Radio hams do battle with 'Russian Woodpecker' (1982)

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

by dmazin • 11 years ago

77 19 11 years ago

qsl.net

UVB-76• 11 years ago

rdtsc• 11 years ago

Nice username ;-) You'd have to change it to MDZhB though?

Also here are some recent 2015 transmissions:

http://priyom.org/military-stations/russia/the-buzzer/2015

jleader• 11 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duga-3 appears to be the radar system in question, with a photo of an antenna.

wgx• 11 years ago

Indeed. Duga-3 (over the horizon) long-range missile defence array was the source of the 'woodpecker' signal.

fapjacks2• 11 years ago

If this kind of thing interests you, drop by #priyom on Freenode! We've got current schedules of active number stations and loads of info about weird transmissions.

grendelt• 11 years ago

Also, check out WebSDR.org to listen to HF receivers around the globe. (My Raspberry Pi-based receiver here in Texas should be back online Sunday night.)

fapjacks2• 11 years ago

Yes, indeed! We actually use links to various of these (mostly the receiver located at UTwente in .nl) when a number station schedule activates. Our channel bot spits a link into the channel where you can listen via this very cool in-browser receiver to live number stations as they are transmitted.

femto• 11 years ago

In theory, it should have been possible for the Hams to modulate the their transmissions, to write an expletive on the tracking screen of the Russian radar. In practise, it probably would have been too big a challenge with 1980's home based technology, as an HF transmitter that could accurately generate arbitrary waveforms was bleeding edge tech. Nice to dream about though.

I used to work in the Jindalee OTHR facility back in the woodpecker days. I've memories of sitting in the control room, and being given a tour of the airwaves by one of the senior techs, who was also a ham. The tour included listening on on the various HF radars that we could find, including the woodpecker, discussing each system as we went. By the nature of the project, a lot of the technical people had an interest in ham radio, so they looked out for the ham bands. The tech who gave me the tour used to occasionally have a bit of fun by plugging his ham rig into the main transmitter (lots of power, with beamforming).

The other cool bit of technology was the "frequency management system", which was a mini HF radar, used to map the ionosphere in real time. It was fascinating to watch the dynamics of the various ionospheric layers on the screens.

late2part• 11 years ago

Officially, the Soviets don't even admit the signal is theirs.

Just like that superbowl ring.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/22429359/patrio...

13hours• 11 years ago

"It would be in the interest of US-Soviet relations" - in 2005?!

sanoli• 11 years ago

Why not? Better not start some stuff with Russia just because of some ring. I mean, it's Putin, I can see him throwing some childish fit over a ring he wanted to have. It's just too bad for russians.

edit: forgot to say it's the first time I heard of the story, and it is pretty 'wtf' to me.

mkesper• 11 years ago

Let's hope those times packed with hostility won't return ever.

jmnicolas2• 11 years ago

They're already back, don't you read the news ?

bencollier49• 11 years ago

GP may have been exercising <sarcasm>.

bmease• 11 years ago

It really does sound like a woodpecker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOMVdOc9UbE

digi_owl• 11 years ago

That sounds oddly familiar, but i was just a kid when this thing was decommissioned.

PaulHoule• 11 years ago

Pretty funny, but if you are a ham (i am) you're not supposed to deliberately interfere with other transmissions, period.

   -- KC2ZZQ

Radio hams do battle with 'Russian Woodpecker' (1982)

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