Ham Radio - Woodpecker vs The Bear

The Russian Woodpecker
Not an avian at all, the Russian Woodpecker was the vast, faceless and distant enemy of most of the users of shortwave radio in the Western World for eight or nine years, beginning in 1976. Folks were going about their electronic business in North America one day (July 4, 1976. Bathe in the snark), talking to airplanes, ships, each other - and all of a sudden, an enormous stuttering noise slammed down onto an entire range of frequencies. The signal was monstrously powerful, and was heard on wide bands (up to 40 KHz across) on several frequencies in the shortwave bands. It manifested as a harsh, rapid clicking or tapping.
Andy Clark, call sign W4IYT, was at the time working for a commercial aeronautics radio company. It maintained communications links between commercial aircraft and their owners, allowing airlines and the like to speak directly to their airplanes while aloft. In a 1999 interview with the Miami Herald, he claims that he named the phenomenon 'woodpecker' for the sound. While talking to his home office, he asked if they, too were getting an awful loud 'woodpecker' noise on their airwaves. They confirmed it.

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