{"id":27388,"date":"2017-08-02T09:50:49","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T13:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=27388"},"modified":"2017-08-02T14:13:07","modified_gmt":"2017-08-02T18:13:07","slug":"the-ghostly-radio-station-that-no-one-claims-to-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/the-ghostly-radio-station-that-no-one-claims-to-run\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ghostly Radio Station that No One Claims to Run"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

There is a great article by Zaria Gorvett in the BBC Future online magazine concerning several transmitting stations which have baffled folks for decades.<\/p>\n

Here is a brief introduction:<\/p>\n

In the middle of a Russian swampland, not far from the city of St Petersburg, is a rectangular iron gate. Beyond its rusted bars is a collection of radio towers, abandoned buildings and power lines bordered by a dry-stone wall. This sinister location<\/a> is the focus of a mystery which stretches back to the height of the Cold War.<\/p>\n

It is thought to be the headquarters of a radio station, \u201cMDZhB\u201d, that no-one has ever claimed to run. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for the last three-and-a-half decades, it\u2019s been broadcasting a dull, monotonous tone. Every few seconds it\u2019s joined by a second sound, like some ghostly ship sounding its foghorn. Then the drone continues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once or twice a week, a man or woman will read out some words in Russian<\/a>, such as \u201cdinghy\u201d or \u201cfarming specialist\u201d. And that\u2019s it. Anyone, anywhere in the world can listen in, simply by tuning a radio to the frequency 4625 kHz.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so enigmatic, it\u2019s as if it was designed with conspiracy theorists in mind. Today the station has an online following numbering in the tens of thousands, who know it affectionately as \u201cthe Buzzer\u201d. It joins two similar mystery stations, \u201cthe Pip<\/a>\u201d and the \u201cSqueaky Wheel<\/a>\u201d. As their fans readily admit themselves<\/a>, they have absolutely no idea what they are listening to.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The whole article is a highly enjoyable read – check it out!<\/a> 73, Robert AK3Q<\/p>\n

Robert Gulley, AK3Q,\u00a0is the author of this post and a regular contributor<\/a> to the SWLing Post. Robert also blogs<\/em>\u00a0at All Things Radio<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a great article by Zaria Gorvett in the BBC Future online magazine concerning several transmitting stations which have baffled folks for decades. Here is a brief introduction: In the middle of a Russian swampland, not far from the city of St Petersburg, is a rectangular iron gate. Beyond its rusted bars is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"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":[104,3177,4088,4014,615],"class_list":["post-27388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-numbers-stations","category-shortwave-radio","tag-bbc","tag-buzzer","tag-numbers-stations","tag-robert-gulley-ak3q","tag-the-buzzer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-77K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51916,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/bbc-newshour-reports-jamming-of-uvb-76-the-buzzer-with-music-and-digital-imagery\/","url_meta":{"origin":27388,"position":0},"title":"BBC Newshour Reports Jamming of UVB-76 (The Buzzer) With Music and Digital Imagery","author":"Thomas","date":"February 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark, who writes: Thomas, The morning (EST) edition of BBC Newshour on Wednesday presented a five-minute report on the jamming of Russian shortwave mystery station UVB-76 (The Buzzer) with music and digital imagery. Newshour - Uncertainty over Russian 'de-escalation' near Ukraine - BBC Sounds\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\/2013\/08\/UVB-76-detail.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/UVB-76-detail.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/UVB-76-detail.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/UVB-76-detail.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44447,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/richard-shares-recordings-of-the-buzzer\/","url_meta":{"origin":27388,"position":1},"title":"Richard shares recordings of The Buzzer","author":"Thomas","date":"July 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Lacroix, I was intrigued by your post, \"The ghostly radio station that no one claims to run (BBC Future)\". I attempted to listening to the station on 4625 kHz from my home location here in Toronto, Ontario Canada but unfortunately could not receive\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\/2020\/07\/TheBuzzer_2020-07-18_011335-KiwiSDR-Waterfall-e1595417023639.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/TheBuzzer_2020-07-18_011335-KiwiSDR-Waterfall-e1595417023639.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/TheBuzzer_2020-07-18_011335-KiwiSDR-Waterfall-e1595417023639.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/TheBuzzer_2020-07-18_011335-KiwiSDR-Waterfall-e1595417023639.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30032,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/mdzhb-featured-in-bbc-futures-best-of-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":27388,"position":2},"title":"MDZhB featured in BBC Future’s “Best of 2017”","author":"Thomas","date":"January 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Golan Klinger, who shares the following article which was elected \"Best Of 2017\"\u00a0on the BBC Future website: \u201cMDZhB\u201d has been broadcasting since 1982. No one knows why. In the middle of a Russian swampland, not far from the city of St Petersburg, is a rectangular\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":15406,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/uvb-76-the-buzzer-surfaces-on-6998-khz\/","url_meta":{"origin":27388,"position":3},"title":"UVB-76: The Buzzer surfaces on 6,998 kHz","author":"Thomas","date":"November 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My buddy,\u00a0Andrea Borgnino, recently heard UVB-76 (The Buzzer) on 6,998 kHz with his Elecraft K3 in Italy. Check out this short video: New buzzer on 6998 khz received in Roma @sicral @dxcoffee @SWLingDotCom @LondonShortwave @priyom_org @Spy_Stations pic.twitter.com\/nd5cBkDTEh \u2014 Andrea Borgnino (@aborgnino) November 1, 2015 While the audio sounds identical to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo: Andrea Borgnino","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Elecraft-K3-UVB-76-Buzzer.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Elecraft-K3-UVB-76-Buzzer.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Elecraft-K3-UVB-76-Buzzer.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40655,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/numbers-station-uvb-76-a-new-buzzer-twin-on-4810-khz\/","url_meta":{"origin":27388,"position":4},"title":"Numbers Station UVB-76: A New Buzzer Twin on 4810 kHz","author":"Thomas","date":"November 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom (DF5JL), who writes: \u00a0 Who doesn't know the mysterious station \"The Buzzer\" on 4625 kHz - but now it gets even more exciting: Because since today \"The Buzzer\" has a twin that transmits on 4810 kHz - fully synchronous. And to make to\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\/2019\/11\/The-Buzzer-Numbers-Station-Waterfall-4810.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/The-Buzzer-Numbers-Station-Waterfall-4810.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/The-Buzzer-Numbers-Station-Waterfall-4810.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/The-Buzzer-Numbers-Station-Waterfall-4810.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7138,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/russian-numbers-station-uvb-76-the-most-mysterious-radio-transmission-in-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":27388,"position":5},"title":"Russian Numbers Station UVB-76: “the most mysterious radio transmission in the world”","author":"Thomas","date":"August 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"James Cook, associate editor, at The Kernal has written an excellent article about the Russian numbers station UVB-76. Those of us who listen to numbers stations are very familiar with this reliable buzzer on 4.625 MHz. Cook writes: The radio signal that occupies 4625 kHz has reportedly been broadcasting since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"UVB-76-detail","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/UVB-76-detail-300x100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27388","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\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27388\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}