Customer Reviews

The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations

5 star:		(8)
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So I read these reviews of people saying how this CD set is so hard to find and that people on ebay charge an arm and a leg for it and blah blah.

There's no need to buy this CD, folks. The publisher, Irdial, has made the whole thing available as downloadable mp3s - yep, all four CDs. In fact, it's always been a free download. Just use your favorite search engine to look up Irdial.

This is a four-cd collection of recordings of the famous short-wave "numbers" stations, rumored to be operated by various covert intelligence operations (CIA, Mossad, MI5, KGB, etc.). It comes with a large booklet containing "a beginners guide" and extensive transcripts of the broadcasts.

I'd heard about these stations for years, but I'd never actually heard them before getting this collection. Knowing about them is one thing, but listening to them is a totally different thing. They're bizarre, they're fascinating, they're spooky.

I'd recommend this to a couple different groups: If you're big into government conspiracy theories, this is an excellent archive of what the guys in control are doing with your hard-earned tax money. If you're into noise and pure ambient music, then this is basically a wonderful collection of "found sound" pieces. It'd also be excellent raw material to incorporate into new creations.

I recently purchased the re-issue of Irdial's Conet Project of Short Wave Radio transmissions. The 4CD package is excellent. 5-Stars. If you are not familiar w/these recordings they are not easy to describe and other reviewers probably can give you a better synopsis of this CD than myself.
I wanted to post my kudos to Irdial itself. I shop frequently on-line and this company has the best customer service of any business I've dealt with.
When I first contacted Irdial the re-issue wasn't available but I placed an order anyway, due to the rarity of this item. Quite frankly, I didn't expect to hear from them again and I had already kissed my money goodbye. However, Irdial kept me constantly updated throughout the process. There were several production problems w/the re-issue that were out of the company's hands and the project was seemingly constantly delayed but Irdial always kept in touch w/me and I never felt that I was given the run-around or that I had been forgotten.
I can't say enough about Irdial as a company. They came thru w/my purchase and even though this was an over-seas transaction, they kept me informed as to the status of the project and when I could expect a delivery.
The folks at Irdial are great and I would recommend them to all. Not to mention the CD itself which contains some of the most bizzarre and weird recordings I've ever heard.
I urge all audiophiles to purchase this porduct or to choose from any of this company's other recordings. They treated me great and I love the CD.
Fat Bennie-USA

Irdial-Discs has re-released "The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations", its ground breaking and extraordinary quadruple CD boxed set. This is an exact re-press, with the 80 page booklet in its own jewel case, 4 CDs in a double CD jewel case and post card, shrinkwrapped.

You can get the Conet Project via Amazon, at amazon.co.uk using your existing Amazon account.

I'm looking to find a downloadable version of this CD set. It is not longer available from all search engine accounts. I find it hard to believe that the only way to get these recordings is by paying $200 for the CDs. Anyone out there?

I've found some places that sell it for MUCH MUCH cheaper, and its not quite as rare as some of these guys make it to be. 1 8 1 1 8 8 3 2 1 0 1 0 2 1 2 3 9 2 1 3 1 9 2 9 3 2 9 3 9 2 3 9...

If you're a fan of Wilco, or of the weird and mysterious (and SPOOKY!) you've got to check this out. Unfortunately it's now very hard to find, and people charge an arm and a leg for it...but you can occasionally find it for a bit cheaper on Ebay. This one's well worth the effort!

Now if I remember what I read correctly, these were recorded in the 80s & released on CD by Irdial in the late 90s. There's someone selling a used copy for a rediculous $200, but Irdial has uploaded these tracks onto the net for free download, or you can buy a CD from them for about $10, £1.59 UK, & £2.79 anywhere else in Europe.

What makes Numbers Stations facinating? Is it because they were ment for specific ears & you're hearing something you shouldn't be listening to? Is it because you will never know what the messages mean? Is it because they sound decades older than they really are, as if they were made around or before WW2 & being projected forward in time? Is it simply interest in listening to robotic voices chant numbers & names in foreign languages? Is it because you can only hear them live at certain times on certain stations & only on shortwave radios?