Welcome to the year 2000 and if you're like me, you're tired of hearing about the new millennium. Some people claim the new millennium doesn't actually start until the year 2001, but whether or not that is correct or not is moot. The 21st century is here (or near) and numbers stations are still around. They seem to be an anachronism in the world of high-speed data modes and internet connections. Most people would think that sending messages by coded number groups are too time- consuming and slow when an email message travels around the world at the blink of an eye.

Let me explain again why numbers stations are still used today. First of all, numbers broadcasts are a totally secure way to get messages to agents in the field in that nobody can track who is listening to them. All an agent needs to receive the message is a small portable shortwave receiver, which would attract little attention when traveling in a foreign country. On the other hand, a highly sophisticated piece of electronic equipment would attract quite a bit of attention, which would mean the end of the agent's career, and maybe his life.

Forget about such things as internet or email. It's not guaranteed that the country an agent would be operating in will have internet access in the first place. Secondly, while programs like PGP are secure enough for encrypting email, in most countries receiving encrypted messages would attract attention.

Lastly, messages encrypted with the one-time-pad system are completely secure as long as the pads aren't reused. This, combined with the fact that it's virtually impossible to track whoever's listening makes a secure method of transmitting messages to agents.

In the second week of December I was listening to 8300 kHz between "New Star" YL/CC transmissions when I heard the distinctive "tada" wave sound from the Windows 3.1 startup. It is possible that the messages are all generated on computer and they must have had to reboot or something. I'm not sure if the sound was from New Star or was from one of the many foreign language maritime stations that inhabit that freq from around 1100-1500 UTC.

Now let's look at some loggings: 5105 - OTH radar at 0816. (TS)
5629 - E10 VLB2 in USB at 0145 (JM)
6270//7760 - E10 Mossad ULX in USB at 0100 (JM)
6658 - E10 CIO2 in USB at 0145 (JM)
7760 - E10 in USB at 0100 rptg ULX for 13 min then message (JM)
8085 - E5 in AM at 0400 rptg 569 Count 204 (JM)
8300 - "New Star" in AM at 1344 w/ YL/CC 4F msg. (TS)
8686 - OTH radar at 0900 (TS)
9062 - Cuban 5F cut # msg at 0517. (TS)
10126 - V2a in AM at 0100 in progress (JM)
10248 - M16 8BY in CW at 0240 to 0300 tfc 270/058/758/297/311/784 (JM)
10355 - 4XZ in CW at 1425 w/ 5L grp msg. (TS)
10714.5 - CW M8a in progress at 0200 (JM)
13452//15651 - V5 in AM at 0100 rptg 073 Grupo 110
12300.5//14421 - V5 in AM at 0300 rptg 382 Grupo 222 (JM)
12197 - E5 in AM at 2000 rptg 728 Count 69 (JM)
17499//22108 - E3a in USB at 2300 in progress (JM)
19325 - YL/EE Counting stn in USB at 1609 rpting 395 & 1-0 cnt, then 99 grp msg. (TS)
29897 - Speech-inversion scrambling in USB at 1605. (TS)
Contributors: JM - John Maky, AR; TS - Tom Sevart, KS

That's all for this month. Please send your loggings, numbers information, & comments to me at the address at the top of the page.

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