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Strange Story of DC's Lost AM Radio Station Still Transmitting Road Closures From 2013

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by W0PV, Mar 6, 2021.

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  1. N4CVX

    N4CVX Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    This "Mystery Transmitter" is very close to a survey done in 1978 of the Pentagon Rooftop. At the time I was specializing in Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM). Anyway, our detachment commander was asked by the Secretary of Defense to "Survey the roof and find out what's up there". So, about 10 of us Technicians went to the roof -- not easy to do as there was only one entry, a metal stair from the 5th Floor "A" Ring hidden behind a steel security door. Turns out the door hadn't been opened in several years and we had to drill out the combination lock. Once up there we swept the whole area a suite of receivers, Racal, Microtel, Stoddard VLF, and CEI, which received from about 100kHz to 2.5 gHz. Every antenna was tagged and plotted in place. Many of them didn't have coax to them and had been abandoned in place years before; those we simply removed and piled up. The Sec Def office sent out a letter to all offices in the building telling them that if they had antennas on the roof they were required to "Claim Them" and after 45 days of no response the mystery antennas would be removed. A lot of the signals which we received were data bursts, a few had CW ID's with a "WAR-nnnn" callsign ("WAR-nnnn" is the official ID for Washington Area Radio) and a lot of point to point UHF voice links. No problem. After that 45-day period expired we went back up with bolt cutters. The one and only complaint received was from a tiny office in the Navy area that "Our TV isn't working anymore". We removed about 75 "mystery" antennas -- and lo and behold -- a number of the previously recorded and plotted "data bursts" disappeared. We were sure that they were probably clandestine listening devices sending back to the Embassy of the USSR, which was (of course) Line of Sight and 6.35 miles from the Pentagon. Wish I could have taken one of the huge Log Periodics on 75-foot towers back home HI HI. (BTW, there were only two of us on the team who knew Morse, me as a Ham and another Warrant Officer who was a former Morse Intercept Technician).
     
    KL7KN, W1TRY, K6JGA and 12 others like this.
  2. AK4JA

    AK4JA Ham Member QRZ Page

    Who bothers with radio anymore? Got a cell phone? (also known as a radio transceiver on cellular frequencies) Use wireless internet? Yep, them, too. Satellite internet? Yep, them as well.

    I kinda' like what radio has to offer in all its varied forms.
     
    M1WML likes this.
  3. WB1GCM

    WB1GCM Ham Member QRZ Page


    CFZM, Zoomer Radio, AM 740?
    WSM, Home of the Grand Old Opry?
    Useful News stations; WCBS, WINS, NY, NY?
    Some great locals with original music? Maybe not in your area, but New England has some great 1 KW Mom & Pop radio stations. I know "kids" in their 30's who enjoy listening to broadcast radio. It's not as grim as you think. When the chips are down, radio is there for you, too.

    We had a two year old loop running in Manchester, CT until someone made a phone call. We always presume someone else will call....
     
    N7EKU, KK4KRK, KR3DX and 3 others like this.
  4. KW0U

    KW0U Ham Member QRZ Page

    And on the same topic I passed this in Havana, the Soviet Embassy, which towers over much of the city: [​IMG]

    And also there was the ultimate insanity, during the Cold War hiring a Soviet company to build the American Embassy in Moscow. Surprise, surprise, the diplomats discovered they would be living in a giant microphone: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...-fiasco/5bb6dcbf-0a61-4948-a953-e2d81085ed05/
     
    2E0CIT, KK4KRK and M1WML like this.
  5. N5AQM

    N5AQM Ham Member QRZ Page

    My takeway?! NOBODY was listening....
     
    M1WML likes this.
  6. KO6KL

    KO6KL XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    someone should contact the landlord about the large fine for owning space used for unauthorized broadcasting.... funny how the tiger team didn't find this one....
     
    M1WML likes this.
  7. KB5SXC

    KB5SXC Ham Member QRZ Page

    I like Ike!
     
    M1WML likes this.
  8. AJ5F

    AJ5F Ham Member QRZ Page

    I was a traffic reporter on broadcast radio for 21 years, and sometimes I was accused of having information a little out of date -- BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!
     
    M1WML, KI4ZUQ and KC1OCA like this.
  9. K7RA

    K7RA XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    After years of not tuning in to a local 2 meter repeater that I was involved with decades ago, I discovered it is now very active and used by many enthusiastic new hams. They also have extensively upgraded the system with many remote receivers, dramatically extending the coverage. They are now in the process of adding a 6 meter repeater to the system.

    The club is friendly and welcoming to newcomers, and has multiple nets.

    I love the changes.

    https://web.psrg.org/
     
    M1WML, W4NNF, KE8QEP and 1 other person like this.
  10. KI7WL

    KI7WL Ham Member QRZ Page

    These little transmitters are everywhere on the high end of the AM band. Our city has one on 1700 and as far as I can tell its on a loop with information. I have no idea if anyone ever listens to it...
     
    M1WML likes this.
  11. G4IYK

    G4IYK XML Subscriber QRZ Page

     
    M1WML likes this.
  12. W0PV

    W0PV Ham Member QRZ Page

    Apparently, some make a serious project of listening for and documenting these type of low power public service and other broadcasters, as this fellow has done with TIS in Florida and others across the spectrum. Quite an extensive list and web site.

    [​IMG]
     
    M1WML likes this.
  13. N1BCG

    N1BCG Ham Member QRZ Page

    Many TIS stations default to rebroadcasting NOAA Weather info which is interrupted when new traffic information is posted, but because the system is automated, the results can be less than ideal.

    "The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for th.......... Attention motorists. Long delays can be expected due to excessive traffic outbound from the Metroplex. This message will be updated as needed....... esidents in these areas are urged to seek shelter immediately".
     
    G1EKW, M1WML and K8XG like this.
  14. N4CVX

    N4CVX Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    If you have a good antenna -- perhaps directional -- you can receive all kinds of signals just below and above the AM Broadcast band. Large cities sometimes have a "pirate" radio station with alternative talk and music. Nashville has several very low power college stations which are interesting, I listen to the Fisk University station all the time as they play a lot of Blues music. Also, if you have a REALLY good antenna, you can pick up Radio Anguilla at 1520. The FCC has a great search engine which can do a drill-down search. I searched 1700kHz stations all states and found a bunch of them https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/am-query

    73's
    Dave
     
    N7EKU, M1WML and K0UO like this.
  15. KD7YVV

    KD7YVV Ham Member QRZ Page

    W4ZGC: I don't know about that, here in Washington because of the mountain passes and adverse
    weather conditions that can happen during the Winter, TIS is still actively used here.
    As for AM, I'm originally from New Jersey and I remember the legendary WABC MusicRadio 77
    as a kid growing up. It went to a talk format in 1982. People could hear this powerhouse
    station as far south as Florida on a good night. (Daaaaaaaaan Ingram!)
    Every Memorial Day, the station does a "Music Rewind" playing music and original
    commercials from back in the day.
    Another station is WCBS-FM 101 (The Golden 101).
    I mention this because of a hard lesson learned by management.
    They replaced their orginal in-house DJ's with that canned "Jack FM we play what we want" garbage.
    Not only did the listenership plummet, there were complaints to the station itself, so much
    so, they returned to their original format with their original DJS.
    Lesson learned, don't mess with something that's working well.
    The tri-state area is a unique market. Want news? 1010 WINS, you give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world.
    WOR had Rambling with Gambling, WNBC had Don Imus and Howard Stern.
    I digress however. I'm in Bellevue, WA at the moment and can pick up a TIS station from the city
    of Snoqualmie. They do have their uses and I guess it depends on what part of the country you're in.
    Aside from the ham radio hobby, I like to broadcast band DX the AM band at night just to hear far
    away stations I normally wouldn't hear in the daytime. Even the TIS ones can be heard a good distance away.
    There are still some AM stations that play music such as KIXI 880. Though not a powerful station, I do tune
    in for the oldies and that unique "AM sound" you just can't get on FM. That and the old time radio serials
    at 8:00. There's still a lot of good things on AM. That AM sound I mentioned? KOMO 1000 has a simulcast of
    their 1000khz AM signal on 97.7 FM. Many AM stations are simulcasting on FM, but while FM can provide
    greater fidelity, the AM sound is unique whether it's a TIS station, talk format or oldies.
    AM is still enjoyed by many. With the pandemic going on, people are rediscovering AM radio.
    I've reintroduced several residents of a senior community near me to KIXI and the expression on their
    faces when they hear radio shows they heard as a kid or from when they were much younger is priceless.
     
    KA7BVS, VU3DRU, KR3DX and 2 others like this.

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