The Numbers Stations and The Conet Project.

I did a search on ATS and didnt find too many threads that focus specifically on just this. Other than another thread about a hoax website that had to do with The Conet Project. Then again I just saw theres a new type of search engine that only is pulling up one page of stuff.

I've been listening to shortwave for a couple of years now, and when I stumbled on the voices that relayed crypted number messages, it completely blew my mind. I eventually ordered The Conet Project disks, but they seem hard to find. It's such a mysterious subject and well worth the attention. More than what it's been given, especially here.

I think it would be proper to briefly explain what numbers stations and the Conet Project is, just in case for those who aren't aware or know little about it.

Taken from wikipedia link:

A numbers station (or number station) is a type of shortwave radio station characterized by their unusual broadcasts, which consist of spoken words, but mostly numbers, often created by artificially generated voices reading streams of numbers, words, letters, tunes or Morse code. They are transmitted in a wide variety of languages and the voices are usually female, although sometimes men's or children's voices are used.

and for The Conet Project

The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations is a four-CD set of recordings of numbers stations, mysterious shortwave radio stations of uncertain origin believed to be operated by government agencies to communicate with spies "in the field".

The Conet Project recordings, while can be bought on CD are available to be listened to at the public domain site Archive.org. archive.org.... The comments near the end are great, worth reading, too.

The upside to buying the CDs is that it comes with a 70+ page booklet that goes into more detail about numbers stations and how they encrypt the messages, individually explains each of the 150 recordings a bit, information about ENIGMA (explained below), and lots of other things regarding numbers stations like additional resources and books.

Here is an excerpt from the Archive website:

One might think that these espionage activities should have wound down considerably since the official end of the cold war, but nothing could be further from the truth. Numbers Stations (and by inference, spies) are as busy as ever, with many new and bizarre stations appearing since the fall of the Berlin wall.

Why is it that in over 30 years, the phenomenon of Numbers Stations has gone almost totally unreported? What are the agencies behind the Numbers Stations, and why are the eastern European stations still on the air? Why does the Czech republic operate a Numbers Station 24 hours a day? How is it that Numbers Stations are allowed to interfere with essential radio services like air traffic control and shipping without having to answer to anybody? Why does the Swedish Rhapsody Numbers Station use a small girls voice?

These are just some of the questions that remain unanswered.

There's a few good websites that go into the deep detail of the numbers stations.

One being SpyNumbers.com
They have a database of numbers stations that could be on at any given time, as well as, the last documented time they were heard and various other documented information. The database is very detailed.


Theres a group named E.N.I.G.M.A which stands for the European Numbers Information Gathering and Monitoring Association. The Conet Project booklet states they are a non-profit association of listeners that gather information about numbers stations that are not normally available from mainstream publications.

There is ALSO a different type of numbers stations that go by the prefix 'X' given by ENIGMA. Instead of voices they send out noises such as buzzing or low and high tones that make them sound musical.


Please check this out. It's very much worth it.

Heres the website for E.N.I.G.M.A.
www.brogers.dsl.pipex.com...

Here's a blog article from ShortWave America compiling tons of useful links for more information
shortwaveamerica.blogspot.com... mprehensive.html

Here's the place that sell copies of the Conet Project CD + Booklet. Although I found 1 on amazon and only 1 on ebay.
www.irdial.com...

Here is Simon Mason's website (One of the men who recorded some of the Conet Project recordings) detailing what looks like hundreds of links and pictures for the numbers stations he uncovered and his attempts at cracking them.
www.simonmason.karoo.net...

SECRET SIGNALS - THE EURONUMBERS MYSTERY By Simon Mason
www.simonmason.karoo.net...



EDIT///
I found the whole Conet Project booklet available online FREE.
HERE.
It goes into great detaill of information.

Theres A LOT of information but you really have to look. It won't be on the surface. Obviously.

reply to post by TwelveFifty

I've been listening to shortwave for a couple of years now, and when I stumbled on the voices that relayed crypted number messages, it completely blew my mind.

Very interesting.
What frequency did you receive those at?

This enigma gave LOST it's french recording number with a twist...

I am tagging on to read later!

reply to post by TwelveFifty


Sweet thread.

It reminded me of something that popped up last year, there was some weird phone version of the same style of thing, but it was interactive. Known as the OTP22 series of coded messages, I participated as Randomguy and it was quite fun.

Some fun stuff......

www.globaltuners.com...

I've heard of these stations for years but never have been able to make any real "sense" to them. There seem to be too many of them that require too much effort and time for them to be a prank. They are very weird to listen to.

I would think the major spy houses would have more sophisticated communications methods than some publicly accessible voice/number code, that don't seem to have changed much from the 60's.


Where's my Numbers station app????????

Originally posted by pavil
I would think the major spy houses would have more sophisticated communications methods than some publicly accessible voice/number code, that don't seem to have changed much from the 60's.

Low tech is good. It's durable, it's cheap, it's ubiquitous, and it's easy. You can train a third world agent in low tech, and no one will question a shortwave radio they way they might ask questions about a satellite phone or some other gizmo encrypted up the wazoo.

If you think numbers stations are archaic, read this:

www.npr.org...

...and numbers stations probably don't double-post.

I used to be real big into listening to these things, several are still on the air today.

Caught v2a not too long ago, famous for the whole "cuban five" thing.

This is definitely a very interesting and curious subject to me..

It has always piqued my interest.