The cryptic Russian radio station that's driving people insane: UVB-76
UVB-76 is a shortwave radio station stationed (pun intended) in Russia. It's nicknamed "The Buzzer" because it, well, buzzes. This buzzing sound follows a pattern which...I'll just let Wikipedia describe this one.
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][10] 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.
So, yeah, most of the time it kind of just buzzes. But sometimes a voice interrupts its regular routine. This voice is Russian and can follow one of three formats.
Monolith. Callsign is read out twice. These callsigns consist of four Russian letters and digits. Then, 5 digit ID groups are called, and then message blocks, made up of one code word + eight digits. These are the most common.
NZhTI NZhTI 34 511 GOLOSOK 80 17 81 54
2. Uzor. Callsign is read out twice. Message blocks: one code word + four digits. These are rare.
MDZhB MDZhB TsYeNTIM 61 51
3. Komanda. Callsign is read out twice, then a codephrase (command announced), then a number. These have not been seen on UVB-76 for years.
MDZhB MDZhB OB'YaVLYeNA KOMANDA 135
These three are the standard transmission types heard on the Buzzer, but once in a while, an unusual one might come up...
November 3 (my birthday!), 2001: 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.[22])
September 2010: Офицер дежурного узла связи "Дебют", прапорщик Успенская. Получила контрольный звонок от Надежды... поняла.[24] (English: "Officer of the duty station 'Debut', ensign Uspenskaya. Received a test call from Nadezhda... understood.")
May 15, 2020, the sound of French being spoken was heard.
Also played Gangnam Style once??
On May 4, 2024, a pirate decided to contact UVB-76.
Unknown pirate: А можно шутку рассказать? . . . Один «ррр» (звонок) – «да», два – «нет». (English: Can I tell a joke? One "rrr" [buzz] for "yes", two for "no".) UVB-76 operator: *Two clear buzzes.* Unknown pirate: За что?? . . . А музыку включить можно? (English: What for? But can I turn on some music?) UVB-76 operator: *Two clear buzzes.* Unknown pirate: Почему!? . . . А за такие вопросы вам ничего не будет? (English: But why!? Are you going to get in trouble if you answer my questions?) *UVB-76 buzzer starts.* Unknown pirate: Да блин! (English: Well, damn!)
I will say this made me giggle (I'm also fluent in Russian, which just made it funnier).
Anyway, on to the next bit!
What is the Buzzer EXACTLY for?
Truth is, nobody knows. There hasn't been any official statement regarding its purpose, though some believe it's just to make sure "operators at receiving stations are alert (Wikipedia)." Others say it's for military commissariats.
So what do I think?
I don't know much about radios, but I think it's really just for monitoring other radio stations. It sends out callsigns so that other stations can follow commands. Like I said, I don't know much about radios and this might make absolutely no sense to people well-versed in radio stuff.
If you want to read more, I've provided a link to the Wikipedia page down below! Thanks for reading :>
