The Pip
Day and night, a Russian radio station sends short beeps, over and over. Every so often, a man's voice breaks in and reads out a string of words.
What was reported
The Pip is a shortwave radio station, heard across Europe and beyond, that broadcasts a short, sharp beep about once a second, almost without stopping, on the same frequencies for decades.
Now and then the beeping stops, and a man reads a short message in Russian: a name or code word followed by numbers. Listeners log every message, and the station is a sister to the better-known UVB-76, 'the Buzzer'.
Explanations offered
It's widely believed to be a Russian military station, probably used to keep a channel open and send coded alerts. Radio direction-finding places it in southern Russia. Its exact purpose has never been officially stated.
- When
- Since the 1980s
- Where
- Broadcast from near Rostov-on-Don, Russia
- Witnesses
- Shortwave radio listeners
- Status
- Purpose unknown
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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