Exploring Russian and International Analog TV From Leaky Cable TV Networks via the Airspy Server Network
Thank you to RTL-SDR.COM reader Micha for submitting a story about how he has been able to use SDR# and the Airspy Server Network to explore cable TV stations across the globe via cable TV signal interference.
If you were unaware, the SDR# software from Airspy.com has access to the Airspy Server Network, which is a collection of public Airspy SDRs available all over the world that can be accessed freely over the internet. To access these SDRs simply select "Airspy Server Network" as the source in SDR#, and click on the "..." button next to the server address entry. A map will pop up where you can select from SDRs all over the world.
Using Airspy SDRs in Russia, and in other countries (Guatemala, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Indonesia, Vietnam, Micha found that there were several analog TV signals found at frequencies that should not have terrestrial TV signals there. Upon further investigation, he realized that these are actually cable TV signals that are leaking and causing interference across the RF bands. Micha notes that he's also observed how the leaking signals often change in frequency and intensity too, making it difficult to keep track of them.
Combined with the TVSharp SDR# plugin, Micha was able to recover some (very rough) images from these interfering signals. Micha has provided several images shown below that demonstrate Russian cable leakage, as well as for Mexico and Argentina.
Sometimes you have to open your eyes to see something clear.
It’s about TV sounds via military satellites.
The problem is well known. Geostationary military satellites are positioned around the globe. Some transmit between 230 and 300 MHz. You receive military data, pirate, and commercial radio stations there. Most signals are deliberately broadcast via these satellites, and some end up in Spectrum by chance.
This way, I found some TV sounds, but only in Russia. These sounds weren’t audible via other SDRs around the world. At first glance, this isn’t unusual, since not all satellites/frequencies can be received worldwide.
(For example, Russian telephone transponders can be heard worldwide, except in Russia!!)
I realized the connection when I checked the Spectrum of the Romanian “ABT”… A leaky cable network also causes some analog TV stations here. The tone appears in the middle of the Mil-Sat spectrum (264.75MHz).
SDR Rumänien-ABT
(5MHz Versatz)
sdr://188.27.39.110:5555
259.255 264.755 Ton OK Werbung Musik Nur Träger
SDR Russland
(6MHz Versatz)
Anonymos SDR Adr
sdr://46.166.94.54:7210
247.225 253.724 253.754 (TVCentr) ТВЦентр (REN TV)
255.267 261.767 ТВ-3 (TV-3)
263.240 269.740 264.640 269.497 Спас (Spas)
269.755 СТС (STS)
SDR Kazachstan
mail.ru
(6MHz Versatz)
Aster- 4400007
287.25 293.75 Cartoon
Gruß Micha
My- 3 TB МУЗ-ТВ — смотреть онлайн прямой эфир
online over smotret.tv
Gruß Micha
TV Publica from Argentina is a familiar face. Back then, there were no video screenshots or full I/Q. It wasn’t quite so easy to determine the right channel from the raster image. Now, that’s no longer a problem at all.
A few images demonstrate a comparison of 2-bit and 4-bit resolution.
El Siete TV/Canal 7 Mendoza, on 175.25/179.75 MHz, has apparently been shut down.
Gruß Micha
LU8MIL from Argentina is back online with his SDR. Thanks!
With its 4.8 MHz bandwidth, the entire spectrum of an analog TV signal can be displayed here. In PAL-N, the separation between the video and audio signals is 4.5 MHz, which is sufficient. The only downside:
The picture is pixelated and the sound is crystal clear. In IQ mode, the picture becomes visible and the sound is fragmented…
Anyway, on 187.25/191.75 MHz, Canal 9 de Mendoza (call sign LV 83 TV), also known as El Nueve Televida, is broadcasting.
The channel is blocked online here… Too bad.
Gruß Micha
Gruß Micha
In Moscow,
fm-pirate.ru, RX No. 2 (test connect) – dehis [email protected]
sdr://77.37.160.51:9991
has been active again for a few days.
I scanned the frequencies again and was able to identify two more programs.
Video audio
151.25 157.75 Rossia 24 / Россия 24 — смотреть онлайн прямой эфир бесплатно в хорошем качестве
and
159.25 165.75 Карусель — смотреть онлайн прямой эфир-
view online the carousel.
On the frequency
479.25 485.75
another station can be found. It’s probably a terrestrial broadcast.
119.25 and 127.25 MHz are frequently subject to interference from aeronautical radio.
A representative, but not complete, overview is provided in the collage.
While the full I/Q data stream isn’t the be-all and end-all, it can help with faster identification. So can changing the bandwidth and various IQ format settings.
Provided the online SDR supports these functions, that is not always the case!!
The BaseBand Noise Blanker can potentially stabilize the image capture, and the AM-FM Co-Channel Blanker can be quite helpful at times.
Other filters apparently have no effect on TV picture quality. The TV plug-in captures the signal early, long before filter processing.
Best regards, Micha
PS
I made a mistake in the first Moscow report. The photo should, of course, show the “Rossia K -(ultura)” logo, not the “Rossia 24” logo.
Sorry!!
If you continue east from Kazakhstan, you’ll end up across the pond in the west…in Chile, for example. In Chile, it’s often been possible to receive a few analog TV channels on frequencies that actually belong to a cable network. Everything indicates that the cable networks in this country are also very loose. In Chile/Temuco, at least 29 channels can be received. One of them is Canal 13. The quality varies greatly. The channel Numbers come from a wiki list.
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_television_frequencies
Channel Video Audio Sender
20 G 157.25
7 7 175.25
9 9 187.25
10 10 193.25
11 11 199.25
13 13 211.25
23 J 217.25
24 K 223.25
26 M 235.26
27 N 241.26
29 P 253.26
30 Q 259.26
31 R 265.26
32 S 271.26
33 T 277.26 Canal 13
34 U 283.26
35 V 289.26
36 W 295.26
37AA/W+1 301.26
38BB/W+2 307.26
39CC/W+3 313.26
40DD/W+4 319.26
41EE/W+5 325.26 329.76 TV gestört kein Bild-Ton OK
43GG/W+7 337.26
44HH/W+8 343.26
45II/W+9 349.26
47JJ/W+10 361.26
48LL/W+12 367.26
49MM/W+13 373.26
51OO/W+15 385.26
52PP/W+16 391.26
62ZZ/W+26 451.25
63AAA/W+27 457.25
64BBB/W+28 463.25
Gruß Micha
Наша Тема» – прямой эфир
Gruß Micha
gruß Micha
I should take up a new hobby in the near future. Analog TV signals have been shut down again. This time in Kazakhstan, on the cable network. The carriers are still there, but they no longer carry any content. It makes no sense to attribute the noisy image to each carrier; it looks the same everywhere. What’s interesting, however, is how diverse the carriers are. There really is everything, from strong to barely recognizable.
The online SDR has changed frequency ranges three times. What happens below 140 MHz remains hidden. Now it’s also clear why the cable company replaced the commercial with a test pattern. This signal has also been shut down. Tetra reception remains…
Micha
100% better picture quality!!
Isn’t that crazy? I’ve been working with the SDR Sharp program for a few years now, in various versions. After discovering analog TV signals via the spy server and studying them more extensively, I decided to publish my findings last year.
Heavily rasterized signals are a real nuisance. It’s extremely time-consuming to identify the channel behind them. It’s extremely difficult to find the original live stream for the program I’m looking for, if there even is one. In many cases, I can’t even access the audio because it gets lost in the background noise.
The live stream and the analog TV program are also not synchronized. There can be a discrepancy of up to two hours, especially in Russia. Usually, only two minutes is common. Then it’s all about finding distinctive, meaningful motifs in the jumbled boxes. For example, people or greeting signs in the picture.
If the image is just snowy, the whole thing usually works much easier. But how do the boxes become snow? Why does one SDR send rasterized images and another doesn’t? The “Use Full I/Q” function could help, but it only appears after you activate the online SDR and is then grayed out, i.e., inactive. Because this function is never selectable, I eventually stopped paying attention to it. Until today. Now I know when and how to activate this function, and the result is fantastic.
SDRSharp V100 1830
– Select online SDR, enter address, activate (Use Full I/Q appears, inactive)
– Stop online SDR, “Use Full I/Q” is selectable – activate!
– Start online SDR
After each restart of the online SDR, this procedure must be repeated, i.e., reactivated again and again.
SDRSharp V100.1922
– Select the online SDR, enter the address, and activate it (Use Full I/Q appears, inactive)
– “Use Full I/Q” is directly selectable – activate it!
– This function remains active even after the server time has expired and you log in again.
After that, it’s best to play around with the bandwidths of the online SDR and the BaseBand Noise Blanker to hopefully achieve even better pictures.
The TV plug-in is a bit sluggish and, depending on the settings, can take a few minutes to restore the picture, for example. You can speed this up by scrolling to other picture carriers or interference and then returning to the original signal.
The pictures are now presentable. The grid has given way to snow, and at least I can continue working with it.
Here are a few examples from Kazakhstan. I was correct in my assumption that the same channel is broadcasting on the frequencies 2798.25 MHz and 335.25 MHz. It’s an advertising program for the cable company.
Gruß Micha
Chimoo Lee from South Korea is, fortunately, online very often with his SDR.
You can still receive the analog TV program from North Korea here,
with the video signal on 59.25 MHz and 223.25 MHz. Occasionally, you can also detect interference on 49.75 MHz, which certainly indicates a TV signal even in the snow.
Unfortunately, the South Korean TV signal on 191.25 MHz has apparently been shut down.
Despite many screenshots and video recordings, I haven’t been able to find out which channel it was.
I haven’t found any information about its existence or the shutdown. It was probably KBS 1.
On Korean television, text overlays on the screen are common; unfortunately, all channels do this, and the station logo often changes size. These are all criteria that aren’t really relevant. A livestream comparison isn’t possible either, thanks to geoblocking.
North Korea currently broadcasts a striped test pattern after the broadcast ends.
Unfortunately, I’m a few years too late for AFN-TV Korea, on Channel A2/55.25 MHz, in NTSC. The signal has been shut down.
gruß Micha
Here’s another look at Kazakhstan. Where analog TV channels can be received, there must be more. Remember, initially, only the FM range (88-108 MHz) was available online via this SDR provider. There was actually only one TV channel with the corresponding audio (video 93.25 MHz / audio 99.75 MHz). Shortly after, I discovered a second audio channel on 91.75 MHz. The video signal remains hidden because it’s outside the frequency range – a shame.
But in return, as compensation, so to speak, the provider has generously expanded the frequency range upwards and given us a host of analog TV channels.
Now I can also revise my suspicion about terrestrial broadcasting. It’s clearly a leaky cable TV network. It uses almost exclusively frequencies that aren’t intended for the normal terrestrial range, even though it initially seemed that way.
Unfortunately, the images are heavily screened, and the sound is extremely noisy. Despite intensive efforts, I was only able to identify one program. It’s also extremely difficult to simultaneously browse through various online channels for comparison given the sheer number of programs. The time offset, the unrecognizable video signal, the completely noisy sound, my lack of language skills, and the 30-minute online SDR time limit don’t make the task any easier.
Four channels broadcast a striped test pattern and a test tone at night. An online portal broadcasts some Kazakhstani channels live, including the nightly test patterns.
Only Abei TV on 127.25 MHz/133.75 MHz could be identified.
According to information from the internet, Russian channels are no longer broadcast terrestrially in Kazakhstan. I’m not entirely sure about the cable network, but I wouldn’t completely rule it out.
On the frequencies 279.25 MHz/285.75 MHz and 335.25 MHz/341.75 MHz, I had the impression that they were broadcasting the same channel. It sounds like a never-ending commercial from the cable company.
Today I noticed that some online live streams from Kazakhstan that I know of have been shut down. Except for Kazakhstan International TV and some regional Channels.
Frequenzies:
Video Audio
—- 91.75
93.25 99.75
111.25 117.75
119.25 125.75 Testbild 0 uhr
127.25 133.75 Abai TV !!! / nachts Testbild!!!
135.25 141.75 nachts testbild-sport
143.25 149.75 Musik
151.25 157.75 Tetra gestört
159.25 165.75 Ton durch Teztra gestört
167.25 173.75
175.25 181.75 Musik
183.25 189.25
191,25 197.75
199.25 205.25
207.25 213.75
223.25
231.25
247.25 253.75
254.725 Störung- kein TV!!
263.25 269.75 Testton 23Uhr
279.25 285.75 gleich mit 341.75
287.25 293.75 Cartoon
295.25 301.75
303.25 309.75
311.25 317.75
319.25 325.75
327.25 333.75
335.25 341.75 gleich mit 285, Reklame, russisch? fast nur werbung u vorschau, evtl werbekanal der kabelgesellschaft
Gruß Micha
Assignments since 1965
System D 625 lines
Channel/ Video carrier (MHz)/ Audio carrier (MHz)
1/ 49.75/ 56.25
2/ 59.25/ 65.75
3/ 77.25/ 83.75
4/ 85.25/ 91.75
5/ 93.25!!0!/ 99.75!!!
6/ 175.25/ 181.75
7/ 183.25/ 189.75
8/ 191.25/ 197.75
9/ 199.25/ 205.75
” Kazakhstan: Analog broadcasting shutdown began on 1 December 2018, the first two regions turned off: Jambyl and Mangystau Regions. On 1 July 2019, nine more regions were disconnected: South Kazakhstan, Atyrau, Kyzylorda, Almaty Regions, East Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, North Kazakhstan, Kostanay and Karaganda Regions. Finally, on 1 July 2021, the last five regions were disconnected: West Kazakhstan, Akmola, Aktobe Regions, Nur-Sultan and Almaty.”
Gruß Micha
Analog television should have been extinct long ago, but there are always SDRs online that prove the opposite. Vast Russia stands out in particular here. Whether it’s genuine terrestrial signals or leaky cable networks, you’ll find a truly vast array of channels here.
Cable networks should actually be closed systems, supplying signals only to subscribers. Shielded cables and distribution technology, and tuned amplifiers ensure that outsiders can’t hear the cable content.
Leaky cable networks are caused, for example, by damaged cables, improper distribution, and extremely overdriven amplifiers. The result is a huge antenna that radiates cable network content into the surrounding area. Coincidentally, it lands right into the receiving antennas of some SDRs. Our luck! This gives us some insights into this modern (?) country.
A report on the German television station “ARTE” was about a Russian caretaker and mostly water ingress in attics and basements, but in the attic, irregular cabling was visible. These pictures also correspond with the statements of Alexey, among others,
“Under the roof is an attic containing the ISP’s equipment and a number of different cables (UTP, coaxial, etc.). These cables have simply been lying in the attic for years without any mechanical protection; many of them have damaged insulation and shielding. That’s why they emit so many signals.”
In this context, one can look back at the effort that was put into Germany in the 1990s to free important air-fly frequencies from analog television to prevent interference with aircraft traffic should a leak occur in the cable network. At the time, this was a huge problem, because at least two analog channels had to be removed, and the capacities of the cable network at the time were completely exhausted.
Here are the cities and regions identified so far:
Atschinsk/ cable/ terrestrik
Troitsk/ cable
Miass/ cable
Yakutsk/ cable / terrestrik
Nowosibirsk/ terrestrik
Spassk-Dalniy, Primorsky Krai/ cable / terrestrik
Ukraine/ Yalta, Crimea / cable
…and now Moscow, too. Analog TV is trickling out of the cable network here, too. A previously receivable SDR signal in another part of town didn’t deliver any results.
fm-pirate.ru, RX No2 (test connect) -dehis 123@gmail .com
sdr://77.37.160.51:9991
Here are the frequencies determined—adjusted according to the frequency table:
59.25 TV
119.25 TV
127.25 TV
135.25 TV// 141.75 Audio
143.25 TV// 149.75 Audio// Russia Kultura
151.25 TV
159.25 TV // 165.75 Audio// (Cartoon)
167.25 TV // 173.75 Audio// OTP
175.25 TV// 181.75 Audio
183.25 TV// 189.75 Audio
199.25 TV// 205.75 Audio
207.25 TV// 213.75 Audio
223.25 TV// 229.75 Audio
231.25 TV// 237.75 Audio
239.25 TV// 245.75 Audio
247.25 TV// 253.75 Audio
255.25 TV// 261.75 Audio
278.25 TV
Gruß Micha
Micha
Micha
Video Audio1 Audio2
49.75 56.? 56.25
59.25 65.5 65.75
77.25 83.5 83.75
111.25 117.5 117.75
… 213.5 213.75
215.25 221.5 221.75
231.25
239.25 245.5 245.75
247.25 253.5 253.75
255.25 261.5 261.75
263.25
271.25 277.5 277.75
279.25
287.25 ????
….. 301.5 301.75
303.25 309.5 309.75
311.25 317.5 317.75
487.25 492.75
495.25
503.25
527.25
535.25
543.25 549.5 549.75
Micha
Video Audio1 Audio2
119.250 125.5 125.75
127.250 133.5 133.75
135.250 141.5 141.75
143.250 149.5 149.75
151.250 157.5 157.75
159.250 165.5 165.75
167.250 173.5 163.75
175.250 181.5 181.75
191.250 197.5 197.75
199.250 205.5 205.75
207.250 …..
Micha
On the occupied Crimean peninsula, an online SDR was active for about an hour last week in Sevatopol.
SDR://178.219.163.85:5555
It was actually enough for a few screenshots. The train had already left for further action… too bad.
The photos still need to be analyzed.
Analog cable TV is mixed with radio signals. The quality of the signals is remarkable. Given the strength of the reception, the stations could easily be identified. Unfortunately, the images are heavily pixelated. I would have preferred noisy images. The TV sound is completely stereo, which I think is great.
There was no real SDR site photo.
The signal was switched off at that moment… crap.
Micha
PS:
AFN-Radio on 102.7 MHz/ South Korea
Micha
Micha
It wasn’t quite midday yet when a previously unknown SDR popped up on the spy server:
Deep in Russia,
sdr://5.143.61.246:7777
from
Spassk-Dalniy, Primorsky Krai.
It was only online for a short time. I managed to take a few screenshots and compile an incomplete channel list. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to identify the channels. However, I was able to gain some insight. The antenna is obviously mounted outdoors, and this city also has the same problem of radiating cable networks and passing NOAA/weather satellites. There are also regular, analog, terrestrial TV stations in this region. I’m assuming this based on the varying signal strengths. I would be very pleased if the operator would go online again so I can complete the frequency list and add names to the TV stations.
Russland / Spassk-Dalni
Channel Video Audio Signal
51.25 57.75 TV
59.25 65.75 TV
74.25 Störung (TV?)
77.25 TV- cable
81.678 TV- cable
135.25 TV- cable
137.621 NOAA- Wettersatellit
143.25 TV- cable
151.25 TV- cable
25 503.25 509.75 TV- terrestr
517 Störung
519.75 Störung
742.51 Störung
868 Data
Micha
Channel Video Audio Programm
E5 175.250 TV
E7 194.750 TV
E9 208.750 TV
– – 208.900 Radio Ton
E10 210.250 215.750 TV
E11 222.750 TV
E12 224.250 TV
Micha
Micha
Canada/ ..British Colombia is back. Not perfect, but better than before
thanks Walter!
Greetings Micha
khmertimeskh.com/501043343/govt-signs-deal-to-switch-to-digital-broadcast/
Micha
Micha
After a long Christmas and New Year break, the SDR from Canada/ British Columbia is active again on Graham Island.
I made and evaluated countless videos in the hope of at least once recognizing a CTV station logo. That seems impossible. Only people can be seen in the snowy pictures. Not even vehicles or landscapes. A direct comparison with a live stream is also not possible here due to geoblocking.
All that remains is to compare with photos and videos on Google, YouTube and the CTV homepage.
The sound cannot be evaluated either. Because the NTSC channel 6 transmits on 83.25 MHz (video) and 87.75 MHz (audio), the sound theoretically radiates into the FM radio band and is broadcast at a reduced rate in order to avoid possible interference.
TV 6 analog audio can be heard on FM 87.75 on most broadcast radio receivers as well as on a European TV tuned to channel E4A or channel IC, but at lower volume than wideband FM broadcast stations, because of the lower deviation. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_channel_frequencies).
Broadcast by the station “Prince Rupert”, the sound falls by the wayside on the 120 km journey to Graham Island. A high-performance directional antenna with a good amplifier could help, but unfortunately it is not available – a shame.
I’m now pretty sure I’ve identified the program “W5” from the CTV-2 channel.
A frequently broadcast Saturn silhouette probably comes from a commercial.
The GAIN of this SDR has been adjustable for a few days now and the bandwidth has been increased to 8 MHz. Unfortunately the TV signal is now significantly worse.
Micha
Micha, a very interesting thread, especially since I am the owner of this remote SDR. You are correct that I switched out the HF+ Discovery for an Airspy One VHF SDR. The antenna is the same as before. It’s normally always pointed towards the SE and not to Prince Rupert (more or less due East). It’s a 6 element Yagi at about 25′ elevation. We have a lot of winds in Masset. My QTH is actually about 14 km east from where you thought. I know Charters well, as it’s across the road from my in-Laws home! I will be in Masset from March 16th to the 30th. I’ll make it a point to rotate the antenna towards Prince Rupert. Hopefully, that will improve the signal. I do have a question: how do you demodulate the image. I monitor this SDR using Airspy SDR#. Thank you, and good detective work. Channel 6 is an old analogue TV transmitter. Years ago, it was the only channel received in Masset. Call sign was/is CFTK. It used to carry some CBC programming. I don’t know about it now. You can reach out to me at CANSWL at Gmail dot com.
Sorry..Erst jetzt gesehen…Danke für die Antwort…ich melde mich in Kürze….
Ich nutze SDR SHARP mit dem TV plugin, für PAL, SECAM, NTSC….eine kleine, aber sehr leistungsstarke DLL Datei….
Micha
Micha