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

Posted by msmash on from the what's-happening dept.

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.

24 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Follow the money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It doesn't run for free. It has power lines that someone pays the bills for the power usage. No doubt Russia has an FCC equivalent that all radio broadcasters must be licensed with. If it isn't officially licensed, then the government is allowing it, meaning the government is ultimately running it.

    1. Re:Follow the money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      The most obvious explanation is it is part of a military strategy to facilitate an insurgency should Russia be invaded.

      Basilcy the station broadcasts nonsense on regular intervals so that at any time in the future it can be used by remnants of the Russian military to broadcast coded information without giving away the fact that they started communicating. It also broadcasts a solid tone and heartbeat so they can reduce the likelihood of somone else using the channel and so they can tell if the station is destroyed or deactivated without waiting for the next broadcast. It is also possible but IMO less likely that it is in active use for espionage.

      It probably isn't a nuclear deadman switch as those would have been shut down as part of post soviet disarmament. It might have been a decoy deadman switch that no one has the guts to turn off because they can't find the documentation saying where the missiles it controls are and are (because they don't exist) but no one is entirely certain the documents weren't just lost.

      It also probably isn't just a random troll as it's continued operation implies that someone with some kind of pull set it up not just a random citizen (they had to make arrangements with the power company at the very least, and likely ongoing matinance given it's age)

    2. Re:Follow the money by Shikaku · · Score: 2

      Improbable but not impossible: the first lightbulb is still running

  2. No Real Mystery by Myrdos · · Score: 5, Informative

    As I understand, it's almost certainly used to send coded messages to Russian agents in case of emergency. The Russians are probably broadcasting a constant tone to reserve the frequency, so other people don't start using it. They say as much in the article.

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

      Maybe it's a component of Dead Hand.

    2. Re:No Real Mystery by IonOtter · · Score: 2

      That's the most common, most plausible, and also most terrifying theory.

      Because if for some reason it stops...

      --
      [End Of Line]
    3. Re:No Real Mystery by penandpaper · · Score: 5, Funny

      Welcome, to the scary door.

    4. Re:No Real Mystery by cheesybagel · · Score: 3, Informative

      One of the things that British submarines were supposed to do to know if the country was nuked in a first strike was to listen to the BBC broadcast. If there was no broadcast then they were supposed to assume that the country was nuked and to do a retaliatory strike on pre-programmed targets over the Soviet Union.

    5. Re:No Real Mystery by Nutria · · Score: 2

      As anyone who's watched Dr. Strangelove knows, the DH only works if the other side knows about it.

      So, either the Ruskies have told the Americans (who thus know, and are keeping quiet), or the Ruskies are -- as in the movie -- doing it horribly, horribly wrong.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    6. Re:No Real Mystery by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 3, Funny

      As anyone who's watched Dr. Strangelove knows, the DH only works if the other side knows about it.

      So, either the Ruskies have told the Americans (who thus know, and are keeping quiet), or the Ruskies are -- as in the movie -- doing it horribly, horribly wrong.

      (thick fake Rooskie accent) It was to be announced at the Party Congress on Monday. As you know, Putin loves surprises.

    7. Re:No Real Mystery by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'd think that jamming the frequency would be difficult since the transmitters are most likely many kW in power and if it is a component of the Dead Hand then the receiver is in Russia. I would also assume that the frequency is closely monitored and if you try to jam it, you get a visit from the FSB. It is also probably not the only trigger (random faults also happen, you wouldn't want to have nuclear war if the transmitter fails at the wrong time), but part of it.

      Well, kW isn't that h ard to generate, since most radio stations are in the MW range or hundreds of kW. Though for shortwave, you don't need more than a few kW to reach around the world.

      The thing is, the modulation is probably AM, which means attempts to jam it are easily discovered because AM modulation squeals when there are multiple transmitters on the same frequency and you can never completely jam it - if one is broadcasting a tone and someone else is broadcasting modulated speech, you can make out the speech. This property of AM radio is why aircraft still use AM for communications - it's easy to tell when multiple stations transmit, and it's possible to make out what someone is saying over the squeal.

  3. It's encrypted messages... by MindPrison · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...when everything else fails.

    Hidden in plain sight.

    --
    What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
    1. 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.

  4. Time for the yearly "number station" post? by pegr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Where does the time go?

    1. Re:Time for the yearly "number station" post? by cold+fjord · · Score: 2

      Where does the time go?

      Indeed.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
  5. UVB-76 by Jack+Malmostoso · · Score: 5, Informative

    In case you're wondering, this article is about the very famous UVB-76 station.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  6. Could be worse... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Funny

    When I used to visit my parents in Sacramento in the late 1990's, a country radio station played 1940's and 1950's country music between midnight and 5AM. Guitar strumming and praising God. Very interesting.

    1. Re:Could be worse... by msauve · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's nothing. A radio station around here plays Justin Bieber and Kanye West, DURING THE DAY.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    2. Re:Could be worse... by SCVonSteroids · · Score: 2

      God have mercy on your soul.

      --
      I tend to rant.
  7. 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.

    1. Re:No mystery, only one more myth by jandrese · · Score: 2

      The tone also helps people make sure they have their tuners setup properly when they're waiting for their code word. It's like a dialtone.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
  8. Audio online by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCC8Xb7K0c8

  9. TL;DR--IN SIX WORDS by Provocateur · · Score: 2

    In Soviet Russia, radio buzzes you

    --
    WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  10. Re: The Signal by cayenne8 · · Score: 2
    Hey...

    Play Stairway to FreeBird!!!!

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........