HM01 - The Ultimate Radio Mystery 

Wow it's the shortwave GOAT! You probably get great reception in Florida. I listen to your VORW show whenever it airs and I love it. Thanks for helping keep shortwave alive and well. 73!

@@theVHSvlog That's so awesome!! It's great to have you as a listener - as long as people continue listening to shortwave I'll keep doing my show, there still is an audience in North America!

I was just looking to find videos that would fulfill my craving for whatever these radio things are, an explanation. The last person I'd expect to see in this comments section is yourself. Good to see you here.

So glad to find you here Mr. Brah!! I have watched your videos for years, has made for some great evenings when I am dining alone.! I’ve commented on several of your videos regarding shortwave, CB, and ham radio. I’m more of a general electronics nerd, but became interested in frequency standards, which brought me into radio and ham in particular. It’s something I know you would enjoy! You would be amazed how easy and inexpensive it can be to set up a small tinkering workspace… Complete with project radios, soldering equipment, a multimeter, an oscilloscope, and a few other goodies. Imagine the joy of repairing a radio, then putting it back into daily service!! If you have any questions feel free to contact me. It’s much simpler than the voodoo it’s made out to be. RF can be complicated at times… But it isn’t black magic like so many complain 😂!

I'm been listening to numbers stations for 50 years. This is the most informative thing I've ever discovered about them. Thanks, and 73s!

Hey wasn't that before t.v.

appears like a great childhood experience.

The island must have been so beautiful back then. I was there in 84 and was in an island paradise.

Did you ever meet or hear about Lee Harvey Oswald? He was at the U2 Spy Base in Okinawa I believe in the later 1950's.

Lmao!!!! Imagine if I accidentally found the Buzzer or squeaky wheel?

@@rainbowrailroadcrossing7798 well there's the officialswlchannel that teaches to get on the buzzer channel

@@IodizedNaCL yep they’re very helpful I use a websdr I sorta figured it out

@@rainbowrailroadcrossing7798 i recomend the utwente WebSDR server... on WebSDR

I heard the gongs and chimes numbers station in my dream once and I was scared shitless. I was in a dark interrogation room just in a chair with tunes sticking in me just having it blasted at me.

Hmm... Catch any Beyond Midnight?

Norway has forbidden transmission of FM-radiowaves. Crazy, but true.

Ken Jackson and then I rigged a power cord to my looped antenna hoping for better reception. That night the house burned to the ground while my grandpa slept. The End

@@South_0f_Heaven_ You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you...bless your heart...

@Ken Jackson Was meant as humor, calm down pal. It takes a special kind of stupid to not see that.

They were.....they are watching you now.

@@Fabformcatering yeah I know. they were over for dinner last night. Eghif told a joke " what do you call an Digga with a Sulillo? ans: "A Zzivcha!" that guys a real card.

Thank you!

Again.

Yes they are moving to make the internet as controlled, censored and limited as TV, newspapers, etc.

@@AffectedArea one fact applys and that fact is The great big Google machine is about moneytiz'n every second and every kb of bandwidth .

Actually its not a message. Copy and paste into notepad save as a .com file and when you execute the program it will ask for a password in russian.

@@videosuperhighway7655 dude... 7/10. Cool story bro :D

You think she was on a walkie talkie or you were using the walkie talkie?

@@CLoak183 I was using the walkie talkie. It was a quite solid toy from a toy store with a radio function as well. I would sometimes turn on the walkie talkie just to listen to the static and the occasional transmissions that came through. I wish I was able to work out the frequency that the walkie talkie used, it might help identify the number station.

raksh9 I has a similar experience when I was a kid in Southern California. This would have been in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Freaked me out.

As a kid in Australia in the late 70s/80s I used to always pick up numbers stations on my parents SW radio, there was quite a few. I'm also certain I remember picking up the Russian Woodpecker on more than one occasion.

@paul austin I still have the toy walkie talkie, I wonder if there is a way to know what frequency it operates at? What makes you say 27 Mhz?

Dont shoot your eye out.

I came to the comments to say that!

Steve Greenfield Sorry Steve, beat ya to it!

Good one!

haha "Ovaltine" is not common in Cuba this days

Jacob Brodsky good thing I wouldn't want either one to be getting over on the other

Number statins go back to the 40s. Probably earlier.

shortwave in digital now DRM nice warm audio

Agreed!

No! I like the crackling sound of HF static in the background as the SW transmission fades in and out!

@@CLoak183 Conditions will improve on the HF Bands at the next solar cycle, there is even a British company called Worlford Electronics, who build and sell kit form transceivers of about 1Watt using simple analogue components (like found in the bottom of an energy saving light bulb). I copied someone using one the length of The UK mobile. I'm on QRZ.COM and have nearly 2000 look-ups! Neither is CB dead or dying there is a regular south England net called The Devils Dyke Net. LOOK THE ANSWER IS IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS SORT OF THING FXXXXXG PXXS OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AND DON'T TROLL ON WEB SITES YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@@control9179 Dude! Chill bruh.. I'm from the old school. Ham radio going silent because of all the digital platforms, in particular the vhf and uhf bands. Everybody has run off into their own digital closed on air chat rooms! I like old school radio static and all!!

It's such a fun hobby!

I'm 17 and got mine when I was 16. I wish more young people like us would get into it. I try to get friends into it but they just don't want to put in the effort to get licensed...glad to see someone young into it. 73 de KC3LMP

@@joemancino9049 I have to chuckle at hearing someone who's 17, calling someone who's 14, "young." At 60, both seem pretty young to me! :)

Good to see you're interested in amateur radio. I was 13 when I sent for a one valve radio kit (H.A.C.) and my Dad showed me how to solder, about 6 connections, it used 90 Volt and 3 Volt batteries, dropped to 2 Volt with a resistor for the heater, with 2,000 Ω headphones. I remember hearing number stations and this was in the mid-1970's. I like building stuff and have built lots over the years, valves , then transistors and then i.c.'s., I have my all H.F. i.c. and MOSFET tcvr built 21 years ago, now working on a 19 Set from WW2, restored but tatty and modified to use xtals on transmit for stability. Gone backwards recently and built a one valve xtal C.W. transmitter. I love C.W. and QRP. 73, Bill, G4GHB.

Yayy I thought I was the youngest one who has this interest I’m 22

Hey Jim! That's a fantastic story and I'm glad radio has brought you so much joy over the years. I hope you can restore that radio someday soon

@@theVHSvlog So part 2 to the story.. being a 13 yr old I took it apart.. took the chassis out or the wooden cabinet to see what the bottom looked like. My Mom saw what I did and she said let's strip the old paint off and repaint it. So we did. And we discovered really a really nice burl wood cabinet which I refinished with clear lacquer. She had some cloth that I made a speaker cover out of. That's the way it sits today.

Correct. Some ham radio transmitters can use AM.

​@@rutabagasteu I know I'm correct.

When referring to the AM band, that's generally taken to mean the 535-1605 kHz band used for broadcast AM radio. The layperson doesn't know that it's possible to use any modulation scheme on any frequency, if you have enough bandwidth.

Haha yes, and the MUF or Maximum Useable Frequency is determined by the Sun, the Earth, and even Meteors leaving ionised trails.. Boulder Co. is one place that bounces signals from the different reflective layers to help HAM and other (mostly HF operators) determine which frequencies to use for certain propagation paths. Embassies are a "user" for example. And then there are shadow ops and PSYops. But you know this, too bad that so many do not. Worth truly getting into HAM radio, it might save butt one day. Take care and good luck, de VE7EBA

@@AltheRad "And then there are shadow ops and PSYops" You sounded almost normal until this point.

🐖ham

Same as me mate

I still run on old 1970's era CB in my semi truck.

Is the change in solar index the main contributing factor?

@@theVHSvlog Yes, we are entering a grand solar minimum in which several solar minimums are happening at once. The ones we are familiar with are the eleven year cycles. But then there are two more that are coinciding with the usual eleven year minimum. Radio propagation is likely the worse it has been ever. Then add to it that modern satellite communication and Internet are completely running all the time and people have lost interest in radio transmitting. To top things off, the HF world wide equipment is very expensive as compared to VHF and UHF equipment. It is a recipie for the bleak times on the radio bands today. Everything from 15 megacycles to the amateur and public UHF frequencies is nearly dead. My once favourite hobby is dying a horrible death. Today's dismal solar flux index is 66 on 27 April 2019.

Theres also a lot more interference especially 5-42mhz or so from all the electronics people use compared to what we had in the 1980's. The noise floor is much higher than it used to be and most likely will only get worse.

@@davidca96 These are bleak times for any sort of radio hobby.

@@indridcold8433 Not really.. see reply above. Sure it is not GREAT, but it is not that bad either. We just use different techniques.

Were you in Nova Scotia when you heard this station?

That's interesting. It probably _is_ alien.

CrazyBear65 Like some Mexicans hiding in them there woods?

where at? i'd love to find it on Google Earth.

@@CrazyBear65 Yes,that makes the most sense. Case closed.

Im 61 as well had a SW radio when i was 10 i could pick up base ball games in ireland

Hello! Your experience in radio sounds fantastic and I'm glad you continue to listen. Funny thing, my friend who just graduated college is now an urban planner in Warsaw. Great small town!

it is a nice area. i work in the orthopedic industry. warsaw is a hub of that. as a kid, i had the radio, a stamp collection, a globe and an encyclopedia. through these i learned about the world, then got the chance to travel and see the world. i hope the same for you

my fav fm station of course WMMS

Thank you! Hopefully your sons will come around to it someday!

I have one problem with my computer only when I transmit in our 70 MHz band. it causes it to freeze. I guess it's picking up R.F. on the cables. 10 MHz causes my outdoor security light to come on. Bill, G4GHB.

Sounds like Brother Stair has crawled yet another one's skin

if we did that today, they would lynch us, i mean LYNCH 💀

Thank you!

1432CW Big Collins 75s3c

I thought that was him.

@@JesseWright68 >>> Ditto!

I didn't know Berry was a Jew... Ty

@@manjsher3094 >>> ??

Thank you! I really wish I could catch the gongs being broadcast live one last time

@@theVHSvlog I know mate it was so dark and had no idea what it was but sounded sinister lol

Yeah, the woodpecker. Soviet over the horizon radar. That thing was a total pain.

@@JCO2002 it was mate and even used to interrupted listing to the old UK police broadcasts on fm when conditions were right it was a pain

@@carlgriffiths8482 For sure. Years ago, I lived in a very rural part of Canada. Got 2 TV channels poorly, at best. No internet, of course. So it was SW much of the time with a pretty good receiver and a very long antenna. BBC, DW, crazy stuff like Radio Albania. Loved it. But that bloody woodpecker would pound through large sections of the HF band at times. Didn't find out what it was until years later.

That's incredible I've never heard of someone picking up a shortwave numbers station on a guitar! Glad the mystery is solved

Haha thank you!

Curvature of the Earth? What curvature?? FM transmissions drop off because signal power logarithmically drops off the further it travels. The tall transmission towers provide homes for high flying birds. I observed it myself!

haha

The universe is flat...

LOL.. so true!!

Commadore 64 . Used to download games from around the world back in the 80's. X modem transfer. I had the first one meg hard drive on the block. Or in the state.

There is a reason HM01 comes in as well as RHC... it is likely being broadcast from the very same transmitter

@@neilpatrickhairless Was I too subtle in hinting that?

As I understood it the transmitters were in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico and the business offices and studio were in Del Rio, Texas.

@@USXPOP They were in various border towns in México, Acuña was XERL if I recall correctly, XERF was in Juárez. My brother and I worked those two when we were kids in Pennsylvania. Those border blasters were originally the brainchild of John Brinkley, a quack con artist from Kansas (I think it was Kansas) who was selling goat testicle pills (not even making that up) and got shut down so he went over the border to blast his ads back into the US.

If you ever find it again feel free to send it my way! That sounds cool

@@theVHSvlog found a bunch of vids. So it's milsat satcom pirates as any military com would be heavily encrypted and impossible to break any the majority of audible unencrypted coms are illegal loggers in brazil. Search satcom interception. Some are cartels.

How do you know it's coming out of Mexico? How do you know they're giving messages to "drug runners"? "ham monitor"(?) What frequencies are you listening on and when?

incubusman421 I had a Stryker cb with Ham Chanel’s . I asked a Mexican trucker what that was and he told me. She would be on all night giving codes . I didn’t have a frequency meter

The exact comment I was looking for. Keep up the excellent work! 👍✨

Thanks Cameron that means a lot!

Radio Tirana was one of my favorites.... and yours? "good night, dear Listeners" Bill in Bellows Falls, Vermont.

Shortwave has become very active again during the new cold war

And sounds like SSTV or ASCii digitized.

@Cindy Klenk sigint?

@Cindy Klenk Totally. :) Another one who gets it, thank you. Yes indeed it is so very interrresting. Been out of it for a bit now but some things root deep within, like deciphering truth. Coms via ELF etc. Passcodes verified by HF old school. Offshores etc. S-Ops ELInt and tracking under very stressful conditions makes ya stronger. Glad there are new ones who care. CYA all the time when doing active pen-testing, & you be good. Stay on the light side and be able to use the darkside. Choose battles wisely, and use all the tools available. Secure your home and home gear. Keep work and home separated if possible. Use different e-mails for any work and never use them at home. Good wishes from a 72 Y.O.

@Cindy Klenk Should have guessed there were clues,Like not many know of enigma etc. I don't need to buy much of anything anymore retired and like you still kickin ass as needed in MANY ways hahaaa. Some are more scary than others and I really meant it about the cloud stuff. Me too music, helped a pal build a 48 Ft. double ended ketch out of ferrocement and chicken wire, put in a hellish lightning rod came straight down mast to under water dispersal rail. Never saw it hit myself but wanted to see a pic of that at least. Trusteer status is something not so easy to fool. And as long as someone is not harming anything, I generally leave them to figure it out by themselves. But if they are clearly doing wrong, I also feel it is necessary to help keep this away from general mis-informative use. or propagating it. As in, if I stand downwind, I should not be surprised to find some traces of foulness near a waste recycle plant. Or my nose got burned out (check fuses). Same on the net some things are just so not right. Used to do Meteor backbounce on ionized trails on vhf. And used to live waaaaaay up North, we used the Aurora a lot depending on MUF. And yes the Ru pulser OTH Radar on HF used to "P" me off when they were on the HAM bands with their wide bandwidth pulses. Had ducting from all over too. Built a DigitalTermiinal Node translater had it hooked up to a Commodore VIC20 of all things. Went from 300 Baud to 1200. then got a Commodore 64 and the World changed. There was only a few stations on the 2M. links between just a few neo "internet creators" using those protocols that then evolved into the Mil/Te..as Instruments versions to prevent collisions on various networks. A long way from Cisco's, Harris' and SEL's, now there's Wah-hey or sumpin liike that to contend with. I used to run phone patches for the "outposts" to their families. 73

@Cindy Klenk Actually, you are fine. I was just "playing ignorant." I spent 11 years as a Navy cryptologist working for the NSA. CTR1(SW). I was never an "amateur." Be blessed. :)

Such transmissions are used to minimize the probability of intercept. Ie burst transmission. There were clandestine transmitters in water proof containers scattered throughout europe in the event of a Soviet invasion. The stay behind irregulars would encode messages via keypad and it would be burst transmitted on HF.

@@videosuperhighway7655 you. Are right it was so fast. Mater of a few seconds then slowed down then the op reversed the msg . Then on to linguistics. It was so fast I missed it. Thought it was qrm . Learned to listen more carefully.

Should have spent the 60 years learning to spell

@@mikecastellon3022 got that! right the auto correct on this rig is just crazy /reel gets to be real. Ah this thing is Chinese. Also got mugged out back my home , and lucky to walk. Just learning to use my right hand again. A whopping 85% so far. I'll take it. so much distraction radio is good therapy. So bear with with me recently learned to copy my pre attack.signature. getting better. I look funny as I walk a bout my shack. Head held at a angle It's a real hoot. I'll win though. by the by. I had 2 attempts on my life. And neighbors get mad now when they see me carrying a six shooter and have a carry permit I don't think I will take another ass beating and live. But I'll take one with me. To hell if nessary. Good life to you , oh this is a geto with trees kv4li. Once again the radio let's me roam cant move fast. But we can listen can't we.

@@mikecastellon3022 ha ha ha ...OMG LMAO!

And radio offers much better programming as well. It makes you smarter instead of dumber.

Radio has always been superior to TV, always will be. Radio frees the imagination, television imprisons it.

Any source? Would love to see the ship

haha, rusalka is a fairy tale character name in Czech (or maybe even other slavic countries)

@@SpenserRoger play black ops 1 and you'll find out

I'm guessing RUSALKA is the Russian electronic monitoring vessel parked in the harbor in Cuba.

They don’t know about the bo1 reference

I only came here to find a comment like this because after reading the title I thought it was the HM Surf from Pokemon

Lol hm01 is cut I think. Respect

Thanks Robbie! 👍