Sometimes there are voices. Ghostly tones, always masculine, spelling out letters or rattling off numbers. At 8:48 PM Moscow time on September 7th, 2010, one spoke the words, “Mikhail Dmitri Zhenya Boris.” It was a was new call sign, spelled out in the Russian phonetic alphabet. “MDZhB.”
The voice arrived after an uncharacteristically active few months for the station. On June 5th, the familiar buzzing went silent, returning the following day. In mid-August, periodic silence again, followed by a shuffling sound of, perhaps, a person near the mic. And in early September, it was the strains of “Danse des petits cygnes,” from the second act of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.
Like everything else about it, the date of UVB-76’s first broadcast is a matter of dispute, though reports of its existence date back to at least 1973. The static-laden buzzes have been a rare constant in Russian history, surviving nearly half a century of political upheaval and economic unrest.
No official explantation for its existence has ever been given. Broadcast on the 4625 and 4810 kHz frequencies, the station airs 24 hours a day, delivering roughly 25 buzzes a minute. Enthusiasts have, fittingly, nicknamed it “The Buzzer,” distinguishing it from fellow mystery stations, “The Squeaky Wheel” and “The Pip.”
UVB-76 is, by all accounts, the oldest of the three. Accordingly, it has garnered the most zealous following, with decades of listeners cataloguing any deviations from the standard, monotonous buzz. For years, the presence of human voices were believed to be a rare phenomenon. They were, however, discovered to be more frequent when an Estonian internet entrepreneur increased the station’s listenership dramatically by streaming its contents live on the internet for the world to hear.
Notable incidents including the words “T-E-R-R-A-K-O-T-A. Mikhail Dimitri Zhenya Boris Mikhail Dmitri Zhenya Boris. 81 26 T-E-R-R-A-K-O-T-A,” read aloud on March 18th, 2014, two days after the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was voted into the Russian Federation.
Some transmissions are believed to have been errors, the result of accidentally turning on the microphone. Listeners believe they heard the sounds of a television in the background on occasion. And in one particularly notable incident in 2001, a voice was heard to say, “I am 143. Not receiving the generator. That stuff comes from hardware room.”
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the station was revealed — as many suspected — to belong to the Russian armed forces. Its exact purpose has, however, remained a mystery. Theories range from submarine transmissions to communication with alien life. One of the more popular suggestions claims the station is part of a “Dead Hand” system designed to launch a retaliatory strike, should Russia fall victim to nuclear attack.
The geographical origin, too, is unknown, though it’s believed to have changed locations numerous times over the decades. A number of abandoned locations have been discovered over the years, only adding to the mystery. One discovery six miles outside of Moscow in the city of Povarovo yielded a log book with transcriptions scribbled inside. The most recent transmissions, meanwhile, are believed to originate from the village of Kerro Massiv, outside of Saint Petersburg.
In recent months, the station has become what one listener calls “exceptionally active.” On July 8th, 13 messages were broadcast. Three weeks later, the station broadcasted three more:
ANVF ANVF 18 844 BRYZGALKA 94 96 27 09 ATOLLOVYJ 60 76 53 11
ANVF ANVF 18 844 BRYZGALKA 94 96 27 09 ATOLLOVYJ 60 76 53 11
ANVF ANVF 54 400 BAULOBYK 53 57 71 19
ANVF ANVF 54 400 BAULOBYK 53 57 71 19
ANVF ANVF 77 253 BUKVOYeD 40 68 55 47
ANVF ANVF 77 253 BUKVOYeD 40 68 55 47
Sources:
The ghostly radio station that no one claims to run https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170801-the-ghostly-radio-station-that-no-one-claims-to-run
UVB-76/The Buzzer (4625Khz) LIVE https://youtu.be/LegzZZRIqj4
Inside the Russian short wave radio enigma https://www.wired.com/2011/09/ff-uvb76/