Well, I don't believe there is ANYTHING illegal or immoral about posting this; the information is readily available (both to you & me and the Soviets), and if the military didn't want to be heard, they'd be encrypted and/or use spread-spectrum or frequency hopping - they definitely would NOT send in the clear. For all you anti-freedom-of-anything people, here goes. Dontcha just love America? This is precisely what makes us different (better), people! ---- cut here ---------- Upper side band is used almost exclusively, except for some LSB VIP communications. Skyking, Foxtrot, and EAM (Emergency Action Messages) appear to be related to the status of nuclear defense forces (coded messages are passed via clear voice). They are generally in one of two nets, SAC or GCCS (Global Command and Control System). MAC is Military Airlift Command. VIP planes generally are out of 89th MAW (Military Airlift Wing). Here are some of the more interesting (or common) callsigns. I'll assume the meaning of some of the more common acronyms is obvious. Any of the "1" callsigns signifying president aboard can be replaced with "2" for the VP. In some cases, there are 2 callsigns with the same meaning; I show them on the same line. Callsign ----------- Acrobat - Andrews AFB Agar + 2 digits - EC-135N (Flying Command Post) Crown - White House Comm Agency Dropkick - SAC HQ, Offutt AFB, NE Electric - National Emergency Airborne Command Post Edgy + digits, Sentry - AWACS, Tinker AFB, OK Army 1 - Army helo with President Exec 1 - Commercial flight with President Exec 1F - Commercial flight with President's family Fertile - SAGE/NORAD network center, Ft. Lee, VA Fivespot, Fletcher - Commando unit designator Flynest - Nuclear & Chem/Bio Warfare Disaster Team Golden - General net Air->Ground for any TAC station Goliath - NORAD, Duluth, MN Hilda - MAC Command Jolly + 2 digits - SAR (Search and Rescue) helo (not on mission) King + 2 digits - SAR aircraft (not on mission) Marine 1, Night Hawk - USMC helo with President Mac + digits - MAC aircraft Mainsail - General net Air->Ground for any GCCS station Pedro + 2 digits, Save - Local rescue craft Phantom - MAC, European Theater Control Ringmaster - NORAD HQ, Cheyenne Mt., CO SAM + digits - VIP mission 01 = foreign head of state 86971 = Secretary of State 86972 = National Security Advisor Skybird - General net Air->Ground for any SAC station Skyking - General net Ground->Air for any SAC station Spar, Afkai + 2 digits - 89th MAW, VIP Swan, Teal - Weather recon Tonight - MAC Pacific Control USAF + digits - Flights over foreign territories 3 letter word + 3 digits - Student on training mission 6 letter word + 1 digit - Combat training mission 3-5 letter word + 2 digits - SAC bomber or tanker 6-15 letter word or 2 words - SAC ground station Abnormal 10 - SAMTEC, Vandenberg AFB Abnormal 20 - SAMTEC, Wheeler AFB Some frequencies (KHz): SAC A (Alfa): 11243 SAC B (Bravo): 11220 SAC Q (Quebec): 6761 (very busy and probably easiest to hear regularly) SAC YQ: 11408 GCCS 6750, 6753 NORAD 9723, 11141, 11441, 14894 SAMTEC 10780, 13218, 17248, 20390 It's easiest to find military traffic in the following ranges: 6700-6900, 8950-9020, 11100-11300, 13200-13300 VIP aircraft tend to be found in the 11 and 13 MHz ranges. Also, almost all of the RTTY traffic is encrypted. It may seem obvious, but if you take the spectrum (applies to VHF/UHF too), eliminate the KNOWN frequencies (e.g. ham, broadcast, public service, marine), what's left is generally what the military uses (although they can be found almost anywhere). Also, spy stations (e.g. "numbers" stations, RTTY) like to hide in the skirts of a broadcast station signal, which makes them hard to find and copy. So, what does this mean to WASHBURN looks like a SAC ground station, while ZEUS (correct spelling) and FRED look like either bombers or tankers. ZEUS is almost certainly a bomber. Fred is a Flintstone. Have Fun! 73 -- Mike Pflueger @ AG Communication Systems (formerly GTE Comm. Sys.), Phoenix, AZ UUCP: {...!ames!ncar!noao!asuvax | uunet!zardoz!hrc | att}!gtephx!pfluegerm