My grandma was stationed at station A from the early 80’s until her retirement around 2005. I never took it too seriously until I got older, and would pester her with questions, where she always answered she couldn’t discuss it. When she retired, she had these little cia mementos (watch, flag, etc) that were displayed in the house. I picked up a knock off copy of the watch at a souvenir store in DC. When I showed it to her, she asked how much I paid for it and could she buy it from me. Sort of confused, I said sure, and she gave me the money and threw the watch in the trash. She told me please don’t wear anything like that, because someone may try and hurt me to get to her. She then told me never to tell others what her job was, which was pretty eerie to me. I finally realized how serious her job was, after 1-2 years in retirement and with early stages of dementia, they called her back in for “interviews”. That happened a few times, until she stopped driving, and then they came to her house to “interview” her. I lived close by and came by the day of the interview, and they were putting away a polygraph machine when I walked in. I found it curious they were polygraphing someone with dementia, but they had their reasons I guess. Lastly, she wasn’t the only senior citizen worker at the station. There was a group of older women who had been with the cia for decades. I knew my grandma had traveled all over Europe and North Africa in 60-70’s, and I think the WTC was a post for employees to live a more stable, normal life. She had a little cohort of coworkers, who all were mostly in their 60-70’s (my grandma was in her early 70’s). She was driving her coworkers back from a group lunch to station A, and apparently she was speeding down springs road. A town cop went to pull them over, but as he caught up to her, she was already pulling past the guard shack. She claimed she never saw him, but who knows the truth. The cop was so annoyed, he posted up outside the gate from about 1pm until about 4pm, until my grandma went to leave work. He pulled her over, told her she was speeding and it seemed like she fled. Being in her mid 70’s, she told him it was a simple mistake and she never saw him. He ended up giving her a ticket, and she said he was furious about the whole thing. It makes me laugh to think about this Buick Le Sabre loaded to the brim with women in their 70’s, seeing the cop coming, and saying “lets just see if I can get through the guard before he gets to me”. However when caught, just using the little old grandma card and getting out of trouble. Lol, amazing woman. RIP Ma
Thank you for taking the time to share this wonderful story and thank you Grandma for your service to your country. What a fantastic and dear sounding lady, may she forever rest in peace and her memories live on
Fascinating story. I have known a few spooks over the years. Most of them act like normal people. Sometimes they're a little TOO normal, like they've practiced being that way.
Polygraphing a grandma with Dementia and probably would have had no issue chucking her in military jail if the tests came back iffy. But hey they're the 'good guys' rememeber
I personally live in this area, and these stations are well known to locals as secret government facilities. I have driven by all of these areas at one point in time, and I drive by Station D on a regular basis.
That overhead view of the buildings with the circle of antennas reminds me of a FCC station near Allegan Michigan. Back in the Citizens Band kraze you needed to apply for a FCC license to use the CB radios. I called the FCC and spoke to the operator at the Allegan post. I drove there and got an application to mail in. It was late at night and just the operator and two of my friends with me got a tour of the set up. Monitor radios etc all over the inside. It was interesting, but that was long ago.
I used to live in Brandy Station, VA right down the road from Station D. The company I worked for was building a pole barn and inadvertently severed an underground communications line going to Station D and we had to shut down business operations until an investigation was done to show that it wasn't intentional and had FCC agents show up. They refused to comment as to what the purpose was of any of the transmitter stations were and were quite rude about it when asked. The underground cable was also not marked on any map and it's presence was not known to misdig. We checked with them to make sure there wasn't any gas, water or power lines. Each employee was required to be interviewed and background checks were done. I never could get a solid answer as to what the stations were but most of the people I asked said it was military and that the underground cable led to the Pentagon. This was back in the 90's and it would be interesting to know what exactly those stations are.
Yeah, you damaged this cable you didn't know was there. That we didn't tell you about or ever planned on telling you. Are you trying to commit sabotage? Lol wut
@@rucker69 usa is way to obsessed with individual rights. the rights of society should trump those of individuals but that's a mistake of the constitution.
I Love Numbers Stations. So eerie and mysterious sounding. It's just a cool concept that you can listen to coded messages on a radio. As some one born in the 90s, it feels like they are using old tech because people just don't pay attention to it anymore. Then you learn how the hobbyists are all over this stuff and realize it is no secret but still, very cool lol.
Funny thing there. US Navy ships have the latest and greatest in Sat and radio equipment...Yet they still retain one rack that is a Ham operator's dream come true...The best receivers and transmitters available on the civilian market. All the bells and whistles if your thing is voice, radio modems, old-fashioned key, it's all there. If the encryption is secure, then it doesn't really matter WHO hears it, and there is no way to determine if the hand on the key is wearing a uniform or not...or really even if it is a key and not wired into a computer. What better way to "hide" something than to transmit it from equipment available in any large city on freqs that the whole world uses?
@@frizzlefry1921 each has its advantages. Solid state equipment handles shock, vibration, and impact much better, and is generally more accurate when trying to remain on a specific frequency. However, anything which alters the parameters of the circuits (like sand on a circuit board) or limits heat dissipation (like sand on a circuit board) will cause a malfunction or failure. Tube equipment is a bit more robust as it by nature operates at higher temperatures. It is much more forgiving of circuit parameters being out of spec. You might be transmitting over a bit more of a freq range than you wanted to, but still actually have an output. On the bad side, it requires much more power to operate, and will be larger and heavier. The ship I was on was launched in 1968 and still had a lot of the original tube equipment. I actually preferred it, as it just seemed to keep working and was easy to troubleshoot and repair when it did fail. That said, I wasn't having to lug it through an oversized sandbox while people were shooting at me.
I have never been a radio geek and had someone suggested this channel instead of me finding it naturally I probably would've thought it would be boring But you genuinely have a way of making (even non-espionage) topics really engaging
The endless loops were used to give propagation, so When you know what time a broadcast is supposed to come you tune to the loop frequency and you make sure you can hear that loop broadcasting which will tell you that the frequency on that same band coming from the same place that you're going to need you will be able to hear otherwise if you can't hear it then you go to an alternate loop station from a different location or maybe a different band Once in a while on ham bands you will hear a tone being transmitted on one of the beacon frequencies that is specifically used to tune in the beacon to see if you can hear it from where you are in order to align antennas and to create a propagation map from any given location
Are the beacon still active? ALL I heard last time I put a radio on the beacon was FT 8 and CW on the beacon frequency. Not the becons cw ID but others transmitting on top of them
I was stationed on a secret base that was a huge antenna itself. WW2 and through the Viet nam war. When I was there it was a training base for radio operators. It even tested new technology in communications. This was not far from this location in your video. There were huge loops of wire for extremely low frequency, these looped huge areas on the base. There were various microwave transmission antennas. Satellite dishes of various dimensions and some types I haven't seen since. I never knew their function. It was designated as a natural wildlife refuge on the maps but had an obvious military gate entrance at the end of a long road.
ELF and VLF were/are used for communications with submarines, although they were normally closer to the coast. They were classified technology for awhile. Side note In the novel Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain; the authors talked about how the USSR had discovered (through the French) that the Americans were able to communication with submerged submarines. Not knowing of any tech at the time, they believed that the Americans used ESP to communicate with the subs which started their own psychokinesis programs. Book was written in the 70s, pretty sure it was unknown ELF tech.
@@DMill791 yes this was the scuttlebutt at the time, although I worked in a totally different field. I didn't want to say that myself not knowing what restrictions applied.
@@DMill791 I've often wondered, if one side or the other didn't mistakenly believe the other side was using some kind of ESP for clandestine comms, when in reality, it was advanced microwave technology.
There's a bunch of facilities like that in the state forests and national parks surrounding DC, from North Carolina all the way up into Pennsylvania. AT&T managed a bunch of them and percievably still does.
This reminds me of two sites that were used as bases for the Ministry of Defence British, Cypriot and German network, based in Wakefield and Warrington. They mainly were used as a directory enquiries service for the MOD, where people on bases could ask for connection to another base or people on the civvy operator could ask to be connected to mil bases. The Wakefield site was hidden in a BT tower block, the bottom floors were a switchboard, storage and where BT engineers were based but people with the correct ID and fob could access higher floors, where the secret stuff was. The top of the building was, and still is to some extent, covered in various satellite and radio broadcast and receive dishes and antenna, part of this was for INMARSAT, used during OPTELIC operations in Iraq and Afghanistan etc. Wakefield also had a training ‘fishbowl’ like Warrington, both sites were part of a tri-service body run by the MOD as the Defence Communications Services Agency, for some time under Major Tony Raper. The Wakefield and Warrington sites certainly both had recording/playback facilities and were used as the ‘MOD Emergency Operator’ and Wakefield at one time linked up with sites down under too. They also had an autodialler facility, that got BT into lots of bother. Employees, a mix of ex service personnel and civvy, had strict protocols and scripts, if anyone asked where they were based or what they did etc, very similar to the wording you used in this video, funnily enough. Most of this became public knowledge over the years, likely except for the INMARSAT part, but I doubt if anyone ever got to the bottom of what the relays and antennas all did or what else was hidden, given that they successfully hid major military infrastructure in the cities disguised so well for years.
Awesome video! Probably the most I've ever seen someone go into detail on the CIA's number stations. Also, besides E05 there are several other stations that were in the CIA's network. Those being G05, and V05 for agents likely in Germany and Cuba. There's also a few others E14, G14, and even a station where the CIA collaborated with the West German BND!
Dang I recognized that pic before you said Culpepper. Used to live near there. The installation I lived at was shut down. Quite a while after a CIA agent was shot by a sniper. NOT where we were but three mile away at CIA headquarters. Soon after we were stationed elsewhere they removed active duty personnel that were . . . associated and shut the p;ace down. My kids were little when we lived there. Do no miss the drama.
First rate Lewis ! Though our CG units didn't have any intelligence/counterintelligence involvement, we were trained as to the types of comms gear and other "paraphernalia" so we'd know what we were looking at if we found any of it on the foreign vessels we boarded everyday. The general consensus is that the numbers are part of a "one time pad" cypher system which at one time were the preferred method as only the two people who were sender and receiver could code/decode. In all the years I was in, only once did we come across a "spy ship", and it was so obvious with a myriad of antennae beyond that which is normal - a few vertical VHF, and a few HF long wire. Now today toss in some SATCOM... This thing had Yagi's, Discone's, Loops, Beams. And more than the obligatory VHFs and SSBs.
Odd that you would say the CG, I assume you mean U.S. Coast Guard, does not have any intelligence involvement. When worked as a U.S. government employee, involved in monitoring radio communications, the first office I worked at frequently assisted an intelligence unit of the CG.
@@RetiredRadioChaser This might have been AFTER the era of old school CG RM's were changed over to TC's where IMO was the downhill slop of CG Communications, which as far as I'm concerned are pretty much at what I view as, non-existent today. But when I was an RM at NMO (Commsta Honolulu), we used to get tasked with monitoring freqs and providing backup to the receiver side of the NSA's monitoring facility next to our building. It was always morse code though so I'm guessing that's why they came to us, not the Navy. Navy at the time, though we were co-located at NAVCAMS EASTPAC, they were not much for code. 73's
@@tc1uscg65 The time I worked with them was 1987 - 1996. As for morse code intercept, I was the office expert, having been a trained and experienced morse code (send and receive) operator as a component of my military MOS.
@@RetiredRadioChaser One of the guys in my duty section did what you did. He use to talk about "monitoring Russian CW operators". Though not talked about in "A" school other then they were great code operators, he would teach us the extra characters the Russians used. We used CW, along with voice, RTTY, every day on watch. We, the CG, stopped teaching CW in Dec 1994 and officially stopped using it in 1995, which was a sad day for us old school radiomen. They changed our rate to TC (telecommunications specialist) and it was all downhill from there. When we graduated from "A" school, we had to send 16wpm and copy 18. That was the minimum. By the time you made E6, you had to be able to send and copy 30+ wpm. Getting a speed key cert was like a rite of passage in those days. I never went into the ham world but I do still tune in to HF and copy code. My wife thinks I'm crazy. Cheers and thanks for your service mate.
@@tc1uscg65 If he copied Russians then he was a better morse op than I. Sounded like a string of dits and dahs to me, with an occasional pause. LOL I had to pass 15 send 18 copy, with a stick. Of course with experience I was able to copy and send faster. I worked with a guy in Vietnam that would unplug the morse key and plug in a speed key. I could not copy his morse, too fast. He worked Russians too when he was stationed in Europe and could copy what they sent. In morse code school, I watched an E-6 instructor copy 35 gpm with one hand, light and smoke a cigarette, while drinking a cup of coffee and having a conversation with the students. Copied 5 or 10 minutes of code and it was 100% correct!
Very nice video. I live near these facilities and know them well, as do most folks that have been in the area for any length of time. Interesting to see familiar sites on here!
At the VOA museum at the old Bethany VOA transmitter site during the tour they refer to number stations in part of their tour. They say that they did number stations from one of the transmitters there in Bethany Ohio.
Alot of the numbers stations that have stopped transmission is because the USG switched to digital in 2003-4; and there are new more secure ways of transmitting information.
One of the sites, Vint Hill Farm, is now an air traffic control centre and electronic intelligence museum. Great report. Oh, know the Tyson's Corner tower well, used vhf and uhf networks. Oh, there are additional hf antennas in Arlington VA. Thanks for the video.
Vint Hill Farm was the opposite... it was a receiving station and not a transmitting station. It was shut down because the area was becoming more built up and the noise floor was increasing.
@@kludgeaudio And there were a lot of other things going on at VHFS too. We had satellite schedules so that we could get equipment inside or covered whenever foreign intelligence satellites were overhead.
@@lat4227 I was a contractor with MVP 1990-1996. I bounced around VHFS, Ft. Meade, and various other NSA locations. Worked with IMMC, PEO/IEWD, and SIFO at VH. Where were you?
Great video, Lewis. Did you consult the Enigma2000 group publications? I was a former 'lurker' in the group, as the son of a former 'Y' group (Beaumanor) operator & later civilian attached to 9th Signals Regt. Numbers stations were the reason I bought a Sangean AS909 multiband receiver some years ago. All the best, Rob in Switzerland
tell me you have switched over to SDR since then? the amount of hardware and software is so much better now days its not even funny, we can pull the carrier apart now and tell everything about who, what, when and where LOL
There's an 'abandoned' Naval station with huge arrays of HF antennas and old bunkers/buildings just outside of my town. I've always been fascinated with it and wanting to explore. Its gated up and still has signs of US Gov., but the land is now owned by a local farmer.. Quite confusing on how to go about exploring it.. But I would be willing to shoot some B-roll and photos if you ever felt like covering it @Ringway Manchester
If it's "abandoned" then my advice would be not to explore it - after all, if those shoot-on-sight signs are still present, then you had your fair warning in terms of not urbexing there. You could always contact the farmer, if they seem approachable. If it really is shut down and declassified, then he might be interested in knowing more about it, and if he knows that people shouldn't be going hear he should dissuade you.
The National Communication System function was handed over to the department of homeland security long ago. The "NCS" moniker used in the context of these facilities stands for National Clandestine Service. SIGINT training, covert transceiver development, and coded communication, and other training for the CIA takes place here.
'C'...Cryptologic...which should give an indication of which alphabet agency funds these sites. Don't ask how I know this, and I won't have to tell you any lies.
I bought a farm /land and inherited a huge govt antenna. Plugged in my Icom 7300 and Wizard Build 3CX15000A7. I got it from "BBI Amp builder". Going to talk around the world with that antenna and all the Kilowatts.
Take a look at the array of antennas on Embassy Row at Sheridan Circle (where Turkish street brawl occurred a few years ago). Look at all the antennas around the Romanian consulate/embassy.
The security there was completely mental, Their software they had to install on my company lap top totally fubarded it. ended up buying a special laptop to keep onsite. Couldn't even have my hearing aids as they were bluetooth. or my blood glucose meter as it has a usb connection. Two other contractors didn't want to leave their smart phones in their car. and didn't want to relinquish them either. A blacked out SUV picked them up andI never saw them again. Glad I don't work for that company anymore.
@@charlieb9502 I worked as a tech doing fiber optic, digital microwave and ended up retiring from a gateway earth station. Much of the equipment we used laptops that weren't hooked to the regular network. but were behind some routers with firewalls that even kept the company I worked for from pushing updates that screwed with GUI software. Our company network was real secure with multiple logins. I worked at a place once where they checked us at the gate, then you scanned your badge to get into a small room where you scanned it again with a pin to get though the next door. If you didn't have the pin you were in a locked room. Some of the guys I worked with were retired military, it would be interesting to talk to them about these training facilities.
@@charlieb9502 Well when I was in the Navy’s actual space program I was beside AND inside/flew silently hovering electromagneticgravitic triangle shaped air/spacecraft as well as the wing/tailless evolution of the F-117 Nighthawk also using a “anti gravity” propellent less propulsion system. Get some balls man, tell the Truth to your fellow man, the federal government is f*ckin corrupt as it gets ONLY SERVING THE GLOBALIST ELITE. If you’re a man of God you have nothing to fear. The “National Security” excuse is a f*ckin lie and cover to keep up the charade meanwhile they never have any intention of letting the public know ANYTHING for many many decades. That’s f*cked up, we could have an entirely different world. America won’t be for the people anymore if we let ridiculous levels of compartmentalization and secrecy keep the TRUTH from having its day. Speak out, do they own your voice? Do they own you? No? Then be a man, tell us.
@@Chris_at_Home The Army has highly secured and guarded places that are like what you describe, with bank like vaults that they keep documents in, that are supposed to be so highly classified, that if you are found inside the vault, by yourself, you will be arrested and imprisoned. There are signs warning those that enter that is what will happen. Signs also advise that if you must enter and don't have anyone with you, to contact an MP and request that someone enter the vault with you.
Nice! I drove through here a few years ago and was disappointed to see not much left in the way of HF antennas; just two rhombics and a log periodic at station C. Station D was quite a sight will all the satellite gear, though.
this place is what i've been snooping on for 2 years when i looked up where it was located, i would love for somebody to go there and see what they can see and find
Interesting that there is more than one facility Lewis brings a new meaning to number stations and again why? I always thought they were remote outback transmissions but clearly a more encrypted way to do these types of transmissions as we see here…. I like what you do and stand for ! 😎
The army had a satellite pointing tool available for their techs, this tool was on a public server but has since been moved into a private server. This tool showed where to point a dish no matter where you was. I followed the lines to where they pointed and it was a huge island out in the middle of the ocean covered in satellite dishes.
Is see you still buy the 'satellite' BS. Try thinking of these things over the Flat Earth for a change. Riddle me this: why are those 'satellite' dishes fixed and not gimballed?
@@jakleo337 who said I believe satellites are in space? Flat Earth is a psychological operation to conceal the fact the Earth isn't flat but it is much bigger than we are told, what we call Earth is located inside a crater on a giant planet. This is why we observe a flat Earth. Admiral Byrd discovered this and tried to tell the world but his words were convoluted with hollow and flat Earth propaganda.
I remember clearly hearing the very last of the e05 transmissions in 2003 it felt just like 5 years earlier on hearing the very last of the Swedish rhapsody number station broadcasts ..... it made feel like the agent.in the field as we were hanging on to the very "end of ende " to those transmissions in the spring of 98 just above the 80meter amateur band on 3.825mhz ....back to E05 however ....I used to hear its transmissions in 1997/98 very very strong in s.e essex uk in the evenings beaming to Europe and beyond with that Iranian jammer clearly warbling underneath the dsb-am suppressed carrier...... "American foreign policy has never been welcome in terhan" ......many readers of and contributers to ENIGMA newsletter were sure the transmissions were emanating from the us transmission facilities at uk Air base at Barford St John in Oxfordshire....hence the monster 9mhz band signal to essex that had a groundwave swirl and feel to it...
If you study the Tysons Corner image @7:25 note the number of white orbs that are present in the sky. (black / silver are also common) Experiencing or better still capturing a phenomena, normally boils down to being in the 'right place at the right time'. When your hobby or profession increases the amount of time spent in these 'phenomenal places', your far more likelier to be there at the 'right time' too - agreed? I'm hoping therefore that those of you within this specific community will have witnessed, experienced and perhaps even developed your own theories on what is behind this hitherto largely unexplained phenomena? If you've seen the orbs give this a thumbs up and at least we'll get a handle on awareness levels without folks having to elaborate now.
I think those are line bobbers, sorry I don't know the technical word, but they are on power lines and stuff I don't know why but I've seen them before, they're not lights
@@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783 I appreciate your taking the time to comment but you believing we could possibly 'miss identify fast moving self steering autonomous drone-like objects' for plastic baubles strung along a powerline' is a disingenuous notion my friend.
The area surrounding DC has some fascinating cold war era history associated with it. There's a bunch of facilities like this with very obscure and interesting history behind them. Some served as transmission sites but also doubled as fallback positions for key leadership of the military and civilian command infrastructure. While most the sites are no longer exactly a secret, many are still active though for other purposes like data centers, etc. Percievably they've been replaced with newer, secret locations or the government gave up the idea of having fixed hardened fallback positions all together.
I'ma let you in on a little secret... there's likely no stations A, B or both. Likely for the same reason there's only 5 SF Groups, and yet 2 of them are numbered 7th Group and 10th Group, with 10th Group being the oldest: good ol' PsyOps. Can't get further into that, for both lack of knowing and NDA, but it does present an interesting possibility
All it takes is a home made yagi antenna tuned to the frequency of the transmitter to find the direction. I don't believe that nobody could find it if they wanted to.
in the 80's i use to find mic keers had a mag mount in my hand and weht walk about and then put cb on 1/4 watt elastic band on the mic let it run only harmed him on bleed over
You know what I never understood? When someone is broadcasting to literal spies within your borders, why wouldn't you record that and play it over top of itself from your own towers? Maybe spend a week broadcasting a warning that you're going to do it to prevent Soviet era Deadman switches going off, but you certainly should shut that shit off immediately.
Also in Culpeper county is the "library of congress" its a hill that has an underground facility 6 foot lead walls and a tunnel that leads directly to the capital it was built in the 60's under Kennedy during the nuke crisis
These stations are used to communicate messages to personnel all across the world. After my uncle died we found out that he worked for the CIA and at times my Aunt said he would get messages on shortwave in code.
...and unfriendly governments are also willing to pay for information regarding secret stuff. That's why you are not informed. I've been out of the Navy for over 30 years and the ship I was on headed to China as chopped up scrap metal years ago. There is STILL stuff that I cannot discuss. Nothing earth-shattering or "James Bond level"...more along the general lines of you asking your bank about details on their security system...you just don't need to know.
Man, I used to live in Culpeper and Warrenton, and our family drove through Remington all the time! Would have been cool to know about this, but back then I was just getting started in radios, and I had no idea about anything outside of the ham bands
You have the Norfolk Naval Base, The Dahlgren Naval Weapons Testing Grounds, The York Naval Weapons Base and the Wallops Island Space Center in this area, among others like the NSA, CIA, and others operating around the DC area as well as occlusion zones for prototype and expiremental weapons testing off of the coast of VA and N. Carolina.. They are developing the NGAD system there and I saw the diamond shaped fighter jet, escorted by two Chinooks and a few FA 18s at around 3am while lying in a pool at Corova Beach 3 years ago..
Just as a bit of information, the underground bomb shelter for the Treasury Department was just outside Culpeper off Rt 3 and Rt 29. It used to house millions if not billions of dollars printed in red ink in case of nuclear war. The facility was handed over to the Smithsonian where they now house their collection of tapes, movies and recordings. It is open to the public.
@weedeater62 , you're correct, exactly what it's purpose is now, but it used to hold millions (more?) in gold and rooms for cabinet level and members of Congress (there are pictures out there showing the beds with the great seal that were in the facility). Idea being, USA gets blown to bits, these dudes can come out of hiding and go to countries that were not blown to bits and say "gold for food? 😬"
I always wanted to see the inside when I lived there. I didn't even know you could tour it. I am planning a trip back to do Skyline Drive next fall and will definitely make sure to go!
My grandfather was in the 2044th Communications Squadron at the Pentagon during the 80s. I have all sorts of fun stories from my family about his time in service. Like the FBI coming to fingerprint my family. When my mom asked why they needed the fingerprints, they apparently said "body identification". My cousin Paul told me that when he was in a van being a repeater for satellite TV my grandfather would mess with him and call him up and tell him he could see him, tell him where he was and what equipment he was using. One day he told him to shut his broadcast off because he was interfering with a NASA satellite. At one of his duty stations my grandmother went to find him for something and the MPs told her she couldn't be at that part of the base. Thankfully all they did was turn her around and told my grandfather to call home because she apparently passed a sign that said "Lethal force authorized past this point". My Uncle asked him how many times we came close to nuclear war, he didn't give a number but did say "Way more than we tell people". We also had a permanent phone tap until at least 10 years after he died. I'd give damn near anything to know more about what he got up to during his time in service, but sadly he died before I was born from cancer. He was initially stationed in a missile silo in a field in Texas and most of the people he served with died at about the same age from the same variety of cancer and it's a real shame. Even if I manage to get a cool job that gives me a security clearance I doubt I will ever learn more. With luck, when I'm old, maybe I can freedom of information his stuff. Or if someone who reads this may have served with him decided to contact me and share more information that would also be cool. Not asking for anything still classified, just want to hear more about the man that I never got to meet.
@@orourkeda not quite sure but look up pine gap, we also have had secrate underground communications facilities declassified, there would have to be some still around operating surely
As a tax-paying US citizen, I feel not only the desire to know what goes on but a distinct distrust. I am effectively paying for this site, the equipment, the land, the buildings, the employees, all of the training, and all of the activities, and yet I am not allowed to know anything about it. This seems distinctly against my best interest.
I know, me too, but I also know at least a few people who I wouldn't even want to know, what if they blab to the enemy, heck many living here are the enemy... So now what? I know the true Americans should know, but if we can trust them, it's cool, it's just with everything dark, we have zero oversight or ability to judge and Discern their character and trustworthiness. Not to mention their activities and at least basic explanation. I'm torn.
You forgot the other long wave signal that was broadcast from those locations as well. The long wave doomsday broadcast. That broadcasted the high altitude aviation weather for the US. Which would be used to determine the areas that would be affected by nuclear fallout in the event of a nuclear attack It went silent some time around the year 2,0000.
I was an information management specialist with the U.S. Department of State for 14 years, and if I had a quarter for every hour I spent at the Warrenton Training Center between 1985 and 1996, I could make a down payment on a nice car. I received my initial communications training there in the winter of 1985-86 before leaving for my first post, Frankfurt, Germany, and In the summer of 1991, when I was on my way to Africa, I was at the WTC for eight weeks. Stayed at the Comfort Inn Warrenton with the government paying for my food and lodging. Everybody in the town of Warrenton knows who owns WTC but they go along with the secrecy charade because WTC is VERY good for local business.
My mom conducted training out there from 1986 to maybe as late as 2005 at the one that is a giant underground facility in a hollowed out mountain. But her contract had to do with continuity of government, not foreign service or spying. They were concerned with evacuating the government to safe (undisclosed) locations so it could keep functioning in the event of a nuclear attack. The main Mount Weather bunker was first exposed in the 1970s after a passenger plane crashed nearby and all the emergency personnel responded to help any survivors, and the people of Warrenton were shocked to see hundreds of ambulances in a town that only had one or maybe two of their own ambulances at the time, so people started asking lots of questions.
@@PhilLesh69 I'm more than familiar with the program your mom was involved with. The so-called "Doomsday Program" which aimed at keeping the U.S. government operating in the event of a nuclear war was scrapped in 1990 after U.S. News and World Report ran a story on it. From 1988 to 1991 I was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia and we were a communication "hub" of that project. We had to participate in exercises pursuant to the Doomsday Program and in fact we had an officer working undercover as "special assistant to the ambassador" whose primary responsibility was handling liaison with Washington regarding it. A 1985 article in Scientific American outlined how communications between Washington and Air Force One would be maintained in the event of a nuclear attack.
@@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783 I have no idea. The article was published in 1990. You might just google "U.S. Doomsday Program" and see what you come up with. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
I remember when this information was initially published in Popular Communications magazine. The author contacted the FCC regarding station KKN50 and they replied that they could provide no information regarding KKN50, however, if this was in regard to harmful interference from KKN50, he should call a certain phone number.
NO. It was first publish on the front page of Monitoring Times (April 1984 but was not a joke). The Popular Communication article was later with a different author.
@@hardyharharv Alex Jones also broadcasts his crap on the shortwave, but there are people worse them him, the purely religious cult people who scam old people to pay for their propaganda
Enjoyed. How do I nicely write that audio example reference clips would have been fun during the exposition section of this video. My shortwave days are long over but I do recall some. It appears that RUclips decided to share this to my main page with me.
As an US Army communications expert any secret communication would not be broadcast in the clear which means you would not hear anything unless you had the secure equipment and there would be no reason to use code talk. The only reason I can see for transmitting in the clear would be long range communication such as across the ocean and even then it may have some sort of scramble device. But why when you can use satellite?
Transmitting in the clear, means your communications is not encrypted. Secure communications equipment would transmit communications in encrypted mode. When you refer to secret communication, do you mean communication classified at the Secret level, vs, Confidential or Top Secret, or do you just mean the communications are classified communications?
Because if caught with sofisticated gear you are automatically deemed a threat. Anyone can own a SWL receiver. Many still do. They can be had easy and don't have to be snuck into a country.
@@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783 numbers stations are used by the CIA to give orders to covert agents. It is coded and broadcast in the clear so that the agent can listen in using a standard receiver such as a radio or shortwave.
Can we suggest songs or genre? I like classic country, some 70-80's rock, but been listening to Messianic Christian music mostly. Yeah, I know, not that kind of station.
'Numbers stations' real purpose isn't the gibberish they transmit, there is no 'code-book' to decipher the hidden message. The actual 'message' is the exact moment one of these stations goes off the air. The weird sounds, words and other 'noise' is merely a means to authenticate the station to whoever is listening. Can't 'spoof' a signal if you have no earthly way of knowing what part of the message is real and what part is 'window dressing'.
I beg to differ. Numbers station can transmit actual coded messages. Decades ago, I saw some of the messages that were encoded in the numbers transmission. My job was to locate the numbers stations by direction finding. Other peoples jobs were to copy the messages, then cryptologists would decrypt the message and if necessary, the appropriate linguist would translate the foreign language. The purpose of the "noise" is to allow the person or persons the transmissions were intended for, to tune to the correct frequency as well as to act to indicate that the frequency was in use, so that no other station would tune to it and use it. Although that latter part was not always successful if the unwanted radio station transmitting could not hear the "noise" at their location. One reason for the use of "noise" channel markers, preambles etc. was to allow the intended listener to tune to it was due to the use of non-commercial short wave receivers that you could by from Radio Shack, or other stores. They were the type of shortwave radio receivers that, supposedly, would not arouse suspicions that the person owning it might be a spy.
@Ringway Manchester - I know that area. The next time I am down there I will send you some photos of facilities in that area. I also have some really good photos of radio towers and places here in USA that you are welcome to use in your videos. I am the photographer and originator and you have my permission to use them.
I remember many years ago, our family went for a vacation on Cyprus. We drove around the island in a rented car. We drove up into the Troodos mountains, and there near the peak, close to the road, was at least one (memory a bit foggy) large radome. I was very surprised to see it there. I suspected it probably had something to do with sigint, although I didn't know that term then, because it had a great vantage point. I found out long after, that we saw RAF Station Troodos, and indeed that's exactly what the antenna were for. There's also a radar station.
@@RingwayManchester Cyprus was the most amazing place I've ever been. I envy the guys that were stationed there. This was before the Turkish invasion. Don't know what it was like after, although it was a bit tense then too.
My grandma was stationed at station A from the early 80’s until her retirement around 2005. I never took it too seriously until I got older, and would pester her with questions, where she always answered she couldn’t discuss it.
When she retired, she had these little cia mementos (watch, flag, etc) that were displayed in the house. I picked up a knock off copy of the watch at a souvenir store in DC. When I showed it to her, she asked how much I paid for it and could she buy it from me. Sort of confused, I said sure, and she gave me the money and threw the watch in the trash. She told me please don’t wear anything like that, because someone may try and hurt me to get to her. She then told me never to tell others what her job was, which was pretty eerie to me.
I finally realized how serious her job was, after 1-2 years in retirement and with early stages of dementia, they called her back in for “interviews”. That happened a few times, until she stopped driving, and then they came to her house to “interview” her. I lived close by and came by the day of the interview, and they were putting away a polygraph machine when I walked in. I found it curious they were polygraphing someone with dementia, but they had their reasons I guess.
Lastly, she wasn’t the only senior citizen worker at the station. There was a group of older women who had been with the cia for decades. I knew my grandma had traveled all over Europe and North Africa in 60-70’s, and I think the WTC was a post for employees to live a more stable, normal life. She had a little cohort of coworkers, who all were mostly in their 60-70’s (my grandma was in her early 70’s). She was driving her coworkers back from a group lunch to station A, and apparently she was speeding down springs road. A town cop went to pull them over, but as he caught up to her, she was already pulling past the guard shack. She claimed she never saw him, but who knows the truth. The cop was so annoyed, he posted up outside the gate from about 1pm until about 4pm, until my grandma went to leave work. He pulled her over, told her she was speeding and it seemed like she fled. Being in her mid 70’s, she told him it was a simple mistake and she never saw him. He ended up giving her a ticket, and she said he was furious about the whole thing. It makes me laugh to think about this Buick Le Sabre loaded to the brim with women in their 70’s, seeing the cop coming, and saying “lets just see if I can get through the guard before he gets to me”. However when caught, just using the little old grandma card and getting out of trouble. Lol, amazing woman. RIP Ma
That’s an amazing story thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for taking the time to share this wonderful story and thank you Grandma for your service to your country. What a fantastic and dear sounding lady, may she forever rest in peace and her memories live on
Fascinating story. I have known a few spooks over the years. Most of them act like normal people. Sometimes they're a little TOO normal, like they've practiced being that way.
Everyone come laugh at mr schizo here
Polygraphing a grandma with Dementia and probably would have had no issue chucking her in military jail if the tests came back iffy. But hey they're the 'good guys' rememeber
I personally live in this area, and these stations are well known to locals as secret government facilities. I have driven by all of these areas at one point in time, and I drive by Station D on a regular basis.
That overhead view of the buildings with the circle of antennas reminds me of a FCC station near Allegan Michigan. Back in the Citizens Band kraze you needed to apply for a FCC license to use the CB radios. I called the FCC and spoke to the operator at the Allegan post. I drove there and got an application to mail in. It was late at night and just the operator and two of my friends with me got a tour of the set up. Monitor radios etc all over the inside. It was interesting, but that was long ago.
Clearly marked US Army. Not sure it’s that secret
No, the location of the facility is not secret. But, whatever they actually do inside the facility is secret. Not anymore though lol
@@gavinvalentino6002 maybe not the facility itself from the outside, but everything on the inside is
@@robertw1871 It says army, but it was really the navy. They apparently fooled you.
I used to live in Brandy Station, VA right down the road from Station D. The company I worked for was building a pole barn and inadvertently severed an underground communications line going to Station D and we had to shut down business operations until an investigation was done to show that it wasn't intentional and had FCC agents show up. They refused to comment as to what the purpose was of any of the transmitter stations were and were quite rude about it when asked. The underground cable was also not marked on any map and it's presence was not known to misdig. We checked with them to make sure there wasn't any gas, water or power lines. Each employee was required to be interviewed and background checks were done.
I never could get a solid answer as to what the stations were but most of the people I asked said it was military and that the underground cable led to the Pentagon. This was back in the 90's and it would be interesting to know what exactly those stations are.
Yeah, you damaged this cable you didn't know was there. That we didn't tell you about or ever planned on telling you. Are you trying to commit sabotage?
Lol wut
@@RoadRunnerMeep sounds like normal government BS to me. that doesnt even make me bat an eye.
Sounds like all of your rights were violated immensely.
You almost launched the nukes
@@rucker69 usa is way to obsessed with individual rights. the rights of society should trump those of individuals but that's a mistake of the constitution.
I Love Numbers Stations. So eerie and mysterious sounding. It's just a cool concept that you can listen to coded messages on a radio. As some one born in the 90s, it feels like they are using old tech because people just don't pay attention to it anymore. Then you learn how the hobbyists are all over this stuff and realize it is no secret but still, very cool lol.
Funny thing there. US Navy ships have the latest and greatest in Sat and radio equipment...Yet they still retain one rack that is a Ham operator's dream come true...The best receivers and transmitters available on the civilian market. All the bells and whistles if your thing is voice, radio modems, old-fashioned key, it's all there.
If the encryption is secure, then it doesn't really matter WHO hears it, and there is no way to determine if the hand on the key is wearing a uniform or not...or really even if it is a key and not wired into a computer. What better way to "hide" something than to transmit it from equipment available in any large city on freqs that the whole world uses?
In desert storm they had to break out wwII tube radios because of the sandstorms would render solid state worthless.
@@frizzlefry1921 each has its advantages. Solid state equipment handles shock, vibration, and impact much better, and is generally more accurate when trying to remain on a specific frequency. However, anything which alters the parameters of the circuits (like sand on a circuit board) or limits heat dissipation (like sand on a circuit board) will cause a malfunction or failure.
Tube equipment is a bit more robust as it by nature operates at higher temperatures. It is much more forgiving of circuit parameters being out of spec. You might be transmitting over a bit more of a freq range than you wanted to, but still actually have an output. On the bad side, it requires much more power to operate, and will be larger and heavier.
The ship I was on was launched in 1968 and still had a lot of the original tube equipment. I actually preferred it, as it just seemed to keep working and was easy to troubleshoot and repair when it did fail. That said, I wasn't having to lug it through an oversized sandbox while people were shooting at me.
Hiding in plain sight is always the best idea.
I have never been a radio geek and had someone suggested this channel instead of me finding it naturally I probably would've thought it would be boring
But you genuinely have a way of making (even non-espionage) topics really engaging
The endless loops were used to give propagation, so When you know what time a broadcast is supposed to come you tune to the loop frequency and you make sure you can hear that loop broadcasting which will tell you that the frequency on that same band coming from the same place that you're going to need you will be able to hear otherwise if you can't hear it then you go to an alternate loop station from a different location or maybe a different band
Once in a while on ham bands you will hear a tone being transmitted on one of the beacon frequencies that is specifically used to tune in the beacon to see if you can hear it from where you are in order to align antennas and to create a propagation map from any given location
Are the beacon still active? ALL I heard last time I put a radio on the beacon was FT 8 and CW on the beacon frequency. Not the becons cw ID but others transmitting on top of them
Poland and Russia still do it. In case of emergency null message, please listen spy, thank you.
@@gavinvalentino6002 sorry, I used text to speech and I don't know how to get it to add punctuation to the text.
@@ocsrc you just say the punctuation you want. "period", "question mark", "comma", etc.
@@ocsrc Like this... ruclips.net/video/Qf_TDuhk3No/видео.html
I was stationed on a secret base that was a huge antenna itself. WW2 and through the Viet nam war. When I was there it was a training base for radio operators. It even tested new technology in communications. This was not far from this location in your video.
There were huge loops of wire for extremely low frequency, these looped huge areas on the base. There were various microwave transmission antennas. Satellite dishes of various dimensions and some types I haven't seen since. I never knew their function.
It was designated as a natural wildlife refuge on the maps but had an obvious military gate entrance at the end of a long road.
ELF and VLF were/are used for communications with submarines, although they were normally closer to the coast. They were classified technology for awhile. Side note In the novel Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain; the authors talked about how the USSR had discovered (through the French) that the Americans were able to communication with submerged submarines. Not knowing of any tech at the time, they believed that the Americans used ESP to communicate with the subs which started their own psychokinesis programs. Book was written in the 70s, pretty sure it was unknown ELF tech.
@@DMill791 yes this was the scuttlebutt at the time, although I worked in a totally different field. I didn't want to say that myself not knowing what restrictions applied.
@@DMill791 I've often wondered, if one side or the other didn't mistakenly believe the other side was using some kind of ESP for clandestine comms, when in reality, it was advanced microwave technology.
There's a bunch of facilities like that in the state forests and national parks surrounding DC, from North Carolina all the way up into Pennsylvania. AT&T managed a bunch of them and percievably still does.
This reminds me of two sites that were used as bases for the Ministry of Defence British, Cypriot and German network, based in Wakefield and Warrington. They mainly were used as a directory enquiries service for the MOD, where people on bases could ask for connection to another base or people on the civvy operator could ask to be connected to mil bases.
The Wakefield site was hidden in a BT tower block, the bottom floors were a switchboard, storage and where BT engineers were based but people with the correct ID and fob could access higher floors, where the secret stuff was. The top of the building was, and still is to some extent, covered in various satellite and radio broadcast and receive dishes and antenna, part of this was for INMARSAT, used during OPTELIC operations in Iraq and Afghanistan etc.
Wakefield also had a training ‘fishbowl’ like Warrington, both sites were part of a tri-service body run by the MOD as the Defence Communications Services Agency, for some time under Major Tony Raper. The Wakefield and Warrington sites certainly both had recording/playback facilities and were used as the ‘MOD Emergency Operator’ and Wakefield at one time linked up with sites down under too. They also had an autodialler facility, that got BT into lots of bother.
Employees, a mix of ex service personnel and civvy, had strict protocols and scripts, if anyone asked where they were based or what they did etc, very similar to the wording you used in this video, funnily enough. Most of this became public knowledge over the years, likely except for the INMARSAT part, but I doubt if anyone ever got to the bottom of what the relays and antennas all did or what else was hidden, given that they successfully hid major military infrastructure in the cities disguised so well for years.
And as they should have hidden stuff in plain sight. Just because the Warsaw Pact dissolved didn't mean that other things didn't need monitoring.
You mean down under as in Australia? We definitely have this kinda stuff here
This is fascinating. I've been listening to numbers stations for some time and it's nice to see a location to connect some of them
Awesome video! Probably the most I've ever seen someone go into detail on the CIA's number stations. Also, besides E05 there are several other stations that were in the CIA's network. Those being G05, and V05 for agents likely in Germany and Cuba. There's also a few others E14, G14, and even a station where the CIA collaborated with the West German BND!
I remember the Yosemite Sam station.
"Varmint, I'm a gonna blow you to smithereenies!" lol! xD
ruclips.net/video/kTS3vGBKGWY/видео.html
Dang I recognized that pic before you said Culpepper. Used to live near there. The installation I lived at was shut down. Quite a while after a CIA agent was shot by a sniper. NOT where we were but three mile away at CIA headquarters. Soon after we were stationed elsewhere they removed active duty personnel that were . . . associated and shut the p;ace down. My kids were little when we lived there. Do no miss the drama.
First rate Lewis ! Though our CG units didn't have any intelligence/counterintelligence involvement, we were trained as to the types of comms gear and other "paraphernalia" so we'd know what we were looking at if we found any of it on the foreign vessels we boarded everyday. The general consensus is that the numbers are part of a "one time pad" cypher system which at one time were the preferred method as only the two people who were sender and receiver could code/decode. In all the years I was in, only once did we come across a "spy ship", and it was so obvious with a myriad of antennae beyond that which is normal - a few vertical VHF, and a few HF long wire. Now today toss in some SATCOM... This thing had Yagi's, Discone's, Loops, Beams. And more than the obligatory VHFs and SSBs.
Odd that you would say the CG, I assume you mean U.S. Coast Guard, does not have any intelligence involvement. When worked as a U.S. government employee, involved in monitoring radio communications, the first office I worked at frequently assisted an intelligence unit of the CG.
@@RetiredRadioChaser This might have been AFTER the era of old school CG RM's were changed over to TC's where IMO was the downhill slop of CG Communications, which as far as I'm concerned are pretty much at what I view as, non-existent today. But when I was an RM at NMO (Commsta Honolulu), we used to get tasked with monitoring freqs and providing backup to the receiver side of the NSA's monitoring facility next to our building. It was always morse code though so I'm guessing that's why they came to us, not the Navy. Navy at the time, though we were co-located at NAVCAMS EASTPAC, they were not much for code. 73's
@@tc1uscg65 The time I worked with them was 1987 - 1996.
As for morse code intercept, I was the office expert, having been a trained and experienced morse code (send and receive) operator as a component of my military MOS.
@@RetiredRadioChaser One of the guys in my duty section did what you did. He use to talk about "monitoring Russian CW operators". Though not talked about in "A" school other then they were great code operators, he would teach us the extra characters the Russians used. We used CW, along with voice, RTTY, every day on watch. We, the CG, stopped teaching CW in Dec 1994 and officially stopped using it in 1995, which was a sad day for us old school radiomen. They changed our rate to TC (telecommunications specialist) and it was all downhill from there. When we graduated from "A" school, we had to send 16wpm and copy 18. That was the minimum. By the time you made E6, you had to be able to send and copy 30+ wpm. Getting a speed key cert was like a rite of passage in those days. I never went into the ham world but I do still tune in to HF and copy code. My wife thinks I'm crazy. Cheers and thanks for your service mate.
@@tc1uscg65 If he copied Russians then he was a better morse op than I. Sounded like a string of dits and dahs to me, with an occasional pause. LOL
I had to pass 15 send 18 copy, with a stick. Of course with experience I was able to copy and send faster. I worked with a guy in Vietnam that would unplug the morse key and plug in a speed key. I could not copy his morse, too fast. He worked Russians too when he was stationed in Europe and could copy what they sent.
In morse code school, I watched an E-6 instructor copy 35 gpm with one hand, light and smoke a cigarette, while drinking a cup of coffee and having a conversation with the students. Copied 5 or 10 minutes of code and it was 100% correct!
Very nice video. I live near these facilities and know them well, as do most folks that have been in the area for any length of time. Interesting to see familiar sites on here!
At the VOA museum at the old Bethany VOA transmitter site during the tour they refer to number stations in part of their tour. They say that they did number stations from one of the transmitters there in Bethany Ohio.
Great video Lewis makes a difference when it’s fresh information on number stations.
Alot of the numbers stations that have stopped transmission is because the USG switched to digital in 2003-4; and there are new more secure ways of transmitting information.
Love your channel, I know nothing about radios, signals, or communications, but you have got me interested in learning. Thank you so much!
If you want to find a military installation. Look for a fence and oddly perfectly cut grass that would improve sight lines from the building.
One of the sites, Vint Hill Farm, is now an air traffic control centre and electronic intelligence museum. Great report. Oh, know the Tyson's Corner tower well, used vhf and uhf networks. Oh, there are additional hf antennas in Arlington VA. Thanks for the video.
Vint Hill Farm was the opposite... it was a receiving station and not a transmitting station. It was shut down because the area was becoming more built up and the noise floor was increasing.
@@kludgeaudio And there were a lot of other things going on at VHFS too. We had satellite schedules so that we could get equipment inside or covered whenever foreign intelligence satellites were overhead.
@@TimberWolf762 when were you there? I was stationed there early 90’s.
@@lat4227 I was a contractor with MVP 1990-1996. I bounced around VHFS, Ft. Meade, and various other NSA locations. Worked with IMMC, PEO/IEWD, and SIFO at VH. Where were you?
Great video, Lewis. Did you consult the Enigma2000 group publications? I was a former 'lurker' in the group, as the son of a former 'Y' group (Beaumanor) operator & later civilian attached to 9th Signals Regt. Numbers stations were the reason I bought a Sangean AS909 multiband receiver some years ago. All the best, Rob in Switzerland
tell me you have switched over to SDR since then?
the amount of hardware and software is so much better now days its not even funny, we can pull the carrier apart now and tell everything about who, what, when and where LOL
There's an 'abandoned' Naval station with huge arrays of HF antennas and old bunkers/buildings just outside of my town. I've always been fascinated with it and wanting to explore. Its gated up and still has signs of US Gov., but the land is now owned by a local farmer.. Quite confusing on how to go about exploring it.. But I would be willing to shoot some B-roll and photos if you ever felt like covering it @Ringway Manchester
If it's "abandoned" then my advice would be not to explore it - after all, if those shoot-on-sight signs are still present, then you had your fair warning in terms of not urbexing there. You could always contact the farmer, if they seem approachable. If it really is shut down and declassified, then he might be interested in knowing more about it, and if he knows that people shouldn't be going hear he should dissuade you.
Yeah I would stay away. Oftentimes these places pay rent to be on private property so it may not be shut down.
Hi Lewis, I found your channel because of number stations but I stayed for everything else that you produce.
Thanks, Ian
Thanks so much Ian
@@RingwayManchester 👍🏼
The National Communication System function was handed over to the department of homeland security long ago. The "NCS" moniker used in the context of these facilities stands for National Clandestine Service. SIGINT training, covert transceiver development, and coded communication, and other training for the CIA takes place here.
scary
10000000
Makes sense
"National Clandestine Service" - That may be an inside joke at the NCS but it surely isn't what "NCS" stands for.
'C'...Cryptologic...which should give an indication of which alphabet agency funds these sites. Don't ask how I know this, and I won't have to tell you any lies.
Super great vid! Lots of info. Great job! I used to listen to "CynthIA" on my JRC NRD-525 all of the time back in the day!
I miss Cold War shortwave radio. It was amazing what you could hear.
NCS="National Communicatons System", established in 1963 to enable communications during a national crisis.
I bought a farm /land and inherited a huge govt antenna. Plugged in my Icom 7300 and Wizard Build 3CX15000A7. I got it from "BBI Amp builder".
Going to talk around the world with that antenna and all the Kilowatts.
So surreal to have a RUclipsr from across the pond talk about the area I live in.
Take a look at the array of antennas on Embassy Row at Sheridan Circle (where Turkish street brawl occurred a few years ago). Look at all the antennas around the Romanian consulate/embassy.
We don't often get in-depth information about number stations. Even for the ones that have gone security remains tight-lipped..
Something in this video triggered my Google home to search for "Lumos from station Cindy"
LOL I commissioned all the power switchgear at these locations. And UPS systems for the data centers.
The security there was completely mental, Their software they had to install on my company lap top totally fubarded it.
ended up buying a special laptop to keep onsite.
Couldn't even have my hearing aids as they were bluetooth.
or my blood glucose meter as it has a usb connection.
Two other contractors didn't want to leave their smart phones in their car.
and didn't want to relinquish them either. A blacked out SUV picked them up andI never saw them again.
Glad I don't work for that company anymore.
I know a lot more about these places but I value my life and I won't say any more about it.
@@charlieb9502 I worked as a tech doing fiber optic, digital microwave and ended up retiring from a gateway earth station. Much of the equipment we used laptops that weren't hooked to the regular network. but were behind some routers with firewalls that even kept the company I worked for from pushing updates that screwed with GUI software. Our company network was real secure with multiple logins. I worked at a place once where they checked us at the gate, then you scanned your badge to get into a small room where you scanned it again with a pin to get though the next door. If you didn't have the pin you were in a locked room. Some of the guys I worked with were retired military, it would be interesting to talk to them about these training facilities.
@@charlieb9502 Well when I was in the Navy’s actual space program I was beside AND inside/flew silently hovering electromagneticgravitic triangle shaped air/spacecraft as well as the wing/tailless evolution of the F-117 Nighthawk also using a “anti gravity” propellent less propulsion system. Get some balls man, tell the Truth to your fellow man, the federal government is f*ckin corrupt as it gets ONLY SERVING THE GLOBALIST ELITE. If you’re a man of God you have nothing to fear. The “National Security” excuse is a f*ckin lie and cover to keep up the charade meanwhile they never have any intention of letting the public know ANYTHING for many many decades. That’s f*cked up, we could have an entirely different world. America won’t be for the people anymore if we let ridiculous levels of compartmentalization and secrecy keep the TRUTH from having its day. Speak out, do they own your voice? Do they own you? No? Then be a man, tell us.
@@Chris_at_Home The Army has highly secured and guarded places that are like what you describe, with bank like vaults that they keep documents in, that are supposed to be so highly classified, that if you are found inside the vault, by yourself, you will be arrested and imprisoned. There are signs warning those that enter that is what will happen.
Signs also advise that if you must enter and don't have anyone with you, to contact an MP and request that someone enter the vault with you.
That's mad. I live a short distance from Nauen and never knew the radio transmitter there was used as a number station. Cool!
Nice! I drove through here a few years ago and was disappointed to see not much left in the way of HF antennas; just two rhombics and a log periodic at station C. Station D was quite a sight will all the satellite gear, though.
this place is what i've been snooping on for 2 years when i looked up where it was located, i would love for somebody to go there and see what they can see and find
Interesting that there is more than one facility Lewis brings a new meaning to number stations and again why? I always thought they were remote outback transmissions but clearly a more encrypted way to do these types of transmissions as we see here…. I like what you do and stand for ! 😎
No way! My family has a lake house not too far from there and I remember driving past that place a few times. That's crazy.
America has radio bases here in central Australia, pine gap has a huge communication base.
The army had a satellite pointing tool available for their techs, this tool was on a public server but has since been moved into a private server. This tool showed where to point a dish no matter where you was. I followed the lines to where they pointed and it was a huge island out in the middle of the ocean covered in satellite dishes.
@@stargazer7644 yeah I know right? I found it rather peculiar as well.
@@frankh.3849 what vertical angle? Maybe it’s geostationary above that island, or maybe sats beam to a ground station there which relays the signal
Is see you still buy the 'satellite' BS. Try thinking of these things over the Flat Earth for a change. Riddle me this: why are those 'satellite' dishes fixed and not gimballed?
@@jakleo337 that joke is getting real old now…
@@jakleo337 who said I believe satellites are in space? Flat Earth is a psychological operation to conceal the fact the Earth isn't flat but it is much bigger than we are told, what we call Earth is located inside a crater on a giant planet. This is why we observe a flat Earth. Admiral Byrd discovered this and tried to tell the world but his words were convoluted with hollow and flat Earth propaganda.
Hi Lewis,
This makes you wonder what they are up to these days, keep up the good work
Cheers
Dave.
I remember clearly hearing the very last of the e05 transmissions in 2003 it felt just like 5 years earlier on hearing the very last of the Swedish rhapsody number station broadcasts ..... it made feel like the agent.in the field as we were hanging on to the very "end of ende " to those transmissions in the spring of 98 just above the 80meter amateur band on 3.825mhz ....back to E05 however ....I used to hear its transmissions in 1997/98 very very strong in s.e essex uk in the evenings beaming to Europe and beyond with that Iranian jammer clearly warbling underneath the dsb-am suppressed carrier...... "American foreign policy has never been welcome in terhan" ......many readers of and contributers to ENIGMA newsletter were sure the transmissions were emanating from the us transmission facilities at uk Air base at Barford St John in Oxfordshire....hence the monster 9mhz band signal to essex that had a groundwave swirl and feel to it...
Great Video. Thanks for all the time you invested. I enjoy your channel. Keep them coming.
If you study the Tysons Corner image @7:25 note the number of white orbs that are present in the sky. (black / silver are also common)
Experiencing or better still capturing a phenomena, normally boils down to being in the 'right place at the right time'. When your hobby or profession increases the amount of time spent in these 'phenomenal places', your far more likelier to be there at the 'right time' too - agreed? I'm hoping therefore that those of you within this specific community will have witnessed, experienced and perhaps even developed your own theories on what is behind this hitherto largely unexplained phenomena? If you've seen the orbs give this a thumbs up and at least we'll get a handle on awareness levels without folks having to elaborate now.
I think those are line bobbers, sorry I don't know the technical word, but they are on power lines and stuff I don't know why but I've seen them before, they're not lights
@@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783 I appreciate your taking the time to comment but you believing we could possibly 'miss identify fast moving self steering autonomous drone-like objects' for plastic baubles strung along a powerline' is a disingenuous notion my friend.
hearing all the mentions of culpeper virginia, I was literally just there buying some car parts and I never knew I drove right by all this stuff!
if you plan on driving, hope you take pics of the radio station
The area surrounding DC has some fascinating cold war era history associated with it. There's a bunch of facilities like this with very obscure and interesting history behind them. Some served as transmission sites but also doubled as fallback positions for key leadership of the military and civilian command infrastructure. While most the sites are no longer exactly a secret, many are still active though for other purposes like data centers, etc. Percievably they've been replaced with newer, secret locations or the government gave up the idea of having fixed hardened fallback positions all together.
I'ma let you in on a little secret... there's likely no stations A, B or both. Likely for the same reason there's only 5 SF Groups, and yet 2 of them are numbered 7th Group and 10th Group, with 10th Group being the oldest: good ol' PsyOps. Can't get further into that, for both lack of knowing and NDA, but it does present an interesting possibility
So what were they used for?
Dude these videos are so interesting, I have no idea why but they are.
Love anything about number stations. thank you very much, a very well produced and informative video, will check out more...
All it takes is a home made yagi antenna tuned to the frequency of the transmitter to find the direction. I don't believe that nobody could find it if they wanted to.
Yeah a "Foxhunt antenna"
in the 80's i use to find mic keers
had a mag mount in my hand and weht walk about
and then put cb on 1/4 watt elastic band on the mic let it run
only harmed him on bleed over
I want to make a numbers station that just spams meme sound effects.
Super! More on number stations please!
Lisstened to them many times back in the late '70's
You know what I never understood? When someone is broadcasting to literal spies within your borders, why wouldn't you record that and play it over top of itself from your own towers?
Maybe spend a week broadcasting a warning that you're going to do it to prevent Soviet era Deadman switches going off, but you certainly should shut that shit off immediately.
Also in Culpeper county is the "library of congress" its a hill that has an underground facility 6 foot lead walls and a tunnel that leads directly to the capital it was built in the 60's under Kennedy during the nuke crisis
Sister-site in the UK was collocated at Croughton's Barford St-John HF tx annex.
These stations are used to communicate messages to personnel all across the world. After my uncle died we found out that he worked for the CIA and at times my Aunt said he would get messages on shortwave in code.
Really? What kind of work did they have him do?
Civilians should always be informed, we pay for all this.
Goverments snoop on your every move. Now you know.
...and unfriendly governments are also willing to pay for information regarding secret stuff. That's why you are not informed.
I've been out of the Navy for over 30 years and the ship I was on headed to China as chopped up scrap metal years ago. There is STILL stuff that I cannot discuss. Nothing earth-shattering or "James Bond level"...more along the general lines of you asking your bank about details on their security system...you just don't need to know.
What do number stations purpose be? I mean numbers repeated over and over is not a code. I suppose
Man, I used to live in Culpeper and Warrenton, and our family drove through Remington all the time!
Would have been cool to know about this, but back then I was just getting started in radios, and I had no idea about anything outside of the ham bands
Keep up the good work Louis 👍
Hi Louis. Brilliant again need more like this.
You have the Norfolk Naval Base, The Dahlgren Naval Weapons Testing Grounds, The York Naval Weapons Base and the Wallops Island Space Center in this area, among others like the NSA, CIA, and others operating around the DC area as well as occlusion zones for prototype and expiremental weapons testing off of the coast of VA and N. Carolina.. They are developing the NGAD system there and I saw the diamond shaped fighter jet, escorted by two Chinooks and a few FA 18s at around 3am while lying in a pool at Corova Beach 3 years ago..
Just as a bit of information, the underground bomb shelter for the Treasury Department was just outside Culpeper off Rt 3 and Rt 29. It used to house millions if not billions of dollars printed in red ink in case of nuclear war. The facility was handed over to the Smithsonian where they now house their collection of tapes, movies and recordings. It is open to the public.
I've ridden by it several times as a kid - always wanted to have a look inside, and now you tell me I can!? 🤯
@@scottdotjazzman Google Maps says it's part of the Library of Congress. The National Audio Visual Conservation Center.
@weedeater62 , you're correct, exactly what it's purpose is now, but it used to hold millions (more?) in gold and rooms for cabinet level and members of Congress (there are pictures out there showing the beds with the great seal that were in the facility). Idea being, USA gets blown to bits, these dudes can come out of hiding and go to countries that were not blown to bits and say "gold for food? 😬"
Have you got a source for those red ink dollars because I can’t find anything on Google
I always wanted to see the inside when I lived there. I didn't even know you could tour it. I am planning a trip back to do Skyline Drive next fall and will definitely make sure to go!
My grandfather was in the 2044th Communications Squadron at the Pentagon during the 80s. I have all sorts of fun stories from my family about his time in service. Like the FBI coming to fingerprint my family. When my mom asked why they needed the fingerprints, they apparently said "body identification".
My cousin Paul told me that when he was in a van being a repeater for satellite TV my grandfather would mess with him and call him up and tell him he could see him, tell him where he was and what equipment he was using. One day he told him to shut his broadcast off because he was interfering with a NASA satellite.
At one of his duty stations my grandmother went to find him for something and the MPs told her she couldn't be at that part of the base. Thankfully all they did was turn her around and told my grandfather to call home because she apparently passed a sign that said "Lethal force authorized past this point".
My Uncle asked him how many times we came close to nuclear war, he didn't give a number but did say "Way more than we tell people". We also had a permanent phone tap until at least 10 years after he died.
I'd give damn near anything to know more about what he got up to during his time in service, but sadly he died before I was born from cancer. He was initially stationed in a missile silo in a field in Texas and most of the people he served with died at about the same age from the same variety of cancer and it's a real shame. Even if I manage to get a cool job that gives me a security clearance I doubt I will ever learn more. With luck, when I'm old, maybe I can freedom of information his stuff. Or if someone who reads this may have served with him decided to contact me and share more information that would also be cool. Not asking for anything still classified, just want to hear more about the man that I never got to meet.
Finding out where they come from destroys the mystery.
Some mystery in life is needed.
Lincolnshire poacher is in Cyprus if anyone is interested...
What was the one that they tried to set up in Australia?
@@orourkeda Not sure about that one, but I know a little bit about the Poacher due to some time spent at Akrotiri
Plenty on the BBC about it
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincolnshire_Poacher_(numbers_station)
@@orourkeda not quite sure but look up pine gap, we also have had secrate underground communications facilities declassified, there would have to be some still around operating surely
As a tax-paying US citizen, I feel not only the desire to know what goes on but a distinct distrust. I am effectively paying for this site, the equipment, the land, the buildings, the employees, all of the training, and all of the activities, and yet I am not allowed to know anything about it. This seems distinctly against my best interest.
This might shock you but there is quite a bit of "secret stuff." Would you feel secure if there was not?
I know, me too, but I also know at least a few people who I wouldn't even want to know, what if they blab to the enemy, heck many living here are the enemy... So now what? I know the true Americans should know, but if we can trust them, it's cool, it's just with everything dark, we have zero oversight or ability to judge and Discern their character and trustworthiness. Not to mention their activities and at least basic explanation. I'm torn.
Lol. Get over it. Here’s your refund of $1.22
I grew up in remington...
There were so many antennas in that field in the early 90s.
You forgot the other long wave signal that was broadcast from those locations as well. The long wave doomsday broadcast. That broadcasted the high altitude aviation weather for the US. Which would be used to determine the areas that would be affected by nuclear fallout in the event of a nuclear attack It went silent some time around the year 2,0000.
The year 20000? Man, that will have been a long time ago someday far from now.
@@leegleason 2,00 leagues beneath the sea 🤣
I was an information management specialist with the U.S. Department of State for 14 years, and if I had a quarter for every hour I spent at the Warrenton Training Center between 1985 and 1996, I could make a down payment on a nice car. I received my initial communications training there in the winter of 1985-86 before leaving for my first post, Frankfurt, Germany, and In the summer of 1991, when I was on my way to Africa, I was at the WTC for eight weeks. Stayed at the Comfort Inn Warrenton with the government paying for my food and lodging. Everybody in the town of Warrenton knows who owns WTC but they go along with the secrecy charade because WTC is VERY good for local business.
My mom conducted training out there from 1986 to maybe as late as 2005 at the one that is a giant underground facility in a hollowed out mountain. But her contract had to do with continuity of government, not foreign service or spying. They were concerned with evacuating the government to safe (undisclosed) locations so it could keep functioning in the event of a nuclear attack.
The main Mount Weather bunker was first exposed in the 1970s after a passenger plane crashed nearby and all the emergency personnel responded to help any survivors, and the people of Warrenton were shocked to see hundreds of ambulances in a town that only had one or maybe two of their own ambulances at the time, so people started asking lots of questions.
@@PhilLesh69 I'm more than familiar with the program your mom was involved with. The so-called "Doomsday Program" which aimed at keeping the U.S. government operating in the event of a nuclear war was scrapped in 1990 after U.S. News and World Report ran a story on it. From 1988 to 1991 I was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia and we were a communication "hub" of that project. We had to participate in exercises pursuant to the Doomsday Program and in fact we had an officer working undercover as "special assistant to the ambassador" whose primary responsibility was handling liaison with Washington regarding it. A 1985 article in Scientific American outlined how communications between Washington and Air Force One would be maintained in the event of a nuclear attack.
@@alexanderdupuis is that article online? Would love to read it if you have a link. 😊
@@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783 I have no idea. The article was published in 1990. You might just google "U.S. Doomsday Program" and see what you come up with. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
JHC, everyone in Culpeper County knows what and where these facilities are!
Nice to see an R-1000. I still use one. 😊
So do I, had it years and love it.
Greetings from the area! Fauquier County - local pronunciation: "Faw-Keer".
I remember when this information was initially published in Popular Communications magazine. The author contacted the FCC regarding station KKN50 and they replied that they could provide no information regarding KKN50, however, if this was in regard to harmful interference from KKN50, he should call a certain phone number.
Ah interesting stuff! Do you know if he phoned?
@@RingwayManchester The article did not say if he phoned.
NO. It was first publish on the front page of Monitoring Times (April 1984 but was not a joke). The Popular Communication article was later with a different author.
Better than listening to some of the Evangelical U.S. stations!!
(Kinda sorry I put this post up!!!)
It's sickening listening to those idiots.
Out of genuine ignorance, those stations would be?
@@hardyharharv en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortwave_broadcasting_in_the_United_States
@@hardyharharv extreme religious propaganda, virtually always tied with an excessively right wing political bent.
@@hardyharharv Alex Jones also broadcasts his crap on the shortwave, but there are people worse them him, the purely religious cult people who scam old people to pay for their propaganda
Wow. This was an "edge of my seat" story the whole way through!
Enjoyed. How do I nicely write that audio example reference clips would have been fun during the exposition section of this video. My shortwave days are long over but I do recall some. It appears that RUclips decided to share this to my main page with me.
@1:30 hrmm what the heck of those? Looks like someone startd a mixed polcarity FM broadcast antenna but stopped half way :)
Can't say I understand everything but what I did understand was very interesting
Great vid, thank you 👌🏻👏🏻
As an US Army communications expert any secret communication would not be broadcast in the clear which means you would not hear anything unless you had the secure equipment and there would be no reason to use code talk. The only reason I can see for transmitting in the clear would be long range communication such as across the ocean and even then it may have some sort of scramble device. But why when you can use satellite?
Transmitting in the clear, means your communications is not encrypted.
Secure communications equipment would transmit communications in encrypted mode.
When you refer to secret communication, do you mean communication classified at the Secret level, vs, Confidential or Top Secret, or do you just mean the communications are classified communications?
So what are the number stations used for? Thank you 😊
Because if caught with sofisticated gear you are automatically deemed a threat. Anyone can own a SWL receiver. Many still do. They can be had easy and don't have to be snuck into a country.
@@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783 numbers stations are used by the CIA to give orders to covert agents. It is coded and broadcast in the clear so that the agent can listen in using a standard receiver such as a radio or shortwave.
@@AldoSchmedack right! In that case I can see it.
Very interesting mate as always.
Can we suggest songs or genre? I like classic country, some 70-80's rock, but been listening to Messianic Christian music mostly. Yeah, I know, not that kind of station.
The Nauen station inspired the architect of Radio Kootwijk, The Netherlands, the resemblance is undeniable.
'Numbers stations' real purpose isn't the gibberish they transmit, there is no 'code-book' to decipher the hidden message.
The actual 'message' is the exact moment one of these stations goes off the air.
The weird sounds, words and other 'noise' is merely a means to authenticate the station to whoever is listening.
Can't 'spoof' a signal if you have no earthly way of knowing what part of the message is real and what part is 'window dressing'.
I beg to differ. Numbers station can transmit actual coded messages. Decades ago, I saw some of the messages that were encoded in the numbers transmission. My job was to locate the numbers stations by direction finding. Other peoples jobs were to copy the messages, then cryptologists would decrypt the message and if necessary, the appropriate linguist would translate the foreign language.
The purpose of the "noise" is to allow the person or persons the transmissions were intended for, to tune to the correct frequency as well as to act to indicate that the frequency was in use, so that no other station would tune to it and use it. Although that latter part was not always successful if the unwanted radio station transmitting could not hear the "noise" at their location.
One reason for the use of "noise" channel markers, preambles etc. was to allow the intended listener to tune to it was due to the use of non-commercial short wave receivers that you could by from Radio Shack, or other stores. They were the type of shortwave radio receivers that, supposedly, would not arouse suspicions that the person owning it might be a spy.
Numbers stations are fascinating if not frustrating. I would like to learn more about them
Must be like breaking into a usb safe with a usb stick pink Panthers.
I lived near Tysons for my entire childhood. Always wondered what that tower near the interchange did.
@Ringway Manchester - I know that area. The next time I am down there I will send you some photos of facilities in that area. I also have some really good photos of radio towers and places here in USA that you are welcome to use in your videos. I am the photographer and originator and you have my permission to use them.
How cool! 😊
Fascinating as always
Great piece!!!
Around the turn of the century I heard a few of these stations. Kinda eerie.
Fantastic. Great content always
Damn golf balls
Hearing the Lincolnshire Poacher still makes me reach for a pencil to transcribe numbers.
I had it as the ringtone on my phone many years ago. Interesting to see whose ears perked up when it rang on a train!
Great research on this. 👍
I remember many years ago, our family went for a vacation on Cyprus. We drove around the island in a rented car. We drove up into the Troodos mountains, and there near the peak, close to the road, was at least one (memory a bit foggy) large radome. I was very surprised to see it there. I suspected it probably had something to do with sigint, although I didn't know that term then, because it had a great vantage point. I found out long after, that we saw RAF Station Troodos, and indeed that's exactly what the antenna were for. There's also a radar station.
I have similar memories from years ago, I just remember the no photography signs everywhere!
@@RingwayManchester Cyprus was the most amazing place I've ever been. I envy the guys that were stationed there. This was before the Turkish invasion. Don't know what it was like after, although it was a bit tense then too.
1:05 can someone please explain to me why there’s a Yugoslavian embassy in canada if the country doesn’t exist anymore??
🤔
this isnt new, we have had a station like this in the UK for the last 50 years...
You’re joking? I had no idea! Thank you so much to letting me know! 🙄