Difference between revisions of "HF Military Communications"

Latest revision as of 18:23, 28 July 2018

HF Military Communications

HF military communications can be found below 30 MHz. Here's a sample of what you can hear:

U.S. Air Force Operations
U.S. Navy Operations
United States Coast Guard Operations
Flight status updates
Many military stations, both US and foreign, use ALE to establish a good communications path before sending traffic.

Aeronautical Off Route Sub-Bands

These bands have been designated for aircraft usage with a channel spacing of 3 kHz. HF military communications will typically occur in these band segments.

3025.0 – 3155.0 kHz
3800.0 – 3950.0 kHz
4700.0 – 4750.0 kHz
4750.0 – 4850.0 kHz
5450.0 – 5480.0 kHz
5680.0 – 5730.0 kHz
6685.0 – 6765.0 kHz
8965.0 – 9040.0 kHz
11175.0 – 11275.0 kHz
13200.0 – 13260.0 kHz
15010.0 – 15100.0 kHz
17970.0 – 18030.0 kHz
23200.0 – 23350.0 kHz

Well Known Networks

Other Sources of Military Related Activity

Unlike broadcast stations, knowing when a military station is going to be on the air is a game of patience; thus, any reporting of activity is very time sensitive. The more time passes, the harder it is to hear again. Mailing lists are one of the best ways to keep ahead of what is being heard, as traffic can be passed relatively quickly. The Utility DXers Forum is very active and is only one of many such lists; more are available on the Utility Monitoring page.

Also see the links page of the Utility DXers Forum home page, which has numerous military related links

In addition, see these links

Armed Forces Network
- What was once known as the Armed Forces Radio and TV Network (AFRTS)
Milcom Blog by Larry Van Horn

Magazine Logs

The Spectrum Monitor Electronic Magazine is the only remaining hobby level magazine that publishes logs from its subscribers. Most others have gone by the wayside, having been supplanted by many web-based sites - which may or may not have up to date information.

What Equipment Will I Need to Hear these Stations?

See our The HF Utility Receiver and Accessories article for a discussion of this topic.

Digital and Other Modes

As noted above, many military stations now use ALE before sending actual traffic. Many times, though, this traffic is sent using modes not available on hobby level decoding software, and/or is heavily encoded or encrypted. See our DXing Digital Utilities article for a more complete discussion on some of these modes.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 * [[United States Coast Guard]] Operations
 * Flight status updates
-* Many military stations, both US and foreign, use [[ALE]] to establish a good communications path before sending traffic.
+* Many military stations, both US and foreign, use [http://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Automatic_Link_Establishment_(2G_ALE) ALE] to establish a good communications path before sending traffic.
@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 The more time passes, the harder it is to hear again. Mailing lists are one of the best
 ways to keep ahead of what is being heard, as traffic can be passed relatively quickly.
-The [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/udxf/ Utility DXers Forum] is very active and is only one of many such lists; more are available on the [[Utility Monitoring]] page.
+The [https://groups.io/g/UDXF Utility DXers Forum] is very active and is only one of many such lists; more are available on the [[Utility Monitoring]] page.
 Also see the links page of the [http://www.udxf.nl/links.html Utility DXers Forum] home page, which has numerous military related links
 In addition, see these links
-* [http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/ShortWave.aspx Armed Forces Network]
+* [http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/RadioFrequencies.aspx Armed Forces Network]
 ** What was once known as the Armed Forces Radio and TV Network (AFRTS)
 * [http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/ Milcom Blog by Larry Van Horn]
@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 ===Magazine Logs===
-A few magazine publications have columns devoted to HF military logs
+[http://www.thespectrummonitor.com/index.aspx The Spectrum Monitor] Electronic Magazine is the only remaining hobby level magazine that publishes logs from its subscribers. Most others have gone by the wayside, having been supplanted by many web-based sites - which may or may not have up to date information.
-submitted by readers.  This is a great way to discover to what other people are
-listening.  These logs will often include multiple entries for the same
-frequency, which means that frequency has been active. However, keep in mind
-that, due to publishing constraints, there is often a 60 or 90 day lag between
-when the report is received and when it's actually published.
-* [http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/index.html CQ Amateur Radio] Content from the old Pop'Comm magazine has been absorbed into here
-* [http://www.thespectrummonitor.com/index.aspx The Spectrum Monitor] Electronic Magazine
 ==What Equipment Will I Need to Hear these Stations?==
@@ Line 65: / Line 58: @@
 ==Digital and Other Modes==
-As noted above, many military stations now use [[ALE]] before sending actual traffic. Many times, though, this traffic is sent using modes not available on hobby level decoding software, and/or is heavily encoded or encrypted.
+As noted above, many military stations now use [http://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Automatic_Link_Establishment_(2G_ALE) ALE] before sending actual traffic. Many times, though, this traffic is sent using modes not available on hobby level decoding software, and/or is heavily encoded or encrypted. See our [[DXing Digital Utilities]] article for a more complete discussion on some of these modes.
-[[Category:HF Topics]]
+[[Category:HF Frequencies in Military]]
 [[Category:United States Air Force]]
+[[Category:United States Air Force Frequencies]]
 [[Category:United States Army]]
+[[Category:United States Army Frequencies]]
 [[Category:United States Coast Guard]]
+[[Category:United States Coast Guard Frequencies]]
 [[Category:United States Navy]]
+[[Category:United States Navy Frequencies]]