8375kHz Chinese Numbers Station - designated Enigma code V22

[Yodovannn]

Aliens are among us. But you people keep consume. Resistance is useless ;)

[AtomicExplosion95695]

I have a radio for FM/AM music and stuff. How do i picked up number stations?

[MattExzy]

@AtomicExplosion95695 Well you don't need a 'special' awesome radio, just any radio that can tune shortwave bands, ie, 4-30MHz. Heaps on eBay, but the number of number stations has shrunk, but there's still lots of interesting things on shortwave.

[igorhb]

@AtomicExplosion95695 There's websdr on the internet.

[sharki9876]

what are these things used for?

what kind of radio do you need for them?

[HarvestmanMan]

@sharki9876 Nothing special, just a shortwave radio.

However, I use a portable Grundig with built-in antenna, and I've monitored several common numbers station frequencies and never gotten anything...

Is there a USA regional list of what can be heard?

[linutas]

@HarvestmanMan you need a better antenna, its almost imposible to hear something like this with built in antenna. Make a longwire you lazy person!

[pcjhappystation]

Not rare.

They are daily on 10520khz at 0500UTC and 0600UTC.

[MattExzy]

@pcjhappystation Cheers, still trying to get it again.. Was recorded during solar minimum, so it was relatively rare at the time

[gamerdude448]

whats the deal with all this spy stuff???

[torkolv97]

Where can i get a numbers station, or something similar? I want to be able to send out long-rang radio communications, encrypted(LOL spy a bit much?) to people.

[guruguruponchan27]

Do you have like a more high tech kind of radio? I have a shortwave but it seems to me like its a little lacking, and I haven't been able to pickup any number stations yet.

[BrownyTCat]

Led paint number station

[xtreme01hac10docter]

Whats a number station? anyone help me out Im new to this stuff and i love it!

[alasanof]

If there's no message, then why is there a message?

[wilsonmess2]

『全国收听台，全国收听台，北京呼叫，北京呼叫，现在无报』("­All listening stations in the country, all listening stations in the country, Beijing calling, Beijing calling, currently there is no message.") Sounds like the voice was recorded in the Cultural Revolution :)

[DJBassEnergy]

you know why its rare? yeah cuz none cares xD

[MattExzy]

@DJBassEnergy It's not on the Conet Project. That was a pretty comprehensive documentation of such stations. I personally didn't expect to have 200k views on grainy recordings of bizarre transmissions, so maybe someone cares :d

[DJBassEnergy]

@MattExzy i have no idea what ur talking about but i think most ppl are just bored x)

[GmodHelperXD]

@DJBassEnergy Maybe.... Cuz Your Not Rare....Maybe Cuz Your a Person Who Is Most Of The People Who Are Low Lifes.....Who Don't Be Damned....About This....

[DJBassEnergy]

@GmodHelperXD That dosnt make any sense! xDi was bored ok? just had to say something and come on.. i have a point ;P it dosnt mean i think this is pointless! but usally rare things are old, left behind things ..that none did care about.. right?

[MattExzy]

@DJBassEnergy There's many old things. Like religion. And for some reason everyone is still fighting about that. Rarity doesn't mean it's valueless. Hobbyists just like to compare notes, that's what this is really for. Someone will come on and say "this isn't rare!" but I'd still really, really like to see their recording of it.

[DJBassEnergy]

@MattExzy come on guys! besides i sais "usally" and that ppl "didnt" care about it, not "arnt". if someone is pissd at me here im sorry.

[Rcrby525]

@DJBassEnergy go back to mixing music, then one day when the US is attacked we will know of it because we tune into these stations.

[DJBassEnergy]

@Rcrby525 Seriusly, still not over this? im sorry ok! ..and if the US is getting attacked, what use can you get from a recording of someone repeting some number over and over?

[MattExzy]

@DJBassEnergy Not much can be taken from numbers stations alone, but it can be a sort of "traffic analysis". During increased political tension, these things can go berserk. If you can imagine a country facing invasion, a numbers station link could become crucial if all of its communications were being monitored/cut off. But the US faces more of a threat from terrorism and the like, so I wouldn't read too much from the Chinese ones :)

[gildedlink]

@DJBassEnergy this is an unusual number station simply because it acknowledges when there is no active message being sent (according to the person translating it here as "there is no message at this time." In other words, the minute they start sending messages with it, any intel agency worth its salt listening in is going to infer something is up.

Also, number strings are speculated to be for 1 time encryption ciphers. Intercept the message pads and the transmission, you intercept a message.

[redragon200]

i have an enormous knob

[MattExzy]

@redragon200 Women are great at fine tuning them

[codownni]

will you tell me what are "spy number stations"? TY

[GECP4256]

@MattExzy XD

[guthywoodry]

@redragon200

Everyone believes you.

Just make a video & we'll send you a prize!

[guthywoodry]

Sounds like the lady at my local Chinese-takeaway reading the menu to me down the phone.

Strange. -Maybe she knows something I don't....

[dxdx100xkx]

我 一 个 字 都 没 听 清 楚 -_-|||

[N0rthwestRadio]

That was a good capture Matt.

[BPhoenixProductions]

I can't stop watching these videos, even though they creep the heck out of me.

[MattExzy]

@BPhoenixProductions I suggest you don't stop ;) These sounds can get the better of you though, ethereal and addictive.

[BPhoenixProductions]

@MattExzy Well, I DID download The Conet Project, but that's beside the point.

[Skate1aw]

@BPhoenixProductions whahah i know right same with me im almost pissing my pants and shit but its so mysterious xD

[HellFireUlisses]

@BPhoenixProductions why? its just someone talking, if in fact it really is.

[BPhoenixProductions]

@HellFireUlisses

I know, but it's really freakin creepy to me. Must be the background ambience or something.

[HellFireUlisses]

@BPhoenixProductions i wonder what happens if you saw those suicide mouse or other actual purpose creepy pasta, or even those creepy pasta wannabe like polybius video game.

[BPhoenixProductions]

@HellFireUlisses

I saw Candle Cove. I was slightly disturbed, but not too bad.

Whyyes.wmv (which scares some people for some reason) was hilarious to me.

Haven't seen suicidemouse yet.

The only song that has any effect in that Peanut guy's "Disturbing Video Game Music" playlist is Giygas' theme (people have seemed to be really scared by that), which doesn't have much effect. I listen to it all the time, and love it.

[HellFireUlisses]

@BPhoenixProductions haha yes, and gyigas yeah. and suicide mouse u have to watch it, mainly if you know candle cove already, you have watched suicide mouse first than candle cove (you will understand why after you see suicide mouse) heheh.

[BPhoenixProductions]

@HellFireUlisses

I've heard the screaming in the background is the same, which is what you're implying.

Also, that "Poochie" and whatever MS Paint cartoon that turns into a creepypasta? Freakin hilarious. I subbed to the guy, but he stopped making cartoons. *sadfaic*

[cod4madass]

@BPhoenixProductions they creep the crap out me too theres just something about them thats wierd.

[ross817]

@BPhoenixProductions I can't stop watching these videos BECAUSE they creep the heck out of me.

[lucadepu]

music po po powa du dun dun dun dababadada

[lucadepu]

what do you use to intercept them?

[N0rthwestRadio]

Hold on, wait a min, I have a dog here that can decode this transmission somehow. From what I am understanding this is an encoded version of Numa Numa. Facinating!

APRIL FOOLS EVERYONE!!

[G0IFI]

Certainly a good catch of a transmitter test. What its purpose is we'll probably never know.

[CleoTheSim]

Usually, I'm entertained by the strangeness of these recordings....but this one makes me kind of paranoid. Weird.

[MattExzy]

@CleoTheSim you and me both ;)

[cod4madass]

@CleoTheSim paranoid isnt the word the really freak me out

[AtomicExplosion95695]

@cod4madass

We're both one in the same, you and I. The CIA, the KGB, MI5...

they all want us

This is why the number stations give us fear.

[cod4madass]

@AtomicExplosion95695 Do You Know The Point In These Stations? i Pick Them Up On 8meters SomeTimes

[AtomicExplosion95695]

@cod4madass They want us. They're coming for us.

[SWL1409]

Strangely signal...

[c0ckface]

Its almost hypnotic - has a lovely rhythm

[mejorization]

Where was this received?

[mejorization]

全国收听台 (x3)

北京呼叫 (x2)

现在无报

There we go.

[mejorization]

You have the translation wrong. The last part says "There is currently no message", not "Thanks".

source: Chinese

[MattExzy]

Thanks! lol

[sidecarcn]

Not very rare. I can pick a few of these up at 0500UTC, 0700UTC, 0900UTC, 1200UTC, 1600UTC. Mostly on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Try the following frequencies 10075khz, 10035khz, 8975khz, 8420khz which tend to be more regular. From what I have been able to find out this one is from the PRC, but from time to time you can also hear ones from the ROC.

[MattExzy]

Cheers for the freqs; I labeled this one as rare, and as such even a year later and listening at the same times, I haven't heard it on this frequency since.

[willfox12345]

*ringtone get*

[u2basher]

Many of these stations are sending numbers by Morse (CW) because of its propagation characteristics.....so Morse is coming back of its own and this is good. It was almost a lost art.

[jasong19711]

I'll bet a LOT of people are buying shortwave radios , both one & two way, even brushing up on morse code because of all the 2012 hype going on now.

[CanarinoMannar0]

excellent!

[tiebiatongmu]

the message goes something like this:' attention to all receiving stations within the country(China), this is beijing calling, this is beijing calling, theres no message at this time", and it just keeps going and going.

[MattExzy]

Thank you very much for that translation :)

[tiebiatongmu]

np, im a numbers station enthusiat as well :), one of my friend's dad used to work for stations like this back in china lol

[MattExzy]

Woa really?? Your friend's dad would be a very interesting person to have a conversation with! That's if they would let him lol! I hadn't checked this video in a while, it's had like 2000 views in the past week, and for a low quality recording of a covert message being said in Mandarin, it's a bit crazy. Still haven't heard this one back since, but a few people have mentioned being able to tune it. Keep listening :)

[tiebiatongmu]

srry for the late reply, i've been working on my summer course. i srched for this frq in one of chinese radio enthusiast forums and one dude msged me saying that hes been listening to this station since late 60s and it was relaying weather msg back and forth between beijing and guangzhou, since many of the rural areas in china at that time didn't have land lines so they can only rely on the forecast from the weather stations out of these two cities.

[tiebiatongmu]

my guess is that this station is doing just radio checks most of the time now.

[MattExzy]

Oh wow ok, interesting stuff, so this freq was used to relay weather! I've found a few other recordings on the net where it appears to be reading numbers from what I can tell, maybe they changed its purpose since then. And you're right, I think it does just do checks over that frequency, examples of it sending numbers are very rare to find. Thanks!

[LeoE08]

how were you all able to dicipher the message?

[MattExzy]

There was no actual spy "message" per se, that translation is the station simply giving an identification. If it was sending spy traffic, there'd be a string of numbers after that call up message :)

[inuyasha4409]

go to around channel 6 to 7 on a radio and see if you get anything, i get a weird signal here in my area, in central pa

[splosson]

wow, that's so cool! :)

i don't know much about radios but i want to have this type of radio and do the same things you're doing, especially with DPRK radio...

[MattExzy]

Excellent, good luck! You'll need a big antenna, some wire running to the radio antenna near a window should work. I think there's currently a few DPRK radio stations, one on around 4450kHz and the other on 6250kHz, but sometimes they're jammed by the South.

[splosson]

oh, thank you!

[CapnSONiC]

hey nice catch ;)

[MattExzy]

Thanks a lot! I still try to listen out for it every-so-often, still nothing yet unfortunately...

[Plagueth]

Its saying like

China is wonderful/great (x3)

then trying to stick a secret message between them. lol

[Hannibal2046]

Nice find.

Number stations are extremely fascinating to me. :)

[LCduT]

'All listening stations in the country', 'Beijing [something]', 'Currently no message'. I'm not overly sure about this though...

[BIMMERKID2]

*signal

[BIMMERKID2]

The single was bout 2x but averaged between 2 and 6 strength. Interesting that I heard this in Central US in Minnesota!

[BIMMERKID2]

Also, on the other perfect example of V22 giving a message to V19 back in 199, i believe what is being said is:Guangzhou, this Beijing calling, do you copy(receive).. Guangzhou, this Beijing calling, do you copy(receive).. Guangzhou, this Beijing calling, do you copy(receive).. Beijing has a message, stand by to copy... (then the message follows.)

[BIMMERKID2]

IT sounded very similar to your recording.

[BIMMERKID2]

I was just wondering, because I thought I might have heard it on Tuesday night/Wednesday Morning.

[BIMMERKID2]

I'm guessing this is a Spy Station?

[MattExzy]

Certainly is :) I still haven't heard it since though, so it doesn't appear to stick to a schedule like Mossad's E10 numbers station.

[BIMMERKID2]

I don't know, but it seems, according to my GF, that shes saying.. Guangzhou, this Beijing calling, do you copy(receive).. (but the problem is that my GF speaks Cantonese and this woman is speaking Mandarin.)(fyi, theres supposedly a V19 that broadcasts as Guangzhou.) She also said it could also mean roughly as you said...... so maybe it is:

All listening stations in the country, This is Beijing calling, Guangzhou, do you copy(recieve?). Thank you..

[MattExzy]

Excellent info, thanks for the translation! So I wonder if it was a transmission test if the message was also asking "do you copy?" Then I would wonder how the person on the other end would confirm that they were getting the message...

Interesting stuff, it's still a baffling station.

[HEHENigel]

listning to that at 3:30 in the morning is scary is hell!!

[MattExzy]

I think I recorded it at about 2am when it was broadcast, it was definitely spooky to say the least.

[moribund112]

Well the great thing is Youtube isn't blocked here in China - at least not at the moment. Slow yes, but not blocked!

That being said certain videos will NOT load, but I'm happy to say yours did. I've tried picking up number stations on my Tecsun BCL-3000 here, but for the most part many stations are being jammed by Firedrake. Disappointing!

Great video, thanks!

[MattExzy]

Thanks for the info! I was actually reading that the block was lifted in March, but I'd imagine it'd be regulated. Interesting how some videos won't load. Any idea which number stations Firedrake is jamming?

[LCduT]

I'm curious as to what you can receive (or indeed what reception is like in the Eastern hemisphere in general). I'm in W.Europe and get the Firedrake loud and wobbly, but generally not on number stations (I'm assuming anyway - for some reason Firedrake doesn't bc or propagate below the mid 7000s for me).

[LCduT]

Good catch!

[MattExzy]

Thanks! It certainly took me by surprise, I really wasn't expecting it to be then and there.