Information for radio searchlights

The most important thing: a receiver and an antenna. To receive a numbers station, you need a suitable radio receiver capable of receiving shortwave radio (most numbers stations only broadcast in this band). It's best if the radio has an SSB mode. An external antenna will also be useful – you can buy one, or you can build one yourself by wrapping wire around a piece of PVC pipe and carefully connecting the wire to the radio.

It's best to start "hunting numbers stations" on the hour or a few minutes before the hour. Some numbers stations begin broadcasting just before the actual broadcast begins (some stations even begin broadcasting an hour earlier!). Now all you have to do is sit patiently at the receiver and SLOWLY change the frequency, listening carefully to see if any stations have "missed" you.

Before you go hunting, it's worth searching online for information on numbers stations' broadcasting times. SpyNumbers.com , qth.net , and simonmason.karoo.net are good sources of information .

Note: stations transmitting messages using the Morse alphabet ARE NOT numbers stations - they are so-called radio beacons that send a radio signal for radio navigation.

If you receive something like the one in this video , it's not a numbers station either—it's UVB-76, broadcasting from Povarovo, Russia (40 km from Moscow). It's a communications station for the Russian military's general staff.