Month: March 2023 (Page 1 of 2)

QSL NDB MF Halmstad 421 kHz

March 27, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

The NDB MF in Halmstad on 421 kHz is located in south Sweden. A NDB, or Non Directional Beacon, is used for navigational purposes. Typically they are fairly low power. This one is about 725 km in NE direction from my QTH.
I sent a report plus audio clip and self-made QSL card to ats.halmstad@lfv.se. To my surprise I got a reply by regular mail, which is always nice.
Halmstad served as an air force base until 1961. Today it is a municipal airport with 800-1300 aircraft movements per year. It still supports the military operations from Halmstad as you can see on the QSL. And of course the jet fighter shown is a Swedish built SAAB Gripen!

Kilrock is installing a new antenna

March 25, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Kilrock is installing an new antenna. The previous one went down in a storm. I’m a fan of this station because of their choice of music. They also have one of the nicest e-QSL cards you can get! The You-Tube video gives you a pretty good idea about the LPAM (low power AM) scene in the Netherlands… I’m told they hope that their antenna is up and running by Easter. All is “weather prevailing”. And as a cyclist I can tell you weather hasn’t been much in the last weeks even though it is supposed to be spring.
Anyway for you radio enthusiasts in Europe, you should have better opportunities to receive this nice station from ‘s Gravendeel on 1287 AM!

QSL Kilrock AM, 1287 kHz, ‘s Gravendeel, The Netherlands

QSL 1134AM Ooijen

March 25, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

1134 AM is another LPAM (low power AM) station that you can hear from the Netherlands. It operates from the village of Ooijen, about 51 kilometers SW of my QTH. Their beautiful e-QSL gives a good impression of the pretty scenery in and around Ooijen.
As they say themselves on their website www.1134am.nl :
“Of course Am is no longer of this time, but what could be more fun to receive your favorite music on your own radio instead of your telephone or fm and dab. Am brings that little bit more atmosphere for real enthusiasts and can be received from great distances“
I couldn’t agree more!

QSL 1134 AM Ooijen The Netherlands — QSL 1134AM, Ooijen, The Netherlands

QSL Bodoe Radio 2187.5 kHz

March 19, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 1 Comment

Not all Maritime stations respond to reception reports. But those who do might send beautiful (e-)QSL cards, like this one from Bodoe Radio, Norwegian Coastal Radio North. In Norway there are only two centres left, north and south, that coordinate maritime radio transmissions. The Floro, Alesund, Tjome stations of the past are no more. But this beautiful QSL for my reception of Bodoe radio DCS on 2187.5 kHz makes up for that. Big compliments to the folks at Norwegian Coastal Radio North for providing this service to us DX folks!

QSL VOCM St. John’s 590 kHz

March 18, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 2 Comments

VOCM is one of the Transatlantic mediumwave stations from Canada that can be heard frequently. But I never managed to get a QSL from them. That changed this year when Loren Butler was so kind to send me a confirmation of my reception of their “Open Line” program.

QSL Regional Radio Umbria 1440 kHz

March 13, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Regional Radio is a station making programs for the Umbria region in Italy. It uses a few low power mediumwave transmitters to do so. I got a very nice fully detailed e-QSL from Regional Radio following reception of their 400 W transmitter on 1440 kHz, a frequency that is often dominated by Radio 208 from Copenhagen.
Learn more about Regional Radio on their website.

A very nice fully detailed QSL from Regional Radio, Umbria, Italy

QSL Charleston Radio International 5140 kHz

March 12, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Radio Charleston International is probably one of the easiest identifiable stations on the bands. As far as I know this “free radio” station from Berlin, Germany, only broadcasts music from the pre-WWII era, predominantly from from the “roaring twenties”.
For my report to charlestonradiointernal@yahoo.com I received this e-QSL:

QSL Columbia AM 1395 kHz

March 11, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Columbia AM is a low power AM (LPAM) station broadcasting from Aalst in the Netherlands. There are a few towns with the name Aalst, but this is the one at 51.78N 5.12E, along the river “Afgedamde Maas”. Beautiful area for cycling, my other big hobby! Aalst is only 37 kilometers SE from here, but particularly at night there is sometimes interference from Radio Seabreeze, another LPAM.
I received an e-QSL from Columbia AM for my report to studio@columbia-am.nl. Columbia AM has a long history as radio pirate. You can read more about that on their website.

QSL 7S6WRD Grimeton HAM Radio

March 9, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

During the UNESCO World Radio Day event of February 13th, 2023 a special HAM station was in the air. I received it in CW on the 14 MHz band. It was a long time ago that I decoded CW, but with record/play back I was able to collect sufficient details for a QSL of 7S6WRD Grimeton, Sweden.
My guess is that the station normally operates as SK6SAQ (with SAQ identical to the Grimeton callsign) but was under a special 7S6WRD callsign for this event (with WRD obviously referring to World Radio Day).
Click the link to learn more about the Grimeton World Heritage Station. No doubt there will be future opportunities to receive this station and associated HAM radio.

Special HAM QSL for 7S6WRD Grimeton on World Radio Day

QSL NDB PN Palanga 407 kHz

March 8, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 1 Comment

With my return to the bands I also picked up my passion for NDB hunting. Today I got an email QSL NDB PN Palanga. NDBs – or Non Directional Beacons – are used for navigation purposes. In the past you had them in both maritime and aeronautical service. The maritime ones have all gone in Europe as far as I know, but aeronautical beacons are still present.
I never received a beacon from Lithuania, so this is proof of the fact that my new combo of ICOM-R8600 and Bonito Megaloop FX can actually “do it”. That said, my participation in the NDB CLE two weeks ago was a disaster, finishing last ☹️.
For NDBs I always used “PPCs”. Forgot what the acronym is all about (Prepared Post Cards?), but the idea was that the station only had to “sign, stamp and post”. In the email era I felt that you still need to spice it up, and below you can see my approach on how to do that.
Please note the letterhead with the Lithuanian and Ukranian flag, holding hands in solidarity. And that makes this QSL special when I will look back on it years down the road. I’ve a couple of such “landmark” QSLs in my collection which I will post about in due time. Happy NDB hunting!