What other theories are there?

There are many other theory some are plausible other are not so plausible.

The below are just some of the other theories.

Messages between drug runners

This is plausible but I would think that transmissions would be less regular. The DEA in America say that the number station have nothing to do with drug running.

Messages from UFOs or space craft.

Nasa says the number station have nothing to do with them and if UFOs wanted to contact us why would they play funny music followed by numbers?

Encoded horse racing results.

Now your really scraping the barrel! Why would anyone bother?

European number stations.

During the cold war the air waves were full of number station most of them were German language stations.

These days most of the stations you can hear in Europe today are probably aimed at the Middle East and are in English.

American number stations

If you listen in North America you will probably hear Spanish language

number stations.

Most of these will be broadcast to or from central American counties.

American stations can be heard in Europe and I am sure that European and Middle Eastern stations can be heard in North America .

The number of number stations in Latin America is actually increased in recent years.

Descriptions of some of the stations.

Below are the details of four stations that can be easily received from the UK .

The Lincolnshire poacher

This station started in the early 1990s. It's a five figure station English language station that uses the Lincolnshire poacher folk song as a call sign.

It starts on the hour and always broadcasts two hundred five figure groups.

It broadcasts in USB and is believed to be run by MI6 and is believed to broadcast from Cyprus to agents in the middle east.

Hear a recording of this station

See the schedule of this station

Nato phonic alphabet.

This station has been logged as long ago as the 1960s and it is probably the longest running number station.

It boasts seven call signs using the Nato phonic alphabet. If the call sign is followed by the number two there is no message and the transition ends. If there is not two the message will be read not in numbers but in the phonic alphabet. Broadcasts can last up to five hours. Broadcasts are believed to be from the Mossad in Israel . All broadcasts are in English on AM.

Hear a recording of this station

See the schedule of this station

The Spanish lady

This is a Spanish language station that is believed to be broadcasts from Cuba . It is a five figure station that can be hear well in both Europe and north America . Best European reception is in the winter and the audio is always very poor. Numbers tend top be repeated for long periods on this station and there are often mistakes in transitions.

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See the schedule of this station

The buzzer (UVB-76)

This is not technically a number station and it origin is known even if its true purpose is not.

This is a Russian audio pulse station. It broadcast 24 hours a day on 4.625 MHz from Lozhki Russia . The buzzer can be best heard in local hours of darkness on AM. There are several theory about this station the most feasible are below.

•  It's used to monitor nuclear power stations.

•  It's used to monitor unmanned nuclear lighthouses. (Yes unmanned nuclear light houses do exist this theory came from a friend who works at the IAEA)

•  It's used to monitor some sort of military installation. Possibly a missile silo.

•  It's used to keep the frequency clear.

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