The Mysterious Radio Station Dubbed “Yosemite Sam”



On Dec. 19, 2004, a mysterious radio station was reported. The station transmits on four frequencies: 3700 kHZ, 4300 kHZ, 6500 kHZ, and 10500 kHZ. All transmissions are in double side band (DSB) — that is, they can be tuned in either USB or LSB modes. It’s essentially AM with no carrier. A transmission is made on one of the frequencies, and then 10 seconds later it’s repeated on the next higher frequency, and so on. Since there are four frequencies, a transmission is made on a given frequency every 40 seconds. The entire pattern takes two minutes. Transmissions always start at an offset of 7 seconds, such as at 10:00:07 UTC. The timing of the transmissions seems to be excellent. Each transmission starts with what sounds like a data burst, followed by the phrase: "Varmint, I'ma Gonna Blow Yah T'Smithereens" said by what sounds like the voice of Yosemite Sam of the Looney Tunes cartoon fame. The clip is apparently from the cartoon "Bunker Hill Bunny", 1949. Here’s an audio clip of a transmission: