So you finally picked up a Baofeng and you are cruising the frequencies in the Roanoke Valley, looking for something a bit more… mysterious than the local fire dispatch or the Poor Mountain weather bot. You want the spooky stuff. You want the numbers.
First, the bad news: your little UV-5R is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Numbers stations live in the Shortwave (HF) world, and the Baofeng is a VHF/UHF beast. You won’t hear Moscow on a rubber duck antenna in the middle of Salem. But don’t throw your radio in the Roanoke River just yet.
The 2026 Spy Log
If you want to hear the actual ghosts in the machine, you have to go digital. Using a WebSDR (Software Defined Radio) lets you borrow a massive antenna in Europe or the Caribbean to hear what’s happening on the HF bands right now. Here is your current target list for March 2026:
| Station | Freq (kHz) | Schedule (UTC) | The Vibe |
|---|---|---|---|
| V32 (The Persian) | 7842 USB | 18:00 & 02:00 | The new kid on the block. Farsi numbers. Very active due to current events. |
| HM01 (Cuba) | 11635 USB | Top of the hour | A Spanish lady reading numbers while a Windows XP computer screams in the background. |
| UVB-76 (The Buzzer) | 4625 USB | 24/7 | The ultimate classic. A buzzing sound that occasionally breaks for Russian military codes. |
| E07 (English Man) | 18192 USB | Thu/Sat 10:00 | Strictly business. Robotic male voice from a Russian transmitter site. |
How to Listen from the Star City
- Step 1: Head over to the University of Twente WebSDR. It is located in the Netherlands and has a massive “Mini-Whip” antenna that picks up Russian signals like they are next door.
- Step 2: Under the frequency box, type in
4625and select USB. - Step 3: Watch the “waterfall” (the scrolling blue/yellow display). Look for the solid vertical lines. That’s where the secrets are hiding.
While you are waiting for the next transmission, keep that Baofeng on 146.985 to hear the local Roanoke ham scene. They might not be spies, but they usually know where the best burgers in Vinton are.
Stay tuned, stay cryptic.
