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The Return of "The Wobbler???"

cyberdad

cyberdad

(I was unsure whether to post this in the FOTW 870 thread or start a new one. I decided on "new", but Frank and/or David can feel free to move it.)

This morning around 3:30am CDT, I was on our current Frequency of the Week, 870 when I heard a familiar, but unwelcome sign.

Do you guys who have been here remember what became known as "The Wobbler"? For those who don't or to refresh your memory, it was what was apparently a jammer that was being used to block stations that the Cubans deemed "objectional" for their domestic population. It sounded vaguely like the blade paer of a hand saw pulsing back and forth. Sort of a wobbling noise.

I first heard it in Alabama on 930 which seemed odd, because no Spanish language came to mind that Cuban officials seemently would want to keep out of their country. The annoying noise went on for several months or maybe even a year before it eventually was gone. I only heard it in the southeast U.S. The noise also popped up on a few other channels (1550 comes to mind), primarily broadcasting Spanish language content. The last time I heard it was probably abouth eight or ten years ago.

Until this morning. On 870. Sometimes underneath and sometimes mixing with WWL. It never rose to the top, and it faded a few times, leaving WWL temporarily in the clear. If indeed what I heard was a new version of "The Wobbler" it sounded slightly different than the orignal. The pulsing was slightly faster than what I remember. And I've never heard the wobbling noise on this strong of a signal at my home location. Other than that, it was basically the same. One thing I can't understand is, "Why target WWL?" They don't broadcast any programming in Spanish, and due to the DA null, the WW signal is effectively all but nonexistent in Cuba.

Have you guys heard this? I'll be checking 870 again this morning to see if it's there again. You guys may want to also check this out for yourselves, and see if whe can figure out what might be going on.
 
Update: I checked 870 around 4am CDT this morning and the noisemaker was gone. It was WWL with a go/od signal and music....in Spanish....barely audible underneat. A few occasional R. Reloj "pips" from time tol time for good measure, No "wobbler".

Perhaps what I heard last night was a test or some other sort of one-off. Or perhaps the Cubans found themselves too busy with a hurricane and its' aftermath to have time for their new "toy". Or perhaps the music I was hearing under WWL this morning was another attempt to mess up 870 in the area. Or maybe it was something else entirely. I couldn't hear any announcer or breaks between songs.,

I'll keep checking 870 on a frequent basis.
 
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asugeorge1 said:
Sounds like the name of a bad 1950’s horror movie. Beware of “The Wobbler!!”
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I've had more or less the same thought! Or how about the sequel. "The Wobbler-2...The New Frequency!" Or as Kelly said, some sort of dread disease, which will prompt late night TV informercial pitches for miracle cures! :)
kenglish said:
Could it just be a co-channel station with an unstable carrier frequency? That would cause beats.
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I doubt it. It sounded too similar to what some of us were experiencing previously. With the consensus opinion that it was some type of jammer. Also, by all means, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think an unstable carrier would explain the "musical saw" sound.
 
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While I hope it's a monster from a black and white horror film, it might just be interference from some electronic device. I live in a pretty dense urban area, and weird signals like that pop up all the time. The most persistent nowadays is on 1050... it's a sequence of beeps that repeats itself. I've heard it in various locations within several blocks of where I live over the last few months. No idea what it is.
 
MichaelTheZ said:
While I hope it's a monster from a black and white horror film, it might just be interference from some electronic device. I live in a pretty dense urban area, and weird signals like that pop up all the time. The most persistent nowadays is on 1050... it's a sequence of beeps that repeats itself. I've heard it in various locations within several blocks of where I live over the last few months. No idea what it is.
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Something nearby that has a "chip" - the monster got out of it's cage a long time- has been cloned a billion times and now they truly are everywhere.
 
MichaelTheZ said:
While I hope it's a monster from a black and white horror film, it might just be interference from some electronic device. I live in a pretty dense urban area, and weird signals like that pop up all the time. The most persistent nowadays is on 1050... it's a sequence of beeps that repeats itself. I've heard it in various locations within several blocks of where I live over the last few months. No idea what it is.
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What you and @mofocat are saying is certainly plausible. And it may ultimately turn out that you're right. But I still don't think that's the case with this "Thing from the middle of the dial". The main reasons are the similarity to what a number of us were hearing a number of years ago. And certainly including the "musical saw noise".

To elaborate a bit.... When the noise was originally heard, it was only....or perhaps almost only....in the southeast, and on all types of radios (home and car) at various locations. Also, the "chip population" in the bedroom location where I heard it was exactly the same....and in the exact same location....as where it had been the previous night. As well as for the last several months. Of course, maybe I'm overlooking something. But I don't think so.
 
This reminds me of when I had been living in Florida for about a year in the mid 80's.

I was listening to one of the Tampa AM stations during the day when all the sudden a Cuban broadcast completely overpowered the local station.

It only lasted for a minute or two but it was kind of scary.

If I remember correctly, the local station I was listening to was the then WSUN 620.

But the eerie takeover of the frequency by the Cuban station sticks in my memory much more clearly.
 
My conclusion.....at least for now....

What I heard earlier this week, was probably a one-off. Perhaps a test. I still don't think it was it was an internally generated noise.. I say this because it sounded too much like what some of us were hearing a number of years ago, with the consensus opinnion that it was some sort of jammer.

OTOH, as I posted a few days ago in another thread, the het I keep hearing on 1290 may be internally generated. Although I still can't explain the fact that it seemingly fades from time to time. I checked 1290 on several Midwest SDRs a couple of nights ago, and no trace of any het. Same goes for a "wobbler free" 870.
 
I've heard a "wobbler" on 1000 and it lasted for about a year, and was also widely heard. It was identified as a Cubamn on 1000 that was slightly off frequency (could also be heard on the Key West SDR). I don't believe it was an attempt to jam as there's nothing of interest on 1000 to jam, and Cuba uses Rebelde choruses to do their jamming. I can remember in the 70s and 80s, Cuba jamming WQBA and Radio Marti with single transmitters on 1142 and 1182, respectively, causing a het. I think you heard Reloj (or another Cuban transmitter) off frequency and unstable.
 
gar hi said:
This reminds me of when I had been living in Florida for about a year in the mid 80's.

I was listening to one of the Tampa AM stations during the day when all the sudden a Cuban broadcast completely overpowered the local station.

It only lasted for a minute or two but it was kind of scary.

If I remember correctly, the local station I was listening to was the then WSUN 620.

But the eerie takeover of the frequency by the Cuban station sticks in my memory much more clearly.
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Must have been some weird daytime skip.
 
No. The Cuban station appeared in the background and then got louder until it was all I could hear.

Then it weakened again and vanished.
 
gr8oldies said:
I've heard a "wobbler" on 1000 and it lasted for about a year, and was also widely heard. It was identified as a Cubamn on 1000 that was slightly off frequency (could also be heard on the Key West SDR). I don't believe it was an attempt to jam as there's nothing of interest on 1000 to jam, and Cuba uses Rebelde choruses to do their jamming. I can remember in the 70s and 80s, Cuba jamming WQBA and Radio Marti with single transmitters on 1142 and 1182, respectively, causing a het. I think you heard Reloj (or another Cuban transmitter) off frequency and unstable.
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I rember hearing about....but not actually hearing at my location....the wobbler on 1000. As far as nothing of interest for Cuba to jam on 1000, that was my first thought regarding 870.
 
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