February 27, 2007

Shortwave operators have been tracking numbers stations for years. Stories have been done on radio and TV about these things, but this meaty site contains much clickable fun, audio and otherwise.

There's plenty here to pique one's paranoias in this still-chilly "post-cold-war" world. Plus, there's a competition for shortwave operators collecting recordings of these broadcasts. Listen to "The Swedish Rhapsody" for starts and prepare to be creeped out.

posted by kinnakeet 17 years ago
  • Bam! . . . but good! 06J92-tidy. Claire du Snort.
  • Oooops. My bad. I searched first, too... *reaches for foil hat, hangs head appropriately*
  • I read about those back in the 80s, and hearing them for the first time when the interweb made it possible was quite a thrill. Ah, and: papaya, banana, orange juice, a small steak. It's gonna be a long day.
  • Salami, lettuce and mayo sammich. Pretty boring.
  • Numbers stations creep me out. I find the whole thing incredibly fascinating, but every time I listen to an audio clip of one, I am creeped out afterward for hours.
  • Leftover chicken-and-celery stirfry with more ginger than a Gilligan's Island marathon. Mmm, mmm.
  • yes?
  • Interesting. I'm currently reading (more like stubbornly slogging through) Crypto by Steven Levy. It's about encryption making its way into the public in the U.S. despite the best efforts of the NSA.
  • I remember hearing clearly-enunciated long strings of numbers when I listened to shortwave in the late '80s. I'd change the station.
  • I remember reading about these years ago in Big Secrets and being absolutely fascinated, to the point of wanting to go out and buy a shortwave receiver. And then I found out shortwave receivers did not fit into my junior high school budget.
  • BANNINATE!!!!
  • Same here, VeraGemini--I just about memorized Big Secrets when it came out, and was thrilled--and freaked out--to find recordings of the stations available online. Listening to this stuff still gives me a weird tingle.
  • MonkeyFilter: Listening to this stuff still gives me a weird tingle.