UVB-76, also known by the nickname "The Buzzer", is a shortwave radio station that broadcasts on the frequency of 4625 kHz.[1][2] It broadcasts a short, monotonous buzz tone (help·info), repeating at a rate of approximately 25 tones per minute, 24 hours per day.[1] Sometimes, the buzzer signal is interrupted and a voice transmission in Russian takes place.[3] The start date of broadcasting is disputed. However, it was allegedly reported to have started broadcasting in 1982. The station is commonly known as The Buzzer[4] in both English and Russian (Russian: Жужжалка). From the start of broadcasting, the station identified itself as UYB-76 (Russian: УЫБ-76).[citation needed] From at least 1997 to 2010, the station identified itself as UZB-76[5][6] (Russian: УЗБ-76). The callsign UVB-76 was never used by the station itself but is rather a mistranscription of UZB-76.[2] However, the station is still often referred to by that name. In the following years of transmission, the main callsign of the station changed regularly. The station transmits using AM with a suppressed lower sideband (USB modulation), but it has also used full double-sideband AM (A3E). The signal consists of a buzzing sound that lasts 1.2 seconds, pausing for 1–1.3 seconds, and repeating 21–34 times per minute. Until November 2010, the buzz tones lasted approximately 0.8 seconds each.[1][7] One minute before the hour, the repeating tone was previously replaced by a continuous, uninterrupted alternating tone, which continued for one minute until the short repeating buzz resumed, although this stopped occurring in June 2010.[8]
Since the start of broadcasting, The Buzzer broadcast as a repeating two-second pip, changing to a buzzer in the late 1980s/early 1990s.[9][10] It briefly changed to a higher tone of longer duration (approximately 20 tones per minute) on 16 January 2003 but has since reverted to the previous tone pattern. These buzzes have gotten longer in duration and deeper in pitch over time, and breakdowns have been more frequent, suggesting the possibility of the buzzes being mechanically generated. Sometimes the buzzing sound is interrupted and a voice message is broadcast. These messages are always given in Russian by a live voice, and follow three fixed formats:
Quick note: A message in the Monolith format always consists of the following parts:
Callsigns, each of which repeated twice in the readout. A callsign always consists of four symbols, each symbol being either a Russian letter or a digit
Five-digit ID groups (amount of items usually follows the number of callsigns)
Message blocks, each consisting of one codeword and eight digits
Example of a Monolith message sent on The Buzzer with exactly one callsign, one ID group,, and one message block (most common type):
NZhTI NZhTI 34 511 GOLOSOK 80 17 81 54Monolith messages can however contain any amount of items from each part:
87OI 87OI A1JZh A1JZh 217O 217O DOTsU DOTsU MSZh7 MSZh7 02 189 44 871 71 132 13 155 27 420 VYMOKAN'Ye 18 97 35 8787OI 87OI 25 184 GOLOVChATYJ 31 10 33 40 VYeKShA 31 10 33 40
A message in the Uzor format always consists of the following parts:
Callsigns, each of which repeated twice in the readout
Message blocks, each consisting of one codeword and four digits
Example of such a message: MDZhB MDZhB TsYeNTIM 61 51, Nowadays, Uzor messages are rarely sent on The Buzzer. Komanda is the most uncommon type of voice message. Since it has not been heard for years, messages of this type are most likely not being sent on The Buzzer anymore. They consist of a callsign (readout twice), "ОБЬЯВЛЕНА КОМАНДА" (OB'YaVLYeNA KOMANDA) and the following number.
Example of such a message: Komanda is the most uncommon type of voice message. Since it has not been heard for years, messages of this type are most likely not being sent on The Buzzer anymore. They consist of a callsign (readout twice), "ОБЬЯВЛЕНА КОМАНДА" (OB'YaVLYeNA KOMANDA) and the following number.
Example of such a message: MDZhB MDZhB OB'YaVLYeNA KOMANDA 135
Distant conversations and other background noises have frequently been heard behind the buzzer, suggesting that the buzzing tones are not generated internally, but are transmitted from a device placed behind alive and constantly open microphone. Because of the occasional fluctuating pitch of the buzzing tones, it is supposed that the tones are generated by a tonewheel as used in a Hammond organ. It is also possible that a microphone may have been turned on accidentally. One such occasion was on 3 November 2001, when a conversation in Russian was heard Я – 143. Не получаю генератор... ...идёт такая работа от аппаратной. (English: "I am 143. Not receiving the generator (oscillator)... ...that stuff comes from hardware room.")
Below is a log of unusual signals and other anomalies which listeners to UVB-76 have captured;
In September 2010, several unusual broadcasts were observed; these included portions of the buzzer being replaced with extracts from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, and in one instance, a sound that resembled that of a woman screaming.
On 11 November 2010, intermittent phone conversations were transmitted and were recorded by a listener (at 14:00 UTC) for approximately 30 minutes. These conversations are available online and seem to be in Russian. The phone calls mentioned the "brigade operative officer on duty", the communication codes "Debut", "Nadezhda" (Russian for "hope", both a noun and a female name), "Sudak" (an alternate name for the Zander, and also a town in Crimea) and "Vulkan" (volcano). The female voice says Офицер дежурного узла связи "Дебют", прапорщик Успенская. Получила контрольный звонок от Надежды... ...поняла. (English: "Officer of the duty station "Debut", ensign Uspenskaya. Received a test call from Nadezhda ... ... understood.") On 17 July 2015, the station broadcast what appeared to be a RTTY signal in lieu of the buzzer The purpose of the station has not been confirmed by government or broadcast officials. However, Rimantas Pleikys, a former Minister of Communications and Informatics of the Republic of Lithuania, has written that the purpose of the voice messages is to confirm that operators at receiving stations are alert. Other explanations are that the broadcast is constantly being listened to by military commissariats. There is speculation published in the Russian Journal of Earth Sciences which describes an observatory measuring changes in the ionosphere by broadcasting a signal at 4625 kHz, the same as the Buzzer. The most likely purpose is that the voice messages are some sort of Russian/Soviet military communications. The station being a numbers station for intelligence agencies such as the FSB or the former KGB of the Soviet Union is extremely unlikely due to the fact that messages occur at random, unpredictable times, while numbers stations use a fixed schedule which changes rarely. In addition to that, the non-changing frequency of 4625 kHz and the low transmitter power are unsuitable for reliable communication from Russia to Europe, where spies would be stationed.
The buzzing functions as a "channel marker" used to keep the frequency occupied, thereby making it unattractive for other potential users. The signature sound could be used for tuning to the signal on an old analogue receiver. The modulation is suitable to be detected by an electromechanical frequency detector, similar to a tuning fork. This can be used to activate the squelch on a receiver. Due to the varying emission properties on shortwave bands, using a level-based squelch is unreliable. This also allows a signal loss to be detected, causing an alarm to sound on the receiver.
Another theory, described in a BBC article, states that the tower is connected to the Russian 'Perimeter' missile system, and emits a “Dead Hand” signal that will trigger a nuclear retaliatory response if the signal is interrupted as a result of a nuclear attack against Russia. This theory is also very unlikely, due to The Buzzer stopping / breaking down regularly, potentially triggering the Dead Hand by mistake.
There are two other Russian stations that follow a similar format, nicknamed "The Pip" and "The Squeaky Wheel". Like the Buzzer, these stations transmit a signature sound that is repeated constantly, but is occasionally interrupted to relay coded voice messages. The former transmitter was located near Povarovo, Russia, which is about halfway between Zelenograd and Solnechnogorsk and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northwest of Moscow, near the village of Lozhki. The location and callsign were unknown until the first known voice broadcast of 1997. In September 2010, the station's transmitter was moved to the nearby city of Saint Petersburg, near the village of Kerro Massiv. This may have been due to a reorganization of the Russian military. Prior to 9 August 2015, the station is not transmitted from the Kerro Massiv transmitter site ("Irtysh") anymore, possibly due to a reorganization of the Russian military for the particular area which may cause the frequency to be used only in the Moscow Military District. At present, The Buzzer appears to be broadcast only from the 69th Communication Hub in Naro Fominsk, Moscow. In 2011, a group of urban explorers claimed to have explored the buildings at Povarovo to find an abandoned military base and, in it, a radio log record confirming the operation of a transmitter at 4625 kHz. Besides the main callsign, there have been transmissions containing different callsigns such as: LNR4 (Russian: ЛНР4), 87OI (Russian: 87ОИ), VM62 (Russian: ВМ62), A1JZh (Russian: А1ЙЖ), MSZh7 (Russian: МСЖ7), OMP4 (Russian: ОМП4), 7U8T (Russian: 7У8Т), VLHN (Russian: ВЛХН), 217O (Russian: 217О), ANVF (Russian: АНВФ), VZhCH (Russian: ВЖЦХ), LNRCh (Russian: ЛНРЧ), VShchCH (Russian: ВЩЦХ), 34ShchK (Russian: 34ЩК), YeDGShch (Russian: ЕДГЩ), 58Shch1 (Russian: 58Щ1), LNR4 (Russian: ЛНР4), 5Ye27 (Russian: 5Е27), M4Z2 (Russian: М7З2), 'M4T (Russian: ЬМ4Т), 5PTsB (Russian: 5ПЦБ), LNTM (Russian: ЛНТМ), ZhD9S (Russian: ЖД9С), 28YA (Russian: 28ЫА), KhIZhJ (Russian: ХИЖЙ), 53AJ (Russian: 53АЙ), AMVS (Russian: АМВС), V'TD (Russian: ВЬТД), YeIYJ (Russian: ЕИЫЙ).
References:
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h "The Buzzer". October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
^ Jump up to:a b c "The Buzzer › Priyom.org". priyom.org. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
^ Jump up to:a b Savodnik, Peter (27 September 2011). "Inside the Russian Short Wave Radio Enigma". Wired. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^ Jump up to:a b Gorvett, Zaria (15 July 2020). "The ghostly radio station that no one claims to run". BBC. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^ UVB-76 MDZhB [24.12.1997] [21:58 UTC] (180 08 BROMAL 74 27 99 14), archived from the original on 17 December 2021, retrieved 20 October 2021
^ "UVB-76 MDZhB [23.08.2010] [13:35] (93 882 NAIMINA 74 14 35 74)". 5 July 2014. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^ Jump up to:a b Boender, Ary (January 2002). "Oddities". ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter – Issue 8. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^ Jump up to:a b "Russian HF Beacons". 24 December 2000. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^ "UVB". Youtube. 2 August 1976. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
^ Boender, Ary (1995). "Numbers & oddities: Column 1". Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^ "El misterio de las emisiones de radio secretas". ABC (in Spanish). 26 August 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^ Turnbull, Alex (21 July 2009). ""The Buzzer" (UVB-76)". Googlesightseeing.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^ The Buzzer/UVB-76(4625Khz) February 3, 2021 15:25UTC Voice message, archived from the original on 17 December 2021, retrieved 20 October 2021
^ UVB-76/The Buzzer(4625Khz) 11th December 2019 Message #10 9:51UTC, archived from the original on 17 December 2021, retrieved 20 October 2021
^ The Buzzer/UVB-76(4625Khz) Feb. 6th 2020 12:16UTC Voice message #6, archived from the original on 17 December 2021, retrieved 20 October 2021
^ UVB-76 MDZhB [26.01.2015] [05:59] (CENTIM 61 51), archived from the original on 17 December 2021, retrieved 20 October 2021
^ UVB-76 MDZhB [25.01.2013] [02:58] (OB'YaVLENA KOMANDA 135), archived from the original on 17 December 2021, retrieved 20 October 2021
^ "Mysteriózní rádio už 30 let vysílá záhadný signál a teď i tajnou šifru", Technet.cz, August 27, 2010 (English)
^ "The Unexplained Signals Of Russian Station UVB-76". Gizmodo Australia. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^ "UVB-76". Evan's Media. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
^ "UVB-76 MDZhB [02.09.2010] Swan Lake". YouTube. UVB-76 Activity Channel. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021.
^ "UVB-76 2010-11-11 14.00 UTC". Retrieved 11 October 2012.
^ "Translation by a Reddit user". Retrieved 3 August 2014.
^ "Recording of the phone calls on UVB76". Soundcloud. 11 November 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
^ "The Buzzer has changed sound?". reddit.
^ "UVB-76 (The Buzzer) appears to be sending out a RTTY-like signal right now. Anyone care to decode it?". reddit.
^ "UVB76 with RTTY". Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
^ "Single letter markers – posts from the SPOOKS and WUN listservers". 2000. Archived from the original on 25 November 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
^ Pleikys, Rimantas (1998). Jamming. Vilnius, Lithuania: Rimantas Pleikys.
^ "Военная "Жужжалка" на частоте 4625 кГц. "Buzzer" UVB-76. – Страница 4". Radioscanner.ru. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
^ "Information-measuring complex and database of mid-latitude Borok Geophysical Observatory". 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
^ Geere, Duncan (August 2010). "Mysterious Russian 'Buzzer' radio broadcast changes". WIRED.CO.UK. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
^ "El misterioso zumbido de la estación de radio UVB-76" [The mysterious buzz of the UVB-76 radio station]. El Reservado (in Spanish). January 24, 2011. Archived from the original on January 27, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
^ wasd. "kwasd's blog " Небольшой фотоотчет с УВБ-76 ("The Buzzer", "Жужжалка")". Blog.kwasd.ru. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
^ "Sample Buzzer Logbook" (PDF). 22 September 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2016