Slashdot Mirror


The Ghostly Radio Station That No One Claims To Run (bbc.com)

Zaria Gorvett, writing for BBC: In the middle of a Russian swampland, not far from the city of St Petersburg, is a rectangular iron gate. Beyond its rusted bars is a collection of radio towers, abandoned buildings and power lines bordered by a dry-stone wall. This sinister location is the focus of a mystery which stretches back to the height of the Cold War. It is thought to be the headquarters of a radio station, "MDZhB", that no-one has ever claimed to run. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for the last three-and-a-half decades, it's been broadcasting a dull, monotonous tone. Every few seconds it's joined by a second sound, like some ghostly ship sounding its foghorn. Then the drone continues. Once or twice a week, a man or woman will read out some words in Russian, such as "dinghy" or "farming specialist". And that's it. Anyone, anywhere in the world can listen in, simply by tuning a radio to the frequency 4625 kHz. It's so enigmatic, it's as if it was designed with conspiracy theorists in mind. Today the station has an online following numbering in the tens of thousands, who know it affectionately as "the Buzzer." It joins two similar mystery stations, "the Pip" and the "Squeaky Wheel." As their fans readily admit themselves, they have absolutely no idea what they are listening to.

3 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Re:No Real Mystery by olsmeister · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Maybe it's a component of Dead Hand.

  2. No mystery, only one more myth by NuclearCat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One more nonsense, i guess just to fuel current trend about "those strange russians". This is typical (post-)apocalypse radio, that will coordinate militaries and probably civilians in case of extraordinary disasters. Note: most probably non-war related, because sites of transmitters are known, and easy to destroy.
    AM receivers for such frequency usually very robust, they are installed in many cities in military enlistment office(voenkomat) and easy to make.
    Buzzing and etc is just making sure noone else occupy frequency, sometimes(rarely) it is used for other communications, but nothing extraordinary.
    P.S. Old transmitter side abandoned in 2010, there is several new, at least 3.

  3. Re:It's encrypted messages... by omnichad · · Score: 4, Interesting

    More like the key to a codebook that operatives already have. The blip could mean jump to the next encrypt/decrypt key. The random words could be for an occasional recalibration in case you missed some blips or a one-time pad.

    Probably very similar in design and use to number stations.