[GreenKeys] UPI on the air

[Duncan Brown]

In Viet Nam in 1967, we used to copy a very strong UPI station from 
the Philippines on about 14.9 Mhz. We would also be listening to Armed 
Forces Radio, and on the hourly news broadcasts hear the exact same news 
items that we had read on the TT-98 earlier.

At the AWA Museum we have a Collins diversity FSK converter that can 
operate on either 600 or 850 Hz shift.  But I've never heard of who used 
600Hz shift.

Have fun,

Duncan
K2OEQ


On 12-Mar-24 16:47, David I. Emery wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 12, 2024 at 03:40:42PM -0400, Gary Chatters WA9ZZZ wrote:
>
>> You've reminded me that back in the mid 60's I would copy UPI off the
>> air.  They broadcast news on RTTY on some HF frequency in 60wpm, Baudot,
>> close enough to 850 shift that I could copy.
>>
>> Anybody remember the frequency(ies) or where they were located.  They
>> generally had a good signal into southern Michigan.
> 	Too long ago to remember specific frequencies, but as a HS
> student in the mid 60s I copied a lot of UPI and AP RTTY from prep
> school in SW Maine.  IIRC most of the frequencies were in the 4-9 MHz
> range at night and maybe 10-18 MHz during the daytime.  I do remember
> that frequencies around 13 and 14 and 15 MHz Mhz were popular...
>
> 	Many originated from commercial point to point HF sites dating
> to a bit before  WW II on the Eastern tip of Long Island.   Those sites
> had arrays of rhombics on wooden telephone poles over copper screening
> often buried in marshy flat land... and transmitted either 850 Hz shift
> or 400 Hz shift (I think I also remember some 600 Hz shift, but memory
> fades) at either 45  baud (60 WPM) or 50 baud (67 WPM) in baudot (ITA
> 2).
> 	
> 	Riverhead, and Orient Point come to mind.   There was also some
> of this relayed via sites in North Africa - IIRC specifically near Tangier
> Morocco and Asmara Ethiopia.   And some originated from transmitters
> in Europe and the US West coast.
>
> 	And of course various HF marine communications sites transmitted
> "press" news summaries to ships at various times of day...
>
> 	More obscure, but also present were AP and UPI signals in
> various VFT "tone pack" multiplexes on US military/government HF SSB ISB
> links.  Notably audible on the east coast were links to sites in the
> Panama Canal zone that included these at one point.   Those powerful
> buzzing or droning HF signals  originated from various US
> government/military  HF sites in CONUS including some around Va and Md
> and Pa and had lots of encrypted military circuits and some ITC 100 WPM
> weather traffic in addition to the AP and UPI wires.
>
> 	The AP and UPI signals were usually either their radio/TV
> wire (rip and read stories for radio broadcast) or national newspaper
> "A" wires.
>
>