Ken Kopp wrote:
It seems
... to me anyway ... that attempting to keep MARS
frequencies "secret" is terribly silly! Do the MARS "leaders"
actually think they aren't / can't be heard by anyone who wants
to listen??!! What's the rationale?
Am I missing something?
Probably not :-) US Military frequencies themselves aren't really a
secret, they just aren't typically publicized all that much. Been that
way since I was in uniform in the 60's-70's and probably long before
that. Far more important in terms of secrecy is linking a frequency to
an operational unit and/or location. You can't stop someone from
intercepting an unencrypted radio transmission, but you sure don't want
to tell him who is using it, where, and for what. It is also common for
frequencies to have some designator [e.g. "Charlie One"] for on-the-air
QSY requirements rather than stating the actual frequency in the clear.
Obviously, with some heavy sleuthing one could discover the connection
between a designator and a frequency.
Some military/MARS frequencies do get publicized in the announcements
for the annual Armed Forces Day cross-band operations. I'm not sure if
it is a custom firmware download from Elecraft or some other mechanism
from them, but I do know that your K3 can be made to operate on MARS
frequencies outside the ham bands if you are authorized to be there.
Hoping to work a LOT of Elecrafters in the Cal QSO Party this weekend.
I'll be working CW shifts at N6A for Alpine County. If you need Alpine
for anything, we're your QSO, at last check there still aren't any
active hams in the county.
73,
Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2008 Cal QSO Party 4-5 Oct 08
- www.cqp.org
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