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What to listen to · Military

HFGCS on 8992 kHz: the second main frequency

The evening frequency of the US Air Force HF network: the same radio checks and EAM letter strings as on 11175 kHz, sent simultaneously, on the band that opens in Europe when the higher one closes.

Frequency8992 kHz
ModeUSB

What you hear

Exactly what 11175 kHz carries at the same moment: HFGCS stations transmit on all primary frequencies at once, so radio checks, phone patches and Emergency Action Messages arrive here word for word. The network and how a message sounds: the main article.

Who transmits and why

The US Air Force keeps six primary frequencies, from 4724 to 15016 kHz, so that an aircraft anywhere on earth has one that works at its distance and hour; 8992 kHz is the middle of the set. Listening is not prohibited: the traffic goes out in the clear, the program only receives, and in most countries that is lawful, with any limits usually on retransmission or use of what was heard. Check the rules where you are; this is no guarantee.

When and where to listen

8992 kHz is the European evening frequency. From late afternoon until around midnight UTC it is the strongest of the set across Europe, Croughton and Lajes loud and the American stations rising as the Atlantic darkens; it also works in the morning before 11175 kHz opens. By midday it fades in favour of 11175, and in the small hours 6739 kHz takes over. Upper sideband.

In ShackDeck

Station catalogue → Military → HFGCS 8992. The program picks a public receiver with 8992 kHz, tunes it and sets USB; nothing of your own is needed. Quiet is normal, a message can come at any minute.

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HFGCS on 6739 kHz: the night frequency

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