Yosemite Sam (shortwave)

Yosemite Sam is the nickname given by DXers to intermittent shortwave radio broadcasts monitored between December 19, 2004 and February 16, 2005 on several shortwave frequencies in dual side band: 3700 kHz, 4300 kHz, 6500 kHz, and 10500 kHz. The nickname is taken from the Warner Bros. Cartoons character Yosemite Sam, whose voice was always played as part of the unusual transmission.

The broadcast series

The broadcast began on one of the frequencies stated above. Ten seconds later, it was repeated on the next higher frequency, and so on for a total of two minutes. The entire pattern took precisely two minutes, and always began seven seconds after the top of an hour. Each broadcast started with a data burst lasting 0.8 seconds, followed by the voice of Yosemite Sam exclaiming: "Varmint, I'm a-gonna b-b-b-bloooow ya ta'smithereenies!" The audio clip is from the 1950 Merrie Melodies cartoon, Bunker Hill Bunny.
The initial broadcasts lasted only from December 19 to December 23, 2004. They subsequently returned on January 14, 2005, on the old frequencies plus additional new frequencies, including those of time signals stations WWV and WWVH. Reception reports seemed to indicate that the transmitter site was likely somewhere in the desert around Albuquerque, New Mexico.