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.
Micha
Micha
I LOVE LEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!💜💜💜💜💜
Micha?
Micha
Micha
Micha
Micha
Micha
Frequenztabelle Argentinien
PAL-N
Channel Video Audio Sender
7 175.236 179.763 El Siete TV (Canal 7 Mendoza)
9 187.228 191.745 (Fußball)
11 199.245 203.736 TVP/ TV Publica
500-505 digital
512-517 digital
518-523 digital
524-529 digital
530-535 digital
536-541 digital
554-559 digital
560-565 digital
566-571 digital
572-577 digital
590-595 digital
36 603.261 607.754
I learned a lot from you Micha. I thank you too!
Vielen Dank Erhan.
Ich habe ebenfalls viel gelernt. Vor allem, das es viel mehr online live Kanäle zum direkten Vergleich gibt. Das es tatsächlich noch so viele analoge, terrestrische Programme gibt und das ich mindestens 20J. zu spät angefangen habe, diese zu suchen. Das es jetzt die Möglichkeit gibt, ein solches Hobby zu betreiben. Das viele ( für mich relevante) online SDRs immer viel zu kurz aktiv sind, oder ich, genau in diesem Augenblick, ebenfalls online sein muß. Das einige SDRs auf der Karte angezeigt werden, nie aktiv sind, oder immer gesperrt sind, dann aber für immer abgeschaltet werden. Das es in Afrika keine SDRs gibt. Das E Mails an TV Manager nicht beantwortet werden (evtl. bekomme ich noch Infos aus Canada/British columbia). Das diese Aktion extrem viel Zeit in Anspruch nimmt.
Das es trotzdem interessant ist.
Micha
Señal en vivo
Canal institucional
Micha
Micha
Kanal/ Frequenz/ Sender
25 / 503.25 /Freitag! / Werbung MПятница! / реклама M Регион
33 / 567.25 / Disney / OOO Werbung – Region Media Group
реклама OOO «Регион Медиа Групп»
51 / 711,25 / Ю / реклама OOO «Регион Медиа Групп»
Micha
Micha
This is all a big deal. As a technician I throw my hands up in my head, as an analogue TV fan I think it’s great.
So you can roughly summarize that there are leaky cable networks across Russia and disrupting the surrounding area.
The signals emitted interfere and even mix with each other so that identification is sometimes impossible. I’ll even go so far as to say that Ivan, Alexey and Ilya’s online SDRs didn’t think about the distribution of TV signals (at least not primarily).
I’ve spent the last few hours confirming Alexey’s list using live images. I actually discovered a few more streams. But somehow nothing agrees here. This can have several reasons, including time delays, regional programs, or, or. Doesn’t matter.
Digital programs with their 8MHz packages do not fit into the online SDRs. At least not in one go. Because the signals are interleaved, decoding is not possible.
Hello Kirill, it’s nice that you still have analog VHF transmitters. Despite TV DXing, I haven’t met them yet and I’ve never heard of them before.
Thanks Micha
Hello Micha.
Server is still running, I just hid it on the map. The address and port remain the same:
At least 3 providers offers cable analog tv in my home: Siberian networks (ex. Prima-teleset), TTK, SiNT. Perhaps this trio we seeing in the spectrum.
Yakutsk also has a problem with leaking cable TV signals. There are two providers in the city: Beeline (former Helios-TV, also they used to have an analogue MMDS network until 2007) and Transtelecom (TTK). Gelios has a very old and leaky network, it uses frequencies from 111 to 583 MHz, digital TV is located somewhere in the 300-380 MHz area. And here it is in some parts of the city very much interferes with TV-DXing (in the region still operates a large network of terrestrial analogue TV NVK Sakha, by the way, which has several dozen transmitters in VHF Band I), not to mention the reception of Satcom and other satellites. TTK, which has been operating for 11 years, on the contrary has a pretty good network without any Soviet cables (their network does not interfere with reception on the outdoor antenna) Digital TV is clearly a priority for them in terms of cable capacity, they have placed it in the 110-230 MHz area, but strangely one of the multiplexes overlaps the terrestrial analogue channel on VHF ch. R7 (Yakutia24), there are small problems with stuttering of a couple of channels, fortunately they are TV shops. Analogue in contrast to Helios is located from 231 to 850 MHz, the upper part of the spectrum is noticeably affected by LTE, a couple of channels are located in the area of terrestrial digital TV, they are impossible to watch. What is rare for cable networks absolutely all analogue channels use the SECAM colour system. No one transmits radio in cable networks anymore, only via DVB.
Our cable networks are holey 🙂 cable network #2 was built in 1996 and they haven’t changed cables or done maintenance since then. After all these years, the cables at the top of the range show very poorly, but the bottom of the range still works well. They fixed this problem with a powerful amplifier that boosts the high frequencies to a moderate signal and the low frequencies to a crazy level that can be heard far beyond the cable. This cable is owned by the giant Rostelecom, who bought it along with the internet service provider. 90% of subscribers do not pay for its operation, and I hope that soon it will be completely disconnected in favor of IPTV.
The second Intersvyazi network was launched in 2015, and it works differently. Optical cable is brought into the house, and from the telecom equipment comes coaxial with a full set of frequencies. I don’t know exactly how they assemble this pool of frequencies, but there is virtually no interference from them. But they also plan to do away with analog broadcasting, leaving only DVB-C. Unfortunately, they interfere with FM reception with their internet.
Twisted pair as a huge conductor gives interference in all bands in the form of frequencies with hum. In general, the situation is the same all over the country. Cable networks are wearing out and the TV charges do not match the quality, people are disconnecting it or not paying for it.
In some cities FM radio still works on cable, just bring the receiver to the cable and it will Catching radio stations
Hello. I’m SDR receiver owner from Achinsk, Russia. Those signals are received from ISP’s cable analog television networks. Most of the them duplicated in DVB-C format and many other providers offers TV via internet connection (IPTV/OTT). The only one TV station currently broadcasting on terrestrially in analog format in my city is сhannel 52, U-TV. Antenna connected to receiver mounted on roof of a residential building. Under the roof there is an attic with the ISP’s equipment and bunch of different cables (UTP, coaxial, etc). Those cables simply lying in the attic for many years and aren’t protected mechanically; many of them have damaged insulation and shielding. That’s why they emit so much signals.
I’ve added some frequencies to your list, if you interested. On some frequencies signals from different providers are mixed, see coms after ‘/’
There is much more channels can be received on higher frequencies, but my receiver (Airspy HF+) works only up to 270 MHz. Other receivers (RTL-SDR, RSP1a) are overloaded by FM band (88-108 MHz) radio signals when connected to an ext. antenna.
111.265 117.764 Первый канал(Perviy kanal)
119.280 125.768 Россия 1(Rossia 1)
127.315 133.753 Матч!(Match!), 133.755 Первый канал(Perviy kanal)/ audio carriers overlap from different providers
135.275 141.773 НТВ(NTV)
143.267 149.755 Россия1(Rossia 1)
151.232 157.738 5 канал(5 kanal)
159.255 165.754 Матч!(Match!)/ there is also much weaker signal from another provider, I can’t identify it
167.243 173.727 Россия 24(Rossia 24), 173.755 НТВ(NTV)
175.254 181.727 Первый канал(Perviy kanal), 181.754 5 канал(5 kanal)
191.254 197.754 Матч!(Match!)/ there is also weak carrier from another provider, I can’t identify it
199.206 205.723 НТВ(NTV)
207.255 213.755 Россия 24(Rossia 24), 213.777 5 канал(5 kanal)
215.255 221.755 Культура(Kultura)
223.255 229.734 Россия 24(Russia 24), 229.755 Карусель(Karusel)
231.255 237.755 ОТР(OTR), 237.772 О!
239.254 245.748 ОТР(OTR), 245.755 ТВЦентр(TVCentr)
247.225 253.724 ТВЦентр(TVCentr), 253.754 РЕН ТВ(REN TV)
255.267 261.767 ТВ-3(TV-3)
263.240 269.740 Спас(Spas), 269.755 СТС(STS)
I just checked. Indeed, it does not work through Spy Verter. It is necessary to enable full IQ and minimum frequency 2.4 MHz or better 4.8 MHz. Then it probably won’t work.
Micha
….ooh server is busy…
Connected. Come in.
sdr://178.46.161.201:5560/
Hopefully the Airspy mini will suffice. R2 is at a remote site.
ooh, exactly
In Troitsk you receive signals of 2 cable networks at once. Intersvyaz and the 2nd local ‘Untitled’. Somewhere they work on the same frequencies, somewhere they overlap.
There are 3 cable networks in Miass, and one of them is Intersvyaz, whose frequencies coincide with Troitsk. So, in ‘Intersvyaz’ the sound track works with an offset of 150 kHz. For example, Channel 4 operates on the frequencies 91.75 and 91.5 MHz.
Generally, there are 20 compulsory channels in Russia
and this list of channels is the same everywhere. It makes no sense to collect information on cable networks. The same channels operate on different frequencies. But I can connect cable network ‘Intersvyaz’ for 1 day or 2 days on the server and you can watch and record the necessary information yourself. This network works all over our region.
In Russia, up to 90 per cent of TV viewers watch TV via cable. There can be up to 5-6 networks in one city, and even the communications regulator does not control them. Analogue television works on a residual principle, it is not watched at all.
Ivan Abilev/ Troitsk
Bild Ton Ton
65,500 65.750
77.153 83,500 83.750
111.256 117.500 117.750
119.258 125.500 125.750
127.253 133.500 133.750 (Testton) Kanal Kultura
135.258 ? ?
Ilya Pastukhov/ Miass
Bild Ton 1 Ton 2
111.185 gestört 117,750
119.267 125.500 125.750
127.254 133.500 133.750 (Testton) Kanal Kultura
135.227 141.500 141.750 Rossija 24
143.248 ? ?
Anonymus/ Achinsk
Bild Ton 1 Ton 2 Programm
111.265 117.764
119.280 125.768
127.315 133.753
135.275 141.772 Kanal Kultura ?/ Nachts Testbild/ Test-Ton
143.267 149.757 Telekanal Rossia ?
151.232 157.738
159.255 165.754
167.243 173.727 173.755 unterschiedliche Töne
175.254 182.727 181.754
191.254 197.754
199.206
Hello. What exactly do you want to know? The servers of Troitsk and Miass are installed in a residential building, and the cable TV signal penetrates through the terrestrial antennas. You got that right. Signals from these cables on SDR can be received at a distance of up to 1 kilometre from residential houses
Maybe I can reach a few SDR providers this way. Many of you don’t have an email address or don’t respond when I write to you. Often your SDRs are only online for a few hours or days and there is little time (or lack of language skills) to identify the TV channels. The Internet mainly contains information about digital offerings. The same transmitters are used here, but different frequencies are active. You could compare the channels in the live stream, but geoblocking makes it impossible (except Rossia24). Another hurdle is the separate reception of image and sound.
I get important but incomplete information from:
https://www.dxinfocentre.com/tv-sam.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_television_frequencies#Terrestrial_television
All TV channels from the countries in Central and South America can be found in Wikipedia.
I need information from:
Ivan Abilev, Troitsk, sdr://178.46.161.201:5555 / Russland
Anonymus, Achinsk, sdr://46.166.94.54:24816 / Russland
Ilya Pastukhov, Miass, sdr://178.46.165.91:5556 Russland
Edurardo SDR, Santo Dom, sdr://179.132.220:5555 / Republica Dominicana
CE5AUC-2-RTL-SDR, SDR://186.103.216.243:20003 / Chile
anonymus, Valparaisosdr:// 181.206.120:5555 / Chile
anonymus, Santiago, sdr://201.241.85.46:5556/ Chile
sdr://186.54.21.14:5555 Argentinien
Lu8ML- Airspy Mini, sdr://190.177.187.122:5555 Argentinien
ReneDXRadio YouTube channel- Airspy HF+, sdr://187.145.12.40:5557 / Mexico
Naglio Braga VSN- Airspy R2, Tower do Cerro Grande -Cangucu RS, sdr://177.10.119:5556 / Brasilien
LWB [email protected], sdr://45.160.148:5555 / Brasilien
Jorge Blumenau-SC Brazil- [email protected], sdr://210.34.189:5555
Alonso Franco (anonymus), RTL-SDR, sdr://181.206.23.16:5555 / Columbien
[email protected], Dolores, sdr://167.57.44.147.:5555 / Uruguay
SDR addresses are constantly changing!!
Allan, from Guatemala, willingly sent a TV channel/frequency list – thanks for that.
Micha
Hi Micha Iam the owner of the spyserver in Argnetina LU8MIL. Nice see that you used is some funny way. [email protected] if you need something
Thanks Micha. Here in the USA, analog TV ended in 2009. However digital TV stations from long distances can be received depending on weather conditions. I’ve logged DTV from as far away as Virginia. When your country switches over to all digital, TV DX is possible. Have a nice day Micha.
Hi Mario. TV DX macht spass, ist jedoch durch Einführung des digitalen Signals erheblich schwieriger geworden. Wegen der großen Bsndbreite und der Verschachtelung der Signale, ist ein Empfang über das onlineSDR Netz wahrscheinlich unmöglich. Schade! Da wären viele digitale Programme zu empfangen.
Gruß Micha
Now that’s really neat.
Thanks for publishing.
But a few explanations seem necessary. Only with the Russian SDRs do the programs radiate into the antenna. I think terrestrial broadcasting is unlikely because the TV programs also mix with terrestrial radio signals, eg AERO-Voice and weather satellites (NOAA). The antenna must therefore be attached to the window or outside. A leaky cable network can certainly radiate in here, but a weather satellite in the indoor area is unlikely to. The only strange thing is that all 3 providers in the cities of Miass / Achinsk / Troitsk
have the same problem. After all, there are up to 2000km between the cities.
In South America these are regular terrestrial broadcasts. But be careful! An SDR in Brazil receives the programs from Urugay.
The whole story is difficult to understand because some SDRs are only online for a short time, constantly change the antenna or gain, are not designed for TV reception at all and terrestrial TV is switched off (e.g. Indonesia)
greetings Micha