Shortwave Spy Numbers Stations

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! 
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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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



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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?) 
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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. 
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Swedish Rhapsody