A mysterious shortwave transmitter from Russia has been puzzling people for decades. He transmits enigmatic sounds and words almost continuously. Even a professor reaches his limits in his research.

To this day, experts are still puzzling over what the shortwave transmitter UVB-76 is all about. The Russian-based station has been broadcasting a mysterious series of beeps, buzzes and spoken phrases for over 40 years. And this is practically non-stop. But no one has ever made an official statement about it.

Anyone with a shortwave capable radio can receive the station, which is also nicknamed “The Buzzer”. Some have already made it their hobby to play the signal day and night. In the hope of being able to hear hidden information. But researchers such as Professor David Stupples, an expert in signals intelligence at City University in London, have also been studying the mysterious signal for years.

But he also reaches his limits when it comes to deciphering the enigmatic sounds and explains to Popular Mechanics: “To find out the whole truth – and nothing but the truth – it would have to come from the Russian Federation itself,”

There are already many theories surrounding the scary radio station. Many suspect that it is directly linked to the Russian government and could serve, among other things, military purposes, including Stupples: “It is almost certainly the Russian government that is using it. And if it is the Russian government, then not for peaceful purposes.”

Some believe The Buzzer could be part of a Russian military communications network that sends signals to submarines or troops, for example to monitor nuclear attacks. This theory is based primarily on the fact that the transmitter was created during the Cold War. However, this could also indicate the transmission of a spy network. What is particularly astonishing, however, is that the signals did not stop after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Since then, some mysterious phenomena have even been observed. So in 1992 the program was changed from beeps to buzzers, which are mixed with a foghorn-like sound every few seconds. Every week or two, a man or woman reads a list of names, words, or numbers.

But something even more amazing happened in 2010. The signal wasn’t sent for a day. The next day it resumed as if nothing had happened. Then, in August 2010, there were several breaks in broadcasting, including on August 25, when listeners thought they noticed people moving in a room. These unusual transmissions contained what appeared to be Morse code at one point. Then the station from Russia broadcast excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”.

Around the same time, the broadcasting station also appeared to have changed location. The signal originally came from a Russian military base in the town of Povarovo, about 30 kilometers from Moscow. However, in September 2010, this viewpoint changed and the signal became harder to track.

Many theories about The Buzzer’s purpose are just speculation, but Stubbles was able to find out that UVB-76 is a powerful transmitter that ensures stable transmission throughout Russia. According to the scientist, in times of extreme distress the canal would likely be used for communication.

Quelle: PopularMechanics

By Véronique Fritsche

The original for this article “Even researchers reach their limits with mysterious signal from Russia” comes from futurezone.de.