Galway area - beacon?

Crazy Ivan

Hi there.

Have the scanner out for the first time in a long while and I'm getting some kind of data sound on 165.270MHz NFM. I was just curious as to what it might be. It's "always on" (unlike Eircom! :rolleyes: ). It's a constant fairly high-pitched tone with a little burst of data every second or so. It's not POCSAG-like.

Used to do a fair bit of scanning (mostly in Donegal) but I can't remember hearing anything like it. I thought it might be some kind of computer interference but I get it in Galway city and out at my home (10 miles or so out). Must be a fairly well sited or high power signal.

Any idea? It's just curiosity getting the better of me!

scanman2007

Sounds like you are picking up ESB SCADA transmissions. My frequency counter displays a similar freq outside my local ESB office. They contain telemetry which when decoded by the ESB will tell them about the state of substations etc. The tx on 165.270 is probably coming from your local ESB office. Have a listen around 170MHz to hear the corresponding "reply" from the substation. Unfortunately these cannot be decoded without special software.

Have a listen between 456.175-456.450MHz to hear similar transmissions from your local train station. You'll sometimes hear voice on these freqs.

Crazy Ivan

Cool!

Nicely explained. I'll give that all a shot when I get home this evening. I didn't know there was as much data on the airwaves, especially up at those UHF frequencies. Can the railway ones be decoded or are they proprietary do you know?

scanman2007

Hi Ivan

Yes the train signals can be decoded using this software. It's not free though, but there is a trial period. Make sure you test it thoroughly before you think of making a purchase.

http://www.coaa.co.uk/trainplotter.htm

Bye for now.

watty

It may be illegal to decode.

It would be illegal to tell someone else what you have decoded. Though I'd guess from designing control systems the data would be very boring.

Crazy Ivan

I realise it would probably be illegal alright. I suppose I was just interested in whether or not it could be decoded. My impressios was that whoever is in charge would have used a proprietry system which would mean that it would be difficult to decode. I cn imagine all that would be sent anyway would be some pretty boring telemetry!!

Just curious - I tend to wonder about things like this! :-)

workaccount

Just thinking there. Surely those wind farms send data also over the airwaves?

PauloMN

It's not really about the content of these things, it's about the ability to decode that makes it interesting. Although the content can be funny, like ACARS messages from planes in flight during world cup games: WHAT SCORE BRAZIL V FRANCE? etc.?

workaccount

Heh,
I just got my scanner today which goes from 25 to 1300Mhz. That data signal is the only thing I can pick up in Galway with the included antennae. It's a GRE 295. I tried listening to galway airport tower for a while but there was nothing being transmitted. What other things could I try. I'm also in Galway OP.

I've scanned through the whole frequency range btw but only noise.

Crazy Ivan

Hi Workaccount,

I advise that you wind your way to frequencydb.com. This is an Irish site for radio enthusiasts and you'll learn loads on it. In particular, there is a forum that will teach you loads about what you can pick up.

To begin, airband is a good idea. Galway tower is on 122.5 MHz in the AM band. I get plenty of traffic from that but I live out from the city to the north. Otherwise, 144 - 170 MHz FM is a good bet for some traffic. As a check, you should try listen in around 153 - 154 MHz. You should hear some warbling sounds from pagers. The signal is generally strong and occurs frequently so it's a good test to make sure your setup is working.