Welcome to the Shortwave Espionage section. Here you can access the book "Secret Signals, The Euronumbers Mystery" which was written in 1991 and is now out of print. Thanks to the publisher "Tiare Publications
" of Lake Geneva U.S.A. and Gerry Dexter its owner, I am able to reproduce the book on this site. I have left out the final 15 pages, partly due to the difficulty in scanning the layout and also because most of the frequencies in the list are now out of date.
"Secret Signals" is about the enduring mystery of the shortwave bands-namely the "Numbers Stations" These are supposedly one way transmissions to espionage agents working in foreign countries. Where do these transmissions come from? Well, one source is an Embassy building in a particular country. Look at the grotesque log periodic antenna on top of the
Yugoslav embassy
in Washington. Other sites may include international broadcasters. The B.B.C. has always denied any involvement and in the book you will read of a denial of the use of the frequency 6840 kHz "We have not used it for many years". However, later on came the following reply from B.F.B.S. "Thank you for your letter enquiring about our 6840 kHz frequency and any associated interference. You may, or may not, know that this frequency was "lent" to us in order that British Forces serving in the Gulf area could keep in touch with not only the British news but also Service news via BFBS.
The transmitter that radiates this frequency is situated on Cyprus and the transmissions are directed towards the Gulf region (sounds familiar!). We have never had any complaints of the type you describe and therefore no call for further action. It would seem that the heavy interference you describe may well not affect our listeners in the Gulf area since our signal there will be infinitely stronger." See
QSL1
and QSL2.
Could this be a QSL in lieu of a Lincolnshire Poacher confirmation? There have been stations that have had genuine callsigns such as DFC37 and DFD21 and even stations that have issued QSL cards, such as Czech station
OLX
and semi-spy station KKN44.
The Number Stations use
one time pads
which are unbreakable if used correctly. Agents have been caught with them in hollowed out
bars of soap
. Or even talcum powder
containers.
Thanks to a Number Stations 4 CD
set brought out by Akin Fernandez, this esoteric subject has been shown on national TV and radio. There have been many books and magazine articles published on the subject.
READ SECRET SIGNALS
Download Secret Signals as a 133 k Word document:
HERE
Listen to some sound clips sent in during a competition in
2004
New competition for 07. Details here.
SIMON MASON WRITES:
Articles in Enigma Magazine
:
Enigma
2000 Yahoo group (for the definitive newsletter)
DX Tuners - free worldwide radios.
NUMBER
STATION LINKS:
Updated 5 MAY 08
REAL
LIFE STORIES
Read
the personal story of Thomas Wagner (who told me part
of his story a few years ago)
Memories of Christian S. in Germany
PERSONAL WEBSITES
Chris Smolinski's Number Station Resource
Mike
and Sniffy's radio X-files AUDIO
Ghosts of
the Shortwave - Iain Rowan
Mr DXer in Russia Audio
archive 07 Audio
archive 08 AUDIO
Signal
Intelligence Site - Germany
Dirk
Rijmenants' site
AUDIO Dirk's
Free One Time Pad number generator.
Star Trek's
Wesley's (Wil Wheaton) blog
Whole
Numbers Play The Basics by Myke Weiskopf
Manolis in Crete - E25 Audio AUDIO
Irdial Discs New Site (Producers of CONET CDs)
Ary Boender's Numbers and Oddities Site
Tom Holzlohner's
number station recordings site AUDIO
The Ominous Valve
Ryan Silva's Media
Empire AUDIO
Number Station Audio Clip Site
"The Numbers Game" AUDIO
The Straight Dope page answers a question
Ryan Grabow's Page
One Time Pad Generator
Another One Time
Pad Generator by Jorn S.
The Red
Herring Cipher by Mark Fosella
Tom Sevart's page
UVB 76 "The Buzzer" on
4625 kHz
Discussion board on Live Journal
Freedom of
Information Act request for Number Station information is denied
Alan Wolkower's
N2CTZ page.
Keith
Kisser's weblog
Entertainment
Resources - Radio
Peter
McCollum's site
Trade
recordings with Jason Campbell.
Apparently
I am a sad "get a life man". What a cheek!
Robert
Woolsey has kindly put "Secret Signals" into pdf format.
Lief Dehio's "Signals"
site.
"Radio
Papa November"
BMSONA site for tone like transmissions
AUDIO
http://numberstations.co.uk/
- Certain amount of plagiarism going on here!
Number
Stations
by
Terry Brown on GobSlob
Play
Number Station bingo here.
NEW
RADIO
AND TV PROGRAMMES, YOUTUBE CLIPS + PODCASTS
|
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
BBC Radio 4
programme "Tracking the Lincolnshire Poacher" 23 APR 05
BBC RADIO 4- 23 APR 05 SHOW. |
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
BBC Radio 1 programme "Radio Anyone" 22 AUG 05
BBC RADIO 1- 22 AUG 05
SHOW |
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE: IN AFRIKAANS
South African Radio station "Radio
RSG" programme 6 MAY 06. |
Channel 4 News Podcast 4 JUL
07.
The Morning
Report. Download edited version. With Geoff White. LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
|
 2
FEB 08
Definitely Not the Opera
is the ideal audio guide to the fast-changing world of popular culture.
It's your tip sheet to what's hot, what to watch, who to listen to and
what's going on. LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE: Definitely
Not the Opera 2 FEB 08 NEW
On the "old school
technology" front, if you spend enough time listening to short-wave
radio, you may eventually stumble on mysterious voices reading strings of
numbers… Is it a secret code, or a promotion for the TV show Lost?
Internet audio guy John
Pellatt looks into the mystery of numbers stations for us. |
| AmateurLogic.tv site.
George, Tommy, and Peter are back with the long awaited
episode 20. Tour the Hy-Gain Factory
and see how antennas and rotors are built. Peter tells us all about those
mysterious ‘Numbers Stations’ on short wave. Plus an update on what
your hosts have been up to lately, viewer email and timely topics. |
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE: IN DUTCH
1 OCT 06. Dutch radio station VPRO with a
programme about Czech spy Erwin van Haarlem.
The show called "Het Spoor Terug" (The trail back) is in two
parts. IN DUTCH.
Part
1 VPRO 1 OCT 06 Het Spoor Terug.
Part 2 VPRO
8 OCT 06 Het Spoor Terug.
|
Deutschlandfunk
programme in German
"Achtung: Fünnef, zwo, null,
null, Trennung.
"Geheimdienste auf Sendung
by
Claudia Heissenberg.
Broadcast 1715-1800 UTC on 16 SEP 03.
DOWNLOAD ENTIRE PROGRAMME
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
DLF- 16 SEP 03 SHOW. |
Bayerische
Rundfunk (Bavarian TV) broadcast a programme in the Einblick series on 7
MAR 04 featuring number stations.
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
BR- 7 MAR 04 SHOW. |
Der Westen Leuchtet.
Thanks go to Daniel S. in Germany for providing the
sound clip, photos and scene description from this German film featuring the G16
2-letter station.
NEW View this as a video
clip.
Thanks to Matthias M. in Preston for the clip. "Der Westen Leuchtet"
VIDEO clip. |
“KGB
in Deutschland” LISTEN
HERE:
"On 29 NOV 06
on the French/German channel ARTE, three different German stations
apparently made it a 'Secret Services' night". Part of this series of programmes
was called “KGB
in Deutschland” presented by the German TV station ARD. Thanks
again go to Daniel S. in Germany for providing the
sound clip, photos and description from this show. |
BBC 1
"Here and Now" show aired 21 APR 1997 AT 1830 UTC.
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
BBC - 21 APR
97 SHOW |
European
Music Radio transmission with Soviet "U" beacon
"interference."
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
EMR - 12 APR
04 SHOW. |
National
Public Radio's "All Things Considered"
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
NPR - 12 NOV 04 SHOW.
NPR's Lost and Found Sound May 2000
AUDIO
|
Radio
Moscow answers my Number Station question in 1988 DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
|
Radio Netherlands Media Network reviews "Secret Signals" DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Radio
Netherlands Media Network interviews Havana Moon DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Radio
Netherlands Media Network in 1991 with Simon Mason interview DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
|
Juan Carlos in Spain sent in a programme (Radio Enlace) of Radio Netherlands
Spanish language service from
1990 which has a feature on Number Stations. Radio
Netherlands 1990 DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Thanks Juan Carlos! |
Radio
Fax reviews "Secret Signals" in their Sparks programme
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
|
BBC
Radio 5 Live "Sunday Service" 21 APR 02 (with
Akin Fernandez) DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
|
Did TalkSPORT
host James H Reeve get conned into sending a spy message?
AUDIO
Another secret message from James H Reeve
AUDIO |
AUDIO Talk
Radio UK 1999
DOWNLOAD
Danny Baker and Danny Kelly on Talk Radio in 1999 talking
about the STASI Gong station at the end of their football phone in. |
"Macca" from
Winsford calls James H Reeve on Key 103 in JUN 05
AUDIO |
German TV
Programme about "Topspion
Topas" b/cast 7 AUG 02
AUDIO |
VIDEO
Art or espionage?
Since the Cold War mysterious radio stations have been broadcasting
series of numbers and letters for some unknown ... all »
reason, and the broadcasts continue
today!
A must see for all conspiracy theorists. Show it to your paranoid friends
today |
Danmark's
Radio's Mads Brügger on Number Stations with Chris Smolinski interview
DOWNLOAD |
Hobart
Radio International's Spy Station Special Pt 1 Download
show
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
HOBART RADIO INTERNATIONAL 21 NOV
04 SHOW |
Hobart Radio International's Spy
Station Special Pt 2 Download
show
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE
HOBART RADIO INTERNATIONAL 17
APR 05 SHOW |
Hobart Radio International's Spy
Station Special Pt 3 Download
show
LISTEN
TO THE SHOW HERE:
HOBART RADIO INTERNATIONAL 17
APR 05
SHOW |
| Radio
Caroline Eifel from Eisenach broadcast a German show out of Ulbroka, Latvia
with number station content.
25 NOV 07 09:00 to 10:00 UTC
Thema
: Der zweite und letzte Teil : "Zahlen- & Agentensender" (
Teil 2 / 2 ) Download
show |
| PODCASTS |
01 August 2007, 06:01:00 | spycast@spymuseum.org
Peter’s guest this month is Scott Carmichael of the
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). As the DIA’s senior
counterintelligence investigator, Scott identified one of the most
damaging spies in recent U.S. history, the Agency’s own chief Cuba
analyst, Ana Belen Montes. Scott discusses Montes’ motivations, the
damage she did, and the continuing threat of Cuban intelligence to the
United States.
|
The
first number station based Podcast
narrated by Imperium Americana.
21 NOV 05 Click
on photo for podcast.
The discussion is found here at abovetopsecret.com
|
11 NOV 06
Atom
Bomb City Podcasts.
"Two Brits in Hiroshima laugh at history, literature, politics, music and
life in Japan."
Listen
to Podcast 33 here.
DOWNLOAD AUDIO 9m 30s into the clip. |
|
Spilled
Whine Episode 7
NEW
Posted in Podcasts
on August 13th, 2006
Listen
to Podcast 7 here.
DOWNLOAD AUDIO 15m 45s into the clip.
"1293… 5454… 3453… 2474… 4617… 3636…
What does it mean? My crew and I tackle one of the biggest mysteries
since Wonderbread, number stations. Preparedness was at an all time high
as Teresa brought her own computer and finally had the power to play her
own sounds on the show."
|
|
The Slow Small Peasants continue their series on codes
with a show that uncovers the veil of secrecy in communications and
surveillance. The show features interviews with Simon Singh, author of The
Codebook, Helen John from Yorkshire CND, as well as spy soundscapes and
number stations. |
| YOUTUBE
CLIPS NEW
|
Watch the videos to go along with
the music by The Moscow Coup Attempt.
Moscow
Coup Attempt video clips 1 -7. |
This guy uses a hand held scanner
to pull in a station on 5089 kHz and SYN on 6930 kHz.
Deanpook video clip. |
This young man mixes space noises
with the old Stasi Gong station.
Obix 1337 video clip.
Obix 1337 video clip
update. |
This man has filmed himself
getting up in the morning for a college project. After his breakfast, he
tunes in on a ghetto blaster to the STASI Gongs station and copies down
the numbers. Rather like the Roman centurion in a film wearing a watch,
the German STASI station apparently transmitted on FM 87.5 MHz!
"Stations"
by ihrabe |
Vintage Berlin Wall footage with
G2 Swedish Rhapsody soundtrack.
The Wall / Conet
Project - Numbers Station |
"stg7" receiving the
Lincolnshire Poacher on 6959 kHz
The Lincolnshire
Poacher (MI5 number station) |
Another video by stg (Thanks to
Juan in Spain)
Numbers
stations, beacons and other radio sounds. |
"Gruppe
Vier Zero"
Age: 21
Country: Germany |
| LCduT's Videos
can be found
here.
|
|
Numbers
Station with 1928 Science Video
Numbers
station "NNN" with footage from the 1928 silent science film,
"Communication". Plus a few seconds of an odd polytonal
"spy" broadcast. |
Gong and Chimes: http://www.vimeo.com/clip:217359
Swedish Rhapsody: http://www.vimeo.com/clip:217265
Nice use of child
like doll there.
Thanks to Curt R. for links. |
Persephone
video
 T
This is the Persephone video reversed.
In this message you can hear numbers like in numbers stations.
The message says:
101 118 105 100 101 110 116 32 97 103 101 110 100 97
(twice) which translating from the ASCII table becomes:
"evident agenda" |
|
|
Number
Stations by Michael Blackburn.
Hidden Charlotte. The mystery of the Number Stations continues |
|
Boards
of Canada - Corsair (Numbers Station Remix) |
Spanish number station being picked up on an old radio in the USA |
| Cuban
station V2 shown on 8140 kHz and
again on 9140 kHz |
| MOSSAD
station on 3230 kHz |
| Cuban
station V2 shown on 6854 kHz as received on a Slinky antenna |
| E11
as received in The Netherlands. 4 SEP 07 |
Secret
Australian Numbers Station spoof video. NEW
Possibly Australia's first secret numbers
station!
|
Secret
Swedish Numbers Station spoof video. NEW
Recent recording of the secret Swedish numbers station
"Swedish Rhapsody" but on this transmission a different voice is
used and one can plainly hear unencoded messages being sent to operatives.
The content of the messages shows that it is the Swedish intelligence
authorities that are sending the messages |
Mystery
Romanian Numbers Station spoof video. NEW
|
Live recording of a new Romanian Numbers Station
believed to be operating from near Bucharest. But there is
something eerily familiar about it...
|
|
The New
Left Bank.
Essay I wrote on the influence of number stations in music.
The New Left Bank article.
|
British group The Porcupine Tree's song "Even Less" ends with E14 CIA
4F
Hear the track
"Even Less" by Porcupine Tree here DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
From the Album "Stupid
Dream"
Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream 1999 |
Stereolab's
"Pause" from the "Transient Random-Noise Bursts with
Announcements" album uses "Swedish
Rhapsody" clip.
Hear the British group Stereolab's track "Pause" from the
album "Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements." DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Stereolab -Transient
Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements 1993 |
Wilco's
website
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Hear the American group Wilco's track "Poor Places" from
the infamous "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" album.
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 2002 |
Boards
of Canada use a heavily modified E5 "Counting station" clip in their
track "Gyroscope"
Hear
the above track "Gyroscope" by Boards of Canada. DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Boards
of Canada - Corsair (Numbers Station Remix) YOUTUBE CLIP
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi 2002
|
Pere
Ubu's track "Coming Home" from the album "The Story Of My
Life" uses modified E5 "Counting Station"
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP tnx Jason
Hear the track
"Coming Home" by Pere Ubu.
Pere Ubu - The Story of My Life 1993 |
Andy Hunter
released the album "Life" in 2005. The track
"Lifelight" includes the Spanish Lady V2.
Hear the
track "Lifelight"
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP NEW
Andy Hunter - Life 2005 |
Italian group Madwork
have released the album "Overflow". The first track
"Null" contains a sound
clip from this very site. Madwork
- Null DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP See details of the CD here: Madwork
- Overflow.
Madwork - Overflow 2004 |
The group LOVTres from Mexico have produced
the album Electronic Rocker Souls in 2008.
The track Amor
Y Paz contains number station content from this site. Nice work JC! |
Luca from the
Madwork has passed on news of the group Carbon 12 who have released
"Nonsense and Numerology" from the album Very Harsh
Frequencies. You can download it from their website. http://www.carbon12.net/.
Download "Very Harsh Frequencies"
 |
The group "Chroma
Key" uses the Swedish Rhapsody German YL on the track "Even the
Waves" from the album "Dead Air for Radios".
AUDIO CLIP
Visit http://www.chromakey.com/
click on "Audio" then go to the bottom of the page and click on
the CD cover that looks like the planet Mars. Click on "Play" Use the audio player at the bottom to select track 2.
Chroma Key - Dead Air For Radios 1999 |
Madtone
is the brainchild of One Deck Pete who
blends number stations and other SW sound into his mix. Listen to their
music here: Madtone.
"Garden of Earthly
Delights.'
Madtone - Garden of Earthly Delights 2006 |
Derek
Whiteacre,
recording as "The
Moscow Coup Attempt" has produced the CD
"The
Failure of Shortwave Radio" which uses many number station clips.
You can buy the CD
here. AUDIO CLIPS
You can watch the video clips to go along with the music here on youtube.
VIDEO CLIPS
The Moscow Coup Attempt- The
Failure of Shortwave Radio. 2005 |
Cinerama
released the single "Manhattan" in 2000.
The B side (called "London") contains number station samples
from E12 (NNN sign on) and E21 Counting station.
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Hear the track
"London" by Cinerama
Cinerama - London 2000 |
65daysofstatic
released the EP "Hole" in 2005.
One of the tracks, "No Station", contains a sample of the E3
"Lincolnshire Poacher" and "Cherry Ripe".
Hear the track "No Station" by 65daysofstatic
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
65daysofstatic - Hole 2005
|
Inspired
by short wave
number stations and the Conet
Project, Botany Bay's newest
single, "Voices"
shows the band at a faster and harder pace, while retaining intensity and
dealing with the subliminal. Botany
Bay are a Pop/Postrock project, primarily consisting of Stephan
Kleinert (keys, g, perc, programming) and Laura Dietrich (voc, keys). At
the moment, Laura and Stephan are (still) putting the finishing touches to
their new album, "Grounded", which will be released in September
2007.
Botany
Bay - Voices DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Botany Bay - Voices 2007
Recorded at Stephan's place, Bonn, July 2007
Performed by Botany Bay
Produced by Stephan Kleinert |
|
Austrian noise
artist "Subcarrier" has these tracks for download.
Hotel
Kilo
Okno
Okno Okno
Attention
Oblique
20IW34D37D38D39D40D41D42D73D44D45D46D47
Jammed
Message
Zero
ist DFC 37 |
Esther Venrooy
- 'Shift Coordinate Points' LP (Entr'Acte)
Singular work from this Dutch-born
Belgian composer who isolates elements from The Conet Project’s macabre
collection of secret shortwave "number stations" and assembles
them in massively brooding late night dronescapes, repeat tone clusters
and flashes of phantom electricity. Something supremely disconcerting
about the mechanised voices and occult number calls and put in this
context the whole piece takes on a bizarre / surreal almost Nurse With
Wound air. 'Shift Coordinate Points' refers to an excerpt from William
Burrough's novel 'Nova Express. Edition of 300 copies.
http://www.esthervenrooy.com/
|
German electro
pop band OK with their track "OKAY" ends with S5 OLX
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Hear the track
"Okay" by the group OK |
| Jean
Joseph produced this piece "Ode
to Number Stations" AUDIO |
| Check out this
weird "Net Pirate Number Station" with real video hosts reading
out the numbers:
"Net
Pirate Number Station" AUDIO +
VIDEO CLIPS
|
Rigel
Kent Music have a produced this track called S
Y N AUDIO
|
The group "Tree
Helicopter" have released an album called "Moon Calf",
which includes several tracks inspired by number stations.
"Count
Control Control" AUDIO CLIPS
"Poacher"
"Papa
November"
"Romeo
Kilo"
"Elephant
Cage" |
Peter James
Daniel with the track "Magdeburg
Annie" AUDIO CLIP.
Thanks to Gary H. for tip.
From album "Darwin's Waiting
Room" 1998. |
Danny Eskanazi
recorded the track "21.252" which was featured on the 1980's
album "Seattle Syndrome". The so called "British YL"
E21 counting station is included in the piece.
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Hear the
track "21.252" |
Richard
Mc Guire's myspace page where you
can download his work, including the track "Long
Night of the Gongs" featuring a homage to the Stasi gong station
G3. DOWNLOAD AUDIO CLIP
|
Jimmy from Oxford, UK
released several numbers-based tracks under the name
"Spunkle".
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
Hear the track "The
Buzzer" by Spunkle.
"XPH" by
Spunkle.
"Three
Note Oddity" by Vehicle Derek.
"Cynthia"
by Spunkle
"Three
Note Oddity" by Spunkle |
Andras H. in
Hungary has produced this 58 minute long sound collage. Banyek-
Number Stations AUDIO CLIP.
Here is his website with details of the playlist> Tizenkilencedik-Podcast
Andras has
released a new EP under the name
"Souten Gorge". Download his track
"Ende" AUDIO CLIP.
|
Derek R. Audette
has produced this track called "Numbers
Station". Here is his description:
Eerie and spooky. This track is
perfectly suited to providing a feeling of intense, dramatic suspense in a
film or video production. It features a sustained violin section and flute
section, with an ominous cello part to provide tension. This track also
features strange, sampled female voice loops captured from 'spy/espionage'
numbers station shortwave radio broadcasts. |
Evil Arrival
Free form bass playing mixed with Conet
Project tracks. The bass player is Lance Miller.
EvilArrival_64kb.m3u
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP |
"Dance
by Numbers"
"Something
surrounded with a fair touch of mystery are the number stations. Those are
short wave radio stations that broadcast sequences of numbers that are
believed to be coded messages. The stations are not always on line or on
the same frequency. You can find recordings of those stations on the web
and I figured that maybe this could be used in one way or
another…"
Check out this study.
DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP |
Robert
Bristoe with a series of
text messages:
"Since March 16th 2002 I have been recording a
new number station. This station broadcasts a digitally generated woman's
voice reading short fragments of text in English. Individual words are
sometimes unclear, but the messages are syntactically correct." |
The
212-796-0735 mystery (Thanks to Vera Era)
Another
phone numbers station: 415-704-0402 (Michael Hampton)
Note : This recording is obviously a fake. Every group contains a
"0", hardly random! Also, it starts off with "Group
415", but there are only 49 groups, not including the
"00000" ending. There no need for the "86" at the end
and the music used is not distinctive enough either.
It
is confirmed as a fake here: (Quelle surprise!) |
The Number
Crunch is a musical piece by Duffy
Laudick from Colorado, USA. It incorporates the "English Lady"
E17 into the
track. DOWNLOAD
AUDIO CLIP
|
