Wake up the Secret Agent sleeping in you!

Short wave radio transmissions are used by spy networks, among others. These particular radio waves reflect from the ionosphere, travel and reach the entire world, making it difficult to localize their source. The receivers that are used to listen to these transmissions are widely available too: these are the little analog 'world receivers' that were in use not such a long time ago, before the advent of internet radios. Their inconspicuous appearance allows them to be owned without betraying your belonging to a spy network.

The so-called Number Stations transmit codes agents abroad. Deciphering keys are transmitted either as spoken numbers, words, or Morse code-like pulses. Number Station frequencies are always changing, and transmission schedules are unknown. It requires patience to discover one of them during activity, although collaborative sites such as Priyom.org make this task easier.

I would like to thank myNoise user Christian Brown (@PriusPilot), who spent a lot of time collecting the communications heard in this soundscape! All recordings are genuine transmissions, that went into the air around the second half of 2014.

Purists may wonder why this soundscape has been made stereophonic, when the original transmissions are monaural. Not only does it sound cooler, but invites you to experience what military radio operators from counter-intelligence are hearing when monitoring multiple communications simultaneously. Stereo-spreading techniques are used to improve intelligibility and reduce fatigue.

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