Yosemite Sam (shortwave)

Yosemite Sam is the nickname given by DXers to a possible numbers station that broadcast intermittently between December 19, 2004 and February 16, 2005. It transmitted on several shortwave frequencies in dual side band: 3700 kHz, 4300 kHz, 6500 kHz, and 10500 kHz. The nickname is taken from the Warner Bros. cartoon character Yosemite Sam, whose voice is played as part of the unusual transmission.

The station is named after the Warner Bros. Cartoon character Yosemite Sam, which features an audio recording of his voice.

The broadcast series

The broadcast begins on one of the frequencies. Ten seconds later, it is repeated on the next higher frequency, and so on for a total of two minutes. The entire pattern takes precisely two minutes, and always begins seven seconds after the top of an hour.

Each broadcast starts with a data burst lasting 0.8 seconds, followed by the voice of Yosemite Sam (played by voice actor Mel Blanc) exclaiming: "Varmint, I'm a-gonna b-b-b-bloooow ya ta'smithereenies!" The clip is taken from the 1950 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon Bunker Hill Bunny.

The broadcasts ceased on December 23, 2004, but returned on January 14, 2005, on its old frequencies plus additional new frequencies, including those of time signals stations WWV and WWVH. Reception reports seemed to indicate that the transmitter site was likely somewhere in the desert around Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The Albuquerque location suggests another possible coincidental relation to Warner Bros. cartoons: the phrase frequently repeated by Bugs Bunny, "I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque."

Since 3700kHz is in the 80-meter band used by amateur radio enthusiasts, the transmissions attracted the attention of two ham operators from New Mexico. They claimed to have tracked down the source of the Yosemite Sam broadcasts in February 2005 as being located at the MATIC (Mobility Assessment Test & Integration Center) in a factory owned by military contractor Laguna Industries, located near the small town of Laguna, New Mexico, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Albuquerque. On February 16 2005, the pair took photographs of a compound containing buildings, towers and antennas, but quickly fled as they were approached by a security guard shouting at them not to take any pictures. Three hours later, the radio broadcasts abruptly ceased, and have not been heard since; Laguna Industries also removed all references to MATIC from their website.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". www.brogers.dsl.pipex.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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