[Spooks] Numbers stations in the Epoch Times

[ka1rdz at verizon.net]

(photos.com) 

By Leonardo Vintiñi

Epoch Times Staff



Atención! ...9-8-9-0-2. .. Atención! 9-8-9-0-2... Atención 9-8-9-0-2... 1-8-5-0-2... 1-8-5-0-2...

 



Upon hearing a robotic female voice dictating these monotonous

numerical sequences, many would simply discount it as gibberish and

immediately change the frequency. 

 

 However, if these puzzled

listeners choose to listen to these transmissions, they might assume it

was some sort of secret code. Regularly repeated, seemingly nonsensical

statements such as "mixture-nine- six-two-nine- two-three- bingo-tour,

two-eight," must have some meaning to someone. But to whom, and why

would they require that their instructions be transmitted in such a

cryptic way?

 

 Numbers stations are found throughout the short

wave radio frequency. Anyone with basic equipment can listen to it,

although it may be hard to tell who's sending the message, much less

what they´re trying to say.



A Brief History of Numbers StationsSuch transmissions have

been sent since World War I. Hence, it can be affirmed that they are

one of the first radio broadcasts known. These broadcasts can be found

in all parts of the world, and they have significantly increased since

World War II, but it has been noted that they occurred most frequently

during key events throughout the Cold War. When the Cold War ended,

these broadcasts began to diminish, although since the 1990s these

transmissions have been gradually returning. 

 

 While many

radio aficionados have attempted to decode these messages, few have met

with any success. Nevertheless, many of these cryptic broadcasts began

to find some popularity among radio enthusiasts. The great majority are

found cataloged by the "European Numbers Information Gathering and

Monitoring Association" which had charted the distinct numerical

emissions by strict typology. 

 

 Some number issuers have gone

to international press, but perhaps the most well known was the

"Atención!" case-shown above-named for the particular way each message

began (Spanish for "Attention"). The "Atención!" broadcast was actually

used in U.S. federal courts in the trial of five captured Cuban spies

in 2001.



Typical OperationsThrough the static we begin to hear

exotic music. It is soon joined by the occasional hammering of what

sounds like a stenographer at work. Suddenly, the music stops and a

male voice begins to dictate a series of numbers in a foreign language.



These numerical broadcasts basically observe the same form:

At regular intervals-either on the hour or half hour-a voice recites a

word or phrase, which may also be accompanied by a melody that acts

like the introduction to the code. As the transmission continues, the

voice begins to dictate numbers, letters, disconnected words, or a

combination thereof. Later, a closing message signals the end of the

transmission. 

 

 Of course there are many varieties of such

broadcasts. Every hour, day after day, it can be the same or it can

change; the message can be replaced by Morse code, and the message can

be repeated once, twice, and so on. 

 

 These transmissions,

emanating from across the globe in a variety of languages, are only

broadcast for a few minutes at a time. Sometimes an actual human voice

recites the code, but often they are generated by speech-synthesizing

software. Others come from one particular language, but the code for

the transmission is in another. For example, a Spanish message

transmitted its code in Japanese. 

 

 One of the most curious

transmissions is accompanied by the melody "Don't Cry For Me

Argentina." After the familiar tune is introduced a voice recites

"whiskey, tango, romeo 21... whiskey, tango, romeo 21, 61115 74939 04343

54388 40121 43372 43973 08610 08858 699 00 74821 11431 06109 39994

whiskey, tango, romeo 21."

 

 Other transmissions have included

drumming or a single clarinet playing a repeated refrain from a

military march. As with other examples, the code follows the

introductory music. 

 

 Many of these mysterious broadcasters

have adopted methods of not only mixing music with code but also using

unusual voices. Some believe that this is a strategy used to distract

the hundreds of radio aficionados who are trying to decode the

transmission. For example, children's voices are often used with a

familiar melody to make the inexperienced receiver believe that the

transmission is merely a playful experiment using a household

broadcasting device. 

 

 So what´s behind these mysterious

broadcasts? Is it a method used for drug smuggling, or is it, as many

believe, a covert language that spies employ to communicate with each

other. Although there is evidence that suggests espionage, no

government has ever declared taking part in such communications, nor

have they confessed knowledge of their origin. 

 

 Except in

isolated cases in which they have been allowed to glimpse at the use of

such broadcasts, the world's intelligence agencies have never admitted

the probable use of these transmissions. However, considering that

Great Britain is said to have outlawed listening to these numbers

stations, many believe such suspicions have already been confirmed.



Listening to Numbers TransmissionsThe following are a few examples of these broadcasts:

 http://www.furelos. org/file/ tcp_d4_23_ unidentified_ chinese_station_ irdial.mp3

 http://www.furelos. org/files/ tcp_d4_01_ russian_man_ complete_ irdial.mp3

 http://www.furelos. org/files/ tcp_d4_26_ wiskey_tango_ viente_y_ uno_irdial. mp3

Source: The Epoch Times

http://www.theepoch times.com/ n2/content/ view/19032/