854 lines
44 KiB
Plaintext
854 lines
44 KiB
Plaintext
Cybertek Electric: Issue #1 12/24/95
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¢ss es flestra ferdha f”r; en sk lpr es sverdha
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/ |\ /| /|\ |\ |\ /| |-\ \ /
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/ | \ / | / | \ | \ | \ / | | \ \ /
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/ | \ / | / | \ | \ | \ / | | > / \ /
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/ | \/ | / | \ | / | \/ | | / / / /
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\ | | | | < | | | \ / / \
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\ | | | | \ | | | > \ / \
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\ | | | | \ | | | / \ \
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\ | | | | \ | | |-/ \ \
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I know a fifteenth, which Thiodhroerir the dwarf sang before Delling's door.
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He sang might to the Aesir, power to the elves, and understanding to Odin.
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Cybertek Electric: Premiere Issue
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December 24th., 1995
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edited by Thomas Icom/IIRG
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<ticom@l0pht.com> <thomas.icom@iirg.com>
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Complements of OCL/Magnitude's Project Blackthorn,
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and The International Information Retrieval Guild (IIRG)
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Table of Contents
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=================
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- Greetings and Salutations!
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- Monitoring Russian Communications, by Tom Roach <troach@netcom.com>
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- Urban Survival (Part I), by Douglas P. Bell
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- Building a By-Phone
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- Poetry from Spiral Chambers #8
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"State of the Nation", by Janet Kuypers
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"Shades of Gray", by Liz Dubuisson
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Greetings and Salutations!
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A year ago, I started getting an increase in inquiries about an electronic
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version of _Cybertek: The Cyberpunk Technical Journal_; a print 'zine I
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started back in the Spring of 1990 (which was the resurrection of an earlier
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'zine, _The UTU Journal_, which I worked on in 1986, but I digress). Over the
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course of the year I looked into the possibility of doing so, and the
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inquiries started adding up.
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Doing an e-zine has several advantages. The time required and financial outlay
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is less than that of a print zine, the distribution is easier, and your
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potential audience is wider. It also has its disadvantages. Many ignorant,
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misinformed, and just plain outright malevolent types in the power structure
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feel that electronic media for some reason has less freedom under the First
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Amendment than does print media; where there is currently no doubt about the
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sanctity of the freedom of press and speech. America On-Line, in a recent
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attempt to maintain the "decency" of their service, prohibited the use of the
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word "breast" on their service. This caused an untold amount of grief to
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people who were having discussions about (breast) cancer and certain aspects
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of infant care (breast feeding). That is just the tip of the iceberg. Current
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legislation in Congress and the Senate, if passed, would not only impose
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censorship on the Internet, but also outright gut the First Amendment. They
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claim all the standard "humanitarian" reasons for their drive to impose
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censorship, but appears that they fail to realize the truth behind Ben
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Franklin's immortal words "If you trade a little freedom for a little
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security, soon you will have neither."
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My attitude has always been that since man seems incapable of governing
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himself, then he's even less capable of governing others. At least though, if
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you give someone the opportunity of choosing their own path, and the
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capability towards self-sufficiency and self-reliance (in essence self-
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government); the fault or merit of their actions rests solely on their head.
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They can either choose to exist as a free spirit, or fall into the trap of
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complacency and stupidity that a significant portion of society seems to have
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unfortunately fallen into. Either way, they were given the opportunity to go
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either way and their resultant situation, good or bad, is attributable to no
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one but themselves.
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Cybertek has always, through education, tried to prompt people to not be
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afraid to think for themselves, do their own research, come to their own
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conclusions, maintain their self-sufficiency and self-reliance, and seek their
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own path; wherever it may lead. I hope the encouragement and spread of these
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memes are properly continued through Cybertek Electric, and that when the time
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comes, those who have been so touched defend their divine right to do what
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they shall, as long as it harms none.
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Anyway, we'll be publishing Cybertek Electric on a sporadic basis (dependent
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on feedback and submissions) through Usenet, via a mailing list (Email me at
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either of my addresses at the end of this issue if you're interested in
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getting it mailed directly to you.), and through RuneStone BBS, IIRG WHQ
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(860-585-9638, NUP: Cyberdeck). I hope you all enjoy our latest endeavor.
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-Thomas Icom/IIRG
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May Odin guide your way.
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---/////---
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Monitoring Russian Communications
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by Tom Roach
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<troach@netcom.com>
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A fascinating facet but not widely publicized portion of the SWL hobby is the
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monitoring of Russian radioteletype (RTTY) and continuous wave (CW) i.e. Morse
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code, transmissions. Why the Russians? Regrettably, because they are about
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the only ones left who send any amount of meaningful unencrypted traffic on
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HF. With the terrible financial status that governs most of Russian commerce,
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the financial resources to update this antiquated system are not yet in place.
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Still, as Janis Joplin said "Get it while you can!". Many fascinating insights
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can be gained from pursuing this relatively seldom pursued hobby of monitoring
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HF radioteletype signals. In the future you once again may gain an insight
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into the Soviet Space program by monitoring the messages sent to their space
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program's Space Event Support Ships (SESS). Since the end of the cold war the
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Russians have been forced to mothball this incredible fleet of collection
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vessels. Perhaps when things stabilize these interesting ships and their
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fascinating communications will be heard once again by fascinated hobbyists.
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Today's hobbyist will have to be satisfied with Russian commerce. This isn't
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all that grim. You might come across the cargo manifest of a Russian
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freighter. This may be the first indication to the general public if the
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Russian bear turns sinister, as they may change from carrying fish meal to
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weapons. You certainly will be able to find out more about the Russian
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fishing industry then you ever cared to know! But learning how to analyze
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these messages is great training in case things liven up. T here is always the
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adventure of at sea medical emergencies. Here are is an example of that and
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other "typical" Russian messages you might encounter:
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RTMS MALAYA ZEMLYA NVR/MRKH 111 94 20/7 0000=
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Translation: Message is addressed to a Russian vessel named the Malaya
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Peninsula home ported in Novorossisk. There message is time stamped 20 July at
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midnight.
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2 ADRESA [Two addresses]
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NOVOROSSIYSK VODZDRAV GBZDRAV USOVSKOMU EZDRAV RAMZANOVU= [Novorossiysk,
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Usovskiy, Ramzanov]
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[From ship to two "zdrav"s. A "zdrav" is a medical treatment point, probably
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similar to a naval hospital is this case.]
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PRODOLZHENIE NASHEY 135/07 [Continuation of our [message] 135/07]
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2/ GARIFULIN EDUARD {LAST NAME DELETED FOR PRIVACY} 1945 G ELEKTRIK OBRATILSYA
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070791 G ZHALOBY NA SLABOST' GOLOVNUYU BOL' VYSOKUYU TEMPERATURU 39.7 T4K ZEV
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4ISTYY V LEGKIKH ZHESTKOE DYKHANIE KHRIPOV NET PERKUTORNO LEGO4NYY ZVUKH
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GOLOSOVOE DROZHZHAN IE USILENNO T4K POLU4IL OKSATSILIN 1.0 =50SLOV= 2 RAZA
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SUTKI V/M GENTOMITSIN 0.08 2 RAZA SUTKI V/M RASTVOR ANAL'GINA 50 PROTSENTNYY
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2 .0 V/5. 048 0926SHENII TEMPERATURY DO 39 GRADUSOV POLIVITAMINY T4K 120791 G
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GOSPITALIZIROVAN GOSPITAL' PORTA MONTE VIDEO DIAGNOZOM PRAVOSTORONNYAYA
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PNEVMONIYA RENTGENOLOGI4ESKI DIAGNOZ PODTVERZHDEN
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Translation:
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7/7/91, Electrician Eduard XXXX ([born] 1945) complained of weakness, head
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pain, a high temperature of 39.7 [C]. His mouth was clean, in his lungs
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breathing was tough, no wheezing, [?] pulmonary sound, vocal trembling
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increased. He received Oxatcil in 1.0 =50 words= 2 times a day V/M
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Gentamyacin [?} 0.08 2 times a day v/m a 50% [analgesic?] solution. [Lowered?
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-looks garbled] his temperature to 39 degrees [with?] poly-vitamins. 7/12/91
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Hospitalized in the Montevideo port hospital with a diagnosis of right-side
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pneumonia. An x-ray diagnosis corroborated.
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FMED FEDOROV= [FMED (probably an abbreviation of an administrative title like
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fleet medical officer)] Fedorov 136/07 KMD PUKHAL'SKIY [countersigned by the
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vessel's master named Pukhal'skiy] NNNN [NNNN is used to indicate the end of a
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message]
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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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BATM 6124 LNG/MRKH 4 102 2/7 0600=
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2 ADRESA=
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LENINGRAD RYBRADIO PRPG SAMTSOVU KOPIYA PRFL KOVALENKO=
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DOKOVANIE BATM 6124 BYLO OPREDELENO ADMINISTRATSIEY ABSA 290791 TCHK ODNAKO NA
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SUDNE POSTAVLENNOM DOK DO 6124 OBNARUZHENY RAZRYVY OBSHIVKI PODVODNOR CHASTI
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KORPUSA ZPT SVYAZI ETIM POSTANOVKA 6124 DOK BUDET PROIZVEDENA TOL'KO POSLE
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150891 TCHK NAMI NA PRAVLENO PIS'MO ADMINISTRA TSII ABSA PREDUPREZHDENIEM O
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TOM CHTO POTERI PRIBYLI ZA PROSTOY SUDNA 100891 BUDUT OTNESENY ZA SCHET ABSA
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TCHK SUDNO PO VSEM CHASTYAM ZA ISKLYUCHENIEM PODVODNOY CHASTI BUDET
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PRED'YAVLENO REGINTRU SSSR 150891 TCHK PROSHU VAS HEGO RAZRESHENIYA NA
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ZADERZHKU VYLETA NA RODINU DO OKONCHANIYA PRED'YAVLENIYA REGISTRU PODVODNOY
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CHASTI INZHENERA REGISTRA OMILAEVA V V I MONTAZHNIKA KOZLOVA V V=
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37/08 KM CHUMAK
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==================================
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Translation:
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Docking of BATM 6124 was set for 7/29/91 by the administration of ABSA.
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However, tears were discovered in the plating of the underwater part of the on
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the supply ship. In connection with this, docking will be carried out only
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after 8/15/91. We were sent a letter from the ABSA administration warning
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about losses. The ships will be [?] on 8/10/91 owing to ABSA. All parts of
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the ship, with the exception of the underwater part, will be shown to the USSR
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Register on 8/15/91. We ask your permission to delay flying to the Motherland
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until the conclusion of showing the underwater part to the register. Register
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Engineer V.V. Omilayev and Fitter V.V. Kozlov.
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-----
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RTMKS-0901 TLN/MRKH 12 24 2/8 0500=
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TALLINN NARVA MANTE 2 KV 20 FEDOROVOY=
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LYUBIMAYA POZVONYU 4 AVGUSTA 07 40 UTRA VYLETAYU MOSKVY 15 AVGUSTA 16 05 REYS
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2117 TSELUYU=SLAVA
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Translation:
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Tallinn, Narva. Mante 2, Apt. 20. [to Ms.] Federova
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Beloved, I will call you Aug. 4 at 7:40 in the morning. I'll be flying into
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Moscow Aug. 15 at 16:05, Flight 2117. Love, Slava.
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-----
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As you can see you can never be sure of what you will come across. The
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following is based on my personal exposure to this facet of the SWL world. I
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have tried to provide the names of vendors for specialized books or equipment
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as necessary. My opinions on equipment are just that. Given the constraints
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of cost and interest level, whatever works for you is best. I only hope that
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you will share the fruits of your experience with others, on Compuserve or the
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Internet. Please read the following in the spirit it is given; a desire to
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share what knowledge I have picked up since concentrating on this part of the
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SWL hobby.
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Soviet CW
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In theory this will be the least expensive of two paths of the hobby since the
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receiver requirements are less critical, and therefore less costly. To really
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keep expenses low you need only to be able to copy Morse code. Technology
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opens the door for those with the budget who can not copy Morse code. Even if
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you can copy Morse, you better be able to copy at least 20 WPM and that is at
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the slow end of the spectrum for most Soviet CW transmissions. Also the
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Soviets use special Morse characters for some characters peculiar to the
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Cyrillic alphabet. When you are ripping along at 20 WPM a "new" or unfamiliar
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character can throw you for a loop. For example "di di dah dah" is the Morse
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symbol for the Russian "YA". Not especially difficult but it will take you a
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while to add new characters to those you already know and still copy at 20
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WPM. A complete table of Morse code characters for Russian, Japanese, Arabic
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and other languages can be found on page 19-3 of the 1988 [or later] ARRL
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Handbook (approximately $20). This book, and I presume the more recent
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editions, also has a lot of other useful technical information and should be
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in every serious SWL'rs library.
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As already noted, the receiver requirements for CW are less stringent than for
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RTTY. Among relatively low cost alternatives, I find the Sony ICF-2010, an
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already excellent ISWBC receiver, generally adequate for CW. I recently made
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a side by side comparison of my NRD-525 and the Sony. I connected them both
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to the same 100 foot longwire and tuned to a weak CW signal. Using this
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highly "scientific" comparison <grin> I found that the weak signal was
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completely audible on both receivers. In a crowded environment the Sony's
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lower quality "narrow" filter will not perform in the same league as a NRD-525
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equipped with a 500 Hz filter. [I have since moved up to a Watkins-Johnson HF-
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1000 receiver with a CW bandwidth as narrow as 56 Hz is now possible!].
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When I first tried to compare the NRD-525 with the Sony on the same signal
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(see comments on "COL" in Havana, Cuba which is discussed later), I wrote the
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Sony off as a total loss. I couldn't hear the signal at all on the Sony while
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it was loud and clear on the NRD. Then it dawned on me. I tuned the Sony 800
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Hz BELOW the actual RF (in this case the NRD was on 15024 kHz and the Sony was
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retuned to 15023.2 kHz) and my initial disgust turned to satisfaction. So if
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you are using a Sony ICF-2010 or a receiver which works in a similar manner,
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don't forget to SUBTRACT the 800 Hz when tuning for CW signals based on
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"exact" frequencies listed by the Confidential Frequency List (CFL) {also to
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be discussed further below} or similar publications. For those that have the
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money you might think you could purchase an M6000 or M7000 and read the CW on
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a VDT or computer monitor. My attempts at doing this indicate that the signal
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better be near perfect quality if you expect good results. The best automatic
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CW demodulator is a poor second to a practiced human working a "typical" CW
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signal. Assuming you are able to copy Soviet CW, what can you expect to find
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in this traffic? Soviet CW often sends messages that appear identical to
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those you will see if you are able to copy Soviet radioteletype. The Soviets
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also use CW to transmit weather warnings and naval area closures. I recall
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one message notifying of a closure in the East China Sea. I used the
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Compuserve "GO NEWSGRID" feature using the keyword MILITARY. A recovered news
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story revealed the Chinese were holding a simulated nuclear attack war game in
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this area. From personal experience I can recommend Ferrell's Confidential
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Frequency List (9th edition) [CFL] as a source of exact frequencies to tune to
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for either CW or RTTY. In many cases the CFL will tell you the exact UTC time
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at which Naval weather or Naval warnings will be broadcast. To successfully
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monitor radioteletype signals you will need a good short wave receiver, a
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radioteletype "decoder" device, and a computer or video monitor. First, the
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receiver. The requirement for radioteletype is that your receiver be "stable"
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and selective. The stability is required because if your receiver drifts in
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frequency, then the signal you send to the decoder device will eventually be
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unusable. The Soviets seem to use stable transmitters so any drift you deal
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with is likely to be due to your receiver. The selectivity requirement is to
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keep other nearby signals from interfering with you. If you have an HF-1000
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you can set the bandwidth to 225 Hz otherwise for most receivers I find the
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"narrow" 500 Hz bandwidth filter works nicely with "standard" 170 Hz frequency
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shift signals For ARQ/SI TOR A signals the bandwidth should be at least 325
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Hz. Actually a good decoder like the M-7000 seems to tolerate interference
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from "nearby" signals quite well. In reality you will seldom find two signals
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which interfere with each other because they a re close to the same frequency.
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They are usually either the same frequency [no filter will help that!] or on
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an adjacent channel and thus separated enough in frequency so the pose little
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threat of interfering with the chosen signal. For RTTY your receiver should
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ideally be tunable in frequency increments of 10 Hz or better. It also would
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be nice if the receiver was actually tuned to exactly the frequency it
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indicates. An error as small as 40 Hz, whether from drift, mistuning, or poor
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receiver tuning calibration can result in a garbled signal. Receivers of
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adequate technical means to monitor radioteletype include (but are not limited
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to) the Kenwood R-5000, JRC NRD-525/535D series, Watkins-Johnson HF-1000, and
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the ICOM R-71A. Top notch receivers [new] will cost somewhere between $800 to
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$4000. You should a reasonably good antenna and a relatively noise (RFI) free
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location. By reasonably good, a "longwire" at least 25 feet, or more, in
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length is desirable. The next component in the system is the RTTY decoder. I
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suggest you discuss this purchase with the technical staff of any of the major
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SWL retail stores [EEB, Gilfer, Universal Radio, Grove are popular in the
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United States, and Lowe in Great Britain]. If you live in the United States,
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look for their ads in magazines such as Monitoring Times or Popular
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Communications.
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I like to be able to store intercepted radioteletype data in a computer file
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for subsequent analysis, not just read it off a monitor or print it out. There
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are PC compatible decoder cards but my personal favorite decoder box remains
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the Universal M-7000. If you do buy an M-7000, be SURE that the RS-232 is
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correctly wired. It does NOT use the standard "straight through" connections.
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Make sure your dealer understands and can supply or tell you how to rewire the
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RS-232 plug. The Russians still use one of the least complex RTTY transmission
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schemes to transmit the majority of their radioteletype messages. [Note: This
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is still true although they are using ARQ/SITOR A as well]. Most of the
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signals you will want to copy use a 50 baud speed with a 170 Hz, frequency
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shift to transmit data. I often pick up Soviet ships in the ARQ or SITORA
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mode as well. For the optimal subsequent analysis of your data you are best
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served if you have a microcomputer.
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MONITORING AND ANALYZING SOVIET DATA
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First you must locate a Russian signal to monitor. I live on the West coast
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of the United States so I find it particularly easy to monitor transmissions
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from Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk. Both of these Russian cities are renowned
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military and civilian maritime hotbeds. Another Russian city close to
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Vladivostok which also generates maritime traffic of interest is Nakhodka. It
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is very helpful to have some good reference material. Based on the logs I have
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seen from listeners in the mid West an d East coast of the United States,
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Russian signals are even easier to find. A good place to look for frequencies
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bands to monitor is the CFL or Confidential Frequency List. If you are on the
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Internet, send me an enmail message and I will tell you how to join a
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shortwave group which specializes in monitoring these sort and similar
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transmissions [troach@netcom.com]. The following are some bands where you are
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likely to encounter Russian radioteletype activity. 6300.5 to 6311.5 kHz
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6314.5 to 6501.0 kHz 8396.5 to 8437.0 kHz 12560.0 to 12656.5 kHz 16785 to
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16903.0 kHz If you live on the West coast of the United States things are not
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as active as they are on the East coast. If you live in Europe, well I don't
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think you will have ANY trouble finding signals to work on. For my location
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(San Jose, CA) I currently [December 1995] find the 8 and 12 Mhz segments the
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best during early to mid-evening. Following the instructions which came with
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your decoder, set your decoder for 170 Hz, 50 baud signals. Tune in 500 Hz
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increments between the signal RF limits listed above. I have discovered four
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other frequencies. Typical Russian radioteletype traffic can be heard from
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Soviet station UKA in Vladivostok. It often consists of the Soviet equivalent
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of MARSGRAMS. That is to say relatively brief messages from the families and
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loved ones of Russian men and women working at sea, often on a huge fishing
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vessel. If you know just a few words of Russian you can tell these messages
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from the rest. As I noted in my comments on Soviet CW, look for the Russian
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word TSELEUM. With the knowledge of just a few such words you can usually
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get the drift of most messages. The PK-232, and probably other RTTY or CW
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decoders feature a mode which outputs text in what is known as "transliterated
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Cyrillic" or "code 3". This means you get Russian words that read most like
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English. For example code 2 "Wladiwostok" is the more familiar "Vladivostok"
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in code 3. If you are used to manually copying Soviet CW, then you have been
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using "code 2". Another type of message which abounds is official messages
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that list the types and amounts of cargo. One I message I saw kept using the
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word TONNE preceded by some numbers and followed by TRESKA. A Russian
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dictionary reveals their cargo as cod fish. Another category of message that
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you may see are the KRIPTOGRAMMA series of messages. These are encrypted
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messages of a secret or private nature. Here is an example of such a
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transmission of a KRIPTOGRAMMA message:
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UPTZH UPTZH DE UKA K
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["UPTZH" (code 3) equates to a call sign in English (code 2) of "UPTV" which
|
||
the ITU listing reveals as belonging to the Severo'uralsk. She is being
|
||
called by "UKA", a Vladivostok coastal station that sends traffic to Soviet
|
||
fishing vessels.
|
||
|
||
This might be followed by:
|
||
|
||
SR VLADIVOSTOK 7093/1895 245 9/6 1400=
|
||
|
||
[This header reveals the message as coming from Vladivostok. It is numbered
|
||
"7093/1895" has 245 groups and was transmitted on "9/6" or the 9th of June at
|
||
1400 (Moscow Time).
|
||
|
||
SROCHNAYA KRIPTOGRAMMA [Immediate precedence KRIPTOGRAMMA]
|
||
|
||
3 PUNKTA
|
||
|
||
PB SUZDAL'
|
||
PB SEVEROURALSK
|
||
PB SUKHONA
|
||
|
||
OT MALAKHITA 108 =
|
||
|
||
The above is the address list and goes to three Soviet fishing vessels:
|
||
Suzdal', Severouralsk, and Sukhona. I don't know what the "OT MALAKHITA 108= "
|
||
means, except that OT is "from" and MALAKHITA is probably a meaningless name
|
||
like Sky King in our SAC messages. Then the message which might start
|
||
something like this:
|
||
|
||
DDDDD AAAAA AAAYAYA YAKKKR RREEE EEESHCHSHCH SHCHSHSHSHTS TSTSDDJ IUTKP LJNKHG
|
||
FNFASH SHCHSHSHKHY OEKEYU GNNKYA PEVSH4 YUINJK ILIKHY YAKNPT ZHSGMTS
|
||
BTSRTOIFG4Z etc., which is encrypted.
|
||
|
||
I have noted at least three distinct types of KRIPTOGRAMMA messages. The "NA
|
||
PERFOLENTE" header always appears to be followed a five letter group (if you
|
||
are in code 2 mode). My reading of Kahn's The Codebreakers makes me think this
|
||
may be a rotor setting of the sort used by the Nazi Enigma or Japanese Purple
|
||
code machines. These are variants of the old Hagelin type machines. Aegean
|
||
Park Press (Box 2837, Laguna Hills, California 92654) sells software for the
|
||
IBM PC which can be used to break simple rotor machines. In any event who
|
||
knows what luck you might have trying to decrypt them. Good luck trying to
|
||
decipher Soviet Kriptogrammas!
|
||
|
||
What do you do with the messages you intercept? I study them, and find I
|
||
slowly understand more and more of what they have to say. You might soon
|
||
become an expert in knowing how many fish the Russians are catching. The names
|
||
of Soviet ships once associated with the Soviet Academy of Sciences are
|
||
preceded by "NIS" in the address portion of the message.
|
||
|
||
You also might keep a data base of information related to a specific ship.
|
||
Who are the crew members who send messages? What is the ship Captain's name
|
||
(usually prefaced by "KMD")? Is there a sudden increase in KRIPTOGRAMMA
|
||
messages? As you examine the traffic day after day you will come up with
|
||
ideas of your own.
|
||
|
||
There are numerous books available that you might find valuable if you are
|
||
seriously considering monitoring the Russians. I have written an in depth book
|
||
titled _The Hobbyist's Guide to COMINT Collection and Analysis_. It is
|
||
available for $26 in the CO NUS and $28 for foreign orders. Send orders to:
|
||
|
||
Tom Roach
|
||
1330 Copper Peak Lane
|
||
San Jose, CA 95120-4271
|
||
|
||
You also may enjoy "The American Black Chamber" by Herbert Yardley and "The
|
||
Codebreakers" by Herman Kahn.
|
||
|
||
/////
|
||
|
||
Urban Survival, Part I
|
||
by Douglas P. Bell
|
||
|
||
To start with, let's get over the idea that all survivalists are going to get
|
||
out of "the city" in time to set up a "survival retreat". Not all survivalists
|
||
are going to have the money, time or inclination to leave the city life and
|
||
move to the middle of nowhere. First off, leaving your job and having no money
|
||
will doom you faster than anything you can think of! Also some of us just
|
||
enjoy the city lifestyle and do not enjoy the bucolic life. So the problem
|
||
remains, what are the urban survivalists to do?
|
||
|
||
Let's start with shelter. Most of us live in either single family homes or
|
||
apartments and if you rent your house or apartment that limits what you can
|
||
and can not do there. After all, it would do little good if you were to set up
|
||
a fully equipped nuclear bomb shelter in the basement and got thrown out the
|
||
following week!
|
||
|
||
However, this does not mean you are totally at the mercy of the landlord and
|
||
the elements. First off, try talking to your landlord about survivalism, or
|
||
just feel them out about their ideas of the future. This might include nuclear
|
||
war, depression, gov't control over their life, etc. If done carefully, many
|
||
people who would otherwise think of you as a fool or nut case will come around
|
||
very nicely. If not, well you aren't out anything.
|
||
|
||
If you live in one of the impersonal high-rise apartment buildings, and they
|
||
have nothing to do with you outside of getting your rent check, you might try
|
||
and find out where the chimney and venting pipes are and if you are near
|
||
enough you can tap into them for your heat and air without anyone knowing. If
|
||
the heat supply was cut off for some reason, you could put in a small wood/oil
|
||
burning stove, vent it right out the chimney, and no one would know it was
|
||
you.
|
||
|
||
For a water supply, you could use 2 liter pop bottles or plastic gallon milk
|
||
jugs. If you happen to live in an apartment building with a gravity fed water
|
||
system, that is the water supply is on the roof, during bad times you could
|
||
simply go up on the roof, shut the valves off, and tell everyone the water
|
||
supply ran out. No matter what you do, it would not hurt to have a good supply
|
||
of water stored just in case.
|
||
|
||
As to food, a years supply of freeze dried, air dried and canned goods can be
|
||
stored in a closet; so space, if you really want it, should not be a big
|
||
problem. Normally there is a lot of "dead" space to be found, under tables,
|
||
beds, dressers, desks, etc., so that you should be able to store a goodly
|
||
amount of stuff away where it will be out of sight, or at least out of the
|
||
way.
|
||
|
||
For cooking that food a wood stove will work just fine; although camp stoves,
|
||
such as the Coleman, are also small, reasonably light weight and easy to use.
|
||
Remember however that burning anything will use up your Oxygen, so have an
|
||
outside air supply coming in. This is especially true of charcoal stoves or
|
||
grills. Used in an enclosed area it will simply put you to sleep, for good!
|
||
Also beware of treated wood or plastics that will give off toxic fumes, so you
|
||
don't poison yourself.
|
||
|
||
Now I know you've been waiting for this, so we will now talk about guns. What
|
||
exactly you need is not easily done from long distance, although there are a
|
||
few basic things that most people can agree on. In urban fighting, distances
|
||
are not likely to be long, a few hundred yards at most, so you don't need a
|
||
full power battle rifle capable of shooting 1000 yards and through several
|
||
walls. Also depending on where you are, you may not be able to legally own
|
||
handguns or "assault" style weapons.
|
||
|
||
All is not lost however. A short barreled lever action rifle, such as the
|
||
Winchester 94 "Trapper" model, Marlin 336, 1894 or Rossie M92 is not likely to
|
||
send the neighbors into fits of rage as would a H&K 91 or 94. The SKS in
|
||
7.62x39 is in about the same power range as the .30-30 and is extremely cheap
|
||
right now (in the $100-$140 range, although this is always going up), as is
|
||
the ammo, so you might consider it as well. The Marlin "Camp" guns in either
|
||
9mm Luger or .45 ACP would also make good " house" guns, although the range
|
||
out of the short barrels or in the pistol calibers would be limited.
|
||
|
||
That's not all bad however, as a city in break down is likely to have roving
|
||
bands of gangs or even National Guard units (remember after Hurricane Hugo
|
||
when the Guard units joined in the looting?) that are better armed and/or more
|
||
willing to use their weapons than you. So the less shooting you do, the less
|
||
attention you will attract to yourself.
|
||
|
||
For close range firepower or "street sweeping" it is hard to beat a shotgun. A
|
||
discount house here (and many gunshows) often have the Remington 870 Express
|
||
model with a rifle slug barrel and a vent rib "Rem-Choke" (interchangeable
|
||
screw in choke) barrel for under $300.00, which has to be one of the great
|
||
bargains in the firearms field. The only down side of this gun is it is only
|
||
available in 12 gauge, and many smaller or less experienced shooters might
|
||
prefer 20 gauge, although regular 870s are available in just about any gauge
|
||
you could want.
|
||
|
||
Other shotguns you might also want to look at are the Winchester 1200/1300 or
|
||
Ranger models as well as the Mossberg 500, especially the Bullpup model that
|
||
moves the action back just in front of the recoil pad and gives the gun an
|
||
overall length of under 30" with an 18" barrel or just over 30" with a 20"
|
||
barrel. Get the longer 20" barrel as the added few inches will dampen the
|
||
recoil and especially the noise or blast when compared to an 18" barrel.
|
||
|
||
For left handed shooters or others who don't want the shells ejected from the
|
||
side for some reason, the Ithaca 37 (or Model 87 as it is currently called)
|
||
and Browning BPS ejects the shells out the bottom, so the shells land at your
|
||
feet instead of flinging past the left handers' face. Remington also makes a
|
||
left handed 870 if you would want one.
|
||
|
||
As to handguns, the police departments of many cities are turning in their
|
||
revolvers for 9mm automatics. This has placed a goodly number of revolvers in
|
||
either .38 Special or .357 Magnum on the market at very reasonable prices.
|
||
Many of these guns will have holster wear, that is the bluing of the gun will
|
||
be worn, but this will in no way affect how the gun shoots.
|
||
|
||
If possible, get the .357 Magnum over the same model in .38 Special (such as
|
||
the S&W Model 10 in .38 Special and the same thing in .357 called the Model
|
||
13) and adjustable sights if offered. The .357 Magnum can shoot .38 Specials
|
||
just fine, and this gives you the choice of two different cartridges (.38
|
||
Special and .357 Magnum) rather than just one (.38 Special), as well as being
|
||
able to sight in for the different loads.
|
||
|
||
Now that you have decided where you are going to weather out the coming bad
|
||
times, in your house or apartment, what you are going to eat, the years' worth
|
||
(or more!) of food you have stored, and what you are going to defend yourself
|
||
with, your urban weapons cache, now what? What else is there?
|
||
|
||
Well how about sanitation and hygiene! What are you going to do when you can't
|
||
flush your toilet? Do you have any soap or toilet paper stored away? Dish
|
||
washing soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, hand soap, anything? What about
|
||
toothbrushes and toothpaste? How about flyswatters, bug repellent or screens
|
||
and netting?
|
||
|
||
The epidemics that ran over much of Europe in the Middle Ages, and most war
|
||
zones even today, are because of the improper disposal of human waste and/or
|
||
the improper handling of food, but how many times do you hear about it? Not
|
||
often. After all no one wants to read about toilets and guns in the same
|
||
article. It brings the idea home a little closer than most of us want to admit
|
||
to.
|
||
|
||
For the urban survivalist this is more pressing than for their rural
|
||
counterparts, simply because the urban survivalist will (generally) not have
|
||
the room to build an outhouse or some way to easily dispose of the waste.
|
||
Sure you can get a chemical toilet, but what happens when you run out of
|
||
plastic bags and chemicals? You should think about getting a composting toilet
|
||
or some other form of an alternate disposal unit. For more about sanitation
|
||
and alternate forms of doing things, I recommend you go down to your local
|
||
library or magazine rack and get Garbage (435 Ninth St., Brooklyn, NY 11215-
|
||
9937, bi-monthly, $21..00 a year), or write the following for catalogs: Bay
|
||
Conservation Systems, Inc., POB 67, Wicomico Church, VA 22579, and Real Goods
|
||
Trading Co., 966 Mazzoni St., Ukiah, CA 95482.
|
||
|
||
Another useful idea is the use of camouflage. No I don't mean you should be
|
||
running around in a set of "cammies", I mean the art of hiding yourself or
|
||
home so that they would be overlooked by someone looking for someone or
|
||
something to attack.
|
||
|
||
After "the day", there probably will not be many homes with a fresh coat of
|
||
paint or that are all neatly kept, so yours shouldn't be either. Also a beaten
|
||
path to your door just might lead the world to it. The less inviting or lived
|
||
in a place looks the less likely someone will want to check it out.
|
||
|
||
Also your garden need not be in neat rows or even in normal garden plants, as
|
||
there are many plants that most people would not even recognize as food
|
||
plants, that are easily grown. Look into getting an indoor green house or have
|
||
pots of food plants inside.
|
||
|
||
A source of energy (light or heat) was touched on briefly in the first
|
||
article, with a wood burning stove or camping stove, but sooner or later you
|
||
will want or need more than that. But what could you use?
|
||
|
||
How about setting up your own still? No you aren't going to drink the
|
||
stuff, you are going to use it to run the camp stove, or with slight
|
||
modification, to run the gas engine on your generator or other power tools.
|
||
Alcohol can be made from almost any plant matter from grass to pine needles,
|
||
so as long as vegetation grows you should be able to get some sort of alcohol.
|
||
Wind power or solar panels would also be possibilities, as would water power;
|
||
although a full scale water power plant that would provide enough power to be
|
||
of any great use by itself would be more than most would be able to manage, at
|
||
least at first. However, this still leaves solar and wind, two items that can
|
||
be used with a minimum of resources or material.
|
||
|
||
Another item that is often overlooked or not fully explained are medical items
|
||
and medicines. Some books or articles simply tell you to talk to your doctor
|
||
and explain what you want and get prescriptions for the needed items. I don't
|
||
know what kind o f doctors these people have been dealing with, but none that
|
||
I have talked to were willing to consider it, or even talk about the subject
|
||
or need.
|
||
|
||
This leaves you with the supermarket and drug store items or buying
|
||
veterinarian supplies, neither of which is ideal. However if you are able to
|
||
get to Mexico, you can buy prescription drugs across the counter, and many
|
||
non-narcotic drugs are readily available. For narcotic drugs, simply see your
|
||
local drug dealer.
|
||
|
||
The medical "tools of the trade" normally recommended here are either so basic
|
||
you would be hard pressed to do general first aid, or more than you will ever
|
||
need or could use, and often are more than most survivalists would know how to
|
||
use. This is not to say you shouldn't have anything your little heart desires,
|
||
but don't waste money on an item you have no idea of how to use, at least
|
||
until you have the other needed survival supplies like food and ammunition
|
||
stored. For a basic first aid/medical kit it might be wise to get one of the
|
||
better commercial first aid kits and then one of the more advanced "field
|
||
medical kits" that includes scissors, hemostats, etc.
|
||
|
||
Do you have a good set of tools needed to rebuild you home? If not you might
|
||
consider getting a basic set of hand tools, as any power produced may be
|
||
needed for other than running your power shop tools. The "Craftsman" line of
|
||
tools from Sears is warranteed for life and many people feel they are among
|
||
the best, especially in their price range.
|
||
|
||
While I didn't mention it in the first article, you will need a set of gun
|
||
cleaning kits. First off you should get a set of one piece stainless steel
|
||
cleaning rods in .22 and .30 caliber about 30" long and a shotgun cleaning kit
|
||
as well, such as the "universal" cleaning kits offered by many firms such as
|
||
Outers, Hoppe's, or Klean-Bore.
|
||
|
||
After that get a good supply of bore cleaning solvent, either commercial or
|
||
military, as well as lubricating oil. One advantage of military bore solvents
|
||
is that they are designed to be used with corrosive ammunition, and are
|
||
generally much cheaper than commercial solvents. No matter what type of bore
|
||
solvent and lubricating oil you get, get plenty! Any you don't use would be
|
||
snapped up by other survivalists who either didn't get any or get enough.
|
||
|
||
/////
|
||
|
||
Building a By-Phone
|
||
by Thomas Icom/IIRG
|
||
|
||
I first saw mention of the by-phone in The Anarchist Cookbook. According to
|
||
Powell, the by-phone was a phone that was modified so as to be able to be
|
||
placed undetected on a target phone line for surveillance purposes. In other
|
||
words, a less portable version of a lineman's test (butt) set in monitor mode.
|
||
|
||
Personally I find this device to be of limited use for serious surveillance,
|
||
but it's had other useful applications. It can be placed on a phone line and
|
||
used to monitor the background "noise" on a phone line. You can often pick up
|
||
crosstalk from the neighborhood with it (depending on the condition of your
|
||
local outside plant), and it does a good job of detecting someone playing with
|
||
your line (as in someone "beige boxing"). I used it to monitor the line on my
|
||
VMB system, and then pick up if a call was received to my box. It's also handy
|
||
for when someone places you on hold for long periods of time and you don't
|
||
want to be attached to the phone for said period.
|
||
|
||
All that is required is an old Western Electric K500 rotary desk phone, an
|
||
SPST switch, and a Radio Shack 43-231 "portable listener". A Western Electric
|
||
K500 can be had at tag sales and flea markets for $1-$5 if you don't have one
|
||
in your basement or garage.
|
||
|
||
Open up the K500. With the dial facing you will notice the network box towards
|
||
the right rear of the phone. Locate the "F" terminal. There should be a legend
|
||
on the network box which will tell where the terminal is located. On my phone
|
||
which has a 425B network box (dated 10-56!), the "F" terminal is on the far
|
||
left, second down.
|
||
|
||
Attached to the "F" terminal should be two wires; one going to the ringer and
|
||
one going to the dial. Remove the wire going to the dial and install the SPST
|
||
switch between the wire and the "F" terminal. It should look something like
|
||
this:
|
||
/ wire
|
||
F---O O----- to ringer
|
||
|
||
You've now just converted your old Western Electric K500 to a by-phone. When
|
||
the switch is in the open/"off" position your phone will act like a lineman's
|
||
test set in "monitor" mode. When the switch is in the closed/"on" position it
|
||
will be just like a normal phone.
|
||
|
||
Now take your Radio Shack portable listener, and attach the suction cup
|
||
microphone to the earpiece of the phone. Plug in the phone, take it off hook,
|
||
and make sure the switch is in the open/"off"/"monitor" position. Turn on the
|
||
RS portable listener and adjust the volume to a comfortable level.
|
||
|
||
You should hear the background noise of an on-hook phone line and possibly
|
||
even some crosstalk from your neighbors if the lines are in bad enough shape.
|
||
When someone picks up a phone on that line you'll hear a dialtone, the dialed
|
||
digits (pulse or tone), and any conversation. When the phone line rings, the
|
||
by-phone will ring (assuming your old K500 doesn't have a party line ringer
|
||
which looks for a frequency other than the standard "B" freq. of 20 hz.), and
|
||
you'll hear the ringing signal (a 20 hz. tone) and if the line is so equipped
|
||
the Caller ID data sent between the first and second rings.
|
||
|
||
If you want to record off the line with this setup, unplug the suction cup mic
|
||
from the amplified speaker and plug it into the mic input of a tape recorder,
|
||
preferably one with VOX.
|
||
|
||
I'm looking through the Radio Shack Catalog and the cheapest phone I see is
|
||
$19.95. You can get one for even less from a discount department store, but
|
||
the quality leaves something to be desired. The last K500 I picked up at a tag
|
||
sale for $5. It was made in 1956, built like a tank, refurbished by Ma Bell in
|
||
1971, is still going strong today, and will probably be used by my grand
|
||
children when they get into phreaking (assuming local loops still exist by
|
||
then). For an extra $10 it becomes a piece of telecom test and TSCM equipment
|
||
that would normally cost three times as much for a device with the same
|
||
functions.
|
||
|
||
If you're into tech you absolutely must check out your local tag sales and
|
||
flea markets (not to mention hamfests). You'd be amazed at all the neat stuff
|
||
you can buy cheap and kit bash for new and different interesting purposes.
|
||
|
||
/////
|
||
|
||
"State of the Nation"
|
||
--------
|
||
by Janet Kuypers
|
||
|
||
my phone rang earlier today
|
||
and I picked it up and said "hello"
|
||
and a man on the other end said,
|
||
Is this Janet Kuypers?
|
||
and I said, "Yes, it is, may I ask
|
||
who is calling?"
|
||
and he said, Yeah, hi, this is
|
||
George Washington, and I'm sitting here
|
||
with Jefferson and we wanted to
|
||
tell you a few things. And I said
|
||
"Why me?" And he said excuse me,
|
||
I believe I said I was the one
|
||
that wanted to do the talking.
|
||
God, that's the problem with
|
||
Americans nowadays. They're so
|
||
damn rude. And I said, "You know,
|
||
you really didn't have to use
|
||
language like that," and he said,
|
||
Oh, I'm sorry, it's just I've been
|
||
dead so long, I lose all control
|
||
of my manners. Well, anyway, we just
|
||
wanted to tell you some stuff. Now,
|
||
you know that we really didn't have
|
||
much of an idea of what we were
|
||
doing when we started up
|
||
this country here, we didn't have
|
||
much experience in creating
|
||
bodies of power, so I could understand
|
||
how our Constitution could be
|
||
misconstrued
|
||
and then he put in a dramatic pause
|
||
and said,
|
||
but when we said people had
|
||
a right to bear arms
|
||
we meant to protect themselves
|
||
from a government gone wrong
|
||
and not so you could kill
|
||
an innocent person
|
||
for twenty dollars cash
|
||
and when we said freedom of
|
||
religion we included the separation
|
||
of church and state because freedom
|
||
of religion could also mean freedom
|
||
from religion
|
||
and when we said freedom of speech
|
||
we had no idea you'd be
|
||
burning a flag
|
||
or painting pictures of Christ
|
||
doused in urine
|
||
or photographing people with
|
||
whips up their respective anatomies
|
||
but hell, I guess we've got to
|
||
grin and bear it
|
||
because if we ban that
|
||
the next thing they'll ban is books
|
||
and we can't have that
|
||
and I said, "But there are schools
|
||
that have books banned, George."
|
||
And he said Oh.
|
||
|
||
|
||
"Shades of Gray"
|
||
--------
|
||
by Liz Dubuisson
|
||
|
||
Shades of gray and tones of black,
|
||
Assault my weary eyes.
|
||
And just when I can stand no more,
|
||
The darkness comes to rise.
|
||
O windswept traveler
|
||
state your name
|
||
and tell your haggard tale.
|
||
For when the sun will rise again
|
||
You'll see it ends in hell.
|
||
O kindly preacher
|
||
tell us more
|
||
we wish a path to choose.
|
||
Yet whether we go left or right
|
||
we always seem to lose.
|
||
O sweet maiden
|
||
fare thee well!
|
||
I hope your voyage free.
|
||
For if the harm should come your way
|
||
I fear you'll soon join me.
|
||
O wretched fate,
|
||
O devil cruel,
|
||
O deadly force of night!
|
||
My strength may ebb,
|
||
My mind may dim,
|
||
But I still must search for light.
|
||
|
||
Reprinted from Spiral Chambers #8. Poems are Copyright (c) 1995 by their
|
||
respective authors. Unedited and properly attributed reproduction is
|
||
encouraged.
|
||
|
||
Original poems may be included in Spiral Chambers by sending the work to:
|
||
|
||
Spiral Chambers
|
||
P.O. Box 772
|
||
Mentor, Ohio 44061
|
||
|
||
or
|
||
|
||
Repsi SK@AOL.com
|
||
|
||
---/////---
|
||
|
||
Unless otherwise noted Cybertek Electric is Copyright (C)1995 by
|
||
OCL/Magnitude, P.O. Box 64, Brewster, NY 10509. All Rights Reserved.
|
||
Noncommercial reproduction is encouraged provided this electronic publication
|
||
is redistributed in its entirety with credits intact. Cybertek Electric is
|
||
published for educational purposes only; under The First Amendment of The
|
||
United States Constitution. No illegal use is implied or suggested. If you
|
||
have a problem with this, too fucking bad. Please send any feedback and/or
|
||
submissions to either of the email addresses in the signature below.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|\ /| /\ / |\ | Thomas Icom/IIRG
|
||
| >< | < > / | \ |\ <ticom@l0pht.com>
|
||
|/ \| \/ < | | > <thomas.icom@iirg.com>
|
||
| | /\ \ \ | |/ International Information Retrieval Guild
|
||
| | / \ \ \| | "May Odin guide your way!"
|
||
Madhr er manna gaman, ok moldar auki, ok skipa skreytir.
|
||
|
||
<End of Text> |