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Subaru
1-3-2-4
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join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

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Question on radio station

This was a long time ago back in 1994/1995 but I always thought it was something odd.. but when listening to the radio and trying to find a station I ran into a station with no music but a combination of odd sounds like i.e hammering, sawing sounds and sheep or dog sounds.. I can't recall how long the station lasted I do remember when it finally went off the air Was that a pirate station?

Rap Trap
@centechgroup.com

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Rap Trap

Anon

said by Subaru:

I ran into a station with no music but a combination of odd sounds like i.e hammering, sawing sounds and sheep or dog sounds.
There is nothing extraordinary about what you heard. You're just not familiar with "rap" music, that's all.

Bach
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join:2002-02-16
Flint, MI

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Was this on FM and was the radio near computer equipment?

Computers generate this sort of noise on FM radio.

Subaru
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Subaru

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said by Bach:

Was this on FM and was the radio near computer equipment?

Computers generate this sort of noise on FM radio.
It was FM and at the time I never had a PC back then.

Bach
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join:2002-02-16
Flint, MI

Bach

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There are low-power FM transmitters that broadcast on the FM 88-108 band. For example: »www.hobbytron.com/LowPow ··· ers.html

Perhaps one of your neighbors had one and was playing around or had adapted one as a wireless room monitor. Although that doesn't explain the sheep sounds

I don't know how legal they are, I started reading through the PDF manual of one those on the page I linked, seemed to be a bunch of conditions under which they are legal or not.

Subaru
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only thing I can say is it must of been pretty near by.. too bad I can't remember where on the dial it was but I think it was kinda low..

It was more creepy then anything else at the time.

Tzale
Proud Libertarian Conservative
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said by Subaru:

This was a long time ago back in 1994/1995 but I always thought it was something odd.. but when listening to the radio and trying to find a station I ran into a station with no music but a combination of odd sounds like i.e hammering, sawing sounds and sheep or dog sounds.. I can't recall how long the station lasted I do remember when it finally went off the air Was that a pirate station?
Probably a pirate radio station... For under $1000, you can setup a nice station that can be heard over dozens of miles if far enough away from the source station so that it isn't overpowered.

A lot of NY stations run 100,000 watts + so it is hard to overpower them. FM works by "locking" on the strongest signal. This is why you will hear random parts of a signal while on the outskirts of a radio station.

-Tzale

Konec
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Anon

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said by Subaru:

It was more creepy then anything else at the time.
If you want to experience something truly creepy in the way of radio stations, try listening to a "numbers" station sometime. @_@

Subaru
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Greenwich, CT

Subaru

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said by Konec :
said by Subaru:

It was more creepy then anything else at the time.
If you want to experience something truly creepy in the way of radio stations, try listening to a "numbers" station sometime. @_@
I never thought those were creepy lol

DOStradamus
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Santa Rosa, CA

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Had cable TV at that location?

The cable system that was in my area, back in the early 80s (Viacom), ran the equivalent of a telco tone-tracer at or about 108 Mhz on the FM dial. One could tell if a cable was "live", my using a cheap FM radio the same way one would use an inductive amp on a telco circuit -- by positioning the antenna next to the cable.

The signal was strong enough to make it through quad-shield RG-6 coax, snd those who "added their own" extra cable hookups with (cheap) RG-59 cable, tended to "broadcast" that signal all the way across the street. Busted!

-NK

Subaru
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At the time I did not have cable until about a year later..
tony19727
join:2008-04-05
Oceana, WV

tony19727

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whats a "numbers" station

Subaru
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Greenwich, CT

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Subaru

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»www.dxing.com/numbers.htm

let me try and find a sound clip

Half way down the page

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu ··· _station

ImaDuffer264
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Mercer, PA

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said by Subaru:

This was a long time ago back in 1994/1995
Along time ago ? A longer time ago...maybe 25-28 years ago I remember a radio station I used to tune into occasionally around Northeast, Pa (East of Erie, Pa near the New York state line) when I was on the road a lot. I swear this guy had a small radio station set-up in his house. Sometimes he was on the air sometimes he wasn't. When he was he would talk about whatever was on his mind at the time. You'd hear him get up and get a cup of coffee or open and close a screen door or maybe get a glass of water. It was fun to listen to but the range was only about 4 or 5 miles. You couldn't pick him up from I-90 but if you were on Route 5 or 20 you could.

Every time I was in the area I would try to tune him in just to get a chuckle and to make my day a little brighter.
mocycler
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Maybe the sounds you heard were a secret code.

Reminds me of the Spanish "numbers" stations on the ham radio/shortwave bands.

A voice simply gives out seemingly random numbers, usually in Spanish.

There are lots of conspiracy theories as to who is running these operations and why. Most believe they are spies or covert government communications. Some think it is no more than an elaborate prank. The transmissions have never been conclusively explained.

mocycler

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I miss listening to Shortwave but I can't get crap inside this building now

dbuth
My Circadian Rhythm Leans To The Night
join:2001-12-23
Turlock, CA

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I believe many of you have missed a station format change. Many times when a station changes ownership, major format changes, etc. the station will play construction noises to indicate that the station is under construction. Similar to the old .jpg "under construction" on web pages waiting to go live with content. The other noises "sheep" and barnyard animals keeps the transmitter up and running with a tape loop or HDD without having to pay on air talent.

I have heard this in my area many times on Clear Channel stations changing formats.

Tzale
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said by Subaru:

»www.dxing.com/numbers.htm

let me try and find a sound clip

Half way down the page

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu ··· _station
Yup... During WWII and the Cold War, ham radio operators have decoded secret messages from the Germans and Russians that were pretty important. Pretty cool stuff. Amazing that it still exists today.

-Tzale

Konec
@fantage.com

Konec

Anon

said by Tzale:

Amazing that it still exists today.
I agree that numbers stations might seem quaint in an age where fewer and fewer people even know what shortwave radio is. But when you think about it, numbers stations still make a lot of sense.

In order to get online, I have to have an IP address. And that IP address has to have an owner. And I have to have some way to pay that owner for the use (lease) of that IP address. And arranging for payment creates risk for someone like a spy, who seeks to remain anonymous.

Not to mention the possibility of the ISP providing their 'Net access being down just when they're expecting a vital, time-sensitive set of instructions. To say nothing of Internet access being spotty (or entirely unavailable) in places like third-world countries.

Far easier, instead, for a spy to buy a pocket-sized shortwave radio, carry around a small one-time pad and get their instructions that way. I know that radio transmitters can be detected, but a pocket-sized receiver? How would you pick out such a receiver in the middle of a city?

From what I understand, spies have a history of being treated none-too-gently when they're discovered. So while I'm sure the numbers stations are expensive to operate and maintain, the cost of replacing a country's spy network is many times greater.

Tzale
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join:2004-01-06
NYC Metro

2 edits

Tzale

Premium Member

said by Konec :
said by Tzale:

Amazing that it still exists today.
I agree that numbers stations might seem quaint in an age where fewer and fewer people even know what shortwave radio is. But when you think about it, numbers stations still make a lot of sense.

In order to get online, I have to have an IP address. And that IP address has to have an owner. And I have to have some way to pay that owner for the use (lease) of that IP address. And arranging for payment creates risk for someone like a spy, who seeks to remain anonymous.

Not to mention the possibility of the ISP providing their 'Net access being down just when they're expecting a vital, time-sensitive set of instructions. To say nothing of Internet access being spotty (or entirely unavailable) in places like third-world countries.

Far easier, instead, for a spy to buy a pocket-sized shortwave radio, carry around a small one-time pad and get their instructions that way. I know that radio transmitters can be detected, but a pocket-sized receiver? How would you pick out such a receiver in the middle of a city?

From what I understand, spies have a history of being treated none-too-gently when they're discovered. So while I'm sure the numbers stations are expensive to operate and maintain, the cost of replacing a country's spy network is many times greater.
Yes, you're correct. Number stations just make a hell of a lot more sense than using the internet to communicate when acting as a spy.. Your life is literally on the line in many cases.... Though I do have to say that a handheld shortwave transceiver is unlikely. I'm an Amateur Radio operator and my shortwave system consists of a couple thousand dollars worth of radios, amplifiers, tuners, antennas and various other gadgets. I was reading about number stations... Usually they transmit a couple thousand watts to overcome a lack of propagation at any one time.. Right now we're at the bottom of the sunspot cycle so the more power you have (whether actual power or simulated power thanks to a nice antenna system), the better your chances of being heard. I can make contacts to all the continents on a few watts if propagation is right (especially using digital modes).. I don't think they can really make an effective system using a handheld radio though... For CW (morse code), maybe (called QRP)... But now for AM or SSB (phone / voice). I think these setups are mainly for one way communications since it would be far too easy to triangulate a signal in a city.. I've personally triangulated jammers on the Amateur Radio bands from 20+ miles away with a few other operators.. We got the source pinned down to a few buildings! And this guy was probably just using a handheld transceiver on the 2 meter band. Nothing like announcing the ADDRESS / BLOCK of the person jamming... They quickly stop when they are faced with the threat of a $10-20,000 FCC fine.

-Tzale

TexasPlus
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said by Subaru:
said by Bach:

Was this on FM and was the radio near computer equipment?

Computers generate this sort of noise on FM radio.
It was FM and at the time I never had a PC back then.
It was simply interference from a older television set in the area. Harmonics from the IF strip or local oscillator of older TV's fall can into the FM band depending on what channel the TV is set to. The sounds you heard changed depending on the scene content of the TV picture.