
The Pip - drunkenfly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pip
======
dferr
If you want to have a listen to the Pip yourself, as well as many others like
the squeaky wheel and the buzzer, check out this WebSDR implementation:

[http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/](http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/)

and for a much wider list of frequencies of number stations, and radio
anomalies you can take a look at:

[http://priyom.org](http://priyom.org)

they have times they broadcast figured out there. if you enjoy this kind of
stuff, i suggest picking up an SDR yourself, i know i do. my $20 RTL-SDR works
well for playing around with this.

------
rdtsc
More info about it (from priyom.org):

\---

Location: Rostov-na-Donu, Russia, 47°17'58"N 39°40'25"E (72th communication
hub, callsign Akaciya), South Military District main command network

Antenna (StreetView):
[https://www.google.com/maps/@47.2985646,39.6750428,3a,75y,32...](https://www.google.com/maps/@47.2985646,39.6750428,3a,75y,320.49h,75.11t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjDeFAM1egZFdn4L7I-N4hQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=ru)

Occasionally voice messages are sent in various formats, main purpose is to
send command messages for South Military District of Russia.

Here is what an operator station looks like:

[http://priyom.org/media/124724/akaciya.jpg](http://priyom.org/media/124724/akaciya.jpg)

And it uses the traditional Russian military Monolith format:

[http://priyom.org/military-stations/russia/monolyth-
messages...](http://priyom.org/military-stations/russia/monolyth-messages-
description)

~~~
brbsix
They have a nice dossier on it as well:

[http://priyom.org/media/56944/the_pip_dossier.pdf](http://priyom.org/media/56944/the_pip_dossier.pdf)

------
jd3
I've always been fascinated by numbers stations/the conet project/etc. The
aforementioned websdr program has given me hours of entertainment in the past.
It's always fun when there is a genuine unsolved mystery to theorize about in
our modern times ;)

------
S_A_P
It makes me think of the series Lost when I read these articles.
Alternatively, I feel like its these super isolated bunkers that check in
every so often and if they stop doing so, nuclear warheads are launched at the
US.

~~~
brian-armstrong
It's easy to think this is something dramatic and mysterious, but it's much
more likely that it's actually quite mundane.

Building a dead man's switch that operates over shortwave is a pretty iffy
proposition. People might jam you just for fun. You could experience prolonged
channel degradation. Also, your transmitter could just plain break. If it were
that kind of device, operating continuously since the 1980s, I'd be surprised
if it hadn't triggered accidentally already.

~~~
S_A_P
Oh I totally agree- I was more just saying that is what I picture in my mind
when I read about these "mysterious" transmissions. Seem like a subplot to a
movie.

------
eugenekolo2
Is there really no readily available technology to find locations of radio
stations?

~~~
brian-armstrong
There certainly are methods. This is often called "fox hunting"
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmitter_hunting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmitter_hunting)

You can build an antenna with a cardiod pattern, which has a wide range but a
very deep, narrow null at one end. When you see the signal strength dip off,
the transmitter has to be aligned with the null (sort of, there are also
multipath issues to consider)

But, doing this requires you can move freely to track the transmitter. Hunting
a transmitter on Russian soil by non-Russian entities might not be viewed very
kindly :)

~~~
profmonocle
And the location probably wouldn't be too surprising. I remember reading that
some number station transmitter was tracked down to a Russian military base.
Pretty much where you'd expect it to be.

~~~
brian-armstrong
"Hi, I'd like to step on the base for a bit to have a look at your radio
transmitter." ;)

------
Theodores
Never mind The Pip, The Woodpecker is far more interesting:

[https://vimeo.com/ondemand/therussianwoodpecker](https://vimeo.com/ondemand/therussianwoodpecker)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Russian_Woodpecker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Russian_Woodpecker)

~~~
lgas
There are lots of things more interesting than The Pip, but they're unrelated.
Is there some connection between the Pip and the Russian Woodpecker that I'm
missing?

~~~
brbsix
"The Duga systems were extremely powerful, over 10 MW in some cases, and
broadcast in the shortwave radio bands. They appeared without warning,
sounding like a sharp, repetitive tapping noise at 10 Hz, which led to it
being nicknamed by shortwave listeners the Russian Woodpecker."

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duga_radar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duga_radar)

[http://www.brogers.dsl.pipex.com/Wpecker5.html](http://www.brogers.dsl.pipex.com/Wpecker5.html)

------
piokoch
That's going to be terribly off-topic, sorry for that, but I have to: I hoped
the article was about "Pip pan" from amazing kids book "Kastrullresan" ("The
Saucepan Journey" in English) by Edith Unnerstad.

If anyone of you have kids (6+) don't miss that one (and others from that
author too)!

~~~
brbsix
I hoped the article was about Python's pip. I love me some `pip`.

~~~
david-given
Python? How quaintly modern.

[http://www.shaels.net/index.php/cpm80-22-documents/using-
cpm...](http://www.shaels.net/index.php/cpm80-22-documents/using-cpm/6-pip-
utility)

------
brbsix
I suppose the most likely scenario is that these are part of some long-running
experiment or are used for some fairly mundane purpose like radio navigation
or calibration. My first thought was that it might be for a military or
intelligence fail-deadly system (e.g. to mount an attack, perform subterfuge,
deploy suitcase nukes across U.S. cities, or check in with a handler).

~~~
timlyo
My first thought was some sort of nuclear assurance. In the UK we have radio 4
broadcasting constantly, if there's no communication and radio 4 isn't
broadcasting then we assume a London may have been bombed and a nuclear alert
is issued.

[http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-
manchest...](http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-
news/radio-silence-puts-subs-on-nuclear-1157478)

