UVB-76: Shortwave Buzzer

UVB-76, the Buzzer, and other Russian numbers stations, recreated on your iPhone. Unlike a real numbers station, this app can start a transmission on cue.

IS IT REAL?
No, and that is the point. This is an offline emulator, not a receiver. It does not pick up the live signal from Russia. It recreates the eerie sound and look of a shortwave numbers station, so you can trigger a broadcast whenever you want, for a performance, a stream, a video, an installation, a game, or as a prop.

ABOUT UVB-76 AND THE BUZZER
UVB-76, nicknamed the Buzzer and sometimes called Russia's doomsday radio, is a shortwave station on 4625 kHz that has broadcast a monotonous buzzing tone for decades from near Moscow. Every so often the buzz stops and a Russian voice reads a string of numbers and code words. No one officially claims it, its purpose has never been confirmed, and that mystery is exactly why people go looking for it.

BEYOND THE BUZZER
The app also recreates two more famous signals: the Pip on 5448 kHz and the Squeaky Wheel (S32) on 5473 kHz. Switch between the three like presets, each on its own frequency, with its own marker tone and its own Russian voice reading coded messages.

WHO USES IT
Musicians layer it into ambient and experimental tracks. Streamers and filmmakers use it as a Cold War prop. Fans of the mystery just let it buzz in the background.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is UVB-76 still broadcasting?
Yes. The real station near Moscow is still active on 4625 kHz and has never officially gone silent. This app is a standalone recreation of it, so it keeps buzzing even with no radio and no internet.

What is UVB-76 used for?
Officially undisclosed. Theories range from a military command channel to simply keeping a frequency occupied. In this app the buzz and the numbers are yours to trigger for creative work.

How do you listen to the real UVB-76?
You need a shortwave radio tuned to 4625 kHz, or an online WebSDR receiver. This app does not receive that signal. It emulates the experience, so you can hear a numbers station anytime, with no equipment at all.

Where is UVB-76 located?
The transmitter is believed to sit near Povarovo, not far from Moscow, in Russia.

What does the Buzzer do?
It transmits a repeating buzz tone almost continuously, interrupted now and then by spoken Russian letters and numbers in the Monolith format.

Are there still numbers stations?
Yes. Numbers stations still send coded broadcasts on shortwave today, and enthusiasts around the world log and record them. This app is a tribute to that world.

Has a numbers station ever been decoded?
The messages are thought to use one-time pads, which are effectively unbreakable without the key, so the codes themselves stay secret. The fascination is in the ritual, not the answer.

Works fully offline on iPhone and iPad. No signal required.