{"id":45500,"date":"2020-09-26T07:07:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-26T11:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=45500"},"modified":"2020-09-26T07:10:09","modified_gmt":"2020-09-26T11:10:09","slug":"radio-waves-a-cryptologic-mystery-rsgb-opens-doors-to-full-online-license-exams-secret-war-and-september-issue-of-radcom-basics-availabe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/radio-waves-a-cryptologic-mystery-rsgb-opens-doors-to-full-online-license-exams-secret-war-and-september-issue-of-radcom-basics-availabe\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Waves: A Cryptologic Mystery, RSGB Opens Doors to Full Online License Exams, Secret War, and September Issue of RadCom Basics Availabe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio<\/h2>\n

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em>\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s<\/em> Radio Waves<\/em>, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0<\/strong>Enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em> contributors Ron, John (K5MO) and the Southgate ARC for the following tips:<\/p>\n

\n

A Cryptologic Mystery (Matt Blaze)<\/a><\/h3>\n

Did a broken random number generator in Cuba help expose a Russian espionage network?
\nI picked up the new book Compromised last week and was intrigued to discover that it may have shed some light on a small (and rather esoteric) cryptologic and espionage mystery that I’ve been puzzling over for about 15 years. Compromised is primarily a memoir of former FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok’s investigation into Russian operations in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election, but this post is not a review of the book or concerned with that aspect of it.<\/p>\n

Early in the book, as an almost throwaway bit of background color, Strzok discusses his work in Boston investigating the famous Russian “illegals” espionage network from 2000 until their arrest (and subsequent exchange with Russia) in 2010. “Illegals” are foreign agents operating abroad under false identities and without official or diplomatic cover. In this case, ten Russian illegals were living and working in the US under false Canadian and American identities. (The case inspired the recent TV series The Americans.)<\/p>\n

Strzok was the case agent responsible for two of the suspects, Andrey Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova (posing as a Canadian couple under the aliases Donald Heathfield and Tracey Lee Ann Foley). The author recounts watching from the street on Thursday evenings as Vavilova received encrypted shortwave “numbers” transmissions in their Cambridge, MA apartment.<\/p>\n

Given that Bezrukov and Vaviloa were indeed, as the FBI suspected, Russian spies, it’s not surprising that they were sent messages from headquarters using this method; numbers stations are part of time-honored espionage tradecraft for communicating with covert agents. But their capture may have illustrated how subtle errors can cause these systems to fail badly in practice, even when the cryptography itself is sound.[…<\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Online Full ham radio exams now available (Southgate ARC)<\/a><\/h3>\n

From today, Thursday, Sept 24, the RSGB are allowing\u00a0Full<\/strong>\u00a0amateur radio online exams to be booked. All 3 levels of exam required to get a HAREC certificate can now be done completely online<\/p>\n

Potentially this could mean amateurs in other countries could take the RSGB online exams, get their HAREC certificate and then apply for an amateur licence in their own country. This would be beneficial in those countries where provision of local exams is virtually non-existent.<\/p>\n

Currently there is a 4-5 week backlog for amateur radio exams, the next available exam slots that can be booked are at the end of October.<\/p>\n

You can book online UK amateur radio exams at
\nhttp:\/\/www.rsgb.org\/exampay<\/a><\/p>\n

Details of onlne amateur radio training courses are at
\nhttps:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/clubs-training\/for-students\/online-training-resources-for-students\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Secret War (BBC)<\/a><\/h3>\n

The wartime BBC was involved in a range of top secret activities, working closely with the intelligence agencies and military.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Professor David Hendy<\/p>\n

As well as making programmes for the public, the wartime BBC was involved in a range of top secret activity, working with closely with the intelligence agencies and military. Here, newly-released archives lift the veil on the broadcaster\u2019s role in this clandestine world of signals, codes, and special operations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s always been known that just before the war began in September 1939, the BBC\u2019s fledgling television service was unceremoniously shut down for the entire period of the conflict.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s less well-known is that, far from being mothballed, the television facilities of Alexandra Palace were carefully kept ticking-over by a small team of engineers \u2013 and that the transmitter which had supposedly been silenced for reasons of national security was soon sending out its signals again.<\/p>\n

From May 1940, Alexandra Palace\u2019s \u2018vision\u2019 transmitter was being tested for its ability to jam any messages passing between tanks in an invading German force. The following year, its sound transmitter was being deployed for something called \u2018bending the beam\u2019. One of the BBC\u2019s engineers who remained on site was Tony Bridgewater:[…<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

September RadCom Basics available (Southgate ARC)<\/a><\/h3>\n

Issue 18 September 2020 of the RSGB newcomers publication\u00a0RadCom Basics<\/strong>\u00a0is now available online for members<\/p>\n

RadCom Basics is a bi-monthly digital publication for RSGB Members that explores key aspects of amateur radio in a straightforward and accessible way.<\/p>\n

In this issue:
\n\u2022 Magnetic loop antennas
\n\u2022 Metal bashing
\n\u2022 Station maintenance<\/p>\n

Read the latest issue at
\nhttps:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/publications-archives\/radcom-basics\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Do you enjoy the SWLing Post?<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Please consider supporting us via\u00a0Patreon<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or our\u00a0Coffee<\/span>\u00a0Fund<\/span><\/a>! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3,288,43],"tags":[104,5255,4102,8837,8836,4088,8387,8698,8259,6923,580,676],"class_list":["post-45500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-radio-history","category-shortwave-radio","tag-bbc","tag-bbc-monitoring","tag-ham-radio","tag-john-k5mo","tag-matt-blaze","tag-numbers-stations","tag-radcom","tag-radcom-basics","tag-radio-waves","tag-rsgb","tag-southgate-arc","tag-wwii"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-bPS","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52625,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/radio-waves-amarc-africa-discussing-hd-radio-australia-learning-by-doing-and-radcom-seeking-new-editor\/","url_meta":{"origin":45500,"position":0},"title":"Radio Waves: AMARC Africa, Discussing HD Radio Australia, Learning by Doing, and RadCom Seeking New Editor","author":"Thomas","date":"April 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0Enjoy! Study recommends revival of AMARC Africa (Red Tech) HARARE, Zimbabwe \u2014 The unavailability of critical information about community radio in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Radio-Exterior-IC-705-Waterfall-Display.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Radio-Exterior-IC-705-Waterfall-Display.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Radio-Exterior-IC-705-Waterfall-Display.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Radio-Exterior-IC-705-Waterfall-Display.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Radio-Exterior-IC-705-Waterfall-Display.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Radio-Exterior-IC-705-Waterfall-Display.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44518,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/free-rsgb-radcom-basics-july-2020-issue\/","url_meta":{"origin":45500,"position":1},"title":"Free RSGB RadCom Basics July 2020 issue","author":"Thomas","date":"July 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Paul Evans, who notes that the Radio Society of Great Britain has made the July 2020 issue of the bi-monthly RadCom Basics free to download. Click here to check out the July 2020 edition on the RSGB website.","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/RadCom-Basics-Cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/RadCom-Basics-Cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/RadCom-Basics-Cover.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45308,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/radio-waves-bbc-radio-reporters-axed-ham-radio-on-bbc-surrey-k6uda-on-ic-705-features-and-vlf-balloon-launched-with-request-for-detailed-reception-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":45500,"position":2},"title":"Radio Waves: BBC radio reporters axed, Ham Radio on BBC Surrey, K6UDA on IC-705 features, and VLF balloon launched with request for detailed reception report","author":"Thomas","date":"September 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/antenna-VFL-balloon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36840,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/rsgb-archive-silent-film-of-d-f-field-day-in-1947\/","url_meta":{"origin":45500,"position":3},"title":"RSGB Archive: Silent Film of D\/F Field Day in 1947","author":"Thomas","date":"April 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to the Southgate ARC who notes this recently published 1947 silent film from the Radio Society of Great Britain: The RSGB has released a vintage silent black and white video of an Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) field day held in 1947 at Chipping Barnet which was then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screen-Shot-2019-04-07-at-7.23.10-AM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screen-Shot-2019-04-07-at-7.23.10-AM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screen-Shot-2019-04-07-at-7.23.10-AM.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42474,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/alt-512-qrp-transceiver-review-in-radcom\/","url_meta":{"origin":45500,"position":4},"title":"ALT-512 QRP transceiver review in RadCom","author":"Thomas","date":"March 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're a member of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) you may have seen my review of the ALT-512 QRP transceiver in the March 2020 issue of Radcom. This was my first review for Radcom after having been invited to submit a review at the 2018 Hamvention. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_6983.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_6983.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_6983.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_6983.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45453,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/radio-waves-a-calm-solar-cycle-25-wwj-history-czech-radios-digital-only-future-and-uk-ham-radio-exam-stats\/","url_meta":{"origin":45500,"position":5},"title":"Radio Waves: A “Calm” Solar Cycle 25, WWJ History, Czech Radio’s Digital-Only Future, and UK Ham Radio Exam Stats","author":"Thomas","date":"September 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/RCA-Vintage-Dial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/RCA-Vintage-Dial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/RCA-Vintage-Dial.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/RCA-Vintage-Dial.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/RCA-Vintage-Dial.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}