Alleged Russian spies and numbers stations

A report on the German station Deutschlandfunk regarding the alleged Russian spies arrested in the US mentions the use of short-wave morse code numbers stations.

Mike Barraclough has spotted this report by Eike Bierwirth of the Hard Core DX mailing list:

According to an interview this morning on Germany's Deutschlandfunk, the Russian spies that have been arrested in the U.S. also used shortwave transmissions for number broadcasts in morse code.

Although the allegation documents which are downloadable at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/June/
10-nsd-753.html do not explicitly mention transmission activity, the use of SW number broadcasts from Moscow is described. The whole document is worth reading as a classic spy story, here is the SW-related part (in document #2):

[begin quote]

27. Radiograms are coded bursts of data sent by a radio transmitter that can be picked up by a radio receiver that has been set to the proper frequency. As transmitted, radiograms generally sound like the transmission of Morse code. As is set forth below, the Illegals have communicated with Moscow Center by means of radiograms.

28. For example, as a result of the 2006 Boston Search, technicians recovered the Boston Conspirators' Electronic Messages. Approximately five of these messages describe the sending or receipt of an "RG."

Based on my training, experience, and participation in this investigation, I believe that "RG" connotes "radiogram."

29. In a similar vein, large numbers of the New Jersey Conspirators' Electronic Messages mention the sending or receipt of an "RG." For example, a January 2009 message from Moscow Center for the New Jersey Conspirators reads, in relevant part:

"Pls, make sure your radioequipment [sic] for RG rcptn is in order. We plan to send a couple of test Rgs [.]"
Based on my training, experience, and participation in this investigation, I believe that "RG" and "Rg" connote "radiogram."

30. Furthermore, during the 2006 Seattle Search, law-enforcement agents entered the Seattle Apartment and observed there a radio that can be used for receiving short-wave radio transmissions. In addition, agents observed and photographed spiral notebooks, some pages of which contain apparently random columns of numbers.
Based on my training, experience, and participation in this investigation, I believe that the radio in the Seattle Apartment was used by the Seattle Conspirators to receive radiograms — and that the spiral notebook contains codes used to decipher radiograms as they came in.

31. Finally, throughout 2003, law-enforcement agents, acting pursuant to judicial orders, intercepted aural communications taking place inside the Yonkers House.
On at least five occasions in 2003, this aural surveillance revealed their regular electronic clicking sounds associated with the receipt of coded radio transmissions.
Based on my training, experience, and participation in this investigation, I believe that the clicking electronic sounds heard in the Yonkers House are the sounds of a radio transmission being received from Moscow Center.
In addition, the aural surveillance indicated that, on or about May 6, 2003, J.L., the defendant, told V.P., the defendant, that he was "receiving" "radio" "from over there."

[end quote]

So you want to listen to the spies?
http://www.southgatearc.org/articles/spies/
spyradio.htm

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http://www.southgatearc.org/enigma2000/
introduction.htm

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http://www.southgatearc.org/news/may2010/
number_station_machines.htm

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http://www.southgatearc.org/news/february2010/
cuban_number_stations.htm

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http://www.hard-core-dx.com/

World DX Club introduces e-membership
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/may2010/
world_dx_club.htm