This is the free article this month from QST. Numbers stations. I have included the original article by Havana Moon which predstes this by at least 30 to 40 years. Seems that everything old is new again...
Allison McLellan
Scanning through the bands on AM, you stumble upon something odd. It might be the last few notes of a folk song, a sound clip from an old cartoon, or phrases in a different language. A voice cuts through the static, methodically calling out, “Mike, India, Whiskey, One, Four...” But this isn’t a fellow ham announcing their call sign. These are numbers stations, an eerie subset of radio stations that has intrigued hams and non-hams alike for decades.
Behind the Voices
Numbers stations are shortwave AM radio stations that transmit messages via voice or Morse code, believed to be coded in one- time pad (OTP) cryptography. In OTPs, the message is comprised of strings of numbers or letters assigned to the letters of the message, based on a pre-determined, randomized key shared between the transmitting and receiving parties. This is the simplest method of “perfect” encryption, which means mathematically, it is unbreakable.
There are some rules that define one-time pad encryption:
the randomized characters must be the same length as the plain text of the message so none of it is reused, and only two copies of the OTP exist (one for the transmitter and one for the receiver), which are used once and then destroyed immediately. These keys were named after the pads of paper they were printed on, and the user could tear off the top sheet after use and dispose of it.
The randomization of the one-time pad for each new transmission leaves no pattern, so a listener would not be able to analyze multiple transmissions to figure out a key. In order to decrypt the message, this third party would not only have to get hold of the OTP, but also know which key was used in the transmission.
Famous Stations
Most numbers stations were first heard throughout the Cold
War era, and some were so consistent or idiosyncratic that they become popular among those who monitored them. The Lincoln- shire Poacher, first identified in the 1970s, became known by playing a few notes from the famous British folk song of the same name before each transmission. It is thought to have been run by the British Secret Intelligence Service, and Amateur Radio direc- tion finding (ARDF) tracked its transmissions to a Royal Air Force station in Cyprus.
Another significant station was called Yosemite Sam, which began in 2004 across 3700 kHz, 4300 kHz, 6500 kHz, and 10500 kHz. Each broadcast was primed by a data burst believed to contain encrypted information, followed by an audio clip of the cranky Looney Tunes character Yosemite Sam. In February 2005, ARRL member Mike Langner, K5MGR, along with Mike Stark, WA5OIP (SK), had the unique experience of investigating the numbers sta- tion for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Their ARDF equipment led them to the Mobility and Assessment Test and Integration Center, an electronic testing facility operated by the Laguna Native American tribe outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Urban explorer Egor Evseev visited the Buzzer’s
original streaming location in Russia. He described
his visit online and posted photos, including this
view of an antenna at the military complex. [Egor
Evseev, photo]
Photo in lead graphic courtesy of www.radioscanner. ru/forum/topic12415-61.html#msg833346.
Photo in lead graphic courtesy of www.radioscanner. ru/forum/topic12415-61.html#msg833346.
www.arrl.org QST November 2019 71
After sending the information to the
FCC Denver Field Office, Langner
stated, “It turned out that a govern-
ment contractor was testing what it
called a ‘self-organizing mobile field
wireless data network’ for field
deployment.” The station has since
stopped sending.
Perhaps the best-known is the Russian UVB-76, a misheard version of its first call sign, UZB-76. Transmit- ting on 4625 kHz, it was first noticed around the late 1970s, earning the nickname “the Buzzer” because of its 24-hour droning hum. Due to sounds similar to banging or snippets of con- versation that occasionally cut through the buzzing, many believe that the hum is made by placing a speaker next to a microphone, and that the sounds are background noise — an intriguing theory that allows the listener to believe they are being clued in to the anonymous source creating the messages. How- ever, serious monitors of the station have posited that it is created by a small analog circuit board connected directly to the transmission channel, and interruptions are actually caused by channel separation.
In 2010, UVB-76 began drawing increased attention, leading to more monitors reporting on its activity, just in time for a new announcement across the waves. “Mikhail Dmitri Zhenya Boris,” spoke a male voice — the station’s new call sign, MDZhB.
Following this change, the original streaming location for UVB-76 was identified to be an abandoned military complex near Povarovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia, about 20 miles out- side of Moscow. Attempts have been made to triangulate the Buzzer’s new signal, but it is more difficult now as it uses multiple transmitters. In 2015, the Buzzer’s call sign changed again to ZhUOZ, and in 2019, it began using ANVF.
Perhaps the best-known is the Russian UVB-76, a misheard version of its first call sign, UZB-76. Transmit- ting on 4625 kHz, it was first noticed around the late 1970s, earning the nickname “the Buzzer” because of its 24-hour droning hum. Due to sounds similar to banging or snippets of con- versation that occasionally cut through the buzzing, many believe that the hum is made by placing a speaker next to a microphone, and that the sounds are background noise — an intriguing theory that allows the listener to believe they are being clued in to the anonymous source creating the messages. How- ever, serious monitors of the station have posited that it is created by a small analog circuit board connected directly to the transmission channel, and interruptions are actually caused by channel separation.
In 2010, UVB-76 began drawing increased attention, leading to more monitors reporting on its activity, just in time for a new announcement across the waves. “Mikhail Dmitri Zhenya Boris,” spoke a male voice — the station’s new call sign, MDZhB.
Following this change, the original streaming location for UVB-76 was identified to be an abandoned military complex near Povarovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia, about 20 miles out- side of Moscow. Attempts have been made to triangulate the Buzzer’s new signal, but it is more difficult now as it uses multiple transmitters. In 2015, the Buzzer’s call sign changed again to ZhUOZ, and in 2019, it began using ANVF.
Shortwave in
the 21st Century
As attention on the Buzzer grew, sev- eral different smartphone apps were made for those without proper lis- tening equipment, and Estonian technological entrepreneur Andrus Aaslaid created a dedicated website (www.uvb-76.net) that became very popular, bringing listenability to a whole new generation.
After the original location of UVB-76 was abandoned, urban explorers began posting about their visits to the area online, with photos showing abandoned buildings, trenches from dug up and cut cables on the pro- perty, and a large transmission tower. They also found documents, including a sample logbook for trans- missions and a document ordering the cessation of operation at the base. Message boards and forums filled with people asking questions about the mysterious activity and analyzing photos. The heightened attention and online accessibility prompted journalist Peter Savodnik to assert in a 2011 Wired article1 that this event contributed to a rejuvena-
tion in shortwave radio listening for
the 21st century.
This began with the chat box avail- able on www.uvb-76.net, where a unique community came together. Users began recognizing more num- bers stations and similar phenomena outside of UVB-76 and decided to pursue their wider study as a hobby.
In 2010, Priyom.org was formed as a public collection of current and his- torical information on “on-air enigmas,” according to the site. To continue the communal discussion, the website uses a new chat channel called #priyom.
One core member of the team is Pierre Ynard, who develops and maintains software tools for Priyom. He described their goal of “providing technical solutions and fostering a vibrant, complete ecosystem,” for anyone to be able to listen to a num- bers station with just a click.
The Priyom community is rather diverse, from electronic hobbyists, military buffs, conspiracy theorists, and licensed radio amateurs.
This began with the chat box avail- able on www.uvb-76.net, where a unique community came together. Users began recognizing more num- bers stations and similar phenomena outside of UVB-76 and decided to pursue their wider study as a hobby.
In 2010, Priyom.org was formed as a public collection of current and his- torical information on “on-air enigmas,” according to the site. To continue the communal discussion, the website uses a new chat channel called #priyom.
One core member of the team is Pierre Ynard, who develops and maintains software tools for Priyom. He described their goal of “providing technical solutions and fostering a vibrant, complete ecosystem,” for anyone to be able to listen to a num- bers station with just a click.
The Priyom community is rather diverse, from electronic hobbyists, military buffs, conspiracy theorists, and licensed radio amateurs.
We have members of all ages, but a lot
are under 30 years old, or even teen-
agers,” Ynard said, crediting this to
the fact that the community formed
around online chat rooms.
With their background, the com- munity takes a more digital approach to radio listening, utilizing remote web receivers like WebSDR (www. websdr.org) and KiwiSDR (www.kiwisdr.com) to “promote awareness of these modern possibili- ties and...increase the levels of understanding and monitoring,” Ynard said.
Theories
Given that numbers stations trans- missions can’t be deciphered, many have developed their own theories on what they are for, from practical study to conspiratorial weaponry. Some choose to believe these trans- missions couldn’t be something secretive in the public eye, posing that they are signals from tools mea- suring changes in the ionosphere, oceanographic buoys that monitor marine environment information and transmit via radio communication, or the testing of radio equipment.
With their background, the com- munity takes a more digital approach to radio listening, utilizing remote web receivers like WebSDR (www. websdr.org) and KiwiSDR (www.kiwisdr.com) to “promote awareness of these modern possibili- ties and...increase the levels of understanding and monitoring,” Ynard said.
Theories
Given that numbers stations trans- missions can’t be deciphered, many have developed their own theories on what they are for, from practical study to conspiratorial weaponry. Some choose to believe these trans- missions couldn’t be something secretive in the public eye, posing that they are signals from tools mea- suring changes in the ionosphere, oceanographic buoys that monitor marine environment information and transmit via radio communication, or the testing of radio equipment.
However, those most prominent in
their monitoring say that numbers
stations are used for spy communica-
tion. After the Buzzer became very
popular, monitoring communities like
Priyom and www.numbers-
stations.com were able to establish
that it is a Russian military channel
marker. That would explain the
increased activity in 2010, which
coincided with reorganization of the
Russian military. In 2013, the station
sent out its first command: “Objavlena
komanda 135,” which translates to,
“Command 135 announced,” a drill
message for full-combat readiness.
In fact, not long after the 1997 re- lease of a compilation of numbers stations recordings called The Conet Project (see the sidebar, “The Conet Project ”), the government publicly acknowledged numbers stations and their link to covert operations for per- haps the first time. In 1998, the FBI arrested the “Wasp’s Network,” a group of five Cuban intelligence offi- cers who were spying on Cuban exiles in southern Florida under the command of the Castro government. News reports described how the
In fact, not long after the 1997 re- lease of a compilation of numbers stations recordings called The Conet Project (see the sidebar, “The Conet Project ”), the government publicly acknowledged numbers stations and their link to covert operations for per- haps the first time. In 1998, the FBI arrested the “Wasp’s Network,” a group of five Cuban intelligence offi- cers who were spying on Cuban exiles in southern Florida under the command of the Castro government. News reports described how the
men were using shortwave radios to
receive encrypted number messages
from Cuba. Using software seized
during the arrest, the FBI decrypted
the messages and presented them
as evidence in trial. In 2001, the five
men were convicted of espionage.
Then, in June 2010, the FBI arrested 10 Russian agents across the United States accused of gathering intelli- gence on the US government under false identities as part of a long-term operation the Department of Justice dubbed “The Illegals Program.” The Guardian reported2 that court papers described how they used “many methods to exchange information with each other, including brush- passes, short-wave radio operation and invisible writing, [and] codes and ciphers, including the use of en- crypted Morse code messages...”
Conclusion
While many have spent years fol- lowing numbers stations, it appears that their meaning will not be made clear to anyone except the two par- ties that the transmission is made for — and perhaps for the better.
It is their mystery that has drawn a following of eager detectives and serious monitors in a range of ages and careers. If we confirm for sure what numbers stations are they may not be so interesting anymore.
Notes
1P. Savodnik, “Inside the Russian Short Wave Radio Enigma,” Wired, Sep. 27,
2 2011, www.wired.com/2011/09/ff-uvb76. R. Adams, “Russian spy ring claim — 29
June,” The Guardian, June 29, 2010, https://www.theguardian.com/world/ richard-adams-blog/2010/jun/29/ russian-spy-ring-live-updates.
Allison McLellan is an Assistant Editor for QST. She can be reached at almmclellan@gmail.com.
The Conet Project
This is a multi disc set of recordings of various number stations and oddities found on the air through the years. (ed)
"In 1992, England-based Akin Fernandez had just picked up decoding weather maps using a small adaptor when, while tuning for a utility station, he came across the odd transmission of a numbers station. “How was it that these very powerful stations could transmit all day and all night and no one knew anything about their origin?” he said, adding that it is illegal to listen to numbers stations in the United Kingdom, even today.
He decided he would compile numbers station recordings to create a public record of their existence. In 1997, Fernandez released a four-disc set called The Conet Project through the Irdial-Discs record label. Now also available in the iTunes store, this compilation brought numbers stations into the mainstream con- sciousness.
Their unsettling sounds have gone on to inspire many, including director Cameron Crowe, who used clips from The Conet Project in the 2001 science- ction psychological thriller, Vanilla Sky. The band Wilco also popularly sampled the recordings in their 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the title of which comes from the fourth track of The Conet Project entitled “Phonetic Alphabet Nato.”
“A written description of what a numbers station sounds like does no justice to their sound,” Fernandez said. “This is why The Conet Project has struck a chord with so many people; they are some of the most unusual manmade audio artifacts, ever.”
The Conet Project Audio Recordings
My favorite is #6...
Havana Moon...
Dates back many years years before the QST article's author was born. If suprises me that she does not cite this most important numbers research work ...so here it is
...
In 1987 Havana Moon wrote “Uno, Dos, Cuatro” a book about numbers stations. It has been out of print for years but a fellow dxer scanned it and sent it to me for the N&O website.
Then, in June 2010, the FBI arrested 10 Russian agents across the United States accused of gathering intelli- gence on the US government under false identities as part of a long-term operation the Department of Justice dubbed “The Illegals Program.” The Guardian reported2 that court papers described how they used “many methods to exchange information with each other, including brush- passes, short-wave radio operation and invisible writing, [and] codes and ciphers, including the use of en- crypted Morse code messages...”
Conclusion
While many have spent years fol- lowing numbers stations, it appears that their meaning will not be made clear to anyone except the two par- ties that the transmission is made for — and perhaps for the better.
It is their mystery that has drawn a following of eager detectives and serious monitors in a range of ages and careers. If we confirm for sure what numbers stations are they may not be so interesting anymore.
Notes
1P. Savodnik, “Inside the Russian Short Wave Radio Enigma,” Wired, Sep. 27,
2 2011, www.wired.com/2011/09/ff-uvb76. R. Adams, “Russian spy ring claim — 29
June,” The Guardian, June 29, 2010, https://www.theguardian.com/world/ richard-adams-blog/2010/jun/29/ russian-spy-ring-live-updates.
Allison McLellan is an Assistant Editor for QST. She can be reached at almmclellan@gmail.com.
The Conet Project
This is a multi disc set of recordings of various number stations and oddities found on the air through the years. (ed)
"In 1992, England-based Akin Fernandez had just picked up decoding weather maps using a small adaptor when, while tuning for a utility station, he came across the odd transmission of a numbers station. “How was it that these very powerful stations could transmit all day and all night and no one knew anything about their origin?” he said, adding that it is illegal to listen to numbers stations in the United Kingdom, even today.
He decided he would compile numbers station recordings to create a public record of their existence. In 1997, Fernandez released a four-disc set called The Conet Project through the Irdial-Discs record label. Now also available in the iTunes store, this compilation brought numbers stations into the mainstream con- sciousness.
Their unsettling sounds have gone on to inspire many, including director Cameron Crowe, who used clips from The Conet Project in the 2001 science- ction psychological thriller, Vanilla Sky. The band Wilco also popularly sampled the recordings in their 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the title of which comes from the fourth track of The Conet Project entitled “Phonetic Alphabet Nato.”
“A written description of what a numbers station sounds like does no justice to their sound,” Fernandez said. “This is why The Conet Project has struck a chord with so many people; they are some of the most unusual manmade audio artifacts, ever.”
The Conet Project Audio Recordings
My favorite is #6...
Havana Moon...
Dates back many years years before the QST article's author was born. If suprises me that she does not cite this most important numbers research work ...so here it is
...
The following piece was written by the late Havana
Moon. It gives you an idea of what Numbers Stations are. Although it has
been written a long time ago, it is still relevant.
"Spy Numbers Transmissions" are a shortwave oddity which have been around for the last 40+ years. They are commonly heard in English, German, Spanish and the Slavic languages and take the form of four and five digit groups of numbers which are preceded by a three digit "identifier" and a "group count" which corresponds to the number of number groups transmitted in the crypt. They are generally broadcast by a mechanical-sounding YL, although Morse code (CW) "cut number" transmissions are also frequently reported, as are phonetic alphabet transmissions. Several distinctly different formats have been noted. The "who" and "why" aspects of these transmissions are, for the most part, unknown. Their mysterious nature has resulted in their common characterization as 'spy' transmissions. The spy theory has been enhanced over the years by the FCC's inconsistent position in response to numerous inquiries by the Shortwave Listening community. If you've never heard a numbers transmission, tune your radio to one of the frequencies on the log-list. You'll almost certainly hear a 'classic' numbers transmission which will run from 15-30 minutes. In regards the "where" - a number of sites have been identified in recent years, notably in Warrenton and Remington, VA and Miami, FL. In addition, with the aid of sophisticated RDF (radio direction finding) equipment and the invaluable assistance of highly authoritative and professional resources, several new transmission sites have been posi- tively identified over the past years, including sites in Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba and Cozumel. One particularly dangerous station has been interfering with air to ground traffic on 6577 kHz, a frequency allocated to international aeronautical communications in the busy Caribbean sector. On at least one monitored transmission, the air traffic controller at ARINC moved the pilot to an alternate frequency as the numbers transmission was totally blocking the frequency from effective use. An identified Cuban site (Guineo) is believed to be a major transmitter site used by DGI (Cuban Intelligence). There has been some suggestion that the numbers are a form of 'one-time- pad' - a crude but unbreakable form of encryption (unless you've got the key, that is) - if that's the case, it's very curious to note that the same five-digit groups are often seen to repeat over and over again in the very same crypt - and that the same transmissions are seen to repeat from week to week, and from month to month - so often, in fact, that tape breaks are sometimes noted. When spliced back together, the sloppy handling sometimes results in truncated 5-digit groups - the end result being amixture of 4 and 5 digit groups in the very same transmission! These facts would tend to point one away from the one-time-pad concept and support a couple of other theories - suggesting that the numbers are NOT a cipher, but rather a code unto themselves, and that much of this traffic is 'dummy' in nature - broadcast simply to keep a frequency open over a long period of time. In addition, most five-digit Spanish numbers transmissions are very badly over-modulated, resulting in numerous spurs up and down frequency. When broadcast under such conditions, the numbers (6) seis and (7) siete are almost indistinguishable, making it impossible to copy a crypt without numerous errors. It is worth noting that the four-digit Spanish and English transmissions do not reflect this same technical ineptitude.
"Spy Numbers Transmissions" are a shortwave oddity which have been around for the last 40+ years. They are commonly heard in English, German, Spanish and the Slavic languages and take the form of four and five digit groups of numbers which are preceded by a three digit "identifier" and a "group count" which corresponds to the number of number groups transmitted in the crypt. They are generally broadcast by a mechanical-sounding YL, although Morse code (CW) "cut number" transmissions are also frequently reported, as are phonetic alphabet transmissions. Several distinctly different formats have been noted. The "who" and "why" aspects of these transmissions are, for the most part, unknown. Their mysterious nature has resulted in their common characterization as 'spy' transmissions. The spy theory has been enhanced over the years by the FCC's inconsistent position in response to numerous inquiries by the Shortwave Listening community. If you've never heard a numbers transmission, tune your radio to one of the frequencies on the log-list. You'll almost certainly hear a 'classic' numbers transmission which will run from 15-30 minutes. In regards the "where" - a number of sites have been identified in recent years, notably in Warrenton and Remington, VA and Miami, FL. In addition, with the aid of sophisticated RDF (radio direction finding) equipment and the invaluable assistance of highly authoritative and professional resources, several new transmission sites have been posi- tively identified over the past years, including sites in Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba and Cozumel. One particularly dangerous station has been interfering with air to ground traffic on 6577 kHz, a frequency allocated to international aeronautical communications in the busy Caribbean sector. On at least one monitored transmission, the air traffic controller at ARINC moved the pilot to an alternate frequency as the numbers transmission was totally blocking the frequency from effective use. An identified Cuban site (Guineo) is believed to be a major transmitter site used by DGI (Cuban Intelligence). There has been some suggestion that the numbers are a form of 'one-time- pad' - a crude but unbreakable form of encryption (unless you've got the key, that is) - if that's the case, it's very curious to note that the same five-digit groups are often seen to repeat over and over again in the very same crypt - and that the same transmissions are seen to repeat from week to week, and from month to month - so often, in fact, that tape breaks are sometimes noted. When spliced back together, the sloppy handling sometimes results in truncated 5-digit groups - the end result being amixture of 4 and 5 digit groups in the very same transmission! These facts would tend to point one away from the one-time-pad concept and support a couple of other theories - suggesting that the numbers are NOT a cipher, but rather a code unto themselves, and that much of this traffic is 'dummy' in nature - broadcast simply to keep a frequency open over a long period of time. In addition, most five-digit Spanish numbers transmissions are very badly over-modulated, resulting in numerous spurs up and down frequency. When broadcast under such conditions, the numbers (6) seis and (7) siete are almost indistinguishable, making it impossible to copy a crypt without numerous errors. It is worth noting that the four-digit Spanish and English transmissions do not reflect this same technical ineptitude.
In 1987 Havana Moon wrote “Uno, Dos, Cuatro” a book about numbers stations. It has been out of print for years but a fellow dxer scanned it and sent it to me for the N&O website.
Havana Moon Article
So like I said...Everythings Old Is New Again!
