sep 2020, 6:55 am | #17 |
Octode
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
20m, Scandinavian Activity Contest, nothing special happens every weekend. But because the signals are not properly tuned in, in a wide bandwidth and beating with each other, it is impossible to copy. And the volume on the Youtube recording was VERY low.
https://www.sactest.net/blog/ Dave G3YMC |
21st Sep 2020, 8:29 am | #18 |
Octode
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
Thanks Dave and Graham, very informative. The signal was very faint, hence the low quality recording. I don't have a proper aerial just a 3m length of speaker wire.
I suppose I got a bit overexcited by the fact that I actually got something on shortwave, that waveband had about 3 loud and clear stations yesterday in addition to the Scandinavian morse contest. Granted, this was the first time I ran an aerial outdoors, away from WiFi and other interference from the house. The other bands were pretty good too. I generally use my sets through the pickup or gram input, but what I experienced yesterday was a healthy respect for 1940s engineering. Gabriel Last edited by Gabe001; 21st Sep 2020 at 8:45 am. |
21st Sep 2020, 8:34 am | #19 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Surbiton, SW London, UK.
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
I have received emissions from Jupiter around 15MHz. No CW, but the sound of waves on
the beach. I was not able to derive any identification or entertainment value though. |
21st Sep 2020, 12:57 pm | #20 |
Dekatron
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Re: Morse code on SW, or alien invasion?
I can remember listening to short wave on the Family's Ekco A28 as a youngster. Plenty of activity then, although my Morse is limited to SOS, which I never heard of course. One signal that always puzzled me sounded like a buzzer down a very long corridor, usually with a bit of fading, presumably some sort of machine generated signal?
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