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G0FTD > SWL 20.04.05 02:02l 94 Lines 4969 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 4C0461G0FTD
Read: GUEST DK5RAS
Subj: More Cold War Jamming 4/5
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Sent: 050419/1518Z @:GB7SXE.#38.GBR.EU #:28149 [Hastings] FBB7.00i $:4C0461G0FT
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To : SWL@WW
RFE/RL archive document dated July 14, 1971: "From 11 to 27 of December,
1970, RFE Polish channels were jammed by music programs without
announcements, whereby Poland used several of its short-wave channels.
This was caused by the unrest in Gdansk and other Polish cities.
On 18 March 1971 jamming activity was resumed. After two days modulation
became distorted. Added was an increased jamming activity from the USSR:
partly Mayak jamming (distorted) and partly pop music (distorted).
RFE/RL archive document dated January 27, 1982: "Soon after the
commencement of martial law in Poland, heavy jamming from transmitters l
ocated inside the Soviet Union was affecting all of our [RFE] Polish
frequencies. At the same time we noticed a dramatic decrease in jamming
on the Czechoslovakian service. This indicates that the jamming
transmitters covering our Czechoslovakian programs were shifted to cover
Poland".
Research of the Institute for Telecommunications Services: "In many
instances, a specific marker could be associated with a particular
broadcast language. For example, the jammer with the marker "1G",
located near Leningrad, primarily jammed Polish language broadcasts.
An interesting feature of most of the Polish language jammers was that
they were not located within the borders of Poland. For example,
jammers that were associated with Polish language broadcasts were found
in Leningrad ("1G"), Tashkent ("4F"), and Kiev ("1D")".
Jamming in Czechoslovakia. "RFE/RL Research": "Before the invasion of
Czechoslovakia this language service was jammed by stations both inside
and outside the country. The latter are in the USSR. On May 8, 1968
Czechoslovakia had stopped all jamming except for some transmissions
of RFE. Immediately after the [Soviet] invasion and for several days
thereafter there seemed to be some confusion among the jamming networks
and some of the lower frequencies we used for Czechoslovak were free of
jamming. What jamming there was on the higher frequencies then seemed to
be by jammers in the USSR, and for a while the medium and lower
short-wave frequencies were quite clear of jamming. This situation
changed about the beginning of September 1968 when [...] the former
jammers located in Czechoslovakia made a slow comeback: the old call
sign "Z3" was first heard again on 25 November, 1968 and "G7"
reappeared on 7 January 1969. A new stronger jammer started on
[medium wave] 719 kc on 25 March 1969. In summary, all Czechoslovak
frequencies are now heavily jammed from the USSR and Hungary, and from
within Czechoslovakia.
Jamming against the RFE Czechoslovak service has varied over the years,
but can in general be characterised as heavy noise jamming". There were
18 local town jammers in Czechoslovakia. Three sky wave jamming radio
stations transmitted interference to the USSR and Bulgaria.
Jamming in Bulgaria: In 1951-1988 there was a network of local jamming
stations, covering all the major cities, as well as several sky wave
jamming radio centers, beamed at the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Jamming in Hungary: The local and sky wave radio jamming centers were
active between 1951 and 1964. By the end of February 1964, no incoming
cross-border jamming was heard, except one low-power station in the
Ukraine.
RFE research document "A history of jamming", dated 17 October 1965:
"The classic jamming pattern still found in the case of RFE Czech/Slovak
and Bulgarian Services (and used against all RFE languages prior to
November 1956) is that of extensive coverage of a country with low -
or medium - intensity interference from long-range jammers located in
the Soviet Union or in other satellites, plus reinforcement in highly
populated areas by large numbers of local jammers. Generally a number
of transmitters at different locations are active against each
frequency to be jammed. Operations are coordinated by a central
authority which includes a monitoring facility for identifying jamming
targets and probably for assessing effectiveness."
In the early seventies USIA announced its plan to use communications
satellites to start television broadcasting directly into the USSR
and Eastern Europe. According to Viktor Sheimov, a KGB communications
expert who fled to the West, the Central Committee of the Communist
Party instructed the Institute of Space Research to design a satellite
television jamming system.
The scientists had concluded that jamming of satellite television with
existing surface jammers would probably be ineffective due to the
narrow beam receiving antennas.
On 27 March 1990 at 1:30 a.m. local time the American TV Marti started
broadcasting into Cuba from the U.S. air balloon Fat Albert (part of
the U.S. border surveillance system) floating over Cudjoe Key, South
of Florida. Cubans had installed many small jamming transmitters
beforehand that effectively "erased" the first TV Marti programs.
Contined in part 5...
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