Numbers stations (or number stations) are shortwave radio stations of uncertain origin. They generally broadcast artificially generated voices reading streams of numbers, words, letters (sometimes using a spelling alphabet), tunes or Morse code. They are in a wide variety of languages and the voices are usually women’s, though sometimes men’s or children’s voices are used.
Numbers stations appear and disappear over time (although some follow regular schedules), and their overall activity has increased slightly since the early 1990s. This increase suggests that, as spy-related phenomena, they were not unique to the Cold War
Evidence supports popular assumptions that the broadcasts are used to send messages to spies. This usage has not been publicly acknowledged by any government that may operate a numbers station, but in 2001, the United States tried the Cuban Five, a group of individuals, with spying for Cuba; they had received and decoded messages that had been broadcast from a Cuban numbers station. In June 2009, the United States similarly charged Walter Kendall Myers with conspiracy to spy for Cuba and receiving and decoding messages broadcast from a numbers station operated by the Cuban Intelligence Service to further that conspiracy.
Generally, numbers stations follow a basic format, although there are many differences in details between stations. Transmissions usually begin on the hour or half-hour. The prelude or introduction of a transmission (from which stations’ informal nicknames are often derived) includes some kind of identifier, either for the station itself and/or for the intended recipient. Finally, after all the messages have been sent, the station will sign off in some characteristic fashion. Usually it will simply be some form of the word “end” in whatever language the station uses.
There is no real “offical” explanation for the purpose or content of these stations. The US Government has stated in writing that they are aware of these transmissions, but won’t elaborate on. A FOIA (freedom of information act request) was sent to the government but then denied. In the United Kingdom, the government passed a silencing act to reduce/eliminate discussion of such transmissions that possibly may be originating from the UK. There is some good evidence supporting that a well-heard number stations known as the “Lincolnshire Poacher” is transmitting from a RAF site in Cyprus.
You can listen to a sample of a number station here.
Filed under: Mystery | 46 Comments
very interesting. makes me wish I had a shortwave kit just to hear these voices.
Has anyone ever heard a broadcast from a number station? I’m not sure why but I have the impression it would sound quite sinister!
I hear number stations almost daily, i have dx’ing as a hobby. They are usually very boring and of course totally meaningless for others than the one recipient. But fun to receive anyway. I think i have logged about 6 different stations now.
The silly child inside me wants it all to be part of a James Bond/ninja type espionage perpetrated by men with strange accents wearing cravats controlling the Terminators that walk inconspicuously among us….
I digress. This sounds so cool. (I can’t seem to quiet the silly inner child.) Listening to the clip though, I wonder how it’s possible to decipher the code when the numbers are limited from 0-9? Also, would government agencies not be able to figure out where it was being broadcast from and by whom through signals and radiowaves? (Might be a silly question, I know but forgive me – I’m a girl!
)
Also, I know this is probably a bit of a stretch but does anyone know where I could listen to one from Ireland? I’d love to hear one in action as it broadcasts live.
Well, I once found one by just scanning the radio; I was looking for a station to listen to when I came across random notes and stuff; Just play with your radio and you will find one, evetually.
What do you mean, forgive you, you are a girl?
WTF?
Why are you apologizing for being female?
If you have a question to ask, ask it. Don’t assume stupidity is gender based.
I agree with susan, don’t devalue vaginas, please.
I’ve always wanted to try to tune into one of these stations, except they don’t use mainstream frequencys so i can’t! Ah well, good article by the way.
The groups of numbers are used in conjunction with one-time pads and (usually) a standard word. Assign a number to each letter of the chosen word, subtract the broadcast number from the numbers on the pad (or the other way around, depending) and match the resulting numbers to the alphabet, with the letters of the standard word leading the sequence. Numbers are frequently read in something other than English.
Still used in secure business information, probably for other purposes but I wouldn’t know about that.
you can find more information and links to a 4 CD-set of recordings here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conet_Project
Thanks for mentioning that Omar – I will definitely check it out.
Jamie- Just when i thought you couldn’t get any cooler…. You produce this!
Thanks Nicosia
there definitly must be number stations in all of the developed countries. there are so many things going on that we do not know about (i.e. spies, government knowing everything we say on the phone, population control.) this is just a way for the governments to communicate with their people and tell them information or what to do.
I’ve had a little shortwave radio for years (you can get a small one pretty cheap). I have spent many an hour just listening. Pretty creepy stuff.
Wow, very interesting stuff. I must admit the first thing that came to mind was LOST, but I certainly didn’t know this was a thing that happened for real. Cool!
HA! Me too! I was like “It’s Rousseau”.
haha, totally what I thought of right away too, had to read the comments to see if anyone else thought of it as well. =P
My grandmother had an old shortwave radio, and I could spend hours as a kid slowly crawling up and down the frequencies. I once found a Morse code station and was sure I had stumbled upon some major cold war subterfuge. It was thrilling and creepy all at the same time
Came over a couple of days ago to check out Frater’s new gem – thank goodness I caught it early so I won’t lose several days trying to catch up in the archives. So far another great site!!
Love the new site, jfrater. Of course, you’re giving me more reasons to waste all my time looking up strange things on the Net.
Thanks
I have heard number stations a few times. I live in S.W. USA.
The first time I heard one I picked up a vacant pay phone at a highway truck stop. On the telephone there was a recording of a woman reading series of numbers in spanish language. True Story.
That would have freaked me out completely.
At the time there was another traveler using the phones at the rest stop. She actually picked up the phone first before I did and dropped it, and after I picked it up She asked me if I heard that. I did. I also wanted to point out that this was North Florida, farther away from smuggling routes.
The other time I heard numbers, It was a man reciting numbers in a spanish language, it was recorded, and was playing on a convenience store pay phone on the outskirts of Tampa Florida.
Each time, I had heard of number stations before so It was a bit exciting, but I didnt listen long, it made me uneasy.
I meant to say that I heard these in South East USA.
Lots of smuggling goes on here.
Creepy indeed… Children doing it makes it even stranger though.
You are right – that is also the reason that nursery rhymes creep me out sometimes.
Heard about these as a child and it still freaks me out to this day.
Well anyway great new sight jfrater! lol
(Little girl with pig tails, wearing a dress, skipping rope at night in your driveway and in slow motion)
la la
la la la…
You should go into horror screenwriting
thank god for jfrater for informing my inner spy!
Jfrater – I enjoy both this site and listverse. But I must say, I think you should cite your sources. This article is lifted almost entirely from wikipedia. While wikipedia provides references, you delete them. In your comment (6), you seem not to be aware of the Conet Project, yet it is discussed in the wikipedia article from which your article comes. May I ask: How could you not be aware of the Conet Project? Perhaps you copied this article from another source that was copied from wikipedia.
I appreciate the work you put into these sites, but this article could have been replaced by “See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_stations.” It would have been more informative and would have given the reader the original references.
I was aware of the conet project – but not the series of CDs relating to it – hence saying I would check it out
Very interesting site. I have not heard of these stations before. Reminds me of the movie Orpheus by Jean Cocteau, where the messengers of the Princess of Death would receive coded messages from the underworld by radio.
This was on the 1st list i read on listverse an found it interesting. After watching the film Knowing (Nic Cage) its changed my opinion from interesting to slightly worried.
Wow !!! amazing info
If there was ever a prize for the best looker-upper of the weirdest and most unimaginable things that make people feel smarter (or sometimes repulsed), you would win it. For sure.
p.s. is it jfrater like j-f-rater or is it j-frater?
Great article! I love listverse, but I always wished you would have elaborated on some of the items, without me having to research it myself(forgive me for sounding lazy). This site does all that for me, and I’m loving it! I also think it’s nice that you try to respond to people’s comments. I don’t know where you find the time! But like Jerome, I feel that you should cite your sources more often. Many, many, many times I’ve gone to research a topic of one of your lists to find that what you’ve written is verbatim to the Wiki article, but with no credit to the original source.
But I love you anyway! =)
About two months ago i was in Mexico and we wee basically in the middle of nowhere going to visit my relatives. My dad was changing the radio station and i hear what i believe was a number station. I heard something like 655864….etc. Apparently i was the only one to realize it because no one else said anything. But as soon as i heard it i remembered reading about things like that off of Listverse.
That’s really creepy. Maybe next time you can write something about hearing ghostly sounds over anything that is audio recorded. (Sorry I forget what it’s called).
Number stations have only been in existence since UFOs were detected early in the 1930s. The use of short-wave radio is significant because it is used to bounce signals off the atmospheric layers.
It was originally employed as a sure-fire method of communication with submarines who would simply drag a long wire behind as an antenna at low speeds to pick up the repeating number groups. These in turn would be programmed into one-time message pads to provide operational instructions and tactical feedback to submarine captains.
Upon early penetration 91942) by the first UFOs; it was employed as a foolproof way of relaying data around the globe to track UFO events. The number groups were hijacked by the aliens (not difficult really) and subliminal messaging instructions interposed to give mind control over all forces.
It is believed that nazi u boat crews were under the control of UFOs based in Mexico but the British invention of radar proved deadly to the thin skins of alien craft causing them to revert to their mountain hide outs.
Waltz can i buy some pot from you
Used to hear this a lot in the early 90’s on commercial radios with SW1 and SW2 bands. I always found them errie, recently I found out no one exactly knows why these things exist. I had the chance of listening to the The Conet Project recordings in Archive.com, most of it sound pretty otherworldly disturbing.
the number stations kill
http://www.myspace.com/thenumberstationskill
Chills me to the bone to know these things go on and for what reason ??
show me what lies just beyond my eyes is it all real or a pack of lies?
I have listened to many recordings of them in a row. They can be very relaxing in the background, but also somewhat spooky to listen to if you pay close attention, never knowing just what spy in the world may be receiving it, maybe deciding the fate of the world by way of these messages.