{"id":23163,"date":"2017-01-07T08:18:36","date_gmt":"2017-01-07T12:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=23163"},"modified":"2017-01-07T08:18:36","modified_gmt":"2017-01-07T12:18:36","slug":"was-morse-code-the-smoking-gun-for-this-spy-with-no-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/was-morse-code-the-smoking-gun-for-this-spy-with-no-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Was Morse Code the smoking gun for this spy with no name?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares this story from the BBC News<\/a> via\u00a0Matthew M. Aid<\/a>‘s blog:<\/p>\n

[…]It was a cold Saturday morning in April 1988 when a van full of detectives arrived outside the North London home of Erwin van Haarlem. The self-employed art dealer, 44, lived alone in sleepy Friern Barnet, a smattering of brick homes beside the grim North Circular ring road.
\nThe Dutchman’s apartment building on Silver Birch Close had become the centre of an investigation led by the British intelligence agency MI5. It suspected that Van Haarlem – whom neighbours described as an “oddball” – was not in the art business at all, but a sinister foreign agent.<\/p>\n

Inside, Van Haarlem was hunched over a radio in his kitchen. He was still wearing his pyjamas, but his hair was parted neatly to one side. He was tuned in, as he was every morning, to a mysterious “number station”. In his earpiece, a female voice recited numbers in Czech, followed by the blip-bleep of Morse code.<\/p>\n

At 09:15 detectives from Special Branch, the anti-terror unit of London’s Metropolitan Police, crashed into his apartment. Van Haarlem tried to lower his radio’s antenna. It jammed. When he pulled open a drawer and grabbed a kitchen knife, an officer tackled him, and yelled: “Enough! It is over! It is over!”<\/p>\n

Hidden among his easels and paintings, detectives discovered tiny codebooks concealed in a bar of soap, strange chemicals, and car magazines later found to contain messages written in invisible ink. Investigators suspected Van Haarlem was not really from the Netherlands, but was a spy for the UK’s Cold War adversary, the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

[…]Mrs Saint, 61, who co-ordinated the local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, said she telephoned the police in November 1987 to report strange noises and a “Morse code” interference which affected her television reception every night at 21:20.[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click here to read this fascinating in0depth story\u00a0on the\u00a0BBC Magazine website.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares this story from the BBC News via\u00a0Matthew M. Aid‘s blog: […]It was a cold Saturday morning in April 1988 when a van full of detectives arrived outside the North London home of Erwin van Haarlem. The self-employed art dealer, 44, lived alone in sleepy Friern […]<\/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":[3,172],"tags":[104,2635,721,173,445,5007],"class_list":["post-23163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-numbers-stations","tag-bbc","tag-dan-robinson","tag-numbers-station","tag-shortwave-numbers","tag-spy-numbers","tag-spy-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-61B","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20113,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/north-korean-numbers-station-in-the-press\/","url_meta":{"origin":23163,"position":0},"title":"North Korean numbers station in the press","author":"Thomas","date":"July 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been offline and off-grid this week and have accumulated quite the backlog of email. One news item that caught the attention of a large number of readers (thanks to all for the tips--!) was North Korean spy numbers.\u00a0I'm very curious if any readers have logged and recorded this station--if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"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":30813,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/bbc-video-the-spy-radio-that-anyone-can-hear\/","url_meta":{"origin":23163,"position":1},"title":"BBC video: “The ‘spy radio’ that anyone can hear”","author":"Thomas","date":"February 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: Nothing that an SWLing Post reader doesn\u2019t already know--more for general consumption: http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/av\/world-42819704\/numbers-stations-the-spy-radio-that-anyone-can-hear For decades, people around the globe have been able to listen in to mysterious spy broadcasts from all over the world with just a radio. Gordon Corera\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Spy-Numbers-Station.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","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&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Spy-Numbers-Station.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1143,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/archived-bbc-4-documentary-on-lincolnshire-poacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":23163,"position":2},"title":"Archived BBC 4 documentary on Lincolnshire Poacher","author":"Thomas","date":"July 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A friend recently sent me this archive site of a BBC documentary from 2005 that tracks the\u00a0Lincolnshire\u00a0Poacher\u00a0and\u00a0other numbers stations. If you're unfamiliar with numbers stations check out our previous post on the subject--and be sure to listen to David Goren's production, \"Seis Siete Tres Siete Cero\". Along with pirate radio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","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":18222,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/psst-buddy-wanna-buy-a-spy-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":23163,"position":3},"title":"Psst, Buddy! Wanna Buy a Spy Radio?","author":"Guy Atkins","date":"April 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This unusual\u00a0Ebay posting is one of the most interesting I've seen in a long time: a genuine, new spy radio transceiver! Given its rarity and new condition, the $1,900 asking price seems reasonable to me for what a well-heeled collector might pay. The set is referred to as a \"FIELD\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Clandestine"","block_context":{"text":"Clandestine","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/clandestine\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"spy_radio","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/spy_radio-300x192.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5575,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/shortwave-radio-recordings-listen-to-cuban-spy-numbers-station-hm01\/","url_meta":{"origin":23163,"position":4},"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":15374,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/hackaday-secret-radio-stations-by-the-numbers\/","url_meta":{"origin":23163,"position":5},"title":"Hackaday: “Secret Radio Stations by the Numbers”","author":"Thomas","date":"October 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Hackaday via Andrea Borgnino) One thing has stayed with the James Bond movie franchise through the decades: Mr. Bond always has the most wonderful of gadgets. Be it handheld, car-based, or otherwise, there\u2019s always something to thrill that is mostly believable. The biggest problem with all of those gadgets\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":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23163","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=23163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}