In the late 70s I came across a voice on shortwave repeating over and over again, ‘move the black cap’, with an English accent. I listened for 20 minutes until I got bored. When I tuned to the same frequency later it had disappeared
Thanks for another fascinating video. Another mysterious radio signal are those Driftnet Radio Buoys (DRB) which transmit 3 letter Morse Code used by fishing boats operating in open seas and oceans for collecting fishing nets. These are low power and operate between 1600 khz and up to 4.000 Mhz including thr 160 meter band. On a good night they can be heard for hundreds or even thousands of miles.
It is strange that after the fall of the iron curtain no testimony has emerged from some former radio operators regarding these stations. (As far as I know) May be there are part of a "deception" technique to fool the enemy and are actually useless.. ;-)
My favourite UVB76 moments were getting in touch with the hackers on the live UA-cam stream and requesting they Rickroll the STL. Apparently it isn't hard to do
It seems unlikely that after decades of keeping the purpose of a number station entirely secret that when retiring it and leaving the site to become derelict, actual log books are carelessly left behind with useful details for random explorers to find later on. I have to question - 1. who were these explorers and how do we know they did not conjure the found log books into existence? 2. if not conjured into existence, how do we know that the books found were not just planted at the end of the decommissioning process, containing misleading info in the knowledge they would be found and shared, thereby proliferating misinformation? My pet theory about number stations is that way way back they were actively involved in cryptographically secured communications to remote agents far afield. But now, no such thing or purpose. All sides just keep them running to keep all the others guessing (or it's an in joke) whether they serve any purpose or not. Wastes a bit of the others' intelligence time monitoring them tying up resource from doing something else useful. Every so often the operators get to have a bit of a giggle when they are told to change the pattern broadcast. This is my theory, there are many like it, but this one is mine :D And no doubt, entirely wrong :D
Well, UVB-76 (NZhTI) does go to great lengths to stop others from broadcasting over the signal. When pirates got really bad they started broadcasting a loud tone over the pirate broadcasts to discourage them. It probably has some actual use otherwise I don't think the ones running it would care if people broadcasted over it. Also, we definitely did see an increase in message transmission right before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
@@Cobalt985 "SkyCzar SkyCzar Answer or do not. It's up to you." While the content of the message is unknowable to me and you, we can anticipate something happening by number of transmitted messages, and tone of speech.
if these stations are still maintained for legitimate purpose, I'd say they're there as a backup in case other forms of communications falter. Internet and cellular services can be blockaded or monitored, or just straight up not exist in the middle of nowhere. Satellite services may suffer from similar issues, albeit not as likely (or that satphones might raise suspicions). If all else fails, at least the numbers stations have been up and running for a long enough period that the folks that run it are well trained and equipped at what they do, and they won't raise suspicions with a station suddenly coming online.
@@psalmistinprogress9089 Indeed that could be it. Simple logic loop IF NOT TRANSMISSIONS FOR (T) TIME - LAUNCH EVERYTHING ON PRE-PROGRAMMED TARGETS (cos we're all dead). Easily programmable action from a control device perspective. Also insane fail safe.
Should the sound of the buzzer ever crash, be prepared for the bright white flash! 🔥⚰ Love the sound of the malfunction! I bet a few people got pretty anxious at that moment. The buzzer is live here on UA-cam for those like me who cannot hear it via RF.
As a kid in Milton Keynes, UK during the early 1980s I sometimes heard US tactical nuclear bombers taking off at night in larger numbers and more urgent sounding than usual. I lay there waiting for the flash a few times thinking it had kicked off. We knew RAF Upper Heyford was a prime target and discussed stuff like yields and their blast radius at school. The thing is though, I found out more recently it was NATO that was far more interested in conducting a sneak first strike attack than the Soviets. To this day the USA reserves the right to first use of nukes. The Soviet rules for nuclear weapons use tended to be launch on warning, i.e., if they were under attack by nukes. The Russian one is similar, although it now has the existential threat caveat, i.e., conventional attacks that place the existence of the Russian state at risk (there is a threshold though).
As a child radio was my hobby literally 24/7 I listened to all sorts from shortwave, dx-ing beacons, mw transatlantic……decoding all sorts on shortwave. The Russian woodpecker was the sound of my childhood. Still got my RCA AR88D and Sony ICF2001D. Number stations were common back then.
BBC radio 4, bbc radio 5 and World service have automatic broadcasting that kicks in after 30 seconds of accidental "dead air" for this reason. Additionally there is a backup broadcast centre in a remote bunker to keep broadcasting in case of main broadcast studios are taken off air by for example a fire. If the trident submarines can't hear a bbc broadcast when they routinely check then they have to assume the UK has been nuked and they launch.
Another interesting video, thanks Louis. It's good to have some background on these stations that one comes across while tuning around. It does make you wonder about the costs of running these stations...
Lewis thank you for all the videos you post. Your hard work doesn't go unnoticed. I understand your videos & your Pic. Scheme that accompanies them. I like the antenna Pics. you post, and I enjoy the Pics. Of your beautiful countryside. I enjoy listening to you & I think you are a great teacher! Your friend Dave, Palm Beach Florida, United States.
I had a shortwave radio, my dad lent me over the summer, back in 1987... Being a teens, and hearing music, and other languages, then the numbers stations, was ...creepy, yet intriguing. I felt like a spy. ;D Of course , I'm a fan of the movie "the numbers station"..
@@cancel1913 yup stars john Cusack, and Liam Cunningham ( ser Davos/the onion knight) from game of thrones. To me, it's an intriguing, fun film. May not be the most accurate, but a good, fun watch, if you keep your mind open,. It's on UA-cam ( free)
@@cancel1913 Another interesting flick is Italian High Frequency (1988) - Alone at a satellite monitoring station in the Alps, Peter accidentally taps into a secret spy station and watches a man get killed, but he has no idea where in the world it happened. Thousands of miles away, a boy's ham radio hobby puts the boy in touch with Peter.. Also available on UA-cam for free.
That Buzzer at 3:58 sounds a lot like something I've heard in a Drum & Bass track 😁 Andy Kirby, there's an idea for ya !! Lewis, you've inspired me to go scan through these frequencies 🙂
Some greasy Serum patch or something, alternates between the two notes with a phat bassline underneath it and breakbeat alongside at 160BPM. Yeah, I'm definitely hearing it 😏
The Air Horn has reappeared on 4930 kHz since 22 September this year. I found it tonight when tuning my radio. It's interfering with VOA but there's fading in and out so both stations can be heard.
@@mossy2209 these channel markers are creepy. Hearing it somewhere in the night/fog.. Imagine how it had to be back in the days with voices on number stations like this one I played over fading SW station - ua-cam.com/video/kRK6Iq_ZuJs/v-deo.html
I have heard all of these with intermodulation from radio Moscow or its successor stations as Russia changed politically over the years..and they all make good propergation markers for us nosey parkers Keep em coming Lewis great vid
Love these videos. Will have to invest in a new s/w radio - old one died a few years ago. And now living in a place where erecting an antenna would be "frowned upon". Have to stick to online tuners for the time being. Thanks again for the great content Lewis
Loving the number station videos bro, 👍 👍 RINGWAY MANCHESTER is one of my go-to youtube channels, could watch this guy 24-7, I need like 3 HOUR long videos though! Hahaha 😂 Awsome work pal x 🇬🇧 🏴 🇬🇧 🏴
Interesting video once again Lewis.. Strangely enough i don't hear The Buzzer tonight, and for the last few nights that I've checked, it's being jammed.
@@RingwayManchester Strange.. it's always there when I've tuned in..high noise here all evening but it always comes through. Nothing has changed at my QTH, and I've tried a different antenna.
That tower reminds me of the 380 foot, 115.82 meter 'RCA' behemoth that existed on Rocky Point, Long Island, NY, USA. It was a remnant of a massive RCA facility there. Creepy as hell at night with its rotating aircraft beacon through the fog. It made a big bang when 2 of the supporting legs were exploded to bring it to the ground.
The old 1950's radio as SW, MW, LW was old style dial style. As a young boy of 5, love to listen to this strange broadcast. Post 1980 FM radio using digital tuner make it impossible to listen into the strange broadcast. 🤣 That was first exposure radio arrays. Old days school boys talk about it, and the older boys, some read physics will tell us what that was. 1950 to 1970 is fun. We watch cartoon on Ray guns or BBC explanation on radar, radio. FM reduce the eager crowd having fun to listen 🎶 to strange noises. 🤣
I got my first short wave receiver for Christmas 1982. We were living just south of Frankfurt, West Germany. I remember "the Buzzer" on good reception nights. It made my brother, 10 at the time, very uneasy...
I have been mostly listening on the Single letter CW beacons from Russia. They have low power and give really good indications on the radio propagation. I have mostly used that CW beacon in Murmansk as it is very far north and easily disturbed by Aurora. When I get a loud and clear signal, then its time to start my Ham radio station. Ham radio gets very rewarding that way.
Back in the late seventies up to ninteen eighty . The school bus driver would play the radio. One station imparticular she pointed out while tunning there to let us hear was just one thing constantly it was someone whistling. She said its always the same person whistling and nothing else. Another wierd thing different story is that my friend use to say in his old house he could sometimes hear a radio playing somewheres inside his house but never found it. So many years later he moved up north three hours away to a really old homestead house, he says he can hear a faint sound of a radio in this house too. I have another little story ... another guy friend of mine lived in an old church parsonage , one day while i was visiting and chatting while working on the basement computor we heard a bell like alarm . it only sounded once like a grandfather clock would every hour but it only rang one time . He said there are no clocks like that in his house anywheres and nothing like that on a phone or computor that he ever set or heard before. It was bewildering. We looked around that house and never found anything.
0:48 sound like the three tones that were sent out on the CB band to track pirates in the mid-1970s by the RTT (Radio, television and telegraph services). This agency still exists and surveys everything that is still analog or now digital and also internet services.
I still remember the Wood 🪵 pecker years ago on the amateur radio bands, and people would transmit Morse Code over it, and it would change frequency. I think it was over the horizon, OTH, radar, like from the antennas 📡 near Chernobyl.
Thank you for an ingesting video Lewis. BTW it is great you were able to get video of all the transmitter towers (haha, I know, I know. I watched the previous several videos). More seriously however, I might see if I can get a SW radio, as I am interested in picking up the transmissions.
You can pick them up quite strong with one of the cheap RTL-SDR dongles, with the bonus of modifying them slightly so you can receive other lower bands too if you're only interested in receive :)
From what I've heard on UVB76 it sounds like the control is in a small room off the side of a long corridor (based on the echoey reverb you hear). The door to the room is possibly metal. It uses a system much like other number stations, a speaker pointing directly into a microphone. Hence why you sometimes hear sounds coming from the corridor. They put out their messages by human voice, and when they want to do it they turn off the buzzer speaker and start their message. They always end blocks of their messages with 'priyom' (over). You very often hear distortions in the sound much of that is probably due to atmospheric effects. Though the messages are impossible to decypher, I'd like at some point to have a go at lining up the comms to events in the real world. I believe some of the more recent messages lined up with the date of a meeting between Putin and Kazakhstani president while they had a secret meeting on a lake.
idk why i chose to listen to this before bed! My eyes always water when i listen to this stuff, it freaks me out, no idea why! haha very interesting though!
After watching this your 2nd Number Stations video I researched on Google for 'Enigma Newsletter' I used to receive the printed copy of this as member in the '90s. At the time I was in the Merchant Navy so used to listen out for these signals many parts of the world. Thanks for another interesting video. BTW all the Enigma Newsletters have been archived and can be downloaded.
I always suspected the buzzer to be a communication using variances in phase and perhaps another viartiable to create a known differential, and therefore transmit data, albeit slowly. Governments, particularly russia tend to quickly abandon unused tech, so it clearly has a purpose.
Sort of vaguely connected. Perhaps you know the answer, back in the 70s I regularly heard (in Barrow-in-Furness) on short wave a station that continuously identified as "a test transmission from a station of the Moscow Radio Telephone Company". Perhaps it was but in english and radio telephone from Moscow to Cumbria? always struck me as odd. Any thoughts?
@@jonathaneastwood2927 Thanks glad to know I'm not the only one, I remember it as something that was a long term presence on the bands, but I could be wrong. Have you any idea how long it was around for?
Can't help with how long it was around. My memory is of a female possibly middle aged voice reading out the phrase over and over in a kind of almost singey way..
Thanks Lewis, very interesting. I saw another comment about shortwave receivers. I had a look through your videos but saw only one about them. Recommendations would be welcome. Can you tune in these stations with a modestly priced unit and a telescoping antenna?
I was able to hear the Buzzer last night, on an 817nd with a crappy dipole 2m in length. I also heard quite a few similar type noises on other freq. going to google them now and see what they are.
In the late 70s I came across a voice on shortwave repeating over and over again, ‘move the black cap’, with an English accent. I listened for 20 minutes until I got bored. When I tuned to the same frequency later it had disappeared
Manchurian Candidate mind control experiment if you ask me 😛
@Adam 🎸 damnit I can’t find my black cap guys quit fucking around
@Adam 🎸 what if it was experimental 70s trap music
Ppl, I'm searching for a black cap. I have been advised to ask here, could you help me?
Tip the hat, but that's German
My fascination with Number Stations is what got me interested in Shortwave! Thank you for your videos and time!
It could have been their plan all along kind of like video game developers making five nights at Freddy's.
Same with me, it was about 20 years ago. This is just so fascinating, not only number stations, but also ham radio and signal identification.
Thanks for another fascinating video. Another mysterious radio signal are those Driftnet Radio Buoys (DRB) which transmit 3 letter Morse Code used by fishing boats operating in open seas and oceans for collecting fishing nets. These are low power and operate between 1600 khz and up to 4.000 Mhz including thr 160 meter band. On a good night they can be heard for hundreds or even thousands of miles.
It is strange that after the fall of the iron curtain no testimony has emerged from some former radio operators regarding these stations.
(As far as I know)
May be there are part of a "deception" technique to fool the enemy and are actually useless..
;-)
My favourite UVB76 moments were getting in touch with the hackers on the live UA-cam stream and requesting they Rickroll the STL. Apparently it isn't hard to do
Can you explain
It seems unlikely that after decades of keeping the purpose of a number station entirely secret that when retiring it and leaving the site to become derelict, actual log books are carelessly left behind with useful details for random explorers to find later on.
I have to question -
1. who were these explorers and how do we know they did not conjure the found log books into existence?
2. if not conjured into existence, how do we know that the books found were not just planted at the end of the decommissioning process, containing misleading info in the knowledge they would be found and shared, thereby proliferating misinformation?
My pet theory about number stations is that way way back they were actively involved in cryptographically secured communications to remote agents far afield. But now, no such thing or purpose. All sides just keep them running to keep all the others guessing (or it's an in joke) whether they serve any purpose or not. Wastes a bit of the others' intelligence time monitoring them tying up resource from doing something else useful. Every so often the operators get to have a bit of a giggle when they are told to change the pattern broadcast.
This is my theory, there are many like it, but this one is mine :D And no doubt, entirely wrong :D
Well, UVB-76 (NZhTI) does go to great lengths to stop others from broadcasting over the signal. When pirates got really bad they started broadcasting a loud tone over the pirate broadcasts to discourage them. It probably has some actual use otherwise I don't think the ones running it would care if people broadcasted over it. Also, we definitely did see an increase in message transmission right before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
@@Cobalt985 "SkyCzar SkyCzar Answer or do not. It's up to you."
While the content of the message is unknowable to me and you, we can anticipate something happening by number of transmitted messages, and tone of speech.
if these stations are still maintained for legitimate purpose, I'd say they're there as a backup in case other forms of communications falter. Internet and cellular services can be blockaded or monitored, or just straight up not exist in the middle of nowhere. Satellite services may suffer from similar issues, albeit not as likely (or that satphones might raise suspicions). If all else fails, at least the numbers stations have been up and running for a long enough period that the folks that run it are well trained and equipped at what they do, and they won't raise suspicions with a station suddenly coming online.
Nuclear dead hand system?
If they all go silent for a predetermined time, it could activate it.
@@psalmistinprogress9089 Indeed that could be it. Simple logic loop IF NOT TRANSMISSIONS FOR (T) TIME - LAUNCH EVERYTHING ON PRE-PROGRAMMED TARGETS (cos we're all dead). Easily programmable action from a control device perspective. Also insane fail safe.
Should the sound of the buzzer ever crash, be prepared for the bright white flash! 🔥⚰
Love the sound of the malfunction! I bet a few people got pretty anxious at that moment.
The buzzer is live here on UA-cam for those like me who cannot hear it via RF.
The buzzer went off air for a few times during last years and nothing happened 😁
As a kid in Milton Keynes, UK during the early 1980s I sometimes heard US tactical nuclear bombers taking off at night in larger numbers and more urgent sounding than usual. I lay there waiting for the flash a few times thinking it had kicked off. We knew RAF Upper Heyford was a prime target and discussed stuff like yields and their blast radius at school.
The thing is though, I found out more recently it was NATO that was far more interested in conducting a sneak first strike attack than the Soviets. To this day the USA reserves the right to first use of nukes. The Soviet rules for nuclear weapons use tended to be launch on warning, i.e., if they were under attack by nukes. The Russian one is similar, although it now has the existential threat caveat, i.e., conventional attacks that place the existence of the Russian state at risk (there is a threshold though).
There will never be a great white flash! Nukes don't exist.
For now, @@TheMajkla, for now.
As a child radio was my hobby literally 24/7 I listened to all sorts from shortwave, dx-ing beacons, mw transatlantic……decoding all sorts on shortwave. The Russian woodpecker was the sound of my childhood. Still got my RCA AR88D and Sony ICF2001D. Number stations were common back then.
BBC R4 LW going of-air was thought of as a dead mans switch but has been down a few times over the last few months.
BBC radio 4, bbc radio 5 and World service have automatic broadcasting that kicks in after 30 seconds of accidental "dead air" for this reason. Additionally there is a backup broadcast centre in a remote bunker to keep broadcasting in case of main broadcast studios are taken off air by for example a fire. If the trident submarines can't hear a bbc broadcast when they routinely check then they have to assume the UK has been nuked and they launch.
Another interesting video, thanks Louis. It's good to have some background on these stations that one comes across while tuning around. It does make you wonder about the costs of running these stations...
Lewis thank you for all the videos you post. Your hard work doesn't go unnoticed. I understand your videos & your Pic. Scheme that accompanies them. I like the antenna Pics. you post, and I enjoy the Pics. Of your beautiful countryside. I enjoy listening to you & I think you are a great teacher!
Your friend Dave,
Palm Beach Florida, United States.
Thanks so much Dave
@Ringway Manchester >>> 👍👍
I had a shortwave radio, my dad lent me over the summer, back in 1987... Being a teens, and hearing music, and other languages, then the numbers stations, was ...creepy, yet intriguing. I felt like a spy. ;D
Of course , I'm a fan of the movie "the numbers station"..
There's a movie called "The Numbers Station"?! Oh I gotta see that!
@@cancel1913 yup stars john Cusack, and Liam Cunningham ( ser Davos/the onion knight) from game of thrones. To me, it's an intriguing, fun film. May not be the most accurate, but a good, fun watch, if you keep your mind open,. It's on UA-cam ( free)
@@animationcycles7109 Cool! Thanks and I'll check it out.
@@cancel1913 Another interesting flick is Italian High Frequency (1988) - Alone at a satellite monitoring station in the Alps, Peter accidentally taps into a secret spy station and watches a man get killed, but he has no idea where in the world it happened. Thousands of miles away, a boy's ham radio hobby puts the boy in touch with Peter..
Also available on UA-cam for free.
@@TheMajkla Awesome! Thanks I'll watch it too.
I find this stuff absolutely fascinating and your presentation is great thanks Lewis 👍
Love coming across number stations . This is what got me into SW radio . I’ve been hooked ever since . I like E11 oblique
That Buzzer at 3:58 sounds a lot like something I've heard in a Drum & Bass track 😁 Andy Kirby, there's an idea for ya !!
Lewis, you've inspired me to go scan through these frequencies 🙂
ya aint wrong
Some greasy Serum patch or something, alternates between the two notes with a phat bassline underneath it and breakbeat alongside at 160BPM. Yeah, I'm definitely hearing it 😏
@@omardude39 Great minds think alike !
I loved the spectrum painting of troll memes etc over the buzzer this year 😂
The Air Horn has reappeared on 4930 kHz since 22 September this year.
I found it tonight when tuning my radio.
It's interfering with VOA but there's fading in and out so both stations can be heard.
I love your Videos!!
@@RingwayManchester Cheers! I also love watching yours, especially the aerial drone views 👍
Just found a recording on here, sent my Patterdale terrier nuts!
@@mossy2209 these channel markers are creepy. Hearing it somewhere in the night/fog.. Imagine how it had to be back in the days with voices on number stations like this one I played over fading SW station - ua-cam.com/video/kRK6Iq_ZuJs/v-deo.html
It's my delight on a shining night in the season of the year
Loving these numbers station vids , more about the whole topic in general if possible! Thanks Lewis
I have heard all of these with intermodulation from radio Moscow or its successor stations as Russia changed politically over the years..and they all make good propergation markers for us nosey parkers
Keep em coming Lewis great vid
Love these videos. Will have to invest in a new s/w radio - old one died a few years ago. And now living in a place where erecting an antenna would be "frowned upon". Have to stick to online tuners for the time being.
Thanks again for the great content Lewis
Indoors magloop? Tune up the radiator system?
So eeeery, love these number station videos.
Thanks rog
Always a notable subject. That they still exist demonstrates their worth and simplicity.
Loving the number station videos bro, 👍 👍
RINGWAY MANCHESTER is one of my go-to youtube channels, could watch this guy 24-7,
I need like 3 HOUR long videos though! Hahaha 😂
Awsome work pal x
🇬🇧 🏴 🇬🇧 🏴
Was waiting for some sick techstep dnb beats to drop on The Buzzer
Very interesting. Nice presented. Thought provoking. 👍🇬🇧
Interesting video once again Lewis.. Strangely enough i don't hear The Buzzer tonight, and for the last few nights that I've checked, it's being jammed.
Hey Maurice, hearing it loud and clear this end mate
@@RingwayManchester Strange.. it's always there when I've tuned in..high noise here all evening but it always comes through. Nothing has changed at my QTH, and I've tried a different antenna.
That tower reminds me of the 380 foot, 115.82 meter 'RCA' behemoth that existed on Rocky Point, Long Island, NY, USA. It was a remnant of a massive RCA facility there.
Creepy as hell at night with its rotating aircraft beacon through the fog. It made a big bang when 2 of the supporting legs were exploded to bring it to the ground.
The old 1950's radio as SW, MW, LW was old style dial style. As a young boy of 5, love to listen to this strange broadcast.
Post 1980 FM radio using digital tuner make it impossible to listen into the strange broadcast.
🤣
That was first exposure radio arrays.
Old days school boys talk about it, and the older boys, some read physics will tell us what that was.
1950 to 1970 is fun. We watch cartoon on Ray guns or BBC explanation on radar, radio.
FM reduce the eager crowd having fun to listen 🎶 to strange noises.
🤣
you would be good doing TV voice overs 🙂 Interesting video as usual. I will try the frequencies you mention in the video
Great video as always... these videos leave me with so many questions 🙂
This stuff is fascinating! Thanks.
It's the government calling the mothership to pick them up, and take them back to their home galaxy.
I got my first short wave receiver for Christmas 1982. We were living just south of Frankfurt, West Germany. I remember "the Buzzer" on good reception nights. It made my brother, 10 at the time, very uneasy...
I have been mostly listening on the Single letter CW beacons from Russia. They have low power and give really good indications on the radio propagation.
I have mostly used that CW beacon in Murmansk as it is very far north and easily disturbed by Aurora. When I get a loud and clear signal, then its time to start my Ham radio station.
Ham radio gets very rewarding that way.
There is something so fascinating about clandestine communications on older technology. It's so underneath the surface of what people perceive.
Back in the late seventies up to ninteen eighty . The school bus driver would play the radio. One station imparticular she pointed out while tunning there to let us hear was just one thing constantly it was someone whistling. She said its always the same person whistling and nothing else. Another wierd thing different story is that my friend use to say in his old house he could sometimes hear a radio playing somewheres inside his house but never found it. So many years later he moved up north three hours away to a really old homestead house, he says he can hear a faint sound of a radio in this house too. I have another little story ... another guy friend of mine lived in an old church parsonage , one day while i was visiting and chatting while working on the basement computor we heard a bell like alarm . it only sounded once like a grandfather clock would every hour but it only rang one time . He said there are no clocks like that in his house anywheres and nothing like that on a phone or computor that he ever set or heard before. It was bewildering. We looked around that house and never found anything.
Once I heard the "Buzzer" with a regular AM radio from Budapest! 😮 That was the first time I ever heard that signal, I don't know how!
I can just imagine that somewhere there's a Stephen Fry religiously listening to the radio, waiting to be activated
I love these Lewis, I'll certainly be checking out more numbers stations and hope to hear more soon - can you do a video on dead hand?
I used to listen to the buzzer for hours on end it's such a calming one
0:48 sound like the three tones that were sent out on the CB band to track pirates in the mid-1970s by the RTT (Radio, television and telegraph services). This agency still exists and surveys everything that is still analog or now digital and also internet services.
I still remember the Wood 🪵 pecker years
ago on the amateur radio bands, and people
would transmit Morse Code over it, and it
would change frequency.
I think it was over the horizon, OTH, radar,
like from the antennas 📡 near Chernobyl.
Thank you for an ingesting video Lewis. BTW it is great you were able to get video of all the transmitter towers (haha, I know, I know. I watched the previous several videos). More seriously however, I might see if I can get a SW radio, as I am interested in picking up the transmissions.
You can pick them up quite strong with one of the cheap RTL-SDR dongles, with the bonus of modifying them slightly so you can receive other lower bands too if you're only interested in receive :)
I have never heard the squeaky wheel. I don’t know what I do wrong. I am a shortwave listener since a year back. I can hear the buzzer and the pip. 🤔
It's a very good with video I enjoyed it very much Ringway Manchester
Thankyou Lewis always very interesting. Yes, I have known of them for years. Heard much more easily in England than Canada.
Brilliant as usual❤
For the Buzzer, a few months before the ukraine war started it changed tones, wonder if its a coincidence or not
I am certain I heard pips and wheels in the 1960s on the home Pye multi-Short Wave receiver( mainly used to get Hilversum on Sunday Lunchtimes !)
To listen to Happy Station on Radio Nederland? It was an all time favourite of mine.
@@bobsoldrecords1503 I have a couple of post cards etc from them somewhere
When I first heard them as a young engineer at BBCM my old supervisor told me they were just reporting River Danube water levels!!
Thank you for the information. Keep up the great work.
any guards at the towers ?
Wonder what would happen if all the towers just where to be destroyed suddenly ?
I first started hearing them in the Summer of 1990. It was 90 percent the Spanish Lady, 10 percent the synthetic Phonetic Letter stations.
From what I've heard on UVB76 it sounds like the control is in a small room off the side of a long corridor (based on the echoey reverb you hear). The door to the room is possibly metal. It uses a system much like other number stations, a speaker pointing directly into a microphone. Hence why you sometimes hear sounds coming from the corridor. They put out their messages by human voice, and when they want to do it they turn off the buzzer speaker and start their message. They always end blocks of their messages with 'priyom' (over). You very often hear distortions in the sound much of that is probably due to atmospheric effects.
Though the messages are impossible to decypher, I'd like at some point to have a go at lining up the comms to events in the real world. I believe some of the more recent messages lined up with the date of a meeting between Putin and Kazakhstani president while they had a secret meeting on a lake.
The Numbers Stations I have heard sounded entirely "synthetic". I suppose the lower budget nations hire human speakers.
@@randybaumery5090
A band of unemployed wandering minstrels from the lower budget nations could get to do fill in duty, I guess 🎷
That drum and bass numbers station at the end was my fave.
Same
A nice idea is a short video "how the number stations pass messages and how they believe they are deciphered by the recipient"
Reminds me of the distress call recording on Lost, endlessly reiterated...
Unbelievable, how much you know about all that radio stuff!
Thanks for sharing ✌
These are new Haarp stations. Instead of a field array they use tops of cell towers giving them global access.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I love this content
I rem reading about number stations at school. It all seemed very James Bond. I think the woodpecker was still transmitting then in the mid 1980's.
Great to see you Fred mate
The very first one he played is part of Gasters theme. Gaster is Purim confirmed
Neat! I've listened to the last one several times before. But I did not know of the jamming attempts.
idk why i chose to listen to this before bed! My eyes always water when i listen to this stuff, it freaks me out, no idea why! haha very interesting though!
I've heard the squeaky wheel one on my big HF receiver here in Australia
Another fantastic bit of research about these "number stations"!
Keep up the good work. M0TEP
Thanks!
Thanks for doing another numbers station video. Feeding my fascination 😁
A vent to the tunnel between Wal-Marts is 3 doors down from me.
After watching this your 2nd Number Stations video I researched on Google for 'Enigma Newsletter' I used to receive the printed copy of this as member in the '90s. At the time I was in the Merchant Navy so used to listen out for these signals many parts of the world. Thanks for another interesting video. BTW all the Enigma Newsletters have been archived and can be downloaded.
Inspiration of course for OMD Dazzle Ships / Radio Prague
Sounds like control signals much like the FM translators used in the 80's and 90's.
I always suspected the buzzer to be a communication using variances in phase and perhaps another viartiable to create a known differential, and therefore transmit data, albeit slowly. Governments, particularly russia tend to quickly abandon unused tech, so it clearly has a purpose.
Sort of vaguely connected. Perhaps you know the answer, back in the 70s I regularly heard (in Barrow-in-Furness) on short wave a station that continuously identified as "a test transmission from a station of the Moscow Radio Telephone Company". Perhaps it was but in english and radio telephone from Moscow to Cumbria? always struck me as odd. Any thoughts?
Yes I also remember that back in 1978
@@jonathaneastwood2927 Thanks glad to know I'm not the only one, I remember it as something that was a long term presence on the bands, but I could be wrong. Have you any idea how long it was around for?
Can't help with how long it was around. My memory is of a female possibly middle aged voice reading out the phrase over and over in a kind of almost singey way..
Got a recording of the Buzzer and music from Tetris playing over it only a few months ago all so heard crazy frog on there to
If i ever have a child I'm raising her with these radio transmissions rather than pre-recorded lullabies and cocomelon.
Does MI6 still utilize radio-free Cyprus as a carrier ?
Buzzer sounds like hoover drum and bass line.
Killing Joke's "The Wait" at 3:56.
The buzzer is the beginning of a death metal track that's skipping 😈😈😈
The buzzer station sounds like a Jacob’s ladder arc
Excellent. I think you should get Andy to do a banging tune using samples.
Thanks Lewis, very interesting. I saw another comment about shortwave receivers. I had a look through your videos but saw only one about them. Recommendations would be welcome. Can you tune in these stations with a modestly priced unit and a telescoping antenna?
I am sure there used to be something on 4489 back in the day
ok - now i know how a channel marker works - it must stop for a minute so it could be usable (by some other content)
1:53 to 2:00...interesting to notice the arc discharge from the razor wire to the fence pole (bottom center).
Sorry to disappoint that’s just water droplets in the barbed wire fence
Brilliant video mate. My old shortwave is absolute pants....may have to invest in a new one! Any recommendations peeps???
Icom IC-R8600.
Yes, really.
@@AdamSWL Cheers mate. Will have a look tomorrow at them
love this stuff
The Buzzer sounds a lot like Over The Horizon radar.
You can see the arcing of electricity in the razor wire on the first sight. Spooky.
Sorry to disappoint Kenny it’s water droplets! A couple of others thought the same
Brilliant again mate
You can see electrical discharge on the barbed wire at 1:44 due to strong EM signals in the air.
It’s water droplets wobbling in the wind I’m afraid
@@RingwayManchester Awwww, disappoint I can see it now.
The buzzer sounds like the beginning of Circle by Slipknot
I wish I had a good SW setup. I live in a black spot though.
We used to rave all night to these Russian pirate stations 😎
*the numbers mason*
_WHAT DO THEY MEAN?!_
It's a shame I can't hear any of them at the moment. I suppose I'll have to check back late
I was able to hear the Buzzer last night, on an 817nd with a crappy dipole 2m in length. I also heard quite a few similar type noises on other freq. going to google them now and see what they are.
Channel markers are very good for propagation checks..
they're missing 2 pips and a Gladys Knight.
Thanks Lewis