Caught 'the Buzzer' having some issues just after the Baghdad attack

[JELAIR]

I was listening, not really expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen (I've never ever heard 'the buzzer' do anything but buzz), when 'the buzzer' suddenly began to pitch its tone all over the place.

Then it went silent... and then came back with a continuous tone... basically it acted very strange.

I recorded a video of some of it (I didn't get all the initial pitching-moments unfortunately)

I have no idea what happened, but it probably is something 'boring' like a simple technical failure at the broadcast-center.

Anyway, it happened just as the news broke about the US attack on Baghdad, and I actually also got an EAM in this video.

Again, it's probably not related to anything politically or militarily, but probably just a simple tech-glitch.
But who knows what happens in the dark corners of the world, so I put it online anyway

 

[217]

Sometimes, the buzzer signal is interrupted and a voice transmission in takes place.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

One of the theories is that the buzzer is sort of a "dead mans switch". If it buzzes, the situation is normal. If it stops, tune in for further instructions. More han likely those coded instructions are coming via a different frequency.

The bees, they be a buzzin in iran. Brace yourselves.

 

[RadioDitch]

To clear some stuff up: There's really no mystery left or theories to ponder with regards to The Buzzer thanks to different document discoveries at Povarovo, poor redaction on releases, and many years of observation by SWL's and OSINT enthusiasts. By whatever callsign you recognize it by these days (it's currently ANVF1), The Buzzer is a channel marker and beacon holding the frequency for coded communications with Russian ground forces throughout the world. Just like U.S. HF-GLOBAL, we'll never know the content of the coded comms, and the majority are often probably null/training messages or coded benign sitreps. The Buzz is created by a relay and DC motor for a timer. It's basically a glorified 40's military cable tester. That was proven when one of the old units was found after Povarovo was abandoned. Transmissions now originate from Station Vulkan, the 69th Communication Hub in Naro Fominsk, which unfortunately is subject to the power grid issues in the Moscow region. Those power issues, and the believed age of the equipment, often lead to the breakdowns. Testing and servicing of the diesel generators also create "false breakdowns" that light up every message board on the internet. The Buzzer does transmit messages on a semi-regular basis despite myths perpetuated by those who don't listen for long periods. Lately they've averaged 5-7 per month since August. Priyom is usually pretty good about tracking and logging them.

As to what you caught with the fluctuation in tone, it's done it before, and appears to be a power issue. However, going silent...don't discount that. When major events happen around the world, particularly in Ukraine/Middle East/North Korea, The Buzzer sometimes stops. It's suspected that the reason is to alert ground troops to standby for possible traffic, even if none is ever sent, or for Vulkan to receive traffic from ground troops. All you can really do is work the OSINT and look at the timing and make up your own mind.

 

[JELAIR]

Thank you for that info, very interesting