A month ago I already thought I’d received Energy AM on 1440 kHz, but it turned out to be Radio Argus. But this time I received them in reasonable quality with a full ID. Energy AM is an unlicensed station from the Dublin area in Ireland, active on weekends. They used to operate on 1395 kHz (as you can still see in their logo), but since late last year they switched to 1440 kHz.
Energy AM confirmed my report via Facebook Messenger and provided some details:
Peter,
It was indeed Energy AM you heard last night on 1440 khz .
We were running 425 watts into our T antenna 20 metres vertical and 33 metres of horizontal.Slight loading at top of vertcal 7 turns.Transmitter isa Hercules 1 kilowatt but not running more than 500 watts as any more power cause local breakthrough interference on a smoke alarm.
We also use a D&R mixing desk, Rode mic, technics sl 1200 turntable ,Tascam cd 401 mk2 cd player ,and a dell PC with playout one radio program. audio is processed with orban digital am optimod. If you require any further information i would be happy to forward it to you.
Thanks for your reception report from all at Energy Am.
Below you can hear the jingle with the “Energy” identification:
The NBD io group organizes a Co-ordinated LIstening Event (CLE) every month. As a huge fan of something that is a bit of a contest, a bit of a personal challenge, I like these a lot. More importantly they help me to improve my set-up which is why I try to participate most months.
CLE’s always have a certain goal. In CLE299 for example, you had to pick an azimuth and try to receive as much beacons along that line. CLE311 required you had to “build a pyramid”. And CLE309 was all about logging up to 8 stations from each Maidenhead square. In this one, CLE327, the aim was to select 10 frequencies ahead of the event and then log as much beacons as possible.
So the making the right selection was critical. Obviously you do that by checking on which frequency you logged the largest number of different beacons in the past, ideally beacons that you have a fair change of logging again. But I just moved to a new QTH, and worse, I only have a loop pointing 90/270 degrees at my disposal, whereas in the past I switched antenna directions for an optimal result.
My Results
But hey… all for the fun of it. In the table below you can see my selection and my results. Now I can only receive these weak signals at my noisy QTH using Pskov, a software tool that basically tries to detect cyclic signals. If it recognizes one, it cuts an SDR recording (I used recordings of an hour) in pieces of exactly that cycle length and stacks them on top of one another to improve S/N ratio. To limit the amount of data processing I listened between 299 and 420 kHz only.
The previous event of a similar nature was CLE306 two years ago when the aim was to log as many NDBs on 8 preselected frequencies. Quite a few NDBs closed down since, so we were allowed to pick 10 frequencies this time. But obviously the CLE306 results provided a good starting point.
As you can see in the table above I managed to log 32 stations in CLE306. Based on my results I made the following selection for the new event: – Two frequencies, 348 and 330 disappointed me in CLE306 big time. So I excluded them for CLE327. – Two frequencies, 351 and 410 were not selected in CLE306, but during that event I logged 5 NDBs. So I included them in CLE327. – And to bring the selection to 10 frequencies I added 316 and 368 as I logged quite a few NDBs on these frequencies in the past.
Again, note that the number of logs in the past are not the only number to go by. Some logs are really rare or once off UNIDs. Some NDBs are located at a larger distances to the north or south, which given high solar activity right now or my limitations with the antenna orientation might provide a difficult catch.
My result in CLE327 was 33 beacons in total. With 3.3 NDBs per frequency quite a bit lower than in CLE306 which resulted in 4 NDBs per frequency. Conditions in that one, which was held in July, were not much better, so I blame my fixed antenna direction for that.
In hindsight, if I had picked the right frequencies, I could have scored 40. So the selection was not too bad. My newly selected 397 let me down with only one log for unknown reasons. Conditions to the Balkan were not bad, as were conditions to the UK and south of France. Maybe I should replace it with 380 next time.
For reference: the average score for participants from Europe was 43, with the top dog scoring 65!
A nice suprise from Iran
And to finish it off. During the event I received this nice signal from Iran. NDB Uromiyeh, almost 3500 km distance:
DX-ing mediumwave pirates is nice because sometimes you have email correspondence with fellow radio enthusiasts. I received Radio Turftrekker on 1638 kHz. Operator Jeroen wrote that he was ‘spoon-fed’ with mediumwave pirate radio as his father is also a mediumwave pirate. As a small child, he was listened in. Occasionally he was allowed to say something on the radio.
But it is also nice because some of the station names used remind you of the heritage of the Netherlands. Radio Markies is an example. And so is Radio Turftrekker. While the next paragraphs are not really about radio or DX, I just enjoyed writing them. Skip it if you want, but if you like it, please leave a comment!
About the name of Radio Turftrekker
A “Turftrekker” or “Peat Puller” was a worker that extracted peat using a scoop with a net attached. Peat was used as a fuel to heat houses before we switched to coal (and Holland what late in doing so). However, with the peat being extracted, deep pools of water formed in Holland.
“God created the earth, except for the Netherlands, for the Dutch did that themselves” is a well-known Dutch saying referring to the polders and reclaimed lands. But what is often forgotten is that the same Dutch first lost almost half their country due to peat extraction.
“Turftrekkers” extracting peat. A picture from 1895 used in schools.
The prime example is the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem Lake), the polder in which Schiphol (Amsterdam International) Airport is situated today. In the Middle Ages four lakes were formed as a result of peat reclaiming. Additional illegal reclaiming and storms resulted in the collapse of dikes, allowing the lakes to merge into what became the Haarlemmermeer. That lake was so large that it became an inland sea, and with southwesterly storms, it expanded ever further in the direction of Amsterdam.
The collapse of the dike between Amsterdam and Haarlem
The Haarlemmermeer acquired the nickname “Waterwolf” as the water consumed more and more land. A beautiful artwork created in 2024 visualizes this. The Waterwolf seems to be at rest in this statue, as is the Haarlemmermeer.
The “Water Wolf” statue in the Haarlemmermeer. Finally at rest after 4 centuries.
Plans were made to reclaim the Haarlemmermeer as early as the 18th century. However, by then the lake was too large to be drained with windmill technology applied in the Beemster, Wormer, and Schermer polders. And so nothing could be done and devastating storms in 1836 caused parts of Leiden and Amsterdam to flood.
The Haarlmemermeer in 1740, top left the city of Haarlem, top right Amsterdam
But fortunately there was the introduction of the steam engine. In May 1840, thousands of laborers began digging a 60-kilometer-long ring canal and constructing a ring dike with shovels and spades. Three steam pumping stations were built: De Leeghwater, De Cruquius, and De Lynden. On July 1, 1852, the Haarlemmermeer was completely drained, and the development and parcelling of the more than 18,500 hectares of new land could begin.
One of the steam engines draining the Haarlemmermeer
Back to Radio “Turftrekker”. Jeroen mentioned he didn’t have a QSL card. I proposed this design based on the school picture shown above. What do you think?
During the Pirate Hunt 2026 event I was able to log Radio Kristal, broadcasting from Twente, East Netherlands on 1655 kHz.
Operator Jan confirmed my reception with a nice eQSL featuring the offshore radiostation Veronica. The station I grew up with as a child.
Radio Kristal works with a tube transmitter and inverted V antenna. Jan mentioned that he is active for 47 years on AM and his station has been raided by the “Radiocontroledienst” (the authorities) twice.
ZoomRock FM is a new station broadcasting with 730 Watts only on 1242 kHz from Turku, Finland. Despite the fact that the provisional loop antenna that I use at our temporary house is directed east/west, which is not optimal, I was able to receive this station in the first two weeks of April, identify a couple of songs and record an ID. Harri was so kind to reward my reception with a nice QSL. The station shares the frequency with the 200 kW strong Radio Sultanate of Oman. But after 2h UTC that station (listed 24h) is either off air or fades out (I don’t know). Between 2h and 2:30 h UTC ZoomRock FM is audible.
Below a MP3 clip with the “bassy” ZoomRock FM station ID. Poor reception quality. If you want to hear a better recording, you can find one at Hugo Matten’s site.
I had a nice email conversation with Harri, the man behind ZoomRock FM. He told me that he received 130 reports, my report was the 2nd from The Netherlands. On the Facebook page Harri shows his equipment. A neat transmitter, but also an impressive antenna set up as he is apparently allowed to hook up his 2×58 m dipole to a commercial antenna tower.
ZoomRock FM transmitter
ZoomRock FM dipole antenna
It also turns out that Harri is an avid DX-er. Using two virtual SDRs he is trying to receive Transatlantic FM signals. Two YouTube videos show the locations and the stunning scenery:
Another catch during the Pirate Hunt 2026 held in the Easter weekend was Radio Alabama on 1620 kHz. Manfred from Radio Alabama was so kind to confirm my request with a kind email. He mentioned that he is broadcasting from the Netherlands with a staggering 2000 Watt homemade mosfet transmitter. But I’m afraid his location is on my null of the loop, and his antenna set-up might imply I’m a little bit in the dead zone.
And no the logo above is not the one from Free Radio Alabama. But I liked it a lot.
A year ago I received free radio station Radio Markies on 6300 kHz from The Netherlands. And as it is a hobby for the operator of Radio Markies as it is for us listeners, it took a little while before my report was confirmed. But this week I received a long personal email from the operator.
Radio Markies is active in the 50 meter band since 2023. The transmitter is fully home made. Below a the recording I made of my reception with the station ID. Reception was a bit noisy, but that might be because my antenna direction wasn’t optimal. You can hear a full ID: “Dus amateurs, luisteraars in het bijzonder, goedenavond, u luistert op dit moment live naar de 6300 Markies International 50 meter band”.
Radio Markies doesn’t have a QSL card, but if they want to make one I would suggest to use the character Markies de Canteclaer conceived by Marten Toonder (Markies is Dutch for Marquis):
During the Easter weekend I received a program of MCB Radio on 1467 kHz. I was quite surprised about this, as I had MCB, and LPAM from the Netherlands, listed on 846 kHz only.
So I sent a report to MCB and Otto from their technical department was so kind to confirm my reception as well as the answer to my question: the MCB program was relayed by Radio Vliegende Hollander from Meppel, The Netherlands, which makes sense as this is only 37 kms from my current QTH in Coevorden.
Below the audioclip of the Easter program I received, with the clear ID “De grootste hits uit de jaren 70… dit is het 70ies weekend op MCB… 1974!”
During the Easter weekend I participated in the Pirate Hunt. One of the stations I received was Radio Zand on 4695 kHz. It was the first time I received this station from the Netherlands, but on the internet it gained some fame as “the 17-year old that was broadcasting on the Russian Buzzer frequency of 4625 kHz”.
My report to radiozand(at)protonmail.com was confirmed with a nice personal eQSL:
eQSL Radio Zand, the Netherlands, 4695 kHz
An interesting part of my reception of Radio Zand was their station ID in the SDR water fall. You can see this in the picture below, but check the video on my YouTube post.
It was my second attempt and but this time my report of a DSC transmission by CGTM Mar del Plata, Argentina on 8414.5 kHz was confirmed. I sent my report to mpla(at)prefecturanaval.gob.ar .
CGTM stands for Centro de Gestión de Tráfico Marítimo (Maritime Traffic Management Center). It is part of the Prefectura Naval Argentina (PNA). The CGTM are the operational centers responsible for the real-time monitoring and management of maritime traffic in Argentine waters.These centers act as Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) stations and coordinate, among other things:
tracking of ships via radar, AIS, and other systems,
providing information and advice to vessels,
coordinating search and rescue operations (SAR),
responding to emergency situations (such as breakdowns, flooding, or man-overboard incidents),
enforcing maritime safety and preventing incidents in ports, rivers, and sea areas.
There are multiple CGTM centers spread across the country. But as far as I know only those in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia and Ushuaia are active with a DSC watch on HF. With three of them confirmed Ushuaia is still on the to-do list.
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