─ Area: ENG: Shortwave ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Msg#: 23 Date: 06 Apr 96 22:01:11 From: Russ Leblanc Read: Yes Replied: No To: All Mark: Subj: [1/4] Numbers Stations ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── >>> Part 1 of 4... Here's some good numbers station info gleamed from the information super traffic jam (web pages of Mike Chance & Chris Solminski) for those without internet access. Enjoy, Russ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Numbers Stations on Shortwave Radio What is a Numbers Station? Have you ever tuned off the beaten track? Maybe you're already off the beaten track in the "utility" sections of shortwave? Have you bumped into strange stations sending groups of numbers or letters in Spanish, English, Russian or German? If the answer is yes, you've probably heard a numbers station! They've been around since the early 1960's and they're still in abundance today. Various theories have been put forward as to their purpose including; weather forecasts, shipping information and even a secret project communicating with UFO's! But it soon became clear what the transmissions were for -- they are messages from intelligence organisations throughout the world, to their agents in the field. This has been confirmed by dedicated monitors who have tracked the transmission sites down and also by agents who have described how their masters communicated orders to them. Despite this overwhelming evidence, people are still sceptical. Most commonly, they ask why shortwave radio should be used to transmit these messages in today's high-tech world of satellites and digital communication! But what could be simpler and more innocuous than listening to a shortwave radio? Perhaps because of the slight unease as to the purpose of these stations, people have been reluctant to speak about them in the past. However, today there are some magazines and even numbers monitoring groups such as ENIGMA providing regular information on the subject. Even so, this part of the shortwave listening hobby remains somewhat in the "underground". Where Can I Find Them? The answer is anywhere from as low as 2MHz to as high as 26MHz. Stations transmit messages in Morse (CW) and Voice using both AM and SSB. Most stations use high power transmitters and are thus easily audible on very modest receiving equipment. Numbers stations can be heard throughout the world and in many languages. In the US, Spanish predominates, and in Europe English, Russian and German are the main languages. However, there are transmissions that can be heard in Chinese, French, Serbo-Croat, Hebrew, Rumanian and even Yiddish! When Can I Find Them? Anytime! There are stations with regular schedules that appear all day, all year 'round and who don't even stop for public holidays. Other stations are less frequent and have random schedules and can only be caught by guess work and a little luck. Here are some up-to-date frequency lists and schedules that you can try.... MI6's Lincolnshire Poacher, named after it's signature tune -- that of an old English folk song. An English lady's voice sends a 5 digit message identifier between each rendition of the tune for ten minutes after each hour. Transmissions are in Upper Sideband (USB). Readers in the Far East or the Pacific Coast of the US might wish to try for the Poacher's sister station, The Cherry Picker which uses another old folk song, "Cherry Ripe", as its signature tune. The Israeli MOSSAD Stations. These can be heard all day sending an identifier like "Kilo Papa Alpha" and a number; "1" means no message will follow, "2", means that one will. Messages are made up of random 5 letter groups spoken phonetically eg "Alpha, X-Ray, Tango, Mike, Oscar". Transmissions are in AM. These stations can be heard throughout the world. The CIA's Counting Stations. So-called because of the count from one to zero for ten minutes before each message. Transmissions are in AM. Again, these should be easy to hear anywhere in the world. The Three Note Oddity. Probably only audible in Europe. Named after its three note signature tune, played for five minutes before a message of 5 digit groups is sent. Transmissions are in AM. Numbers station 8BY transmits from a site just outside Paris, France. Those who know their ITU callsigns will notice that "8BY" would indicate a location in Indonesia. The operator of this fictitious callsign is probably French Intelligence. The wide range of frequencies used should ensure that it is audible well outside Europe. The Morse Numbers station DEA47 was operated by the interestingly named "Bundesstelle fuer Fernmeldestatistik" (Government Long Distance Communications Statistics Station), more probably a front for the German Intelligence Agency (BND). Up to early 1995, the station could be heard sending it's "marker" of "V V V de DEA47" and random five digit group traffic. Now only of historical interest. The German Two Letter Stations. Transmissions are in Upper Sideband (USB), on the hour and half hour, around the clock. The call is announced phonetically e.g "Romeo Delta" for five minutes in between a multi-tone musical tune before the message is given. Should be audible outside Europe on the high frequencies used. An interesting digital network audible on shortwave includes stations using the fictitious callsigns "C37A" and "6XM8" amongst others. Transmissions take place from about 0530UTC until 2000UTC daily, using the 288baud ARQ-E digital data system with heavy encryption, although the operators can often be heard chatting on standard 100baud RTTY. "C37A" is located in Israel, whilst "6XM8" is in Germany. Perhaps it is a MOSSAD/BND link? Hopefully this has given you an insight into a fascinating but little understood side of the hobby. Try it out, you might just find it fun! Every little bit of new information helps give vital clues. Please send your comments about these pages or details of stations that you have heard to me: e-mail to: mikec@praxis.co.uk Mike Chace 73 de Mike The Lincolnshire Poacher ======================== Identifying Characteristics =========================== Mode : Female voice in USB ID : Old English folk song "The Lincolnshire Poacher" Language : English (speech synthesiser is unique in that it has intonation) Pronounced : One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Zero Message : Signature tune for 10 minutes interspersed with a 5 digit group Ten chimes of a glockenspiel Up to 100 random 5 digit groups Schedule : 24hrs/day, on the hour, on the frequencies below Location : Transmitted from the Middle East (eg Cyprus) into Iran and Iraq Frequencies (kHz) ================= Due to heavy jamming, transmissions are nearly always carried simultaneously on two or three frequencies from the list below. 1000 - 1700UTC 16457, 16084, 15682, 14487, 13375, 12603, 11545, 10426kHz 1700 - 0000UTC 9251, 8464, 7755, 7337, 6959, 6900, 6485, 5746, 5422kHz The "Cherry Picker" ===================== Identifying Characteristics =========================== Mode : Female voice in USB ID : Old English folk song "Cherry Ripe" Language : English (speech synthesiser is unique in that it adds intonation) Pronounced : One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Zero Message : Signature tune for 10 minutes interspersed with a 5 digit group Ten chimes of a glockenspiel Up to 100 random 5 digit groups Schedule : On the hour, on the frequencies below Location : Transmitted from the Far East (probably Taiwan) into China etc Schedule ======== Time (UTC) Frequency 1100 14496, 17499, 20474 1200 13866, 17499 1300 14496, 17499, 20474 MOSSAD "Phonetic Alphabet" Stations =================================== Identifying Characteristics =========================== Mode : Female voice in USB ID : Three Letter Phonetic callsign (see below) + "1" or "2" 1 = No message follows 2 = Message follows Language : English Pronounced : Standard NATO Phonetic Alphabet Message : Callsign eg "Kilo Papa Alpha Two" for three minutes "Message, Message" About 100, random 5 letter groups given phonetically "End of Message" (Repeated message) "End of message, end of transmission" Schedule : 24hrs/day, on the hour/quarter/half/three quarter hour Location : World-wide locations including Tel Aviv Frequency List ============== Frequency Callsign Frequency Callsign (kHz) (kHz) ------------+------------------ ------------+------------------ 2270 JSR 6745 CIO, VLB 2515 CIO, VLB 6840 JSR, EZI 2628 FTJ 6912 OEM (occasional) 2743 ULX 7323 KPA 2957 SYN 7372 GBZ (occasional) 3150 PCD, ART 7446 KPA 3270 KPA 7540 JSR 3417 ART 7605 SYN, CIO, VLB 3640 VLB 7613 GPO (occasional) 3840 YHF 7760 ULX 4168 SYN 7866 SYN 4270 PCD 7918 YHF 4360 CIO 8025 CIO 4463 FTJ 8127 CIO, MIW 4465 FTJ 8465 SYN, CIO 4560 YHF 8641 MIW 4665 VLB 9130 EZI 4780 KPA, ULX 9270 ??? 4880 ULX 9402 YHF (occasional) 5091 JSR 10125 CIO, KPA 5170 GBZ (occasional), CIO 10352 VLB 10526 VLB 5230 MIW, SYN, VLB, CIO 10648 YHF 5339 OEM (occasional) 10820 VLB, SYN 5437 ART 10970 MIW 5530 CIO 5531 BAY (occasional) 11565 EZI 5560 YHF 12747 SYN 5629 SYN, CIO 12950 MIW 5715 ZWL (occasional) 13533 EZI 5820 YHF 14750 CIO, MIW 5911 OEM (occasional) 13921 CIO 14866 VLB 6270 ULX 15980 EZI 6370 MIW 17410 EZI 18178 VLB 6500 PCD 19715 EZI 6685 SYN 20740 SYN The CIA Counting Stations ========================= Identifying Characteristics =========================== Mode : AM or USB female voice ID : "One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Zero" "Two One One", "Two One One" (The destination/agent) Message : Ten electronic beeps "Count 204, Count 204" (number of groups) Followed by the appropriate number of 5 or 4 digit groups Schedule: On the hour Language: Spanish, German, English Location: World-wide, transmitted from US-allied countries Message Schedule ================ (at 8th December 1995) // = transmission is carried on two frequencies simultaeously Time Day Frequencies (UTC) (kHz) 1900 Any 5153//7473 1800 Mon 6970//8143 1800 Mon 9219//11491 2100 Mon 5371 2300 Mon 7532 (German) 0100 Tue 5046 1300 Tue 10262 1400 Tue 12221 1500 Tue 8085//10247 1700 Tue 6780//8085 1800 Tue 11491//13450 2200 Tue 9357//11072 1600 Wed 9070 1700 Wed 6780//8085 1800 Wed 6970//8143 1800 Wed 11491//13450 2100 Wed 8185//10162 1400 Thu 12221 1700 Thu 13444//11072 1800 Thu 11491//13450 1900 Thu 9219//11491 2000 Thu 5850//8143 2100 Thu 5371//7430 2100 Thu 8185//10162 0100 Fri 4470//5046 0700 Fri 6813//8070 1500 Fri 8085//10247 1800 Fri 11491//13450 2100 Fri 6970 0700 Sat 9070//11072 1500 Sat 5850//8143 1600 Sat 16273//18240 1400 Sun 7469//12221 1800 Sun 16273//18240 1800 Sun 11072//13440 The Three Note Oddity ======================= Identifying Characteristics =========================== Mode : AM (often with either LSB or USB enhanced) Female voice Language : German ID : Electronic "tune" of three tone rising scale with rough note Message : "Achtung, Achtung" (= Attention, Attention) Followed by a number of (usually <40) random 5 digit groups "Ende, Ende" (= End, End) Each of the three above steps repeated Pronounced : Eins, Tzwo, Drei, Vier, Funnef, Sechs, Sieben, Acht, Neun, Null Schedule : See below Location : Central Europe (Czecho-Slovakia/Hungary) Transmission Schedule ===================== - Each transmission "slot" follws a yearly cycle. - The same message is repeated on the appropriate day of each week for a whole month. The message then changes for the next month. - Frequencies are in kiloHertz (kHz) Day ---------- Sunday ---------- - Saturday - UTC 1310 2105 2140 2210 2110 January 7832 4126 4627 February ???? 4357 5448 March 8824 4562 5472 April 7983 4751 6741 May 7719 5637 7538 June 7568 6547 7481 July ???? 5718 6853 August 7736 5133 5617 6642 September 8752 4484 4384 5487 5817 October ???? 3389 3289 4827 5329 November 8853 3276 3176 4139 4276 December 8621 3199 3099 3815 3941 8BY === Identifying Characteristics =========================== Mode : Morse (CW) ID : vvv vvv vvv 8by 8by 8by Message : Random 5 digit groups. Schedule : Daily, on the hour, on the frequencies below Location : Paris, France Frequencies (kHz) ================= (Usually two frequencies are active simultaneously) 20946 18415 14931 14925 14433 12283 10248 7668 DEA47 ===== A numbers stations that operates in Morse only. The majority of the station's time is spent idling when it sends: v v v de dea47 continuously. A few times a day, it will go into 5 number groups. DEA47 keeps German office hours i.e. 0800UTC - 1600UTC and does not appear at the weekends. It is operated by the BFST from a site in Husum, Schleswig Holstein in northern Germany. As a historical note, the station used the callsign EC3Y (indicating a Spanish Novice Licence) for a number of years until it was tracked to its location. The dedicated monitor who did the detective work then sent a letter to the German PTT asking for the reason why a station transmitting from German soil should use a callsign not of its originating country. The station soon went off-air and returned with the present, legal ITU callsign. Frequencies (kHz) ================= 12283 and 13581 The German "Two Letter Stations" ================================== Identifying Characteristics =========================== Mode : USB Female voice Language : German or English ID : Electronic "tune" and phonetic call eg "Hotel Kilo" for 5 minutes Message : "Es folgen Mitteilung fuer" or "Messages for" "Funnef Zwo Eins" or "Five Two One" (Destination/Agent) "Eins Vier Gruppen" or "One Four Groups" "Achtung" or "Attention" Followed by the appropriate number of 3/2F groups Pronounced : Eins, Tzwo, Drei, Vier, Funnef, Sechs, Sieben, Acht, Neun, Null : One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Zero Location : Probably Germany Schedule : On the hour and half-hour on any frequency below Frequencies (kHz) ================= 2690 2707 2745 3228 3262 4543 4594 4773 4821 4888 5015 5182 5284 5732 5770 6765 6853 7404 7532 7661 7740 7752 7858 8063 8173 9040 9325 9450 10170 10177 10460 10500 10740 11008 11108 11617 11545 12092 12210 12314 13362 13752 13775 13890 14622 14945 15610 16055 16220 16414 17430 18195 18575 19755 20240 20350 20675 22885 Active Calls ============ Language German English AB AU CD, CT DM EG, EL GK HK JW KW MD NZ PZ RD, RK SB VO WL C37A and 6XM8 ============= Identifying Characteristics =========================== Mode : 288baud ARQ-E, encrypted data (Main traffic mode) 100baud Baudot RTTY (Operator chat) ID : ryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryryry 6xm8 de c37a the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog 1234567890 (In 100bd RTTY only) Schedule : 0530 to 2000UTC, daily Location : C37A is in Israel and 6XM8 is in Germany Frequencies (kHz) ================= Channel Number is that used by the operators in asking for frequency changes to be made. Channel User Frequency ?? C37A 7573 53 6XM8 9208 54 6XM8 10348 ?? C37A 10749.5 ?? C37A 11434 ?? C37A 12224 56 6XM8 12276 25 C37A 13073 57 6XM8 13419 ?? C37A 14379 ?? C37A 14386.5 ?? C37A 14390.5 ?? C37A 14398 59 6XM8 15688 28 C37A 16312 60 6XM8 16457 61 6XM8 17387 (There are higher frequencies but these tend to be used little at present) --------------end of listing-------------- .