Squeaky Wheel

The Squeaky Wheel

Alpha 45

Basic data

Oblast:

Leningrad

Country:

Russia

Coordinates are missing! Help.

Use:

Military use

Accessibility:

Transmission system not accessible to the public

Data on the transmission system

Waveband :

SW transmitter

Further data

Operator:

Russian military

The Squeaky Wheel (German: the squeaky wheel ) is the English nickname for a Russian shortwave signal that transmits at night on the frequency of 3828 kHz and during the day on the frequency of 5473 kHz. Until 2008, the station broadcast a sound reminiscent of a screeching wheel, which is what gave it its nickname. Squeaky Wheel now sends an ascending sequence of three tones.

Squeaky Wheel is part of the Monolith network and serves the southern military district together with The Pip , Baron-78 and Vega stations .

Broadcast schedule

Squeaky Wheel uses a so-called channel marker , similar to most stations in the Monolith network . It should signal to other stations that the frequency is already being transmitted. This is to prevent other, possibly stronger signals from drowning out the voice messages.

Nowadays, the transmitter continuously sends an ascending tone sequence of three tones as a channel marker, after a descending tone sequence of two tones has previously been transmitted.

In the case of a voice message, the marker pauses and the voice message is read out.

The most common callsign Squeaky Wheels is Alpha-45 (Альфа-45).

Representation of the "Squeaky Wheel" marker using a spectrum analyzer .

Voice messages from Squeaky Wheel

Voice messages are typically sent weekly to daily, but they are not always recorded. Voicemail lists can be found on Priyom.org and the Numbers-Stations.com database, among others

Squeaky Wheels voice messages, just like voice messages from The Pip, are based on the "Monolith" and "Dlya" formats, which are common message formats in the Monolith network

History of Squeaky Wheel

The first voice message still known today was recorded on March 16, 2011, the transmitter has been listed in the Enigma Control List ( ECL for short ) since 2000 as XSW , i.e. as a tone transmitter, but was renamed to S32 in 2005 .

Location

The exact location of the transmitter is unknown, it is believed to be in the Rostov-on-Don area . However, this has so far not been officially confirmed or denied.

Web links

Squeaky Wheel - Information page about this station at Priyom.org (English)
Enigma Control List (ECL) - Entry on Squeaky Wheel (PDF document; English)
UTDX-Wiki - Article about Squeaky Wheel

Individual evidence

↑ Monochrome Reflections : From The Conet Project to Today - S3Ex - S28 "The Buzzer", S30 "The Pip", S32 "The Squeaky Wheel". In: YouTube. May 15, 2014, accessed on July 16, 2020 .

↑ Russia ›Priyom.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .

↑ priyom.org: Previous channel marker . Accessed January 30, 2020

↑ 2020 ›The Squeaky Wheel› Priyom.org. Retrieved June 27, 2020 .

↑ The NSRIC Database. Retrieved June 27, 2020 .

^ Priyom.org: 2011 Activity . Retrieved October 10, 2013.

↑ ^a ^b The Squeaky Wheel ›Priyom.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .

[1] Monochrome Reflections : From The Conet Project to Today - S3Ex - S28 "The Buzzer", S30 "The Pip", S32 "The Squeaky Wheel". In: YouTube. May 15, 2014, accessed on July 16, 2020 .

[2] Russia ›Priyom.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .

[3] riyom.org: Previous channel marker . Accessed January 30, 2020

[4] 2020 ›The Squeaky Wheel› Priyom.org. Retrieved June 27, 2020 .

[5] The NSRIC Database. Retrieved June 27, 2020 .

[6] Priyom.org: 2011 Activity . Retrieved October 10, 2013.

[:0-7] The Squeaky Wheel ›Priyom.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020 .