Baseball and espionage

I was sitting at my grandson's baseball game last Saturday afternoon aimlessly tuning the 41 meter band when I ran across one of the infamous 'numbers' stations. You've probably heard it -- a woman speaking in Spanish endlessly repeating blocks of five digit numbers. Although no one knows for certain, this station and others like it are believed to be aimed at spies in the United States.

The first numbers stations date back to World War I, placing them among the earliest broadcasters on shortwave. Since that time their use has only increased, including during the post Cold War era. This tells you something about the security of the current world order.

According to intelligence experts, the intended target of a numbers station uses a 'one time pad' to decode the message, and then destroys it by burning, flushing, or eating it -- it's rumored that some pads turn into bubble gum upon chewing -- so that other intelligence services can't decipher the communication.

I was using the ICOM IC-R5 Wide Band receiver with a pair of Ipod earphones. The IC-R5 is really an excellent little rig, although the term 'Wide Band' describes not just the frequency range but also the width of any given station channel. My numbers station, for example, covered almost 15 kHz. I'd also recommend swapping out the stock antenna for something more robust, like the very useful Nagoya telescopic antenna.

And so between innings and the usual on-the-field drama -- the players are all about 7 years old and the umpire was totally blind, resulting in lots of unhappy faces and even some tears partially hidden by baseball mitts -- I listened to someone using radio to attempt the overthrow of the United States government.

It was a sobering thought.

- 73

- Steve KB3IHX

The romance of radio

I confess to having a certain nostalgia for the distant days of my youth... bands that played music you could whistle, gas that cost 35 cents, and radios that didn't require a computer interface. So it was inevitable that I would turn back to the way radio used to be -- no digital signals, no single side band, not even AM, but pure unadulterated CW.

The homebrew radio with tubes glowing and antenna thrown over the tree outside the farmhouse window conjures up not just a simpler time but a period in which getting on the air meant building your own set. And to talk with like-minded individuals you needed to know code, a tradition that was passed down through the decades, only recently falling by the wayside.

I passed my General license exam back when the code test was still mandatory, but I did the bare minimum to pass. Now I find myself drawn to it. So it was with some interest that I saw a Bencher iambic paddle on eBay and seriously considered trying code again, and $90 later it was mine.

OK, so I'm cheating on the 'no computer' part, but the keyer is built in to the radio.

Now what? My code skills are hopelessly weak, so I'm hauling out my old ARRL practice CDs and listening to other hams on the air. But I'm still approaching my first code QSO with some trepidation -- will the other guy laugh at my ragged dots and dashes, thinking I'm a total amateur (no pun here)? On the other hand, I'm exhilarated at the thought of trying something new.

So if you hear what sounds to be erratic 'dots' and 'dashes' sprinkled amongst serious code QSOs, relax. You've discovered me making my CW debut.

- 73

- Steve KB3IHX