Tonight I hooked up my IC-706MKIIG in my truck. Very temporary setup – I just wanted to see if everything would work. I mounted the antenna using an L bracket on the inside of the bed of the truck near the cab. I’m using single band antennas and used one cut for 40M for tonights test.
MORSE CODE in MUSIC
by Brian Pasternack, KA3VSP, ka3vsp@voicenet.com
If you know of more Morse appearing in music, you might drop an email to Brian and let him know.
This story uses the background music feature of Internet Explorer 2.0 to play the introduction to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony using your computer’s MIDI compatible sound system. Netscape users can download the MIDI file at http://www.hamradio-online.com/1996/apr/fifthsym.mid.
While listening to your favorite music, don’t be suprised if you hear those strange and annoying sounds of that terrible Morse code!
Case in point, on Joe Walsh’s latest solo album “Songs for a Dying Planet” is a song titled “Vote For Me”. The song is preceded with Morse code which pounds out “REGISTER AND VOTE FOR ME AR”. Brian, KF2HC, states that the same message appears on Joe’s first album “Barnstorm” in a song titled “Mother”. Joe holds an Advanced class Amateur license.
Another album worth noting is Roger Waters’ album “Radio Kaos”. This album is filled with Morse messages. Most of the code is underlying the haunting music and very difficult to copy. The album’s cover is also worth noting…it is littered with Morse code characters. The album’s song titles are all spelled out in Morse Code!
The rock band RUSH has a song title “YYZ” on their album “Moving Pictures”. This songs starts out with a heavy percussion belting out “YYZ” and then followed by bass and guitar blaring out the same. Well, the characters YYZ are the beacon identifier for the Toronto International Airport. The inspiration for the song came from Alex Lifeson, the guitarist for the band, who holds a private pilots license.
Carter Bennett, KI5SR, brings to my attention that there is badly formed Morse code on Kate Bush’s album “Hounds of Love”. Carter informs me that the song “Watching You Without Me” contains the code “SOS”. It was also reported that this track has some RTTY going in and out of tune. KI5SR continues with information regarding the album “Saving the Wildlife” by Mannheim Steamroller. He states that there is a track on the album which sounds too much like “CQ” in Morse.
Charlie, N2JQA, brings to my attention that there is Morse Codeon Ronnie Montrose’s album (Elektra 1982 EI-60034) “GAMMA 3”. The song “Stranger” contains Morse Code which spells “STRANGER”.
Wayne, WA6MPG, states that in 1967, the band “PEARLS BEFORE SWINE” recorded a song with an adult-rated CW message in it. The song was titled “MISS MORSE”. The song is said to have vulgarities in it spelled out with Morse Code. The album was titled “ONE NATION UNDERGROUND”.
Randall, KE0YG, provided the following info about Morse Code in the computer game called “RED STORM RISING” by Microprose. Randall says that in the opening credits there is music which contains Morse Code which spells out “THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING” at about 18 WPM. Randall says that he can confirm this on the C-64 version and he believes that the IBM version plays the CW message in the theme song.
Craig, VK3CRA, informed me of a TV show called “INSPECTOR MORSE”. Craig has never seen the show but, from info gathered, states that the inspector’s name is never given in the show. It is alleged, however, to be contained in Morse Code which is played as part of the show’s introductory music.
Howie, N2WX and Mark, KM6XU, informed me that “Radioactivity” by Kraftwerk has lots of good Morse code in it. Mark also states that the band Missing Persons has a song with some code in it but Mark didn’t supply any info on the song.
A message from John, NI6D, brought to my attention of pseudo Morse code in the song “Radio Silence” on Thomas Dolby’s album titled “The Golden Age of Wireless”.
Dave, N0DET, adds that there is code in the song “Planet Claire” by the B-52’s. In the intro to “Planet Claire”, a kind of Spy vs. Spy mood is created by the music, and plainly audible CW. The Morse code says, “NAKS DE CFH I I ZKR F13395 5156 AS 662 ….,”, then fades to music. Dave believes that ‘NAKS’ and ‘CFH’ are commercial station callsigns. More information pertaining to the code comes in from Ron, VE3RYN. Ron says that “NAKS” should be “NAWS” which stands for ‘North Atlantic Weather Station’ and “CFH” is a CDN military ship/shore station located near Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Michael, W9OJ, claims that the words “love you” are spelled out in morse code at the end of the “Iron Butterfly Theme” by Iron Butterfly. This song is on their first album “Heavy” and is also on the double album titled “Rare Flight”.
Ian, VK2IAQ, writes in with information stating that the UK rock band ‘Barclay James Harvest’ has two songs which contain morse code. Ian states that the song “Nova Lepidoptera”, a sci-fi song from the 1977 album “XII”, starts off with “UFO” repeated in slow morse code. Also, the title track of the album “Ring of Changes” starts with the title sent twice in morse code. John Lees, the lead guitarist, is a licensed amateur operator in the UK.
Bill, WA6ITF, reports some really good Morse code on the CD “SEEK YOU” by Andrew, G3WZZ, and Lissa Huddleson.
Well, that’s about it for now. Thanks to all who have provided me with information on this subject and thanks to all who have inquired about the subject.
Until next time, KEEP POUNDING BRASS!
73 de Brian Pasternak, KA3VSP!
Editor’s note: And let’s not forget Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with its famous “dit-dit-dit-dahhhh”. Okay, so the Morse code had not been invented yet…
Amateur Radio activity shut down in Iraq
Amateur Radio activity shut down in Iraq (Mar 13, 2007) — Iraq
Amateur Radio Society (IARS) President Diya Sayah, YI1DZ, has informed
ARRL that all Amateur Radio activity in Iraq has been suspended until
the security situation there improves. He says the suspension affects
both Iraqi citizens as well as any foreigners — including military
personnel and contractors — who have been on the air from Iraq. The
request to halt all ham radio activity and the issuance of licenses in
Iraq originated with a letter from the Iraqi Ministry of Defense to
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as part of a new security plan,
Sayah said. He received subsequent confirmation via the Ministry of
Higher Education and Scientific Research to shut down ham radio
activity, although he allows for a possible misunderstanding on the
part of government officials as to the nature and purpose of Amateur
Radio.
FrostFest
I went up to the Richmond, VA hamfest (aka FrostFest) on Sunday. They had an ARRL card checker and I was able to get my QSL cards verified for the Worked All States (WAS) award. I spent the early part of Sunday organizing my cards (my QSL card organization needs some work). Most states I have multiple contacts for except for Alaska, Wyoming, and Delaware. The drive up to Richmond took about an hour and the parking lot was packed. Tons of cars and trucks with amateur radio license plates, most bristling with antennae. Arriving at 9:30am (the door had opened at 8:30am) I found no line and was able to walk right in. The hall was packed. I found the ARRL card checkers right away and dropped my cards off. Wondering around, I saw mostly junk… but some good stuff. I ended up purchasing a mobile antenna for 40M and 20M as well as a bumper mount. Ending up back at the card checker I was told that my cards were good to go and I can expect to get my WAS certificate in about a month.
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
This is the first book I’m reading on my Sony Reader. I’m not really sure how I ended up with this book… I was noodling through Sony’s Connect digital bookstore and before I knew it, I’d downloaded the book. The author, Chuck Klosterman, is brilliantly insightful and a pleasure to read. The book consists of a dozen or so essays on Gen X culture and life in general. His writing style reminds me of a long, lost friend Scott Petri… witty, intellectual, and diabolically hilarious.
More on the Sony Reader: I like it! Weight is nice. Size is comfortable. Best of all is the readability of the eInk…. it is almost like reading off of paper. I’ve loaded up a total of 70 some odd books to include two additional Klosterman novels. When I find an author I like, I tend to want to read all they’ve written: Nick Hornsby, Neal Stephenson, Bill Bryson…. and my maddening addiction to Rick Steves travel guides.
NPR: Books for Armchair Travel and Adventure
Great segment on NPR’s Morning Edition yesterday with Librarian Nancy Pearl. She recommends about a half dozen armchair travel books, all of which sound like fun reads: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7108840
Nancy Pearl is an interesting character… she is a famous librarian (who knew there was such a thing as a famous librarian) out in Seattle. There is even an action figured that’s been made in her likeness. Read more about her at Wikipedia.
Able Archer 83
Fascinating article from Wikipedia on a major Cold War event:
Able Archer 83 was a ten-day NATO exercise starting on November 2, 1983 that spanned the continent of Europe and simulated a coordinated nuclear release. It incorporated a new, unique format of coded communication, radio silences, participation by heads of state, and a simulated DEFCON 1 nuclear alert. The realistic nature of the exercise, coupled with deteriorating relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and the anticipated arrival of “super-stealth” Pershing II nuclear missiles in Europe, led some in the USSR to believe that Able Archer 83 was a genuine nuclear first strike. In response, the Soviets readied their nuclear forces and placed air units in East Germany and Poland on alert. This relatively obscure incident is considered by many historians to be the closest the world has come to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The immediate threat of nuclear war abruptly ended with the conclusion of the Able Archer 83 exercise on November 11, which, coincidentally, was also Remembrance Day.
The Sony Reader
I now have two goals to maximize my reader: (1) figure out how to easily reconfigure PDF files so they can be viewed on the reader and (2) create a solid digital library of great and enjoyable literature.
Be Prepared for this Scouting Award
The Scouting 100 Radio Award is awarded for contacting Scout stations during 2007, the Centenary year of Scouting. This is an International award, available to any operator – it is also available on a listener basis, with the same requirements as the operator award.
Objective:
To help celebrate the centenary of Scouting through the medium of radio. To help publicise the Centenary, and to provide radio amateurs the opportunity of gaining another Award. Although not intended for profit, any surplus made will go to support Radio Scouting in developing countries.
Duration:
The Award will begin at 00:00:01 on January 1st 2007 and finish at 23:59:59 December 31st 2007.
Bands and Modes:
The Award is available through all bands and all modes, within the terms of the individual’s radio licence. The Award is also available through Echolink and IRLP modes. The Award can be endorsed for any special modes or bands ie ‘All satellite contacts;’ ‘all QRP contacts,’ etc. Activity for the Award should be focused around the Scout frequencies.
Requirements:
Stations are required to contact Scout and Guide stations to count for
points as follows:
* Each ordinary Scout station counts one point.
* Special Event Scout stations count 2 points.
* The World Jamboree, Gilwell Park and Brownsea Island stations count 5 points.
* Your logs should be verified as accurate by 2 other local radio amateurs.
* Normal log information is required with the following additional information: Name, Scout details and age of the operator of the station you contact. Your age should also be submitted when applying for Awards. Female operators send `YL’ as their age!
Website:
The Award is supported online by a website – full details of the award are available at www.scouting100award.org. An Honour Roll of Award holders will also be published on the website.
Contact: info@scouting100award.org
Post Christmas Wrap Up
Christmas was good to me. I received a NorCal 40A kit along with David B. Rutledge’s The Electronics of Radio. Together these items make up a basic analog electronics’s course and my hope is to build the kit and learn more about electronics and radio.
Notes from the budding brewmaster: The final bottles of my first batch of beer were actually quite good. It worked out to the following: 2 weeks in the keg, 2 weeks in the bottle, 3 days in the fridge. Very tasty. Also – I’m sticking to regular white sugar for the carbonation.
I’ve also been spending way to much time playing Age of Empires III on my laptop.
I need to get in the radio room, tidy up, catch up on logging in a stack of QSL cards, and prepare for Straight Key Night.