Lincolnshire Poacher (numbers station)

The precise date that the Lincolnshire Poacher began broadcasting is unknown; however, it is estimated that the broadcasts started around the early to mid-1970s.[6] While numbers stations have existed since World War I, numbers stations such as Lincolnshire Poacher began appearing during the Cold War, when nations such as the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom needed to send messages discreetly to their operatives in other countries.[7] However, after the Cold War, the number of numbers stations greatly decreased.[7] The Lincolnshire Poacher remained operating after the end of the Cold War, and continued to be broadcast into the next two decades.[3]

Akrotiri, Cyprus, the believed location of the Lincolnshire Poacher's broadcasts and radio antennas.

The Lincolnshire Poacher stopped broadcasting in July 2008. The last recorded transmission of the station was on 29 June 2008.[6] It is believed that the station's sister station, Cherry Ripe, began to send broadcasts that used to be intended to be sent over the Lincolnshire Poacher station.[6] This is believed to be true because the "Cherry Ripe" station used a very similar call signal, and broadcast its messages in 200 sets of five-number IDs.[6]

The Lincolnshire Poacher was broadcast several times throughout the day, and was transmitted seven days a week, at various times and on various shortwave frequencies. This schedule was accurate as of January 2006, which is the most recent update to the broadcast schedule. All times are Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and all radio frequencies in megahertz (MHz).[3]

• "Tracking the Lincolnshire Poacher". BBC Radio 4. 23 April 2005. Retrieved 2 May 2010.