{"id":138927,"date":"2026-10-12T17:47:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T00:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=138927"},"modified":"2026-11-06T15:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T23:30:19","slug":"peoples-temple-radio-codes-an-introduction","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=138927","title":{"rendered":"Peoples Temple Radio Codes: An Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Editor’s note<\/strong>: This article is a contextual guide to the radio codes used by Peoples Temple HAM operators. There are two Excel spreadsheets for the codes, one for \u201cPeople\u201d<\/a> and the second for \u201cGeneral\u201d<\/a> subject areas.]\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u201cCodes & Ciphers over radio (List of lies, charges, and allegations against the Temple)\u201d \u2014 codeword: 79<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the final years of its existence, Peoples Temple relied on HAM amateur radio as its primary mode\u2014and often, the only <\/em>mode\u2014of communication between its three locations, in San Francisco and in Jonestown and Georgetown, Guyana. Under the U.S. Federal Communication Commission\u2019s (FCC) amateur radio guidelines, operators cannot conduct business duties or communication over the air. However, as the Temple was reliant on ham radio to maintain its day-to-day operations, it utilized a system of codes to circumvent the FCC\u2019s guidelines and to ward off prying listeners who were\u2014more often than not\u2014apt to report the Temple\u2019s operators for their misuse of amateur radio.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

As part of its investigation into Peoples Temple, the FBI collected tens of thousands of documents from Jonestown and the Temple\u2019s Lamaha Gardens location. These files\u2014organized into 118 sections under the FBI\u2019s RYMUR \u201cGuyana Index<\/a>\u201d\u2014contain hundreds of pages of codes that correspond to the names of Temple members, detractors, supporters, actions, items, and locations. The Temple\u2019s radio operators would refer to these people, actions, items, and locations by their designated codes, thereby obscuring the true nature and meaning of their conversations. A significant number of the codes related to medical terms, which could make otherwise suspicious communications appear more legitimate when used over ham radio.<\/p>\n

It is unknown which Temple members created and distributed the codes or exactly how often they were changed. One set of codes, E-3-A-7-15 \u2013 E-3-A-7-17, however, appears to have been created by Karen Layton. At least towards the end\u2014especially following the defection of Deborah Layton in May 1978\u2014the radio codes were routinely changed every \u201cso often,\u201d according to survivor Tim Carter.[2]<\/sup><\/a> But since most of the documents collected in Jonestown date to the 1977\u201378 period, it is likely that most code sets originated during that era.[3]<\/sup><\/a> Contextual clues, such as the names of individuals listed as \u201cdefectors\u201d or \u201cenemies\u201d of the Temple, can help narrow down the dates.<\/p>\n

So far, I have identified 33 code sets throughout RYMUR. All of these have been organized into a master sheet, which is split into \u201cPeople\u201d<\/a> and \u201cGeneral\u201d<\/a> words. The \u201cPeople\u201d sheet is alphabetically subcategorized into Peoples Temple members, defectors\/former members, Americans\/international, and unknown\/unidentified. From there, the code sets are listed as columns, allowing users to easily compare and contrast the various code words used for an individual. I strongly recommend using the \u201cFind\u201d function to quickly locate specific words. If additional code sets are found within any Peoples Temple collection or archive, they will be added to the master sheet. Likewise, each code set can be viewed separately as a PDF via the research page.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that the words considered important enough to be assigned a code frequently changed between sets. Across all sets, I identified over 1,200 unique words that had been assigned a code.[4]<\/sup><\/a> Frequently mentioned individuals, like Tim or Grace Stoen, appeared in nearly every code set; lesser-used words, like \u201creferendum\u201d or \u201cPhiladelphia,\u201d usually only appeared once or twice. Even within a single code set, individuals were often assigned numerous codes. In code set E-4-B-2 \u2013 E-4-B-2-w, for example, Tim Stoen was assigned 11 distinct codenames.<\/p>\n

So, what is the intended use of this master sheet, and what is its significance? There are many<\/em> radio traffic notebooks and audiotapes that have yet to be transcribed. Most of these sources contain codewords that need to be deciphered. By using the master sheet, researchers can more easily decipher these codes.<\/p>\n

Take, for example, BB-3-i-1<\/a>, Deborah Layton\u2019s radio traffic notes, which were deciphered by using the master sheet:<\/p>\n

\n

Hudson [Fred Wills] <\/span>conversation with Claude [Forbes Burnham]<\/span> last night<\/p>\n

Hudson<\/span> said Claude<\/span> was upset at things Mr. Maxwell [Lawrence \u201cBunny\u201d Mann]<\/span> & people underneath Hudson<\/span> had told him.<\/p>\n

Hudson<\/span> feels Maxwell<\/span> & people under him are now against him & that could be what\u2019s affecting the plane situation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Large tank coming into port may hold us up 2 extra days.<\/p>\n

[Illegible name, could be Julie [Carolyn Layton]]<\/span> wasn\u2019t going to leave til Friday \u2013 who knows now<\/p>\n

Tried to get a hold of Hudson,<\/span> but they had a power failure where he is & can\u2019t<\/p>\n

Get a hold of Richard [possibly Vibert Mingo]<\/span> & see if he can authorize charter, since Hudson\u2019s unavailable & GDF & company want his approval<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Moreover, by cross-referencing the code sets with the radio traffic notes\u2014which are mostly dated\u2014it is likely possible to date many of the code sets themselves.<\/p>\n

Of course, this master codename sheet is not perfect. Researchers should consult the original PDFs of the individual code sets to ensure accuracy and account for any errors or ambiguities in the transcription. However, by compiling all known code sets into a single location, this master sheet provides researchers with a useful tool for deciphering previously unidentified codes and, ultimately, making other Temple documents easier to understand and transcribe.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> Throughout 1977 and 1978, the FCC investigated and cited Peoples Temple\u2019s U.S.-based operators\u2014namely, Ben Bowers and Elton Adams\u2014for its misuse of amateur radio. See<\/em>, FCC Investigation of Peoples Temple<\/a> and CQ Magazine Article<\/a> for thorough accounts of the FCC\u2019s investigation of the Temple.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> Tim Carter, interview by Aliah Mohmand, December 16, 2025.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> As part of its investigation into the Temple, FBI agents attempted to roughly date some of the code sets, along with other documents in E-4. I have yet to review this work. See<\/em>, Serial 2089<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a> I did not see the code of interest to most researchers, \u201cWe\u2019re going to see Mrs. Frazier\u201d \u2014 the code for committing suicide, according to Jim Jones Jr.<\/a> \u2014 in any of the RYMUR code sets.<\/p>\n

(Aliah Mohmand<\/strong>\u00a0is the Research Associate for this website and a co-director of the Military Response to Jonestown<\/a> project. Aliah attends Kalamazoo College, pursuing studies in History and Economics. Her other articles in this edition of <\/em>the jonestown report are Documenting the Air Commandos\u2019 Response to Jonestown: A Review of Valor Untold<\/em><\/a> and Military Response to Jonestown: 2026 in Review<\/a>. Her full collection of articles for this site may be found here<\/a>. She may be reached at\u00a0aliahmohmand@gmail.com<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Editor’s note: This article is a contextual guide to the radio codes used by Peoples Temple HAM operators. There are two Excel spreadsheets for the codes, one for \u201cPeople\u201d and the second for \u201cGeneral\u201d subject areas.]\u00a0 During the final years of its existence, Peoples Temple relied on HAM amateur radio as its primary mode\u2014and often, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":138814,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-138927","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138927"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139237,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138927\/revisions\/139237"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/138814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}