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UVB-76

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File:Uvb76 satellite.jpg
Satellite photo of presumed UVB-76 transmitter in Povarovo, Russia.

UVB-76 (sometimes referred to as UZB-76, but recently MDZhB[1]) is the call sign of a shortwave radio station that usually broadcasts on the frequency 4625 kHz (AM suppressed lower sideband). It is known among radio listeners by the nickname The Buzzer. It features a short, monotonous buzz toneⓘ, repeating at a rate of approximately 25 tones per minute, for 24 hours per day. The station has been observed since around 1982.[2] On rare occasions, the buzzer signal is interrupted and a voice transmission in Russian takes place. Despite much speculation, the actual purpose of this station remains unknown to the public.

Normal transmission

A spectrum for UVB-76 showing the suppressed lower sideband.

The station transmits a buzzing sound that lasts 1.3 seconds (before November 2010 0.8 s), pausing for 1–1.3 seconds, and repeating 21–34 times per minute.[2] One minute before the hour, the repeating tone is sometimes replaced by a continuous tone, which continues for one minute until the short repeating buzz resumes.[3] Between 07:00 and 07:50 GMT the station transmits using lower power, when transmitter maintenance apparently takes place.[4]

The Buzzer has apparently been broadcasting since at least 1982[2] as a repeating two-second pip, changing to a buzzer in early 1990.[5][6] It briefly changed to a higher tone of longer duration (approximately 20 tones per minute) on January 16, 2003, but it has since reverted to the previous tone pattern.

Malfunctions

Frequently, distant conversations and other background noises can be heard behind the buzzer; this suggests that the buzzing device is behind a live and constantly open microphone (rather than a recording or automated sound being fed through playback equipment) or that a microphone may have been turned on accidentally.[7] One such occasion was on November 3, 2001, when a conversation in Russian was heard:[2]"Я — 143. Не получаю генератор." "Идёт такая работа от аппаратной." ("I am 143. Not receiving the generator (oscillator)." "That stuff comes from hardware room.").[8]

Voice messages & other sounds

Voice messages from UVB-76 were very rare until a sudden spate of activity in the latter half of 2010.[9] They are usually given in Russian by a live voice and repeated.[10] Approximately seven such messages have been intercepted in over twenty years of (non-continuous) observation.[11] Some recent examples of such messages include:

  • At 2100 UTC on December 24, 1997: "Ya UVB-76, Ya UVB-76. 180 08 BROMAL 74 27 99 14. Boris, Roman, Olga, Mikhail, Anna, Larisa. 7 4 2 7 9 9 1 4."[2][3][12][13]
  • At 0930 UTC on December 24, 2000: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 74 148 ANTIMONAT 26 37 09 31"[14]
  • At 0945 UTC on December 24, 2000: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 61 21 ANTIMONAT 26 37 09 31"[14]
  • At 0751 UTC on December 1, 2002: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 01 213 SKIF 38 87 23 95"[14]
  • At 0403 UTC on December 6, 2002: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 28 138 KARIAMA 77 56 01 51 AGGRADACYa 05 51 55 97 GLAShATEL 76 78 55 08"[14]
  • At 0418 UTC on December 9, 2002: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 62 691 IZAFET 36 93 82 70"[12]
  • At 1543 UTC on December 20, 2002: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 45 359 DEDMEZON 37 49 63 35"[14]
  • At 0455 UTC on January 15, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 79 992 BONGU 99 23 77 68 BRONShchIK 71 17 57 70"[14]
  • At 1230 UTC on January 15, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 05 317 KAMASIT 86 68 88 86"[14]
  • At 1400 UTC on January 16, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 90 824 KROLIST 53 26 62 56"[14]
  • At 1456 UTC on January 16, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 73 858 PODShEFNYJ 86 91 03 74"[14]
  • At 0600 UTC on January 17, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 93 310 BILADIT 80 81 84 49"[14]
  • At 1102 UTC on January 17, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 98 042 VYaLENIYe 36 20 09 83"[14]
  • At 0652 UTC on January 21, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 80 516 GANOMATIT 21 23 86 25"[14]
  • At 1425 UTC on January 24, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 07 526 RAEDWIZhNOY 18 47 27 96"[14]
  • At 0504 UTC on January 30, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 01 851 AEOTIN 18 89 24 02"[14]
  • At 1457 UTC on January 30, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 57 084 INICIAL 76 16 56 79"[14]
  • At 0603 UTC on February 7, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 15 286 ANGLEZ 51 09 98 29 BUShMAR 89 89 55 79 NOMINACIYa 74 97 16 56"[14]
  • At 0634 UTC on February 7, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 85 596 KLASA 81 00 02 91"[14]
  • At 1458 UTC on February 11, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 12 733 YeDINENIE 67 79 66 32"[14]
  • At 0730 UTC on March 1, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 60 130 VATRUCh 58 89 54 54"[14]
  • At 0628 UTC on March 21, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 95 695 TRYEVYNNIK 16 24 54 27 TVORAIN 16 24 02 30"[14]
  • At 0351 UTC on March 24, 2003: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 01 705 BRAMIRKA 18 49 70 39"[14]
  • At 0757 UTC on February 21, 2006, another voice message was detected, but the speaking voice was highly distorted. The message's content was partially translated as: "75, 59, 75, 59, _, 39, 52, 53, 58, _, 5, 5, 2, 5, _, _, _, _, Konstantin, 1, 9, 0, 9, 0, 8, 9, 8, Tatiayna, Oksana, Anna, Elena, Pavel, Schuka, _, Konstantin, 8, 4, _, 9, 7, 5, 5, 9, Tatiayna, _, _, _, Anna, Larisa, Uliyana, 9, 4, 1, 4, 3, 4, 8"
  • At 1335 UTC on August 23, 2010: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 93 882 NAIMINA 74 14 35 74" (Recording of August 23rd transmission) [15][16][17]
  • At 1631 UTC on August 25, 2010: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 38 527 AKKRECIYa 36 09 55 73" [18]
  • At 1339 UTC on September 5, 2010: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 16 703 PREGRADA 80 18 06 57"[14].
  • At 1516 UTC on September 10, 2010: "UVB-76, UVB-76. 27 416 TREKATOR 52 50 10 95 AREOGRAFIYa 18 05 35 23"[14].

On September 7, 2010, a message with callsign MDZhB (Mikhail Dmitrij Zhenja Boris) was broadcasted for the first time. Messages with callsign MDZhB have been broadcasted almost daily since then. Since September 10, 2010, there were no more messages with callsign UVB-76.

Location and function

Although there is much speculation about the transmitter site, the station's transmitter is believed to be located near Povarovo, Russia [19] at 56°5′00″N 37°6′32″E / 56.08333°N 37.10889°E / 56.08333; 37.10889 which is about halfway between Zelenograd and Solnechnogorsk and 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Moscow, near the village of Lozhki. The location and callsign were unknown until the first voice broadcast of 1997.[citation needed]

The purpose of UVB-76 has not been confirmed by government or broadcast officials. However the former Minister of Communications and Informatics of the Republic of Lithuania has written that the purpose of the voice messages is to confirm that operators at receiving stations are alert.[3][13][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.numbersoddities.nl/n&o-157.pdf Boender, Ary. "Numbers and Oddities" newsletter 157, October, 2010
  2. ^ a b c d e Boender, Ary (January 2002). "Oddities". ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter – Issue 8. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  3. ^ a b c "Russian HF Beacons". Thirty-second edition of the N&O column / Spooks newsletter. 2000-12-24. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  4. ^ Michalski, Jan. "Radio Station "UVB-76"". Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  5. ^ "Morse Stations". Seventy-fifth edition of the N&O column / Spooks newsletter. 2004-08-02. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  6. ^ Boender, Ary (1995). "Numbers & oddities: Column 1". World Utility News.
  7. ^ "Mysteriózní rádio už 30 let vysílá záhadný signál a teď i tajnou šifru", Technet.cz, August 27, 2010 (English)
  8. ^ "Sierra Papa India Echo Sierra", Forth, March 20, 2010
  9. ^ Newitz, Annalee, "They're broadcasting those Russian numbers again", ion9, August 27, 2010
  10. ^ "El misterio de las emisiones de radio secretas", ABC, August 26, 2010 (English)
  11. ^ http://googlesightseeing.com/2009/07/the-buzzer-uvb-76/
  12. ^ a b Michalski, Jan. "Радиостанция "УЗБ-76"" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2003-04-14. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  13. ^ a b "Single Letter Markers". Posts from the SPOOKS and WUN listservers. 2000. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "UVB-76 study page".
  15. ^ "August 23, 2010 9:35AM PST Voice transmission confirmed".
  16. ^ "UVB-76 wakes up, 4chan message warns of World War, New World Order", From The Old, August 25, 2010
  17. ^ Cutlack, Gary, "Mysterious Russian ‘Numbers Station’ Changes Broadcast After 20 Years", Gizmodo Australia, August 25, 2010
  18. ^ "Recorded transmission", UVB-76.com, August 25, 2010 1631 UTC.
  19. ^ Geere, Duncan (August 2010). "Mysterious Russian 'Buzzer' radio broadcast changes". WIRED.CO.UK. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  20. ^ Pleikys, Rimantas (1998). Jamming. Vilnius Lithuania: Rimantas Pleikys.
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