Number Stations Revealed - Part 1 of 6: The Spanish Voice Behind The "Atencion" Numbers Station

[limon276]

Some many years ago, in Maracay, Venezuela I heard this signal at 3:00 AM (11:00PM, UTC) but I don't remember in what frequency. When the transmission ended, I heard the message "Final, final, final". The last thing I suspected was that the transmission came from Cuba.

[torch39]

Very Nice! Would love to have one.

[TheBrutusbraganza]

How about the decoded message itd be cool to know what that was about

[picaticatara]

OCCUPY THE BORDER

[cekart]

well it looks like a demonstration but that is not the actual voice of the lady... i have heard the transmissions live and the voice is different. That voice sounds south-american, and the voice on the station sounds 100% cuban.... just wanted to point that out... but nice video tho

[PeterStaal01]

@cekart

You are correct that this is not the same voice anymore as you hear it nowadays.

However, the circuit board and the voice samples it contains were definitely made for Cuba.

Bear in mind that this machine originated from the 80's.

I couldn't tell you how Cuban number station(s) are currently being operated.

[cekart]

@PeterStaal01 you are quite right in that

[irvykinneas]

wats the point

[JBLAZE999]

@irvykinneas search for numbers stations HF, very interesting.

[irvykinneas]

@JBLAZE999 indeed it is, thank you

[bhrmaximo]

Portal? is that a number?

[bhrmaximo]

Portal?

[RomanticLinguaphilia]

I like her voice.

[fawas92]

Who looked this up because of Black Ops?

[dreammaker182]

@fawas92 I knew about this years before Black Ops... The station in Black Ops is nothing like the ones in real life...lol

[LikaLaruku]

Numbers Station Operators; the original Vocaloids.

[PeterStaal01]

@izafet

This machine belongs to a collector and is not mine.

[feebdaed]

@PeterStaal01 how did the collector get it? what was it for?

[PeterStaal01]

@feebdaed

Try eBay.......not joking BTW.

[feebdaed]

@PeterStaal01 i mean, i don't think those things have any market outside number station-makers.. so it would be intersting to know who produced it, what it was used for and who sold it

[PeterStaal01]

Does nobody read the information supplied right under the video's anymore?

As mentioned before: it was made by the East-German government for usage within it's own territory, the Soviet Union and Cuba.

So when talking about the Cold War period one can't really talk about "a market" in the sense that we know it nowadays.

It's was mutual support for the socialist cause.

East-Germany was technically very skilled and (as an example) the Soviet Union had servicemen in the DDR in support of the regime

[jimmy4841]

0 in Spanish is fail?

[kb5wqw]

Interesting.

[KC8YOQ]

I used to listen all the time but I was out of the SWL hobby for a long time! I now have an FRG 7700 and want to hear the numbers stations again! Can you give me some frequencies/

thanks

[kriss3d]

@KC8YOQ 4-12mhz during evenings

[RadioHamGuy]

@KC8YOQ I hear them a lot here in Minnesota a lot in the evenings around 5883, 5800, 5898 Khz...

[GearzVoNKod3]

of course the woman exists. It is still her voice recorded into the cards. Machines, do this day, cannot still accurately synthesize human voice. Its cheaper, and easier to record a person saying individual characters in a monotone, and recalling them later.

[PeterStaal01]

@GearzVoNKod3

That is correct.

But my estimate is that this woman is by now of elderly age or deceased already.

The woman behind the German voice on the other end is still very much alive I can tell you.

[kmikl]

@GearzVoNKod3 Buzzer's announcer is supposedly a Russian Jew that does the announcements live.

[ITSbigwillystyle]

MUST KILL PRESIDENT.....

[mlovmo]

@ITSbigwillystyle

Must kill Pap-schmear....Must kill Pap-schmear....

[cowtippingrocks]

hey thats awesome! i have uploaded some videos of that transmission, and after seeing your video, it makes sense that woman dosent really exist :D

[MattExzy]

@cowtippingrocks Don't say that, she exists in my heart :P

[xlndustrialx]

Exellent video, i never thought i would see one of these devices,

thanks for the insight peter.

[maxchs]

Huh? what happen? who am I?

[Lonarl]

@maxchs hah, I like the fringe reference ;)

[maxchs]

@Lonarl yeah i saw the episode, it was cool. too bad my country doesn't have number station, i think. i would be listening it all night

[BLACKIESBOY]

Man, I want one of those things. 

[yupwerescrewed]

so this is it huh? funny i was expecting so much more..

[fitzwarine09]

I FOUND this station once! Baffled the hell out of me, and scared the wife, too.

[LCduT]

Holy cow!

[george77772moons]

I feel like a fucking codemaster watching this... Frequency and location of this?

[dreammaker182]

@george77772moons the frequencies and times change through out the year. There is a database that is kept up to date with frequency and time predictions for the broadcast. The V2 lady usually sounds weak on a decent carrier (from the south eastern US)... She has even been known to interfere on Radio Habanna Cuba's shortwave station in the past. You will usually hear this station using AM as opposed to SSB. just search for "V2 numbers station".

[g7txu]

A very interesting insight, obliged

[JohnnyX50]

Wow!

[schmuckfeatures]

Wow, it's like a totally low-tech Fairlight CMI.