Re: [IRCA] 1710 Mystery Russian - Bearings Measurements

[Bruce Portzer <bportzer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

It's somewhere near Mill Creek!!! 



I headed north on I-405 during my lunch hour with the radio tuned to 1710, and started hearing audio near the Canyon Park exit.  I got off the freeway and headed north on the Bothell-Everett Highway. The audio got better and was soon recognizable as a man in Russian.  I went as far as Maltby Road and headed east on Maltby for about a mile.  By then, the signal ranged from strong to nil, depending on power lines and other noise sources.  The same guy talked continuously the entire time, except for a brief piano interlude. 



I didn't have a portable radio for DF'ing, didn't know the area, and needed to get back to the office, so I turned around and headed back to work.  The signal got gradually weaker as I headed towards 405 and disappeared completely about a half mile past the on ramp. 



That doesn't quite poinpoint the location, but at least we've got it narrowed down considerably.  It looks like Guy's bearing was on the money.  Now, if somebody wants to try their hand at what hams call a fox hunt, we might be able to find the exact location.  Unfortunately, my schedule is pretty full this weekend, including my son's high school graduation. 



Bruce 




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Guy Atkins" <dx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
To: "Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America" <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 9:57:24 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific 
Subject: [IRCA] 1710 Mystery Russian - Bearings Measurements 

I've spent at least a couple hours today trying to pin down the bearing of 
the 1710 kHz mystery station from my location. Most of the day only a 
carrier was audible, and it was really difficult to find a null point due to 
the very weak signal and varying signal strength (typical: -102 to -111 dBm 
in less than a minute). It takes my rotor with the ALA100 about a minute to 
turn 360 degrees, so with the variable signal it was nearly impossible to 
discern a believable bearing. 

Within the last few minutes though--about 1/2 hour past local SS--the 
Russian language audio appeared on 1710 and the signal has steadied a bit. 
The strength is about -96 dBM (S-5), and it's getting stronger by the 
minute. 

Interestingly, I'm getting a sharper peak with the ALA100 vs. a sharp null. 
This is really helping out with the confidence level for DF'ing, and the 
station is appearing on a bearing of 0 - 180 degrees (as close to a true 
north-south line from my Puyallup location as I can measure). 

A lot of potential communities are on this bearing: all of the south Puget 
Sound area (Kent, Auburn, Renton, etc.) as well as Mercer Island & Bellevue 
on the East Side of Seattle. Farther north, potential locations are 
Kirkland, Kenmore/Bothell, Everett, Marysville, and into Canada... 
Abottsford. 

Mount Vernon, Bellingham, and Blaine are at approximately 350 degrees from 
Puyallup, so they are possibilities too, as others have mentioned. 

To the south of me there are not many potential targets, but there is Graham 
and Orting. I'm not aware of any Russian communities in these towns, but it 
would be simple enough for me to drive out there to check reception. For 
that matter, I could investigate Kent, Auburn, Renton, and Bellevue easily 
on my drive to & from work. 

A useful Web site is http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/calculators,  with various 
ways to calculate distances and bearings between different cities. 

73, 

Guy Atkins 
Puyallup, WA 
www.perseus-sdr.blogspot.com 
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