I was recently scanning through the short-wave frequencies and stumbled upon a series of repeating tones, which then cut to classical music and then a woman speaking French (unconfirmed). Later I was unable to locate anything but static on that frequency.
I recorded the brief moment on my phone and the recording can be listened to here (SoundCloud).
I am aware that numbers stations exist and are known to start with repeating tones, The Lincolnshire Poacher is known for this - though this beacon seemed to be ending on one, not beginning.
Am I just confusing a commercial station's opening signals for something more? The UK Shipping Forecast is always lead into by a musical score for people to listen for when tuning in and perhaps this is just a similar method.
What is frustrating is that the tones played in the beacon are somewhat recognisable but I cannot place where they are from.
Details:
Frequency: 11970khz
Date & Time: 13/09/2014 - 20:59 (DD/MM/YYYY - HH-MM)