totse.com | Number Station: The Lincolnshire Poacher

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Transmission Format

Trnsmissions begin on the hour on three parallel frequencies with a few bars of the popular English folk tune 'The Lincolnshire Poacher' repeated twelve times. This is followed by a five digit message identifier and then the whole sequence is repeated three times. The actual message is proceeded by a set of high and low pithced chimes, then the 'Poacher' is played six times. Note the absence of any group count indicator.

Traffic is presented in English at 11 groups per minute by an advanced computer synthesised voive system, that is capable of introducing inflections into each group, givingng the transmission a lifelike appearance. The inflection systemem works like this. Each digit position in a group is given a default inflection value:

Position-----Inflection
1-------------Low
2-------------Low
3-------------Low
4-------------Low
5-------------High

Onto this template is superimposed two exceptions. Number 3 always has a High inflection no matter what its position is. While number 9 aways has a Low inflection no matter what its position is. The inflection template is characteristic of a human reading number groups. while the addition of these exceptions attempted to confirm the human element of the broadcast. The voice itself has a very deftinite English accent. possibly from the South of the country. Traffic shedules seem to vary every couple of months and are therefore quickly outdated. One of the longer lived schedules begins at 1500 UTC on the daytime frequencies and continues until its last transmissionn at 2200 UTC, with a frequency change at 1900 UTC.

Each schedule lasts two weeks and begins on a Friday at 1500 UTC. There are no transmissions on Saturday, and only one on Sunday at 1500 UTC. Traffic restarts on Monday with traffic from Fridday appearing two hours later. New traffic is introduced into the 1500 and 1600 UTC Monday slots. This step type scheduling continues until the 1600 UTC Monday traffic is broadcast at 2200 UTC on Thursday: at this point the schedule is completed and a repeat of the week beings on the Friday.

One very interesting feature that accompanies these transmissions and also some CIA transmismons is a curious board band USB jammer, which is successful in completely drowning out most of the transmission. One theory says these jamming sights are deliberately broadcast by the numbers sstation to shroud numbes transmissions in the transmitters vicinity. With the jammer at a sigmficantly weaker power than the numbers, only numbers will be heard at the target area since the jammer will have dropped out. However preliminary propagation studies carried out on these jammers have proved that these transmissions do not emanate from the vicinty of the numbers transmitter sites and can therefore to termed to be hostile to the numbers station. The general consensus on the source of this jamming seems to be Iraq, wNch is already known to liberally jam anything that is in the slghtest political opposition to the Baghdad reigeme. Another point of curiosity amongst listeners to this stahon is the choice of preamble music. The piece, called 'The Lincolnshire Poacher' or sometimes 'The Poaching Song', has some quite interesting social and historic significance.

As me and my companions were setting off a snare Twas there we see'd a gamekeeper - for him we did not care For we can wrestle and fight my boys, and jump o'er everywhere Oh, tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.

As me and my companions were setting four or five And taking on him up again, we caught the hare alive We caught the hare alive, my boys, and through the woods did steer: Oh, tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.

Bad luck to every Magistrate that lives in Lincolnshire Sucess to every poacher that wants to sell a hare Bad luck to every game keeper that will not sell his deer Oh, tis my delight on a shiny night in the season of the year.