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Weird happenings on 454.xx kHz


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Posted by Bruce WA1HGJ on March 01, 2024 at 23:58:12.

For the last month I've been following a weird signal on 454.xx kHz, and wonder if anyone else can hear it. I'm 25 miles/40 km north of Boston, it's rather faint, and I I'm pretty sure it's coming in via my antenna and not over local power lines (of course the 2 are not mutually exclusive). I first copied it on 2024-02-02 and here's how I logged it then:

- 6 second repeating cycle
- first 2 seconds: 4 repeating 0.5 second cycles consisting of 454.70 kHz for 0.25 sec then 454.95 for 0.25 sec (this is repeated 4 times to equal 2 seconds)
- last 4 seconds: steady carrier at 454.95 kHz
- frequency split gives precise 250 Hz offset

I logged it 3 times in February, and each time the frequencies had drifted slightly, arguing against a broadcast-quality or time signal type station which are typically rock stable. Following are the frequencies I copied on the 3 days. The first 2 give exact 250 Hz offset, but the third gives a 220 Hz offset. I strongly suspect that was my own measurement error:

2024-02-02 1053 UTC: 454.70/454.95
2024-02-22 0200 UTC: 454.73/454.98
2024-02-29 0157 UTC: 454.14/454.36

Wondering if anyone else can hear this weird signal, and if anyone has any idea of what it is?

Bruce WA1HGJ

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