Here we can hear what was called a numbers station these transmissions could be heard on shortwave radios and were quite active in the 60s and 70s. Even with the advent of the internet and the digital highway these transmissions can still be heard they are thought to be secretive transmissions from government sources to transmit information one way to agents in the field shortwave radio is used because of its incredible range. In good conditions the signals can be heard around the world. Shortwave radio can be seen as a bit of a hobby if you have ever listened to the broadcasts you may have heard some strange noises, tones and broadcasts.
Some station transmissions consist of a short burst of music and then a generated voice reading out a list of repeated numbers the well-known example of this is the lincolnshire poacher. This station’s transmissions start with a few bars of an old english folk tune, then the numbers are read out. It is thought that these transmission are a very secure way of passing a message from the transmitter to the listeners.
All coded messages need a way of encoding the message so only those with the knowledge can understand them, this is known as the cipher and key method. The original message is changed from plain language into a code, this code can only be deciphered with a key so the transmitter has the cipher and the listener has the key to return the message back into plain language.
These transmissions apparently started back in the second world war as an effective means of secure communications to the personnel in the field. Their security comes from the simple feature of on a schedule basis, the cypher and key are changed and only ever used once.
They are considered secure, all you need to do is make sure the people in the field have the correct keys for the cipher the keys can be provided by a manual means for instance written or other transmission means totally unrelated with the radio transmissions
In some transmissions you will notice that the last number in each sequence is emphasized, this may or may not have a significance. It has been suggested that because these stations are seldom shut down like other pirates station they must have something to do with the government.
So the strategy of different tones the spaces between the tones and the timing of the tones is very reminiscent of more modern digital communications which still does follow a similar type. For example there may be information implied by when the transmissions are sent and how many times they are repeated or in what order they are sent. Similarly with the spoken numbers with them being in set numbered patterns. This can be used to hide such things as punctuation or imply information in the patterns of the numbers.
The question often asked in these days of secure digital communication, why can you still hear these stations? It’s a good question, maybe they are a backstop to make sure that even if the digital paths are breached there will still be means of issuing orders.
In the past you would have to purchase a shortwave radio to listen to the number stations, however there are now websites that enable you to listen to them. There is a link in the description, of the video which will take you to a shortwave listener.
It’s intriguing to think why these stations are still running.
