Friday, June 21, 2013

Over-the-Horizon Radar on the Rise


We reported in the June issue on the reappearance of over-the-horizon radar (dubbed a "woodpecker" back in the '80s due to its rat-a-tat sound) on the amateur bands. Now it seems that their numbers are increasing. The International Amateur Radio Union's Region 1 (Europe and Africa) Monitoring System is reporting the appearance of an OTH radar signal on 20 meters that appears to be originating from England, one of nearly a dozen such signals that have recently been heard on 20, as well as 30 more on 10 meters and 65 OTH radar systems on the 15-meter band. The full report is available online at <tinyurl.com/hamband-intruder-alert>.
A US Navy Over-the-Horizon radar installation. None of the
OTH radar signals on the ham bands appear to be
originating in the United States. (Naval Research
Laboratory photo)