Our Network
The #monitor group network is a real-time global chat system dedicated to radio hobbyists interested in monitoring utility radio communications or oddity signals. The vast RF spectrum abounds with intriguing activity: from "Natural Earth Sounds" on VLF, to voice and digital signals on HF, to data bursts and clear voice checks on UHF and SHF satcom, to a multitude of miscellaneous mystery signals. It's a plethora of alluring action manifesting in myriad modes from many radio services and station types. Our community connects people who monitor such activity. The real-time nature of IRC facilitates intercept sharing at the instant monitored traffic occurs. As such, users around the world are able to monitor, discuss, and coordinate information about a variety of radio traffic within seconds of intercept - some hobbyists have been following particular stations and networks for years.
While the scope of our group's interest centers upon utility and oddity signals, we welcome intercept sharing and discussion relating to any radio services. This means, for example, that chat concerning Amateur or CB Radio transmissions, or even broadcast station activity, falls within our topic parameters. Topics that are not intercept-related but which stem from monitor sessions may be discussed as well. Our guideline is if it involves radio signals or is merely relevant to radio on some level, it qualifies.
IRC and Cross-net Relay
IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. It's a multi-user chat system upon which users may gather on specific "channels" (a.k.a. rooms or virtual areas) to converse with other users, typically concerning predefined topics. IRC networks facilitate group discussion as well as private discussion and offer a multitude of advantages over other popular chat systems.
We own and administrate our own multiple-server IRC network. At the heart of our radio listening community is a six-network relay system. Our chat channels on each network are cross-linked with chat channels of the same names on the 5 counterpart networks. Most of the IRC networks hosting our system share our global connection policy, meaning each permits access to its servers irrespective of a user/client's geographical region. For example, users within the United States are free to connect to the IRC-GLOBAL servers hosted in Germany and Hungary, as well as those hosted in the United States. Such server availability means that users should enjoy continual unrestricted access to our system from nearly anywhere in the world.
The Channels Hosted on Our Cross-net Relay System
Our #monitor channel is one of 4 radio-related chat areas that you may wish to visit. The others are: #airband (for military airband monitoring - 225 to 400 MHz), #milcom (for all military communications), and #satcom (for utility satellite communications). Each respective channel is cross-linked with like-named channels that exist on the counterpart relayed networks. The 6 networks are: IRC-GLOBAL, StarChat, IRCnet, EFnet, DALnet, and FreeNode. All should appear within the server lists provided with most IRC clients. You are welcome to join our channels on any of the 6 networks at any time.
Connection and Participation
A description of connection options may be found on our FAQ Page. Or you may simply connect to our network through IRC-GLOBAL using either of the following connection hosts: irc.proxemic.net / irc.ircGLOBAL.org
User commands relating to cross-net functionality and the botnet, along with descriptions thereof, can be found here: Botnet & Relay Info
Anyone interested in radio or radio monitoring is welcome on the #monitor group network. Please feel free to connect to our system at any time. Once you've connected you may wish to participate in active discussions or post real-time intercepts (this is not required, however). Alternately, you're free to idle inactive in our channels and simply observe the activities of others for as long as you wish. In any case, we hope you'll join us soon!
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