IW3FVQ - MIRCO

IIf you’ve ever been curious who listens to and acts upon the coded messages we hear in numbers stations (a.k.a. spy numbers stations), follow this German-based couple who are being accused of spying on NATO and and the EU:

(Source: DW)

A spectacular trial at a Stuttgart court is about to begin, involving a German-based couple accused of spying on NATO and the EU for decades on Russia’s behalf. Neighbors say they knew something was fishy.

It reads like a John le Carre novel: “dead mail boxes,” secret radio signals, encrypted messages hidden in plain sight on the Internet.

According to accusations, a married couple has been spying in Germany for more than 20 years – first at the behest of the Soviet Union and thereafter for its post-Soviet incarnation, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

On Tuesday (15.01.2013) 54-year-old Andreas Anschlag and his 48-year-old wife, Heidrun, will stand trial in Stuttgart. Federal prosecutors accuse them of “secret agent activity” and of “forgery of documents.”

[...]The history of the purported agent couple begins at a time when the Soviet Union still existed and the Cold War was still cold. According to accusations, Andreas Anschlag traveled to West Germany in 1988 with the help of a forged Austrian passport. His wife did the same in 1990. Both were supposed to have been born in South America. The two settled in Aachen, close to the western border with Belgium, where Mr. Anschlag studied mechanical engineering.

[...]The files were delivered via “dead mail boxes,” according to official charges, to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service in Moscow. The couple apparently received further commands through an agent radio network and sent their own messages via satellite and through an internet video platform.

When they were arrested in October 2011, the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that the woman was sitting in front of a shortwave receiver, writing down secret messages. At that point the pair was living in a house in Michelbach, a small community in the German state of Hesse.

“Suddenly we had this spy thriller taking place right outside our window – it was better than the movies,” one of the neighbors told DW.

Read the full article on DW’s website.

Note that this story reads much like the Russian couple who spied on the US a few years ago.

KBC Propagation Map (Source: The Mighty KBC)

The Mighty KBC will broadcast this Sunday (January 20) on 9,450 kHz between 00:00-02:00 UTC (that’s Saturday night in North America from 19:00-21:00 EST). Details below:

(Source: The Mighty KBC)

We will try some fast text modes this weekend on The Mighty KBC, to see if they can survive the rigours of shortwave.

This will be during the North America broadcast at 0000-0200 UTC 20 January on 9450 khz. At about 0130 UTC, 4XPSK63R will be centered on 1000 Hz and MFSK64 centered on 2000 Hz. (For 4XPSK63R, use Fldigi 3.21.65 or newer: OpMode > PSKR > MultiCarrier > 4XPSK63R.) At just before 0200 UTC, MT63-2000 (long interleave) will be centered on 1500 Hz, and PSKR250 on 2800 Hz. This will be an Flmsg formatted transmission, with html. Fldigi and Flmsg can be downloaded from www.w1hkj.com.

=========================== *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** **** DX INFORMATION **** =========================== Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH Direttore Responsabile I2VGW

9M4_spr- John 9M6XRO, Steve 9M6DXX, James 9V1YC, Ben DJ0YI/N6MUF, Don G3BJ, Christian EA3NT and Tony KM0O will be operating as 9M4SLL from Pulau Layang Layang, Spratly Islands (AS-051) on 10-18 March. Activity will be on 160-10 metres CW, SSB and RTTY, using "several stations with linear amplifiers to vertical antennas all within a few metres of the ocean". QSL via M0URX (please use his OQRS for both direct and bureau cards at http://m0urx.com/). Logs will be uploaded to LoTW as soon as possible after the end of the operation. [TNX 9M6DXX] 9M6 - Before joining the 9M4SLL team, Ben DJ0YI will be active as 9M6/N6MUF from Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia on 1-8 March (QSL via DJ0YI, direct or bureau, and LoTW). [TNX DJ0YI] C6 - W4BUW (C6AGH), W8GEX (C6DX) W8CAA and AA4NN will be active from Great Exuma (NA-001), Bahamas on 20-27 January. They plan to run three stations on 160-10 metres SSB, CW and RTTY. QSL via home calls. FR - Pierre, F8APV and Stephane, F8EOI will be active as FR/F8APV and FR/F8EOI from Reunion Island (AF-016) from 21 January to 8 February. They will be QRV on "40 metres and up", with a ficus on 30m CW and 20m SSB. [TNX DX World] J7 - "The Daily DX" Editor, Bernie McClenny (W3UR) and his father Tony (N3ME) will be active from Dominica (NA-101) in late January-early February. Bernie will operate as J77A (22 January-1 February) and Tony will operate as J76A (22 January-11 February); both will be QRV in their spare time on 160-6 metres CW, SSB and RTTY. The special prefixes are in celebration of the beginning of their Amateur Radio careers (1977 and 1976 respectively). QSL via home calls, direct or bureau, and LoTW. [TNX The Daily DX] JD1_mt - Take, JG8NQJ will be back to Minami Torishima (OC-073) on 15 January and will remain there until mid-April. He plans to be QRV in his spare time as JG8NQJ/JD1 mainly on 10, 12, 15 and 17 metres CW. QSL via JA8CJY (direct) or JG8NQJ (bureau). UA_ant - Nick, RW6ACM will be active as as RI1ANP from Russian Antarctic station Progress from 1 February until the end of year. QSL via RN1ON, direct or bureau. [TNX RN1ON] YS - Roberto, I2JIN will be active again as YS3CW from Corinth, El Salvador on 11-31 January. He will operate mainly CW on 80-10 metres. QSL via I2JIN, direct or bureau, and LoTW. [TNX DX Coffee] AFRICAN TOUR ---> Once again Peter, HA3AUI will be active as 6W2SC from Senegal and J5UAP from Guinea-Bissau between approximately 17 January and 10 March. He plans to operate CW on 40-10 metres. Side trips to either 6W and J5 IOTA island groups are being considered. QSL via HA3AUI, direct only. [TNX NG3K] IOTA TOUR ---> Col, MM0NDX has had to cancel his participation in the 10-13 January IOTA Tour [425DXN 1131] due to a family matter. Vincent, F4BKV is doing the trip solo, with planned activity from nine IOTA island groups (EU-029, EU-128, EU-057, EU-129, EU-132, EU-042, EU-125, EU-172 and EU-171) in Denmark, Germany and Poland. Follow his progress on Twitter (@IOTA_Trip). QSL via F4BKV (OQRS on www.f4bkv.net). [TNX MM0NDX] =========================== *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** **** GOOD TO KNOW ... **** =========================== Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH Direttore Responsabile I2VGW 425 DX NEWS MAGAZINE ---> The December 2012 issue is now available for download at www.425dxn.org/monthly/index.html. [TNX IZ3EBA] CQ DX MARATHON ---> The CQ DX Marathon is a year-long DX hunt, with participants competing to see who can work the greatest number of countries ("entities") and CQ zones during the calendar year. The 2013 edition started at 00.00 UTC on 1 January and will end at 23.59 UTC on 31 December. Complete rules and submission information can be found at www.dxmarathon.com - and do not forget to submit your 2012 scores by 31 January 2013 (next year's deadline will be 10 January 2014). High claimed scores will be published in February and the complete results of the 2012 Marathon will be in the June 2013 issue of CQ Magazine. [TNX K9EL] CONTEST UNIVERSITY ---> Early bird registration is now open for 2013 Dayton Contest University (CTU) will be held on 16 May at the Crowne Plaza in Dayton, Ohio. It will be the seventh for CTU Dayton. Topics, professors and registration form can be found on http://contestuniversity.com DX SOUND CLIPS ---> Tom's (K8CX) DX sound clips for 2012 can be found at http://hamgallery.com/dx2012/; the collection of 135 clips covers the major DXpeditions, plus rare and semi-rare DX. This makes 15 full years of sound clips available. There are also some recordings on the site from the 1960s and 1970s. "I am looking for on-the-air recordings in any format to be added to the site", Tom says. Please contact him (k8cx[@]hamgallery.com) if you have any. [TNX K8CX] DXCC NEWS ---> 3D2C (Conway Reef 2012) has been approved for DXCC credit. If you had cards previously rejected for this operation, please send an e-mail to bmoore[@]arrl.org to be put on the list for an update. [TNX NC1L] MOST WANTED SURVEY ---> The DX Magazine's annual Most Wanted Survey was conducted in September-October 2012 [425DXN 1114]. The top 20 DXCC Entities are: 1. P5 North Korea 11. PY0S St. Peter & Paul Rocks 2. KP1 Navassa Island 12. KH5K Kingman Reef 3. 3Y Bouvet Island 13. ZL9 Auckland & Campbell Isls 4. FT5Z Amsterdam & St. Paul Isls 14. KH5 Palmyra & Jarvis Isls 5. VK0 Heard Island 15. SV/A Mount Athos 6. FT5W Crozet Isls 16. E3 Eritrea 7. BS7H Scarborough Reef 17. BV9P Pratas 8. VP8 South Sandwich Isls 18. FT5J/E Juan de Nova, Europa Isls 9. ZS8 Marion Island 19. VP8 South Georgia 10. FT5T Tromelin Island 20. KH3 Johnston The 100 Most Wanted listing, with the results of the 2011 survey for comparison, can be found at http://www.dxpub.net/MOST-WANTED-SURVEY.html. The complete breakdown by continent is published in the January/February 2013 issue of "The DX Magazine"; a breakdown by mode and for 160/80 metres will be published in the March/April 2013 issue. POSTAL RATES (CANADA) ---> Canadian postal rates will rise again on 14 January. The new base prices for standard letter items up to 30g are as follows: Canada CAD 0.63 U.S.A. CAD 1.10 International CAD 1.85 Stamps are subject to taxes that can vary from Province to Province. Actual rates can be calculated through the "Find a Rate" on-line service provided by Canada Post (www.canadapost.ca). + SILENT KEY + John Dack, W7KH (ex W7GUV) passed away on 7 January at 91 years of age. First licensed in 1938, he sat at the top of DXCC Mixed standings, with 398 entities (340 current and 58 deleted). =========================== *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** ******* QSL ROUTES ******* =========================== Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH Direttore Responsabile I2VGW =================================================================== CALL MANAGER CALL MANAGER CALL MANAGER =================================================================== 3A2MG F9JS ER3WFF ER3GS RW17AK R3COM 3V8BB LX1NO ER4DX RA4LW RZ1CWC RW6HS 3Z0WOSP SP5ZRW FM1II NI5DX S505SLG S59DCD 3Z1K SP1KRF FM4LV W3HNK S5300TP S59DAP 3Z5W SP5KP FM5CD F5VU SG0U SM3CXS 4A2I XE2I FM5FJ KU9C SK25VJ SK3VJ 4L1HD DL8KAC FM5WD W3HNK SN0KDD SP3POW 4L5O N3SL HB30OK HB9OCR T88CP JA6UBY 4O7CC UA4CC HF0WOSP SP2KFL T88SM JA6EGL 4S7KKG DC0KK HG7T HA7TM TJ3AY F5LGE 4T4RDP OA4O HL2ZBD/3 JK3IJQ TP2CE F5LGF 5W0W NR6M HS0ZDY SM3CVM UE75VV RW0UM 5X1JM EA5GL HS0ZED G4SQA UN7TK EA7FTR 6W7SK F6BLP HZ1DG/p EA7FTR UN8FE IK2QPR 9H1EU 9H1BT HZ1XB IZ8CLM V26BM M0URX 9K2UU EA5ZD IR7WAP IK7XNF V31ME DJ4EL A45KK EA7FTR J28AA E77E or K2PF V31YN DJ4KW A61AS YO3FRI J28NC F5RQQ V55A M0OXO A62A IZ8CLM J28UC F5RQQ VI6AHR30 VK6IR A65BD G5LP JD1BMH JG7PSJ VP2EYE K3PIN A71CM NI5DX JY9ET M0OXO VP2MSW M0URX A71EM EA7FTR K1GI/VP9 JG2BRI VP9HE W2AF BM0LF BM2JCC LA190B LA1B W2V N2MUN BV2013LF BM2JCC LU1ZG LU4DXU WP2NN NN6NN C6AVA N6AWD LU6W VE3LYC XW1A E21EIC CE2AWW VE7WY LX4A LX1NO XW4XR E21EIC CE3EEA EA5GL LZ20TRC LZ1YE YB0MWM IK2DUW CM5FZ M0OXO LZ60RCP LZ1JZ YN9SU TI4SU CN2JF F6CTF NP4Z N4AO YP10KQT YO2KQT CN2OS PD0JOS OE1KIDS OE1XIC YU15OTC YU6A CW90A CX2ABC OH0R OH2PM Z320C Z32CC D2ZR AC7DX OU1RAEM DF5LW Z320E Z35T DB100AWPB DO6NIK P49X W0YK Z320G Z35G DP0GVN DL5EBE PR2X PY2ADR Z320L Z34M DU7TET WT3A PT5T K3IRV Z320R Z35F E79D E77E R400DR RN3DG Z320Y Z37Y EA9EU EA5KB R70SGG RM4A Z81Z K4ZW EI13CLAN EI6AL RA70WR RM4A ZF2LC W2SM EK6LP RN4LP RN1CW RW6HS ZV2K PY2SHF AC7DX Ron G. Lago, 1345 City View, Eugene OR 97402, USA EA7FTR Francisco Lianez Suero, Asturias 23, 21110 Aljaraque (Huelva), Spain K4ZW Kenneth J. Claerbout, 199 Joshua Rd., Stafford VA 22556, USA M0OXO Charles Wilmott, 60 Church Hill, Royston, Barnsley, S71 4NG, United Kingdom N6AWD Fred Stenger, 6000 Hesketh Dr., Bakersfield CA 93309, USA VE3LYC Cezar Trifu, 410 College St., Kingston, Ontario K7L 4M7, Canada W3HNK Joseph L. Arcure, 115 Buck Run Road, Lincoln University PA 19352, USA

=========================== *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** **** DX INFORMATION **** =========================== Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH Direttore Responsabile I2VGW

9U - A team of operators from Belgium and the Netherlands will be active as 9U4U from Bujumbura, Burundi on 14-23 February. They plan to run four stations with amplifiers on 160-10 metres SSB, CW and RTTY, with at least one station focusing on 160 and 180 metres every night. QSL via M0URX, direct or bureau (OQRS for both options at www.m0urx.com), and LoTW "at the earliest opportunity". The website for the expedition is at www.9u4u.be 9X - Carl, SM6CPY will be active holiday style as 9X0PY from Rwanda on 15-31 January. He will operate mainly CW on various bands, depending on antenna possibilities. QSL via home call, direct or bureau. [TNX DX World] A3 - Werner, DJ9KH will be active as A31WH/p from Vava'u Island (OC-064) from 20 February to 3 March. Prior to that, he will be QRV as A31WH from Tongatapu (OC-049). QSL via home call, direct or bureau. [TNX rsgbiota.org] DL - Special station DL50FRANCE will be active until the end of the year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty, the Treaty of Friendship that set the seal on reconciliation between France and Germany. QSL via DK8VR. [TNX DX Newsletter] FY - Christian, F5UII (www.f5uii.net) will be active in his spare time as FY/F5UII from Kourou, French Guiana on 13-30 January. He will operate SSB only from the FY5KE radio club's premises, typically on weekdays before 12 UTC and after 22 UTC. He also plans to spend a weekend on Ile Royale (SA-020), and operate SSB with 100 watts on 40, 20, 17, 15 and 10 metres. QSL via home call, direct or bureau. Follow him on Twitter (@f5uii) for updates. [TNX F5UII] HR - Gerard, F2JD will be active as HR5/F2JD from Copan, Honduras for three months starting around 25 February. He will operate CW, SSB and RTTY on the HF bands. QSL via F6AJA and logsearch at http://lesnouvellesdx.fr/voirlogs.php [TNX F6AJA and Les Nouvelles DX] KP4 - Special event callsign N4D will be active on 11-25 January for the ARRL Puerto Rico State Convention (www.arrlpr.org). QSL via WP4CRG. During the convention, on 26-27 January, look for the the official ARRL amateur radio station to be QRV as W1AW/KP4. OE - A number of OE2013 prefixed callsigns will be in use between 15 January and 18 February to celebrate the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships that will take place in Schladming, Austria. Information on the relevant award can be found at http://wmdiplom2013.oevsv.at/ ST - Sam, K0YAK (ex 9N7AK) is now in Khartoum, Sudan, and will be active as ST2SF beginning in late January and continuing through at least mid-April. His licence includes full HF privileges, but is limited to 100w. He plans to be QRV on 40-10 metres (perhaps also 80 and 6m) SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL via LoTW or K0YAK. T8 - Mike JA6EGL (T88SM), Yas JA6UBY (T88CP) and Yu JE6DND (T88HK) will be active from Koror (OC-009), Palau on 9-14 January. They will operate CW and SSB on 80-10 metres. QSL direct to home calls. [TNX DX World] VK9L - Look for JA3ARJ/VK9 (QSL via JA3ARJ), JA3BZO/VK9 (QSL via JA3BZO), JA3HJI/VK9 (QSL via JA3HJI), AE6XY/VK9 (QSL via JA1CJA), W7AVO/VK9 (QSL via JA3AVO) and W7PBL/VK9 (QSL via JH3PBL) to be active from Lord Howe Island (OC-004) on 11-18 January. It will be a "DX vacation" with planned activity on 80-6 metres CW, SSB and digital modes. [TNX DX World] VK9N - Lee, VK3GK will be active as VK3GK/9 from Norfolk Island (OC-005) on 11-15 January. He will operate holiday style on 80-10 metres SSB, with some CW. QSL via home call. [TNX DX World] W - Dennis, WA2USA will be active as WA2USA/4 from St. George Island (NA-085) between 20 January and 27 February. He will operate mainly CW on 30, 20 and 15 metres, with some SSB on 40 and 20 metres. He will also participate on all bands in the ARRL International DX CW Contest (16-17 February) and the NAQP RTTY Contest (23-24 February). QSL via home call, direct or bureau. [TNX rsgbiota.org] IOTA TOUR ---> Vincent, F4BKV and Col, MM0NDX will be active from nine IOTA island groups (EU-029, EU-128, EU-057, EU-129, EU-132, EU-042, EU-125, EU-172 and EU-171) in Denmark (OZ/F4BKV & OZ/MM0NDX), Germany (DL/F4BKV & DL/MM0NDX) and Poland (SP/F4BKV & SP/MM0NDX) between 10 and 13 January. They plan to operate SSB on 40, 20, 17 and 15 metres. When active in Denmark they might use a special call. Find their planned itinerary and follow their progress on Twitter (@IOTA_Trip). Bureau QSLs via home calls; direct cards for both via F4BKV (OQRS on www.f4bkv.net). [TNX MM0NDX] =========================== *** 4 2 5 D X N E W S *** **** GOOD TO KNOW ... **** =========================== Edited by I1JQJ & IK1ADH Direttore Responsabile I2VGW CQ MM DX CONTEST ---> The results of the CQ Manchester Mineira DX Contest 2012 are now available at www.cqmmdx.com. This year's event will be held on 20-21 April. [TNX PY4WAS] DAYTON CONTEST DINNER ---> The 21st Annual Dayton Contest Dinner will be held on 18 May at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Tickets are available exclusively on http://contestdinner.com DX DINNER ---> The Southwest Ohio DX Association (SWODXA) is pleased to again sponsor the DX Dinner, to be held in conjunction with the 2013 Dayton Hamvention on Friday, 17 May at the Dayton Marriott Hotel. Details can be found on the SWODXA Events website (www.swodxaevents.org) and updates will be sent out regularly via Twitter (@SWODXA). [TNX W8GEX] IDXC 2013 ---> Registration is now open for the 64th International DX Convention, to be held at the Visalia Conference Center in Visalia (CA), on 19-21 April. Complete details can be found at www.dxconvention.com IOTA BASH ---> The 9th annual IOTA Bash will be held on 1-2 March in Boerne, Texas, about 20 miles northwest of San Antonio. The agenda will include presentations on some of the most recent IOTA expeditions and a nice social programme. Details and registration form are available on the IREF website (www.islandradio.org). [TNX AD5A] IOTA NEWS ---> "Following receipt of new information the IOTA Manager has decided to put on hold acceptance of 7T50I/P cards for Agueli Island AF-097. None will be accepted during the January update period. A final decision will not be taken before February" [TNX G3KMA] POSTAL RATES (FRANCE) ---> French postal rates for standard letter items (up to 20g) have increased since 1 January: 0.80 EUR European Union plus HB9, HB0, T7 and HV 0.95 EUR rest of the world QSL G100RSGB ---> An online "Am I in the log" facility and detailed information on the QSL service for G100RSGB, GD100RSGB and the other Gx100RSGB stations, Celebrating the Radio Society of Great Britain's centenary [425DXN 1130], can be found at www.rsgb.org/centenary (click on "RSGB Centenary Special Event Station Log and QSL Management" on the right). QSL VIA N2ZN ---> With immediate effect, N2ZN is the QSL manager for all of WJ2O's DXpeditions - they are listed at www.wj2o.com (with logsearch). QSL direct (Kenneth J. Boasi, 5018 Ontario Center Rd, Walworth NY 14568, USA) or bureau. TOP LISTS ---> The latest Topband, Topmode and Toplist listings are now available at http://www.425dxn.org/awards/toplist/index.html. QSOs confirmed through LoTW or included in on-line logs are eligible for listing. Send your scores, as well as any request for further information, to Luciano Lucini, IK2QPO (ik2qpo[@]425dxn.org). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- QSLs received direct or through managers: 1A0C, 2O12L, 3B9SP, 3D2C, 3W2BB, 4L1MA, 4O7VB, 5R8IC, 5U5U, 5X1NH, 5Z4EE, 7O6T, 7T50I/p (AF-094), 7X4AN, 7Z7AB (AS-190), 9A8VB, 9M6NA, A31MA, AA4VK/CY0, AH0/N0AT, AH0I, C50C, C5A, C6AXY, CP4DR, CU1ARM, CU2ARA, CU3URA, CU4ARG, CU5AM, CU6GRP, CU9AC, D2QV, D64K, DU1GM, E40VB, E51AIU, E51AND, E51TLA, EL2A, EL2DT, EL2ES, EL2LF, EL2MF, EL2WE, ES5Q, EW7LO, FK8HZ, H44RK, H44USMC, HC2/KF6ZWD, HC2AC, HT9H, JW7QIA, JW7XM, JX5O, JY8VB, KH8/N6XT, KL7RRC/p, LX1NO, MS0WRC (EU-010), NH8S, OA7/DF7NX, OJ0R, P29FR, P29NI (OC-069), P29VCX (OC-025, OC-103, OC-135, OC-240), P29VPB (OC-069), P29ZAD, PJ4/KU8E, PJ7I, RI1FJ, S01MZ, S79NU, SU9VB, T30PY, T6LG, T6MO, TT8TT, V31MW, V31NO, V5/DF2UU, V63PR, V85SS, VK9/OH1VR, VP2ETE, VP2MDD, VP2MGZ, VP2MYL, WA4DAN/CY0,WH0/K0BBC, YI1RZ, YJ0AFU, Z60K, Z81D, ZC4LI, ZL7A.

Ver. 3.1.0 [03/01/2013] - CQ Bande Basse: a seguito delle modifiche nel regolamento: - modificato il calcolo del punteggio - introdotta finestra per il controllo della regola "10-10 160" e per la regola del cambio banda nella Cat. Multi Operatore - A partire da questa release, le versioni di QARTest hanno una nuova numerazione: anno.mese.progressivo - CAT: I modi USER-U/L nello Yaesu FT-450 vengono riconosciuti come "D"igitale (tnx IW2HUS) - HRDlog.net: aggiunto l'invio in tempo reale anche del punteggio del contest - Bug Fix: nei Contest RAEM, EU Sprint e LZ Open il grafico in determinate circostanze non veniva tracciato correttamente. Risolto.