Can Anyone Break the Numbers Code(Shortwave Radio)

I'm a long time DX'er, and have always been mystified at the female'robotic' voice, that spurts out a string of 5 digits, in various languages. The voice has been transmitting for many years now, on different frequencies and meter bands. Here a little background for those who don't know what I'm talking about:

Numbers Stations

Well over a hundred "numbers" or "spy" stations have
been reported, all rather closely following a pattern. On the
typical numbers station, the announcer is - or seems to be -
a woman. No one knows who the woman is or where she is
broadcasting from. She speaks Spanish, German, or Korean.
Save for a few words at the begining and the end of the
transmission, the message consists of reandom numbers,
announced in groups of five, four, or, rarely, three digits.
As with the Morse code stations, the numbers stations are all
on unauthorized frequencies. No government or organization
owns up to the broadcasts; offically, at least, the FCC
claims no knowledge of them.
Many of those who have listened to the broadcasts
carefully are convinced that the woman is in fact a robot.
The voice has a mechanical ring, somtimes a click between
each digit. It seems to be the same type of device used by
the telephone company to give the time or to forward phone
numbers.
The exact format of the messages varies with the
language and number of digits per group. With Spanish, five
digit groups, for example, a typical transmission might be:

Atencion 290 22...Atencion 290 22...Atencion 290 22
...65438...34742...23453...23454...29584...24836...
22334...34635...10202...19375...34653...23457...
12345...94532...24643...27543...14795...24568...
75744...74755...87194...63549...Final,final.

Broadcasts are during the night hours of North America
and seem to start shortly after the hour. After the
"Final,final," the transmission stops. It is claimed that a
given transmission is repeated a few minutes later on a
slightly different frequency.
There seems to be no escaping the conclusion that the
messages are numerical code. The second number (22 in the
example) - is the number of digit groups in the message.
There dosen't seem to be any demonstrable significance to the
first number although it probably has some signifigance. Some
think it is an identifying number for the sender or the
receiver. It may also indentify the code used if there is
more than one. Note that the numbers above are only random
(except for 22) and were never really broadcast.
The four-digit transmissions in Spanish are different. A
three-digit number (perhaps that of the sender or receiver)
is repeated several times, followed by the digits 1 through
10. ("uno, dos, tres...") and a string of Morse code dashes.
the word "grupo" is followed by the number of four-digit
groups to come and repeated once - for example, "Grupo 22,
grupo 22." The message - groups of four Spanish numbers -
follows. At the end the voice says, "Repito grupo 22," and
the message repeats. The station goes off the air after the
repeat.
Any attempt to explain these broadcasts is complicated
by numbers broadcasts in other languages. There are also
broadcasts in German, Korean, and English. Occasional
transmissions in Russian, French, Portuguese, and even
Serbo-Croatian are reported. Somtimes a male (mechanical?)
voice reads the numbers. The female robot voice doing English
language broadcasts is often described as having an Oriental
or German accent. Typical of the uncertainty surrounding
numbers stations are the reported English messages prefaced
with a female voice saying "Groups disinformation" and ending
with "End of disinformation." Perhaps the voice machine has a
bad rendering of "This information."

And here is a list of frequencies:

Frequency Male language
(KHz) Female
--------- ------ --------

3060 F S (All are numbers stations
3090 F S unless otherwise noted)
3365 M SC
4640 M S
4642 F F
4670 F S&E Numbers & phonetic
4740 M S&P Interlude from Aida
4770 F G
5020 F S
5075 F S
5110 M C Slavic musical interlude
5812 F S
6770 F S
6790 F S
8875 F S
9040 F S&E
9345 F S
9450 F E + Musical tones
9463 F S
9950 F S
10450 F K
10500 F G
10532 F S
11545 F G
11618 F G
11635 F S
13320 M R
14947 F G
14970 F E + Beep tones
23120 F G
30050 E
30250 E
30420 E
30470 E


More Here

There is much speculation on the origin and purpose of the code. Yet, no-one has been able to decipher it.


Do we have a challenge here, my fellow ATS members?

Could be fun!!

Ummm...if I am not mistaken (and I am a lot of times) what you are hearing is VOA--Voice of America.
It's nothing new, they have been broadcasting "codes" since I started listening to them in the 70's
Was it a lady with an accent? --if you understand spanish you will know what I mean by the accent--(she sounds cuban or possibly from someone who grew up on the coast (costal spanish has a deep guttural(sp) sound compared to non costal)
When they do it in english, they will always say that this program is broadcast in "special" english for our friends abroad.
Legend is...it's code. But such a simple code that it is hard to break, and without the code wheel it is just a bunch of numbers

From what I understand, this is not the VOA. Some have speculated the Cuban government, Central and South American Rebel groups, or drug trafickers.

There is no 'announcement' before the broadcast. There is no accent, since the voice is 'robotic', in monotone.

Still perplexing.....

Originally posted by nathraq
From what I understand, this is not the VOA. Some have speculated the Cuban government, Central and South American Rebel groups, or drug trafickers.

There is no 'announcement' before the broadcast. There is no accent, since the voice is 'robotic', in monotone.

Still perplexing.....

Huh...then this is a different transmission, the lady I remember hearing was "live" but she did ay the numbers like you indicated above...maybe they have just modernized.

Here is some info for you (of course beeing a DX'er you probaly know this though)


"Spy Numbers Transmissions" are a shortwave oddity which have been around
for the last 25 years.
www.elfis.net...


www.cybercollege.com...

Who operates those weird "numbers stations" on shortwave radio?


www.straightdope.com...

Introduction to Spy Numbers Transmissions
www.cvni.net...

Typical Government Propaganda B.S., paid for by the U.S. Taxpayer and spread around the world. However, this 'Information' which is being paid for by Americans, is also UNACCESSIBLE to Americans!! Gee, I can't imagine why that is???

From Voice of America Website
www.voa.gov...

Budget: For Fiscal Year 2004, the U.S. Congress appropriated $151 million for VOA, including funds for radio and television, exclusive of transmission and other support activities.

VOA Newscenter: The newly opened VOA Newscenter has five radio studios, one television studio with three sets, and one intake center for correspondent reports. Its staff of writers and editors produce more than 150 news reports each day.

Tuning in to VOA: VOA broadcasts via shortwave, AM, and FM radio, satellite television and the Internet via www.voanews.com. Section 501 of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 prohibits VOA from broadcasting into the United States.

VOA Headquarters: VOA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., at the foot of Capitol Hill on Independence Avenue, between 3rd and 4th Streets, S.W. Most programming is produced at this location and broadcast to listeners, viewers, and affiliate stations around the world. The building is equipped with 55 radio studios, seven television studios, a digital stereo master control facility capable of switching 512 incoming circuits and 448 outgoing circuits, and three intake centers to record live radio and television reports from VOA correspondents worldwide. The recently deployed Dalet Digital Media System provides radio broadcasters with the capability to edit and produce radio programs from their desktop computers. The Dalet system is also used throughout the studio facilities and broadcast automation systems for radio production and on-air broadcasts.

Sounds to me like VOA is a Very Well Designed Propaganda Headquarters, complete with a new system designed to 'Edit' the News before it is broadcast to the rest of the world. That sure makes it easy to put the right 'Spin' on the Truth doesn't it?? All that equipment and resources paid for by people who aren't even allowed to partake in its use.

Yep, just one more way our own government is lying and stealing from us, while they mislead the rest of the world in the name of 'America, The Land of the Free & Brave and Perfect Democratic Policy and Concern for it's People'. What a bunch of SH*T!!

Let it be known, for all you VOA listeners out there. "It is the U.S. Government, in all it's various manifestations, forms and divisions, that is
THE POISONOUS, HEARTLESS, SOULLESS, MINDLESS, DISEASE WHICH IS KILLING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE & IDEALS WHICH ONCE MADE IT A GREAT LAND.
Thank you and now back to your regular Programming."