anarch@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (The Anarch) (11/11/89)
In article <28978@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> pierce@lanai.UUCP (Brad Pierce) writes: >In article <23733@cup.portal.com> Havana_-_Moon@cup.portal.com writes: > >> ** WHO IS HAVANA MOON? ** >> >> Havana Moon is the pseudonym of a very well known figure in >> Shortwave Radio, on both the hobby and the professional levels. >> He is a former Intelligence Officer who is acknowledged to be >> one of the leading experts in the curious shortwave phenomenon >> known as "Spy Numbers Transmissions." > >What is Spy Numbers Transmissions? > >-- Brad I am far from an expert on this, so anyone, feel free to correct me, but I believe that 'spy numbers transmissions' refers to the seemingly random and meaningless strings of numbers that can occasionally be heard on shortwave radio. They are believed to be coded intelligence reports of spies in foreign countries, sending their info back home over the airwaves. -- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-anarch@dartmouth.edu+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ There is no governor anywhere;|Thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall, you are all absolutely free. |And universal darkness buries all. D I S C L A I M E R : E V E R Y T H I N G I W R I T E I S F A L S E
HAVANAMOON@cup.portal.com (Havana - Moon) (11/14/89)
"Spy Numbers Transmissions" are a shortwave oddity which have
been around for the last 25 years. They are commonly heard
in English, German, Spanish and the Slavic languages and take
the form of four and five digit groups of numbers which are
preceded by a three digit "identifier" and "group count".
They are generally broadcast by a mechanical-sounding female
voice, although Morse code (CW) "cut number" transmissions
are also frequently reported.
The who, where and why aspects of these transmissions are,
for the most part, unknown. Their mysterious nature has
resulted in their common characterization as 'spy' trans-
missions.
The spy theory has been enhanced over the years by the FCC's
inconsistent position in response to numerous inquiries by
the Shortwave Listening community.
If you've never heard a numbers transmission, tune your
radio to 11468 kHz any Saturday at 4pm EST (2100 UTC).
You'll almost certainly hear a 'classic' numbers transmission
which will run from 15-30 minutes. The signal from this
Saturday transmission is very powerful and can be heard
across the United States.
If you're interested in additional information, I've written
two books on the subject - "Uno, Dos, Cuatro: A Guide to the
Numbers Stations" and "Los Numeros: The Numbers Stations Guide"
both are available through Tiare Publications, Department P/U,
Box 493, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.
Numbers continue to fascinate the Shortwave Listening community.
There are a number of other publications which detail this topic
on a regular basis. If you'd like to know more, let me know.
Havana MoonHavana_-_Moon@cup.portal.com (11/18/89)
In his article, neal@lynx.uucp (Neal Woodall) writes: >You are somewhat correct, but I can clarify what you >have posted.... Neal gives good information. He references the source as Popular Communications Magazine - with some very few exceptions - the "Numbers" articles published in Popular Communications have been mine. I offer the following to further elaborate on a subject which has fascinated me for much longer than I care to acknowledge. As Neal notes, some few numbers transmission sites have been identified, most notably in Warrenton and Reming- ton, Virginia and Miami, Florida. Also, live (non-computer generated) 5-digit Spanish transmissions have been traced to a site in the vicinity of the Galapagos Islands. A new - and totally amazing - site has very recently been identi- fied with the aid of extremely sophisticated RDF (Radio Direction Finding) equipment. Specific information about this location will be published in the December edition of the Umbra et Lux Newsletter. Further, the purpose and suspect- ed identities of those responsible for SOME forms of numbers transmissions will be detailed in the January edition of UeL. (UeL is available for the asking and a #10 SASE sent to DX/SWL Press, 10606-8 Camino Ruiz, Department UKK#, Suite 174, San Diego, CA 92126) Regarding what appears to be a widespread belief that these numbers are to be decoded using a one-time pad or derivative, it is curious to note that in many cases, the same 5 digit group repeats 3-4 times in a single crypt. Additionally, these messages are often repeated from week to week, and in some cases from month to month. It has been noted that the tapes are repeated so often that tape breaks sometimes occur, and when spliced back together, one digit of a group will have been spliced out, resulting in a not uncommon situation where a four digit group will be found mixed in with the other five-digit groups! It would therefore appear that much of this traffic is 'phantom' or 'dummy' in nature, or without any real meaning other than to keep a frequency open over a long period of time. The majority of 5-digit Spanish transmissions are badly overmodulat- ed. The end result is extreme signal distortion and numerous spurs up and down frequency. Spurs can often be heard from 15-25 kHz on either side of the carrier frequency. Even with the NRD-525's narrow filter, this anomaly is often observed. So it appears that while the individuals responsible are very skilled at maintaining their anonymity, their technical abilities leave much to be desired. It's worth noting that this same technical ineptitude is NOT noted in 4-Digit Spanish or English transmissions. Assuming that these transmissions are of some importance, it would behoove those responsible to endeavor to 'clean up their act.' They are often so badly distorted that it is extremely difficult to copy an entire crypt without numerous errors. As an example, the numbers 'sies' and 'siete' are almost indistinguishable when broadcast under such conditions. Readers should be aware that there is probably no SINGLE explanation for these curious transmissions. Several distinctly different numbers transmission formats have been studied and identified and the findings published - ("Uno, Dos Cuatro: A Guide To The Numbers Stations, Havana Moon, Tiare Publications, 1987. ISBN 0-936653-06-X.) Unfortunately, the sheer volume and global implications of this unceasingly fascinating topic have conspired to prohibit all but the most very basic research into the subject. Oh, for enough time and money . . . By way of interest - it has been reported that German submarines during WWII received weather information by way of 5-digit German numbers transmissions. Any further information in this regard would be greatly appreciated. Havana Moon