{"id":27326,"date":"2017-07-25T07:01:01","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T11:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=27326"},"modified":"2017-07-25T07:01:01","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T11:01:01","slug":"operator-shares-what-its-like-to-work-for-a-numbers-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/operator-shares-what-its-like-to-work-for-a-numbers-station\/","title":{"rendered":"Operator shares what it’s like to work for a numbers station"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Source: Numbers Stations<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Working at a numbers station 6 decades ago was not much different than working at an AM broadcast station. Located on a WWII old Naval Base it consisted of one building surrounded by a double chain link fence inside which older local men drove pickup trucks around for security. Inside the building there was a workshop, two 20,000-watt AM shortwave transmitters, crystal controlled oscillators, and a soundproof booth with a record player and records of well-known music in a language and culture common to the target. Outside the compound was an antenna farm with a log periodic antenna, a rhombic, and a couple dipoles.<\/p>\n

I lived, with my wife, about a mile from the site and would drive through a back road to the location, be admitted by security through each gate, and park, and relieve the other op who, after briefing me, was free to go home. My job was to follow a schedule, select the proper frequency at the proper time, tune the transmitter, hit the plate voltage, play the record the schedule told me to, and then recite the messages arranged in five-number groups of numbers in the appropriate language into the microphone in the recording booth. This was all done live and, as far as I know, no recordings were kept.<\/p>\n

[…]Other than that it\u2019s just a job. The messages were all prepared somewhere else by someone else and delivered to us along with the schedule. We all had high level clearances but we never knew who we sent these to or what the real ones might have said. This sort of compartmentalization was (and is) common.<\/p>\n

I often thought of those for whom the messages were intended\u2026 how they felt, where they were\u2026 whether they were in an attic or shed or stranded somewhere copying down a message that was a threat to their very lives on a radio that was a death penalty to simply be in possession of. I was very careful to do it right.[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the full article at Numbers-Stations.com.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Source: Numbers Stations) Working at a numbers station 6 decades ago was not much different than working at an AM broadcast station. Located on a WWII old Naval Base it consisted of one building surrounded by a double chain link fence inside which older local men drove pickup trucks around for security. Inside the building […]<\/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":[3,172,43],"tags":[721,4088,6371,445],"class_list":["post-27326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-numbers-stations","category-shortwave-radio","tag-numbers-station","tag-numbers-stations","tag-numbers-stations-com","tag-spy-numbers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-76K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5614,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/finally-the-official-trailer-for-the-movie-the-numbers-station-with-john-cusack-and-malin-akerman\/","url_meta":{"origin":27326,"position":0},"title":"Finally: Official trailer for the movie The Numbers Station with John Cusack and Malin Akerman","author":"Thomas","date":"February 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The long-awaited trailer for the new movie, The Numbers Station: We first mentioned the The Numbers Station\u00a0in 2011, when it was still being filmed. In this film, John Cusack's character, Emerson, has been given\u00a0the task of protecting Katherine (Malin Akerman), the operator of a shortwave numbers station that broadcasts encrypted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10770,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/numbers-stations-featured-in-highbrow-magazine\/","url_meta":{"origin":27326,"position":1},"title":"Numbers stations featured in Highbrow Magazine","author":"Thomas","date":"September 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post reader, Richard Cuff, who shares this link to a numbers station piece in Highbrow Magazine; one of the more comprehensive numbers station articles I've read in a while. Here's an excerpt: \"Many nights, Spooks turn on their shortwave radios and drift through the frequencies. On any\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"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":3652,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/finding-numbers-stations-while-scanning-for-pirates\/","url_meta":{"origin":27326,"position":2},"title":"Finding the “English Man” numbers station while scanning for pirates","author":"Thomas","date":"May 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"While listening for pirate radio stations last night, I recorded a numbers station. I found it on 6,949 kHz at 1:30 UTC, 26 May 2012. It was broadcast in USB for almost exactly ten minutes. The ID was sent for a full four minutes of that time. I have a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Numbers Stations"","block_context":{"text":"Numbers Stations","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/numbers-stations\/"},"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":65563,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/new-persian-numbers-station-surfaces-after-u-s-attacks-iran\/","url_meta":{"origin":27326,"position":3},"title":"New Persian Numbers Station Surfaces After U.S. Attacks Iran","author":"Thomas","date":"March 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Paul Jamet who shares this article from Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty about a Persian-language numbers station that has recently appeared on shortwave: https:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/mystery-numbers-station-persian-signal-iran-war\/33700659.html Long-time shortwave listeners know that numbers stations often seem to surface during periods of geopolitical tension. With the recent U.S. attack\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-Numbers1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Numbers1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Numbers1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9317,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/numbers-stations-in-the-news\/","url_meta":{"origin":27326,"position":4},"title":"Numbers Stations in the news","author":"Thomas","date":"April 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"There have been a lot of numbers in the news lately. Earlier this week,\u00a0David Goren's numbers station radio documentary\u00a0was featured on the\u00a0ABC Radio National\u00a0show, Sounds Like Radio. Click here to listen. This morning, I also noticed this excellent\u00a0BBC News Magazine\u00a0piece on numbers stations, which includes an interview with\u00a0Akin Fernandez, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"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":5882,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/david-gorens-numbers-station-installation-audio\/","url_meta":{"origin":27326,"position":5},"title":"David Goren’s numbers station installation audio","author":"Thomas","date":"March 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Two months ago, I posted that David Goren, talented radio producer and shortwave radio artist, created a Numbers Station installation in the Secret Wars exhibition\u00a0at the Proteus Gowanus gallery in Brooklyn, NY. David has recently published the audio that accompanies his installation. Take note that this is not\u00a0a radio documentary--rather,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DG-Performance-Shortwave","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/DG-Performance-Shortwave-300x225.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\/27326","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=27326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27326\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}