These broadcasts usually adhere to strict schedules and are
spoken in a variety of languages. The toneless voices reading these messages
are often female, though sometimes men’s or children’s voices are heard as well.
Occasionally the transmissions contain even weirder elements, such as strange
music or intonation.
Radio enthusiasts have dubbed the unexplainable broadcasts
”Number Stations”, and they have been observed at least since World War II.
However, according to the Conet Project, a group that distributes recordings of
these stations, the Number Stations’ transmissions have been going on since
World War I. That would make them some of the oldest radio broadcasts in the
world.
Despite efforts to track these broadcasts down, nobody has
been able to definitively pinpoint their sources. In the few cases that a
suspected site has been found, no one has been there to meet the explorers. No
radio station or government has claimed responsibility for the stations, and
their purpose remains uncertain. Naturally, many theories have popped up, ranging
from the highly viable to the absurdly fantastical.
The most popular and likely theory is that the Number
Stations are used by various Secret Services to relay orders to operatives
inserted into hostile territories. With powerful enough transmitters, the coded
message could be received anywhere in the world with simple equipment, and only
the agent in possession of the key would be able to decrypt it. Even in today’s
age of computer communications, this would be one of the most foolproof ways of
communicating without leaving traces.
Some others speculate that the Number Stations are used by
drug smugglers. After all, drug trafficking operations may well be organized
enough to use such means.
Many of the Number Stations are likely explained by spy activity.
However, some are just too weird to be unravelled quite so easily. Among them
are the stations known as UVB-76 and the Backward Music Station.
UVB-76 transmits short, monotonous buzzing sounds around 25
times a minute, and it has been heard constantly, without interruption since at
least 1982 – apart from certain occasions, that is. On Christmas Eve in 1997,
the tone was interrupted for the first time by a Russian voice reciting names
and numbers. A few similar interruptions happened on extremely rare occasions
since then, until the activity suddenly picked up in 2010.
As if that wasn’t mysterious enough, it seems the buzzes are
coming from something placed near a live microphone – distant conversations and
other background noises can often be heard behind the tone. Despite much
speculation, the purpose of UVB-76 is unknown.
The Backward Music Station broadcasts unearthly high-pitched
schreeching and grinding noises, with occasional distorted voices. These
signals appear to have multiple sources, with one possibly being in the US and
the other in Europe. Theories include that it may be a highly encrypted message
for spies, or possibly just feedback due to faulty equipment. Nevertheless, its
purpose remains a mystery.
The Number Station broadcasts recorded by the Conet Project are available freely.
Image by Oroi at the German language Wikipedia
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