Signals Intelligence Tools and Training: An Essential Skill for the Prepared Partisan, by 1Smoothmother
One of the very first courses I took with Brush Beater was the Signals Intelligence course. I grew up as a hyper active pimple covered teen with too much energy, I also had four sisters, I spent many hours listening to them, gathering intel on them to use to my advantage and turn them on each other, I loved antagonizing them, and creating disruptions to their plans and ruining their life in general was my goal. This made me a perfect candidate for this useful skillset.
Now like most real men, I like cool guy stuff and after taking the course I started building my Sig Int kit because what good is the training without the tools to implement your new skills?
I’m going to go over the tools that are a must have and how you use them, however this doesn’t replace actual training in the field through a training course like Brush Beater.
You can build a nice kit for around 500 bucks and this will be priceless gear in a WROL situation..
Bubba Detector aka Baofeng UV-5R
The number one thing you will be doing as a sig int operator is listening. Yup boring AF but that’s what you do you listen set the radio on scan open your notebook and be prepared to jot down any frequency hits you get so u can come back later and monitor for intel. This is a long boring process however there is a better way..
The Uniden Bearcat SR 30C Scanner
This scanner has a close call feature that will pick up any frequency hits and keyed mics in your general AO alerting you to unfriendlys lurking or scoping out your position, unlike scanning on the Baofeng where u have to get lucky and there talking when the channel scan passes them by. This unit will always show the hit from any keyed mic in your area and is the most important tool in your kit. And don’t forget to write down the hits frequency to monitor later in your note book.
Use your Baofeng to monitor the contacts frequency for intel and keep your bearcat scanning as long as you are in collection mode.
Get a rite in the rain notebook it’s a must have for documenting the intel you recover from listening in on your contacts.
Yagi Antenna
https://www.ebay.com/itm/180931423571?hash=item2a205a6d53:g:RUwAAMXQ0pNQ-p65
This is a directional antenna that is used for direction finding and disrupting signals and communications of your adversary.
To find the general direction the contact is operating, hold out the antenna in front of you and rotate your body 360 degrees scanning the horizon for the best reception. This is the general direction your contact is operating from, then use your compass to get the bearing for future use write it down in your notes.
There is another useful trick this antenna is for and that’s disrupting the communications of your adversary.
Once you have found the bearing your contact is operating from point the antenna in that direction and when their trying to communicate with each other you key your mic locked open and hit them with your yagi essentially broadcasting overpowering useless noise clogging the airways so they can’t get a word in, like call for help while your ambushing their asses. Do this with a small recording devise full of obnoxious and useful sounds, we shall talk about that more later. However I’m sure they will have a backup frequency, if they switch up frequencies our Bearcat will find them and we can continue to harass or monitor them..
Don’t forget this goes both ways, if your adversary has these skills and tools they can find you to. Your average gang of roaming looters most likely won’t know this stuff, invading military troops are a different story so keep that in mind.
Loop Antenna
https://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Fox-Hunting-Loop-Bidirectional/dp/B00TGE6456
This small antenna is useful for finding the direction radio signals are coming from, The first way is by rotating your body 360 degrees while looking through the loop at arm’s length until you find the strongest signal kinda like framing the family photo with your hands, then use your compass to get a bearing on that direction in case you want to scout out, destroy or harass that contact.
The method I prefer is shielding the antenna. Its where you hold the radio close to your chest and rotate your body 360 degrees until the radio signal stops or get weak because your body is blocking the signal, So the signal is coming from behind you. It’s also a great way to verify the first method discussed.
Frequency Counter
This clever little device will pick up any frequency’s being transmitted in the area however I’ve found it has to be a close contact to pick up there frequency. The Bearcat is a much better tool for locating contacts.
Recording Device
I was discussing using the Yagi antenna for jamming contacts radio communications before and this is a great way to do it.
Go on YouTube and find videos of the most obnoxious stuff u can find and record it on the device in 5 min clips, Do stuff like dogs barking, babies crying, kids on the playground, the sky’s the limit so have fun with that.
Use these recordings to overpower the enemy’s coms by playing them over your radio through the Yagi pointed in their direction, It clouds the airwaves making it impossible for them to communicate or get a word in causing major confusion and mistakes on their part as well as the psychological effects.
You can also record them talking and play there voice back to them causing some More paranoia on their end.
If you are dealing with an unknown language u can record them to translate later with your translation device.
Handheld Mic
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224031942197
This is by far the best way to listen and talk, you don’t want a screeching radio speaker when you’re in your hide or on patrol and headsets like Peltors and other stuff in your ears disrupt your situational awareness.
Connectors
Have a good variety of connectors available in an organized fly box.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/272593152588
Carry Go Bag
Keep your Kit organized and easy to find in a small go bag of some sort.
These are sensitive items store your kit in a faraday box if possible.
Other Items
Batteries
Compass
Connection cords
Chargers
Small tripod to mount your Yagi
Pens/pencils
Portable power pack to recharge equipment
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185094549564?hash=item2b187eb03c:g:hpIAAOSwJPphX7Nv
Vehicle Jump Box with USB ports to charge equipment.
These store a lot of usable power in a small package.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/403629233672?hash=item5dfa2d5608:g:zZsAAOSwwCNhwVEu
Translation devise with Russian Chinese Arabic and Spanish Languages programmed on it.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185094549564?hash=item2b187eb03c:g:hpIAAOSwJPphX7Nv
Final Thoughts
If you buy this gear make sure to practice. An easy way to practice is find the local PD frequency on your Bearcat and monitor it, use your antennas and Bubba Detector to direction find where there patrol cars are transmitting from their always moving and Talking and it works. However never transmit or disrupt this frequency use it for listening and location practice only.
If there is a large construction project near you, find and monitor there radio traffic and mess with them a little for fun and practice. These are working men so be nice…
Have a friend drive a half mile away and key his mic w music or something for a good 10 min or so and you find him, it’s fun and practice makes perfect.
I discovered and listened in on a radio club before and yes I respected them and only Listened…
Soooooooooo In Conclusion.
Buy the gear you need NOW and get trained NOW while you still can…
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About the Author: Patriotman
2 Comments
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GUNS N GEAR
Great post. You can go straight to Arrow to purchase their products, no need to use Amazon. Regarding practice with live subjects, it helps when you are new at this to find some place where the targets will be using the radio frequently on a known channel. I used to practice on the marine band near a boat marina with a launch (water taxi) service. I could see the launch most of the time and also had a view of the dock where the courtesy radio for customers was located. With my own handheld dialed to their assigned frequency, I always knew when they or a customer was transmitting. Even with “cheat” advantages of knowing what freq they would use and the ability to visually confirm both ends of their conversation, it was still challenging to rdf them due to the brevity of the conversations and the fact that the launch was moving while transmitting most of the time. I was using the fox hunt loop and not a yagi, so I could most quickly confirm the null with the body shielding method described, though it was very subtle. Perhaps this was due to everyone transmitting on high power, the wide open environment, and everyone being within 1/2 a mile most of the time. Anyway, It was clear that it would take plenty of dedicated practice in realistic tactical conditions to get really good at this. Unknowing subjects going about their business may be better than nothing, but a dedicated radio opfor to practice with is the way to go.
EXCELLENT summary and refresher. Concise and relevant.