A typical broadcast begins with a YL voice repeating "Atencion" and a five-figure number. This five figure number contains the receiving agent's ID. The callup is similar to the CW stations in that the five-figure number is repeated for several minutes and is later followed by a two or three digit number which contains the group count of the message to follow. This station, also similar to the CW stations, sometimes sends two messages for different agents in the same broadcast. After the end of the 5F groups, these stations sign down with "Finale, Finale." There have been two different female voices used, and I have recordings of both. The first is the standard mechanical voice, and then there is the other voice which sounds more "live." It's interesting to speculate as to why a different voice is used at times, possibly because the "Memorex" version is on the fritz.

These stations are fun to spot for mistakes made during broadcasts. On at least two occasions, I have heard Radio Havana programming on the carrier before a YL/SS broadcast, which leads me to believe that Radio Havana shares broadcast facilities with the numbers stations. False starts, distorted audio, and the transmitter shutting down in the middle of a broadcast are another characteristic of these stations.

Another characteristic of these stations is a buzzing signal on the carrier before broadcasts. It doesn't occur every time, but a few minutes before the YL begins the callup, you may hear a low 60 Hz buzz keyed on & off. Sometimes the buzzing is actual CW, but most of the time it sounds like someone is randomly tapping on a Morse key. It is unclear as to what purpose this serves, but makes it easy to identify these stations before they begin broadcasting.

Here are the latest skeds as I have them. As with the CW stations, all freqs may deviate +/- one or two kHz, and any corrections or additions are appreciated:

SUN           MON           TUE           WED           THU           FRI
0500 - 7726   0200 - 8186   0200 - 3292   0200 - 7890   0200 - 4018   0200 - 6983
0600 - 6786   0300 - 5407   0600 - 8906   0300 - 6826   0400 - 7482   0300 - 7482
0700 - 5417   0400 - 6786                 1100 - 5903   0500 - 6797   0400 - 4479               0500 - 8012                               0900 - 6797   0500 - 4028
              0600 - 4028                               1000 - 4028
              0700 - 5417
              0900 - 6826
              1000 - 4028

I don't have any skeds for Saturday, although I'm sure there probably are some. These skeds do tend to change every so often, so sometimes it's a challenge trying to keep up with them. Notice also, that the freqs above provide excellent coverage into North America, although higher frequencies have been used.

One question that does come to mind is why do they have so many broadcasts? Do they really have that many agents here? Definitely some of the broadcasts are being beamed to North America, as these stations usually have extremely strong signals. It is possible, though, that some of the broadcasts are directed toward agents in Central & South America as well, and possibly a few of the transmissions are "dummy" or fake messages. Of course, this is speculation on my part, and it is very difficult to try to find out what's going on in the minds of Cuban intelligence.

That's all for this month. Good luck DXing Castro's numbers stations!