Great idea! In the Enigma challenge, special certificates are awarded for using an actual Enigma machine or a modern replica. No 'extra points', but maybe a special certificate awarded for use of a real (or replica) spy radio in the Numbers challenge. Thanks, Kevin K6TOP
You Need Your Ovaltine Decoder Ring. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_decoder_ring 1940s Ovaltine “Orphan Annie” Ring … now sells for ~$30.00.
From your lips to the folks at KPH. Copy via even a portable rx, like say an ATS-909, would be far easier than with one of these crusty boat anchors. Even a more modern paraset might be quite the challenge. A regen rx is a lot to handle for hams with limited experience. I note that the QRP Guys 'paraset' offering is no more. And yes, there is an IO.Group for that - ParasetBuilders@groups.io | Messages *** GRC-109 is a RS-1 dressed up a bit by the Big Army. (AN/GRC-109 Special Forces radio set (ohio.edu))\) This makes an interesting point on how the manufacture seemed to copy parts of the old Transoceanic rx. Another popular pick might be the RS-6, much smaller. (qsl.net/k5bcq/RS6/rs6.html) I've sold mine, they were a neat-o rig but quite fiddly, compared to the brick outhouse -109. Both offer a power supply that will run off nearly anything AC (76-250 VAC/40-400 Hz). Something I've always thought to be quite useful.
This was my first MHRS Crpto event. Next time will go a lot faster! For @DL2NEA here is a recording of the message via Morse code on the KPH 22 MHz frequency into west cetral Florida on an IC-7300 and low GP vertical antenna. I dared not share this before the 72 hour confidentiality window had expired! Notice I did some tuning around and adjusting for best copy. The KPH "VVV Wheel" is first heard followed by the CQ message. Message starts @03:30 into the clip. Notice the QRS and hand keying. In particular note the less than perfectly stable band conditions.There were some deep fades, QSB, that made copy challenging. After copying the Morse broadcast, I retuned to the 12 MHz frequency to attempt copy via RTTY. The signal was weaker there and similar instability, causing some nasty drop outs and loss of print integrity. Several of the number groups beyond the midpoint were garbled. This required me to use BOTH the RTTY print and the CW Morse copied combined to fully decode, interpret and determine the entire & correct numbers message body. That was a challenge that became an interactive & iterative process with actual decryption using the the Code Book, Conversion Chart and One Time Pad from the Mission Critical page. Question for Kevin @K6TOP - Can you reveal who was first to submit a 100% correct decrypted message? How quickly did it come in ?? Lots of fun! After a demo even my non-ham YL Marion, who loves puzzles, wants to do the decryption next time 73, John, WØPV
My grandsons are 8 and 9. They came over specifically to listen to KPH and to decode the numbers station transmission . Morse code, spys, and secret codes, all good stuff to a 9 year old boy. They did most of the work. I copied the Morse, of course, but they separately did the actual decoding. I explained how, coached, and corrected but they quickly grasped the concept of each task in the process. This was not beyond their abilities. About an hour before the start we set up the stations. I connected to a web-sdr in Pennsylvania from the PC in my office and connected to a Kiwi sdr in Arizona from the Chromebook on the kitchen table. By the time we were done, they could recognize V V V and sometimes KPH in Morse. I didn't expect that. Both WebSDR and Kiwi have recording functions built-in. About 5 minutes before the transmission was to begin, I turned on recording at both stations My thought was with two different SDRs at two different locations on two different frequencies if I got fading or noise on one then hopefully it would get recorded by the other. This turned out to be useful for a different reason. I decoded the Morse and wrote it out on a piece of notebook paper. I listened to the slow-speed and corrected my copy with the medium speed. I did have to listen to the recording to correct my copy in a couple of places. Apparently 1/3 of a message is about the length of time two boys can go without asking questions. The part I most thought would be a problem came next. They had to write down all the numbers I had copied. Then they had to write the numbers underneath from the one time pad. Then they had to add up those numbers modulo 10. They grasped modulo 10 with no problem. They took a break about 1/2 way through to watch a YouTube video on David's phone. That gave me time to make a sandwich; refill my coffee cup; and make fun of them ("the fate of the free world is hanging by a thread and you two are watching YouTube...). All kidding aside, I think the break was important for a pair of boys their age. Then we got to the good stuff, actual decoding." Current op compromised". Perfect opening. They were hooked. It didn't take them long to figure out how decoding worked. I had to help a bit. If a 2 or 3 digit code crossed the boundary between words (5th digit of a word and 1st digit of the next word), that would trip them up. All I had to do was point it out and they'd get it. I'd encourage anyone to grab a kid to help out. Even in this age of video games they were very interested. Don't expect rapt attention. A 9 year old has about a 9 minute attention span. Just expect that every 10 minutes or so the conversation is going to go away from decoding. Sometimes far away. Just let it happen and reel it back in after a few minutes. You don't have to be in the shack, you can do this from the kitchen table. The KPH SDRs were full an hour before the transmission but there are plenty of SDRs available on the web. Just make sure you pick one that can receive some of the KPH frequencies. The next day I called their Moms. In both cases, when the boys got home they had to tell all about decoding the message and what it said. It was a hit. Now Thomas wants the three of us to all get radios so we can talk using Morse code whenever we want. I gave David a copy of the old Masonic code. He and a buddy are writing encrypted notes to each other. I'm expecting a call from his Mom when he gets in trouble for passing encoded notes in class. I'll be so proud. Mission accomplished.
KPH Numbers Station - wrap up According to the reports received, the MRHS Numbers Station event was an great success. MRHS received 161 entries and sent out 156 "Certificates of Cryptographic Excellence". Entries came in from the US, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Finland, Netherlands, England, Czech Republic and Poland. About 1/3 of the participants had participated in previous KPH crypto challenges. Decoding the Numbers Message involved doing 130 modulo-10 additions (one for each digit in the message), converting the resulting digits back to letters using the supplied conversion chart and the use of a codebook to look up useful words and phrases. The first (manual) decode was received only 10 minutes after the broadcast finished, with the rest coming in within the 72-hour time limit! Here's the Numbers transmission as sent, using CW and RTTY, on 7 HF frequencies plus 425 kc: CQ CQ CQ DE KPH KPH KPH CQ CQ CQ DE KPH KPH KPH NUMBERS MESSAGE FOLLOWS = 447 447 447 = 14408 22398 89277 37674 58289 07722 15378 84975 30552 61128 69986 02108 68467 10079 92331 32982 54092 37446 22905 15340 17129 81152 39418 67073 25414 81456 43361 = Using the one-time-pad and Mission Critical information found at https://www.radiomarine.org/mrhs-events, the above message decoded as follows: TO AGENT 447 CURRENT OP COMPROMISED. ABORT. TRAVEL IMMEDIATELY TO ISTANBUL VIA SWISS PASSPORT. CONTACT AGENT MAX. DANGER, INSIST ON MOSCOW RULES. BURN AFTER READING. (Note: The "Moscow Rules" were a set of trade-craft procedures used by Western spies stationed in the Soviet capitol, where counterspies, policemen, militia, and other threats are concentrated, making for an extremely hostile environment in which to operate. The Moscow Rules were also applied to other cities that were a dangerous locale for clandestine operatives. If a contact asks for a meeting and declares “Moscow Rules,” it means he thinks he or you are being watched and to take extra precautions) A sampling of the many positive comments we received: "Now they want the three of us to all get radios so we can talk using Morse code whenever we want. Mission accomplished!" - from an OM who participated with his young grandsons. "This was a kick. Thank you for doing this." "I appreciate the event and am delighted to have participated. Your +10dB signal in Brazil is impressive." "Please do this again . . . had a blast!" "I very much enjoyed this crypto challenge, and hope to see more like it in the future, especially the Enigma event from previous years." "I am very happy to contact you from Japan. I really enjoyed the event" "Many thanks From Czech Republic for this great cryptographic challenge!" "I hope Agent Max is okay " "Thank you so much for holding this exercise, it was fun for several youngsters ages 8-10 to decode, they felt 'like spies' and learned some history too!" VY 73, Kevin K6TOP MRHS
