weird radio transmission just now

[Marthe48]

I listen to 98.1 on an analog radio, WVAM out of St. Marys WV, which is about 20 miles from my house. True Oldies Channel. The station fades in and out, sometimes I can't get it tuned in. I turned the radio on today, and had a good signal for about an hour.

As I was fixing breakfast, the radio went dead for several seconds. Then a male voice with a Bristish accent said a series of numbers, the last was .008 It sounded like a url to me. The radio went dead again. I tried to tune back in and had no luck, and got on with my meal. After a short silience, I heard the same male voice say numbers again, and the music came on.

Was this some kind of test? True Oldies Channel also streams on the Internet, so maybe they were testing that streaming capability? Was it something more sinister? I have never heard a transmission like this, and New Year's Eve is not a good day to get a weird vibe from the radio!

[gab13by13]

1. British accent, 008,

sounds like the guy who replaced James Bond. Maybe you intercepted his next assignment?

[Marthe48]

2. lol

maybe!

[gab13by13]

3. I wouldn't worry about it,

technical glitch or test. Remember the old test patterns on TV's?

[doc03]

4. I think Q is behind this. nt

[gab13by13]

6. They better not mess with an Oldies station.

[Marthe48]

5. I pinged True Oldies Channel

and the address doesn't end with .008

It's a mystery!

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

7. Well, could have been a Numbers Station...

[csziggy]

10. Numbers stations are definitely thing

Skip the first minute since it is just an ad.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

21. There's a bunch of black site receiving and transmitting stations.

Ever read about five eyes?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes

[pressbox69]

8. It's a Message From Zontar

On their planer, 008 translates into Happy New Year.

[Haggard Celine]

9. Look up "numbers stations."

People pick up these transmissions all over the world. It'll be a series of numbers, and then they might play some sort of tune, then more numbers. Nobody seems to know who does it and why they do it. You usually hear about people picking up these signals on shortwave, however. I've never heard of people hearing them on FM. So that could be what it is, but there might be a less mysterious reason for it.

[Marthe48]

20. Maybe some wires were crossed

It was just so odd.

I've been listening to the radio since 2017, from when I wake up to when I go to bed, and haven't heard this before. As much as the signal wavers, I wouldn't be surprised if some other transmission wafted in.

[Harker]

11. Perhaps the Redcoats are coming back. n/t

[Sneederbunk]

12. Heard the same thing but it was in a German accent.

[highplainsdem]

13. Popular Mechanics article on numbers stations:

https://popularmechanics.com/military/a20965673/all-about-those-weird-numbers-stations/

[underpants]

16. I was today years old when I learned that

Had zero idea about this. Thanks.

[electric_blue68]

22. Wow. Never knew this till now. Ty.

[Totally Tunsie]

14. There was something similar happening on TV last night.

Set was tuned to CBS at 7:00 p.m., and Wheel of Fortune began. About 7-8 minutes later, the screen went black except for a series of numbers and a very strange (altered) voice announced "Wheel of Fortune" and a string of numbers. Then the show came back on, starting with the very beginning of the show. It then repeated this series of strangeness two more times. The whole show was thrown off kilter. In the middle of spins, the local station would cut in for their scheduled break even though it didn't line up with the show. No other show was affected.

[underpants]

15. Okay that's odd

I’d like to buy a 4 Pat.

[Thunderbeast]

18. That sounds like the lead-in for the satellite feed to the local station.

[Marthe48]

19. The station I listen to has CBS headlines on the hour

This happened after the 9 am report, but maybe CBS was testing its radio broadcast lines.

[Wicked Blue]

17. Winning lottery numbers? nt