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Shortwave Spy Numbers Stations
by Swedish Rhapsody
Shortwave Spy Numbers Stations Types
5 Digit Spanish YL 3/2 Digit Spanish YL 5 Digit Spanish OM
5 Digit English YL 3/2 Digit English YL Lincolnshire Poacher
The Russian Man 4 Digit German YL 5 Digit German YL (Two
Letter Phonetic) Mossad Stations New Star Broadcasting Station
OLX - MOI Prague Czech Station Swedish Rhapsody Station
Note: The schedules found here are the result of monitoring by
myself and many fellow Numbers Stations enthusiasts. If you have
any additional information, new stations or schedules, etc, please
don't hesitate to pass them on for inclusion here!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Digit Spanish YL
This is by far the most commonly heard type of numbers station in
North America. A typical transmission starts with "atencion", then a
three digit block and a two digit block, such as "atencion 932 86".
The three digit block is believed to be the recipient. This preamble
is sent for several minutes, followed by two two-digit numbers, the
second of which is the message length. Then the actual message is
sent, as a series of five digit blocks. The transmission ends with the
words "final, final". Sometimes three finals are sent.
Typical transmission:
Atencion 245 01 (rpt) Message to 245
01 51 (rpt five times) 51 blocks will follow
45892 05157 ... Message
final final End of message (sometimes three finals)
A variant of this type transmits a five digit preamble "atencion
04499" for example, for a few minutes, followed by recipient and
the count, such as "04499 150". Then the actual message is sent.
Transmissions with a count of 150 are very common, presumably
they are training exercises.
Typical transmission:
Atencion 04499 (rpt) Message to 245
04499 150 (rpt five times) 150 blocks will follow
45892 05157 ... Message
final final End of message (sometimes three finals)
Yet another variation has just occured! Starting January 1, 1997, 5
Digit SS/YL Number Stations have started sending three messages
in each broadcast! Here's the observed format:
Atencion 72302 51782 41592 (rpt) Messages to 72302, 51782
41592
72302 72302 72302 72302 72302 First message is to 72302
43459 90932 ... Message
51782 51782 51782 51782 51782 Second message is to
51782
83743 24830 ... Message
41592 41592 41592 41592 41592 Third message is to 41592
65382 18439 ... Message
final final End of messages (sometimes thee
finals)
Only time will tell if this is a permanent change.
AM modulation is sometimes used, although USB is also reported.
I have heard many stations which seem to be using reduced carrier
sideband, with modulation on one of the sidebands, and a lower
power carrier, sufficient for reception on AM receivers.
These transmissions often have technical problems (poor audio,
hum, distortion, sometimes big "accidents" like starting to play the
Radio Habana opening music! I once heard a very distorted
transmission, the distortion was caused by the fact that Radio
Habana audio was bleeding into the audio!
As you can guess, it is commonly believed that these transmissions
come from Cuba.
Schedule of transmissions for this station.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3/2 Digit Spanish YL - aka The Counting Station
Five digit blocks are also sent, but with a distinct pause between
the third and fourth digits, making it sound like a three digit and
then two digit block, hence the 3/2 designation. This station is also
referred to as The Counting Station due to the count heard at the
beginning of the broadcast, and is believed to be operated by the
CIA. These stations replaced the 4 Digit format, which is no longer
heard.
Typical transmission:
015 015 015 1234567890 (rpt) Message to 015
Ten tones Signal that message will begin
Grupo 186 Grupo 186 186 blocks will follow
969 70 376 60... Message
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Digit Spanish OM
Male Numbers Stations are rather infrequently heard. One version
of this station appears to air live messages, and has been nicknamed
The Bored Man due to the rather unenthusiastic voice used by the
station.
The formats of these stations are not as well known as the YL
stations, due to their limited number of transmissions. Indeed, they
may well be operated by another organization, some have suspected
drug traffickers, due to the poor technical quality, and the use of
live, rather than taped, announcers.
Monitored transmission:
Atencion (rpt three times)
7 2 Biente Nueve
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Count
message
Atencion 7 2 Noventa
final final All done
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Digit English YL
These transmissions start with a three digit block (presumed to be
the recipient number repeated for several minutes. No message
length is sent. Then the five digit message blocks begin.
The accent of the female announcers of the five digit stations often
varies. Some are distinctly Britsh, some Spanish, others sound
American. This may indicate that there are several organizations
operating the various stations. Or, as with many "facts" about
Numbers Stations, it may mean nothing at all!
These stations (IMHO) don't seem to be as common anymore. I can
remember the 'Warrenton Woman' booming in on 4470 in the
evenings.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3/2 Digit English YL - aka The Counting Station
These transmissions are very similar to the five digit transmissions,
except that a distinct pause is heard between the third and fourth
digits of each message block. It is not known if this signifies a
different encryption system than used in the five digit
transmissions. This station is also referred to as The Counting
Station due to the count heard at the beginning of the broadcast,
and is believed to be operated by the CIA. These stations replaced
the 4 Digit format, which is no longer heard.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Digit English YL - aka Lincolnshire Poacher
This is a variation of the five digit English station. The tune
"Lincolnshire Poacher" (which sounds like "Pop Goes The
Weasel") is played at the beginning of the transmission. This
station is most often heard in Europe and the eastern part of North
America. It is believed to be transmitting from Cyprus, with a target
of the Middle East, presumably Iran or Iraq. It is often heard being
jammed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Digit English OM/YL - aka The Russian Man
This is a variation of the five digit English station. First, the voice
is best described as unisex, some hear it as male, others as female.
The Russian man often puts very good signals into the USA. This
station continuously changes frequencies.
Typical transmission:
529 (rpt) Message to 529
834 834 167 167 167 blocks, 834 means ???
96970 96970 37660 37660... Message, each block repeated
834 834 167 167 00000 End of message
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 Digit German YL
Similar to the five digit German stations described below. Rarely
heard (at least in North America).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Digit German YL - aka 2 Letter Phonetic
These transmissions often open with tones or some sort of music.
Sometimes, a two letter phoentic phrase is heard, such as "Papa
Romeo". The preamble opens with "achtung" and a three digit
block, generally presumed to be the recipient. (Perhaps it is really
the number of the one time pad to be used to decode the message,
and the two letter phonetic sent at the beginning is the recipient.
This makes sense to me because the agents would listen at the
beginning of the transmission to see if the message is for them.)
This is followed by "gruppen" and the number of message blocks to
follow. The message closes with "ende".
Formerly commonly heard in Europe, and North America. This
would tend to indicate a European transmission site. Indeed,
several years ago, transmissions were DFed to a then East German
location. These stations have been rapidly disappearing, Whiskey
Lima may be the last one left.
Whiskey Lima is heard 0400 on 5770 USB (Sundays only?)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Letter Phonetic (MOSSAD)
A female voice is used to repeat a three letter phonetic phrase
(followed by a number), such as "Papa November Oscar Two". This
can go on for hours before a message is sent. The message consists
of blocks of phonetic letters.
A "One" is sent after the identifier (such as "Papa November Oscar
One" if no message follows, a "Two" is sent if a message will
follow. Extremely rarely, some other number is sent, presumably
this indicates a higher priority message follows?
It is generally believed that MOSSAD (the Israel Intelligence
Service) operates these stations, and they are often referred to as
MOSSAD transmissions. Transmitter sites include Israel, and
Israeli embassies and consulates, due to the extremely high signal
strengths reported by listeners close to such facilities. In fact, one
can assume that many number station transmissions occur from
embassies and consulates, as this allows nations (especially those
without the resources or friendly allies to situate transmitters
abroad otherwise) to place transmitters close to the target areas.
International law allows countries to communicate using radio from
their embassies.
Schedule of transmissions for this station.
Typical transmission:
Echo Zulu India Two (rpt) Message to EZI
Message Message Group 22 Group 22 Message of 22 blocks of
five letters each
Text Text Message follows
Kilo Papa Tango Romeo Golf Message
Bravo Alpha November Kilo Mike...
End Of Message Message finished
Repeat Repeat Sometimes the message is repeated
Message Message Group 22 Group 22 Message of 22 blocks of
five letters each
Text Text Message follows
Kilo Papa Tango Romeo Golf Message
Bravo Alpha November Kilo Mike...
End Of Message Message finished
End of Transmission That's all folks
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Star Broadcasting Station
Believed to transmit from either Mainland China or Taiwan, using
Mandarin. Broadcasts usually begin at the beginning of the hour,
opening with flute music. Then the station name and program
number are given, followed by the recipient number, date of the
messagem and number of characters.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OLX MOI Prague, Czech
OLX transmits in both CW and voice. The CW transmission begins
with "VVV DE OLX" repeated before the start of transmission.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Swedish Rhapsody
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