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Numbers stations appear and disappear continuously, although some stick to regular schedules. It has been speculated that these stations operate as a simple and foolproof method for government agencies to communicate with spies "in the field", using the transmitted codes as a one-time pad cryptosystem. Others speculate that some of these stations may be related to illegal drug smuggling operations. Although no broadcaster or government will acknowledge or give a reason for their existence, a 1998 article in London's Daily Telegraph quoted a spokesperson for the Department of Trade and Industry (the government agency that regulates radio broadcasting in the United Kingdom) as saying, "These [numbers stations] are what you suppose they are. People shouldn't be mystified by them. They are not for, shall we say, public consumption."
Errors at the transmission site, radio direction-finding, and a knowledge of shortwave radio propagation have also provided clues to number station locations. For example, the "Atención" station is presumed to be from Cuba, and a supposed error allowed Radio Habana Cuba to be carried on the frequency.
Numbers stations are often given nicknames by enthusiasts. These nicknames often reflect some distinctive element of the station. For example "Lincolnshire Poacher", one of the best known numbers stations, supposed by many to be run by
MI6, plays the first two bars of the folk song of that name before each string of numbers. "Magnetic Fields" plays music from French electronic musician Jean Michel Jarre before and after each set of numbers. The "Atención" station begins its transmission with the Spanish-language phrase "ˇAtención! ˇAtención!"On some stations tones can be heard in the background. It has been suggested that in such cases the voice may be an aid to tuning to the correct frequency, with the coded message being sent by modulating the tones, perhaps using a technology such as burst transmission.
In 1997, The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations, a four CDCD re-directs here; see Cd for other meanings of CD . A compact disc (or CD is an optical disc used for storing digital data. It was originally invented for digital audio and is also used as a data storage device, a CD-ROM. CD-ROM reading devices are a st set of recordings of numbers stations was released by England's Irdial-Discs record label.
Recordings of numbers stations sometimes find their way onto records by other musicianA musician is a person who plays or composes music. Musicians can be classified by how they make music: A singer (also called a vocalist) uses his or her voice. An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument. Composers and songwriters make up music and wris, such as StereolabTim Gane and Laetitia Sadier with Dominic Jeffrey and Simon Johns. Stereolab are a British-based band whose style, mixing 1950s- 1960s pop and lounge music with the "motorik" beat of krautrock, was one of the first to which the term " post-rock" was appli's song "Pause" or various songs by WilcoWilco is an American contemporary rock band, predominantly known for its country music roots. It is one of the current leaders of alternative country. Band history Primary songwriter/ singer Jeff Tweedy was a member of the seminal 1980s group Uncle Tupelo. The reclusive Scottish duo Boards of CanadaBoards of Canada is a Scottish electronic music duo comprised of Michael Sandison (b. 14 July 1971) and Marcus Eoin (b. 27 May 1973). Described by many as enigmatic, they have released a number of works with little advertising and few interviews, such as were influenced by numbers stations at an early age. Pere UbuPere Ubu is an experimental rock music group, see Pere Ubu (band). the enigmatic central figure of Ubu Roi, a play by Alfred Jarry.'s Scott Krause is an avid fan of numbers stations and has featured recordings in several songs.