{"id":17643,"date":"2016-03-07T17:00:34","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T21:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=17643"},"modified":"2016-03-07T08:36:53","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T12:36:53","slug":"shortwave-numbers-stations-on-the-daily-beast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/shortwave-numbers-stations-on-the-daily-beast\/","title":{"rendered":"Shortwave Numbers Stations on The Daily Beast"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SWLingPost-Numbers1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Interest in shortwave numbers stations seems to wax and wane. We’re currently going through a period of increased interest (again) as I’ve\u00a0been receiving quite a few messages from new readers asking where to find\u00a0spy numbers and what type of shortwave radio is needed. Truth is, there are fewer and fewer numbers stations still on the air, though some are still quite reliable (like HM01<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The following article by\u00a0Shane Harris at The Daily Beast is one of the better, more detailed, articles I’ve read in the popular press.<\/p>\n

(Source: The Daily Beast<\/a> via Southgate ARC<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The Stupidly Simple Spy Messages No Computer Could Decode<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Shane Harris<\/p>\n

When I was 10 years old, I found a shortwave radio in a crumbling old leather trunk where we kept family photos and other memorabilia. <\/em><\/p>\n

As I spun the dial, tinny, modulating noises, like the song of an electronic slide whistle, emanated from the radio\u2019s small speaker. Staticky cracks and pops competed for airtime. The sounds swished and swirled, unintelligible and unremarkable. But then, emerging through the clamor, was a voice.<\/em><\/p>\n

I might have run right over it with the dial, but the voice\u2019s rhythmic, steady pacing caught me up short. It wasn\u2019t a deejay. Nor a commercial. And he wasn\u2019t singing. He was just speaking. The same line, over and over again.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c7\u20266\u20267\u20264\u20263.\u201d Pause. \u201c7\u20266\u20267\u20264\u20263.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember if those were the exact numbers. But they were numbers. A repeated sequence which had no obvious meaning, and was entirely devoid of context. To find him here, amidst the screeches and howls of the shortwave frequencies, was like coming upon a man standing in the middle of a forest, talking out loud to no one.<\/em><\/p>\n

How long had he been here? Who was he talking to? He had that officious tone of the recorded telephone operators who chastised you for dialing a wrong number. \u201cPlease hang up, check the number, and dial again.\u201d And the same distracting static I\u2019d heard in those messages filled the background. I wasn\u2019t sure if he was speaking live, or if he\u2019d been recorded and set loose to play into the air.<\/em><\/p>\n

But there was an urgency to his tone. And a purpose. As if he were talking to me. Imploring. Listen. Hear me now. 7\u20266\u20267\u20264\u20263. Did you get that? 7\u20266\u20267\u20264\u20263.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was simultaneously terrified and captivated.[…]<\/em><\/p>\n

Continue reading at The Daily Beast…<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interest in shortwave numbers stations seems to wax and wane. We’re currently going through a period of increased interest (again) as I’ve\u00a0been receiving quite a few messages from new readers asking where to find\u00a0spy numbers and what type of shortwave radio is needed. Truth is, there are fewer and fewer numbers stations still on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,3,172,43],"tags":[1699,1678,4088,1609,1607,4821],"class_list":["post-17643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-news","category-numbers-stations","category-shortwave-radio","tag-cuban-numbers-stations","tag-hm01","tag-numbers-stations","tag-shortwave-numbers-stations","tag-spy-numbers-stations","tag-the-daily-beast"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-4Az","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5575,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/shortwave-radio-recordings-listen-to-cuban-spy-numbers-station-hm01\/","url_meta":{"origin":17643,"position":0},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Listen to Cuban Spy Numbers Station HM01","author":"Thomas","date":"February 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Numbers stations have always been a dark oddity that pop up from time-to-time in the course of shortwave radio listening. There is unquestionably an air of mystery and intrigue which surrounds them.\u00a0With the release of the movie The Numbers Station, many non-SWLers may be enticed to explore the HF bands.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"WFL_015","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CubanFlag-300x202.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10767,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/numbers-stations-a-bad-day-to-be-a-cuban-spy\/","url_meta":{"origin":17643,"position":1},"title":"Numbers Stations: A bad day to be a Cuban spy","author":"Thomas","date":"September 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"While band scanning last Sunday\u00a0(September 8, 2014) I stumbled upon the Cuban numbers station HM01 on 11,530 kHz at 17:30 UTC. It's always intriguing to hear shortwave numbers stations, but I prefer those that stick to pure vocal number strings; HM01 has numbers with digital bursts between number sets, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SWLingPost-Spy-Numbers-Station","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Spy-Numbers-Station.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Spy-Numbers-Station.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Spy-Numbers-Station.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8844,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/miami-herald-cuban-spies-and-shortwave-numbers\/","url_meta":{"origin":17643,"position":2},"title":"Miami Herald: Cuban spies and shortwave numbers","author":"Thomas","date":"February 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I should note that we have several\u00a0recordings and frequencies for the numbers station HM01, which is mentioned in this article. Very happy to see that they interviewed Chris Smolinski: (Source: Miami Herald) Even if you\u2019re not a Cuban spy, you too can receive secret messages sent by Havana to its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"towers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/grimetonbandw-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5627,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/even-numbers-stations-make-mistakes\/","url_meta":{"origin":17643,"position":3},"title":"Even numbers stations make mistakes","author":"Thomas","date":"March 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On February 5th, 2013, the Cuban numbers station widely known as HM01 struggled to maintain its composure following an awkward studio error. In this particular case, I started recording a few seconds prior to the carrier, at which point you'll hear a couple of minutes of \"dead air\" (silence). The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"WFL_015","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CubanFlag-300x202.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5764,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/how-to-decode-that-rdft-in-numbers-station-hm01-roland-explains\/","url_meta":{"origin":17643,"position":4},"title":"How to decode that RDFT in numbers station HM01? Roland explains","author":"Thomas","date":"February 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A few weeks ago, I published a post with a recording of the Cuban numbers station HM01, a \"Hybrid Mode\" numbers station which interchangeably broadcasts both voice and a digital mode called\u00a0RDFT with each transmission. I had suggested using an application called \"DIGTRX\" to decode the data bursts. I then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DIGTRX","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/DIGTRX-300x213.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7413,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/cuban-numbers-station-hm01-serving-up-a-little-confusion\/","url_meta":{"origin":17643,"position":5},"title":"Cuban Numbers Station HM01: serving up a little confusion","author":"Thomas","date":"September 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On occasion, I hear the Cuban numbers station HM01 on 5,855 kHz on weekday mornings. It seems that many of the mornings as I listen, I hear HM01 making mistakes or at least experiencing \"technical difficulties\" (click here for a recent case in point). Though I don't often record HM01,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"WFL_015","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/CubanFlag-300x202.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17643\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}