Do Shortwave 'Numbers Stations' Really Instruct Spies?

OTTAWA, Ontario -- "6-7-9-2-6. 5-6-9-9-0." Tune across the shortwave bands (above AM/MW), and chances are you will come across a "numbers station." There's no programming to speak of; just a mechanical-sounding voice (male or female) methodically announcing seemingly random groups of single digit numbers for minutes on end. Congratulations! You are now officially a spy-catcher, to the extent that you may have tuned into a spy agency's "numbers station" transmitting one-way instructions to their minions worldwide. Numbers stations are unidentified radio broadcasts that consist usually of a mechanical voice "reading out strings of seemingly random numbers," explained Lewis Bush, author of "Shadows of the State" a new history of numbers stations and the spies who run them. "These are sometimes accompanied by music, tones or other sound effects." He said. "There are also related stations broadcasting in Morse Code and digital modes."

from Daily dxerhamradionews http://ift.tt/2EEm24j
via IFTTT