{"id":5479,"date":"2013-01-29T11:33:50","date_gmt":"2013-01-29T15:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=5479"},"modified":"2013-02-25T13:13:35","modified_gmt":"2013-02-25T17:13:35","slug":"shortwave-radio-recordings-firedrake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/01\/shortwave-radio-recordings-firedrake\/","title":{"rendered":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Firedrake?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\""Who

“Mum, this sounds like Firedrake. Quick, make a note of it in the logs!”<\/p><\/div>\n

I’ve noticed a broadcaster that routinely transmits weekends at 11:00 UTC on 6,970 kHz. \u00a0Some mornings, it’s much stronger than others. Saturday morning, my time, I managed to record it in its typical format: music. Specifically, Chinese folk music, at least so it sounds to my untrained ear.<\/p>\n

I searched through logs and in the WRTH<\/a>, and I could find no mention of a broadcaster on 6970 kHz. It doesn’t help that the 27 minute broadcast contained no audible IDs.<\/p>\n

So, I’ve come to the conclusion that my initial hunch is correct–that this is the Chinese jamming service, Firedrake<\/em>. \u00a0Using Firedrake<\/em>, the Chinese government transmits music on top of broadcasts they wish to block. It’s fairly effective (and annoying). While I’ve heard Firedrake a number of times over the bands, I can’t say I’ve ever tried to listen to the one-hour production.<\/p>\n

The following recording contains a 27 minute broadcast of what I believe may be Firedrake<\/em> on 6,970 kHz, starting around 11:00 UTC, Saturday January 26, 2013.\u00a0Click here to download the MP3<\/a>, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Note that the first two minutes have some digital noises (in the lower side band) that affected my receiver’s AGC.<\/p>\n