Please open this post by clicking on the topic (audio recordings don't show on the blog main page).

Update: Fourth message from March 26 added.

Pip, a station that normally only sends Dlya (Для) propagation test messages and short messages with format similar to that of the Buzzer (S28) has been caught sending weather reports, one per day, in four successive days.


March 23, 2012 1552z

/media/57656/s30-3756usb-20120323-1552z-msg-byavare.ogg

Message in Russian: "8С1Щ Облачно 7-10 баллов дымка местами осадки по северу гололед видимость 6-10 осадки 2-3 км ветер северо-западный 5-10 м/с температура около 0С по югу +3 +6 С"

English translation: 8S1Shch Cloudiness 7-10 points, haze, precipitation in some places, visibility 6-10, precipitation 2-3 km, wind north-west 5-10m/s, temperature around 0C, in the south parts +3 +6C.



March 24, 2012 0615z

/media/57691/s30-5448usb-20120324-0615z-msg-byavare.ogg

Message in Russian: "8С1Щ с 12:00 24 марта до 15:00 25 марта ожидается лавиноопасная обстановка  в горах: Сочи, Карачаево-Черкесия, Кабардино-Балгарии, Северной Осетии, Дагестан"

English translation: 8S1Shch Since 12:00, March 24, to 15:00, March 25 avalanches expected in Sochi, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Dagestan mountains.

 

March 25, 2012 1335z

/media/57721/s30-5448usb-20120325-1355z-msg-byavare.ogg

Message in Russian: "8С1Щ Облачность 7-10 Баллов, дымка, местами дождь, видимость 6-10 метров, дожди 3-4км, в тумане 600-1000м, ветер западный, температура +6+10С, поры закрыты"

English translation: 8S1Shch Cloudiness 7-10 points, haze, rain in some places, fog in the morning, visibility: 6-10 km, in rain: 3-4km, 600-1000m in the fog, west wind 7-10 m/s, temperature +3 +6, in the south +7 +10, oscules are closed.

March 26, 2012 1503z

/media/57784/s30-3756usb-20120326-1503z-msg-byavare.ogg

Message in Russian: 8С1Щ Облачно 7-10 баллов, дымка, осадки, туман, гололед, видимость 6-10 км в осадках 2-3 км, ветер западный 7-10 м/с, температура на юге +12+15С поры закрыты

English translation: 8S1Shch Cloudiness 7-10 points, haze, precipitation, fog, sleet, visibility: 6-10 km, in rain 2-3 km, west wind 7-10 m/s, temperature in the south +12 +15, oscules are closed.

This message was repeated 4 times.
A clear formatting for these weather messages is starting to appear. I will write more about that and about difficulties of finding proper translation for the word "поры" if the messages keep coming.

 

Observations

- The call sign used was the usual 8S1Shch (8С1Щ) which could be the collective call sign for Pip's usual customers. There was some evidence that the station itself holds a different call sign in the Russian military apparatus but I did not feel the proof was strong enough to include this in my Pip Dossier, but it can be considered in here. If this is the case we can deduce that Pip serves units with that call sign down to the southern border.
- These messages are sent at varying times, 1552z, 0615z, 1335z and 1503z so there doesn't seem to be anything scheduled about this.
- Messages are sent once a day, three of them concern the actual weather while the other one is just a warning. These must be ordered/tailored for the recipient because general weather reports should always include the weather data, not just warnings.
- The operators that read these messages are familiar to me from my Pip monitoring days so the theory that they are just training a new operator by making her read nonsense isn't a valid assumption.
- It's worth noting that Avare has logged Dlya messages from these days and that operation is going on as usual, all call signs are familiar to me.
- The weather reports itself look very similar to what online weather services gave for Rostov-on-Don, but of course this could apply to million other places too. The main point is that such weather conditions were possible in that general area, so it does not exclude Rostov-on-Don area as the possible recipient of these forecasts.

 

Map and distances
I had a few minutes to kill so I calculated the distances and bearings of the locations mentioned in the avalanche warning from Rostov-on-Don and plotted the locations on the map:

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=215285088102757143368.0004bc1ca3ea7269a3c86&msa=0&ll=44.785734,45.834961&spn=6.814951,16.907959

Distances and bearings from Rostov-on Don
Sochi: 407.75 kilometers S (185°)
Karachay-Cherkessia: 368.63 kilometers S (179°)
Kabardino-Balkaria: 405.69 kilometers S (179°)
North Ossetia: 450.14 kilometers S (179°)
Dagestan: 459.45 kilometers S (178°)

The map shows that the warnings draw a clear line agaisnt the Georgian border (which makes sense, there is a big mountain there). Stay tuned for more information.



Recordings and transcriptions by Avare, translations by TROJAN719.



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Tucana
tucana@priyom.org