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What
are "spy numbers" stations?
That's
what I'd like to know!
But
seriously.
On
the shortwave bands there are a number of strange stations
that broadcast long strings of numbers or letters, usually
read by an automated voice, usually in five-digit groups.
It is generally believed that intelligence agencies use these
stations to transmit encrypted messages to agents in the field.
Why transmit them over unreliable, anybody-can-hear shortwave
radio? I dunno.
Even
stranger than these broadcasts are the oddball civilians who
listen to them. Why listen to hours of broadcasts which, though
transmitted in terms or symbols you can understand, are completely
incomprehensible when taken as a whole? For me, I think it's
because it reminds me of college. But others may have other
reasons.
There's
a lot more information
and speculation about spy numbers station out there, and
there's no need for me to duplicate those efforts here. What
I can contribute, however, are some tasty samples of this
geeky genre in the unspeakably hip MP3 format. Confuse KaZaa
users by putting these in your shared folder:
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E25 samples
Recorded
in Cairo in early 2001, these are complete broadcasts
of E25, a short-lived and ostentatiously Egyptian numbers
station.
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E10:
Mossad Martha
E10
is the Enigma
designation for this station, presumed to be connected
with Israeli intelligence services. A computerized female
voice reads off five-digit groups of letters in the
NATO alphabet. Here in Egypt, you can scarcely twist
a dial without hearing an E10 transmission.
- 2
May 2000 on 6428 kHz. The Mossad does a cover
of a popular Jackson Five tune, reading the
callsign "ABC" for hours on end. I do not
believe any message followed. May have been a test
transmission.
- 18
Jan 2000 on 4360 kHz. Generally, callsigns are
either followed by a "2" -- apparently signifying
no message will follow -- or nothing -- meaning a
message is coming. In this case, the callsign is followed
by "7." This is the kind of thing that
gets numbers stations enthusiasts very excited.
- A
plain vanilla E10 broadcast from 16
Jan 2000. Full message.
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E3:
The Lincolnshire Poacher
Techno
and electronica fans will love the Poacher. These broadcasts
from British MI5 begin with a Casio keyboard rendition
of a folk tune called the Lincolnshire Poacher. The
transmitters are believed to be based in Cyprus and
the broadcasts are thought to be aimed at the Middle
East.
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E5:
The Counting Station
This
apparently CIA-sponsored broadcast starts by counting
to ten, reading out the callsign, counting to ten, reading
out the callsign, counting to ten...
Are
you seeing the appeal of this hobby yet?
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