I, too, thought of starting a thread about these stations. I never read the cracked.com article; instead I learned of them in a book I found in my sister-in-law's storage unit, called "The Big Book of Big Secrets", by William Poundstone. The book comprises several volumes of his other works, and was written sometime in the late 80's/early 90's.

There is an entire chapter on secret radio frequencies, ranging from Air Force One in-flight calls, to CIA, FBI, and Secret Service frequencies, and dedicates a section to these "number stations." It lists several, and gives a brief overview of the broadcasts. Some languages heard are Spanish, English, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, etc. They usually begin with an announcement (atencion, achtung, etc.), then broadcasts the numbers sequence, and then will announce a repeat of the broadcast. Male and female voices are used, and sometimes sound "mechanical."

The author lists many possible explanations (most of which are already posted here) and theories as to the who how and why of the broadcasts.

Also listed are several other strange radio transmissions, such as four note electronic tones playing in a constant loop, the "Russian Woodpecker," which the author theorizes is an experimental Russian over-the-horizon radar system, and a tone at 388.0 MHz (a frequency between VHF and UHF TV frequencies) that some believe is a resonant frequency of the human body being used in some secret "death ray" experiment.

It just amazes me all that goes on around us that most will never be privy to. It all certainly piqued my interest nearly 3 years ago when I got this book, and makes for an interesting read and discussion. And I find it interesting that so many wanted to start this thread themselves (whether because of cracked.com or not). Anyways, hope this somehow adds to the discussion. The entire book is pretty interesting - it will tell you everything from KFC's secret spices to what you should see in a Rorschach Test... maybe it's in your library if you're interested.



[edit on 19-1-2010 by talleyz]

There's a lot of weird information going on with this thread - some real, some speculation - Here's what I understand about Numbers Stations:

They were established (and continue) because shortwave is so easy to use and has a huge range. Basically, numbers are broadcast representing a code that's available to agents in the field who use a "one time pad" or codebook to decode the signal. The numbers may represent names, locations, etc. and since the "pad" is for one-time use, the message is pretty secure. Add the security of the code to the fact that shortwave has a huge range (and is generally ignored by the public), you have a lo-fi way of directly transmitting instructions to agents in the field. It's been done since (and probably before) WWII - Simply, it remains because it's a simple, effective, and pretty easy way to get a message out.

The Conet Project collected these signals and put them out in the open (without any real understanding - They're just haunting). They've even entered pop culture with bands like Wilco using these broadcasts on their records - The title of Wilco's "Yankee Wilco Foxtrot" is directly from The Conet Project and they use the namesake in one of the songs off the record.

Personally, I'm totally fascinated by these broadcasts and listen almost every night to the "V2" (voice - in Spanish) or the "M2" (Morse code) broadcasts from Cuba (or so it's been theorized - They seem to come from the same source as Radio Havana). Fascinating and creepy sounding, but pretty much accepted...

Who knows to whom the signals are intended (and there are plenty of hoaxers out there), but they're still there. Last year, a couple here in the US were arrested as spies for Cuba and they admitted that they received their instructions via shortwave. Also - someone was arrested in Canada as a spy a few years ago and a big deal was made of the fact that his personal effects included a small shortwave radio. It seems like someone is still using this method...

It's part of popular culture now (re: "Lost") - albeit a tiny bit of it.

Numbers Stations have nothing to do with the "Wow" signal or any other fiction like that. It's just governments communicating in a "sneaky" lo-fi way.

Still - That stuff is so cool to hunt around for and record.


Yeah.

[edit on 19-1-2010 by Zaius]

[edit on 19-1-2010 by Zaius]

Wow..
Very mysterious and creepy thread! Makes me think of LOST..
I would certainly like to know more about this! And it would be fun to hear some footage of someone who DID thoses recordings/ number sequences radios for a time.. To really know what it is, and why we still hear it!

remember Ana Montes?? I was reading parts of this book online named True Believer Inside the Investigation and Capture of Ana Monte... and did some investigation myself and found out that she was using shortwave radio to get messages, and after little more research I found this number card on a fbi website, I think is one of does code cards to decipher messages from this stations love this thread btw

[edit on 25-6-2010 by thebluemoon]

This is odd, because UVB 76 quit transmitting recently. I really wonder if they're in any way related. It's a long shot but it's interesting.