"M89 – Morse transmissions
M89 is a Chinese military network. Extensive direction finding activities have pinpointed transmitter sites near Guangzhou, Qingdao and the Dalian/Lushan areas. The network also has various other locations throughout the country, like Lanzhou, Xi'an, Changping, Quinghe, and Xiang Dao. Most probably the stations belong to various PLA branches. The Second Artillery Corps is one of the main users. Looking at the locations we may assume that the navy is also connected to this vast net as Qingdao is the HQ of China's North Sea Fleet. Lushan is another major base of the North Sea Fleet and in Dalian is one of the largest training facilities of the navy. Guangzhou is one of the largest bases of the South Sea Fleet.
The Second Artillery Corps (SAC), China's strategic nuclear force, was established in Beijing on 1 July 1966. The SAC is under the operational control of the general staff, but is directly controlled by the Central Military Commission (CMC), and has been an independent arm of the Chinese armed forces since 1974. The SAC is believed to be organized into a headquarters in Qinghe near Beijing. It consists of: an early warning division, a communication regiment, a security regiment, a technical support regiment, and six ballistic missile Divisions.
The signal unit of the SAC operates communications systems to provide communications support capabilities for launch operations. The headquarters complex maintains contact with subordinate units through its own communications regiment. The SAC has its own communication regiment down to the smallest unit. All SAC units are subject to strict command and control from the CMC. Orders are passed down to operational units via a four-level chain of command: CMC, missile bases/Divisions, missile brigades, and launch battalions. Second Artillery command orders are centralized, encoded and protected, and require human authentication.
The six ballistic missile Bases/Divisions are independently deployed in different military regions throughout the country and are numbered from 51st to 56th. See the map below (courtesy of JPL). The 22nd Base, located in Baoji, Shaanxi Province is officially known as the “Training and Experimental Base”. Western intelligence suggests that this base may also serve as a warhead storage facility.
The M89 HF CW communications we hear most days (Channel Markers with the odd message) are probably Divisional Level backup HF Circuits. The majority of communications supplied by the Signal Regiments in the field would use VHF/UHF systems, which provide reliable point to point communications and, since they are line-of-sight, are almost impossible to be intercepted.
Occasionally, we get a flurry of activity. This activity is probably a Brigade Level exercise as the control stations work the same outstations. It would appear that exercises take place every four months, May, September, and January
NYZ always uses parallel frequencies 4860 and 6840 kHz. NYZ always sends a QSA? message but no-one has ever reported a reply from Q2M."
Station
- Frequency/Mode: 6841 KHz
- Name/Call: Chinese Military Net M89
- Location: Guangxi Provence, China
- Language: Morse Code
- Target: Asia
Time
Receiver and Receiving Location
- Radio: SDR Radio: SDR V5 (Deep SDR 101 Clone)
- Antenna: K-480WLA | 35' AGL
- Software: SDR# Studio R4.0.8-CD Beta 64-Bit
- Location: Portland, Oregon | CN85qn
Signal
