The wonderful world of listening to the radio
Radio Seagull can be heard on 747 kHz AM in the Netherlands. But in Woerden this frequency is dominated by nearby MCB Radio from Alphen aan de Rijn. A good alternative is to listen after 8 pm UK local time to the relay via Carillon Wellbeing Radio from Leicestershire on 1476. This is also a low power AM broadcaster, but despite their 250 Watts “only” this station is received very well here in Woerden.
I received a nice email as QSL Radio Seagull 1476 kHz via office@radioseagull.com
Last week I was trying to get a readable signal from LPAM station Studio AM, broadcasting on 900 kHz from Terneuzen, in the Netherlands. In the evening and night this frequency is dominated by COPE Granada. During daylight hours I could pick up a signal, but too weak to positively identify the station.
On the 2nd day of Easter that was different, but at first I didn’t understand the station ID? KL85? I happened to tune in to a special 3rd anniversary full day show of KL85, an internet radiostation that is also relayed via Studio AM 900. Their name comes from the city of Kortijk, the river Leie, and postal code 85.
I received a nice email on my reception report, but I also won a 50 Euro voucher for a visit to the Museum of the 20th century in Hoorn. Having received over 1000 QSLs that’s a first (although I once got a T-shirt from Radio New Zealand many years ago).
KBS World Radio is the International Service of the Korean Broadcasting System for South Korea. Via the Issoudun transmitter in France I received a program for the “amis francophone” with pop music from South Korea.
Getting a QSL is an easy but a bit unpersonal “do it yourself” service via a webform on the KBS World Radio website.
Next Friday RTE (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) from Ireland will end their long wave service on 252 kHz. Operation on 252 kHz started in 1989 when a joint venture of RTE and RTL started as Atlantic 252. With its powerful transmitter it easily covered Ireland and the UK. The BBC and Independent Local Radio complained about the station as they considered it a “commercial pirate”.
Initially the station was on air between 6 am and 7 pm, as listeners were encouraged to tune to Radio Luxembourg in the evening hours. Radio Luxembourg was the station that – following the demise of the North Sea pirate stations – you listened to for the latest popmusic. From 1991 Atlantic 252 it was on the air 24 hours a day, making it an easier catch for DX-ers around the world.
Popularity of the station reached a peak in the mid 90-ies. But commercial radio on FM, with better sound quality, gained popularity in the UK. From over 6 million listeners the audience declined to less than 1 million in 1999, and in 2001 the station went off the air. For a few months in 2002 Teamtalk 252 was aired via this frequency, after that RTE used the transmitter for RTE 1 programmes directed to the Irish expat community.
Below you can see my QSL from 1989, a few months after the start of Atlantic 252. It’s a pity that following the closure of the Beidweiler station of JV partner RTL another LW station bites the dust. On the other hand, given the costs and pressure to save on the huge energy consumption of such transmitters, it is understandable.
With centralization and the introduction of remote operation it is not always easy or even possible to identify what you actually heard. Sending DSC messages with MMSI 002301000 this station is referred to as Mariehamn Radio in the DSC community. The ITU list gives MRCC Turku as the station however, and Turku is definitely the control centre for operations in the western part of Finland. Helsinki seems to be the other main control centre.
Anyway, as QSL Mariehamn / Turku Radio for a reception of their DSC test message on 2187.5 kHz I got a short email from mrcc@raja.fi, which is the email address for the headoffice in Turku.
In the old days things were easier: I added the QSL I received in 1989 for my reception of Mariehamn Radio on 1852 kHz which definitely originated from the Aland Islands.
Radio T-Pot is a low power AM station broadcasting from Gasselternijveen, a small village in the province of Drenthe, the Netherlands. I made my reception during a stay in the nearby village of Exloo, some 15 km south of Gasselternijveen. On my home QTH Radio Monique from Velsen is so dominant that it seems impossible to receive Radio T-Pot.
Radio T-Pot got his name as parody on the iPod. Note that T-Pot is pronounced as Theepot, which is Dutch for teapot, I guess it adds to the fun!
The station is on the air on weekdays between 12.30 to approx 20.30 local time, saturday/sunday from 9.00 to 21.30 h local time, according to their facebook page.
Below you can see the e-QSL I received accompanied by a friendly email from station manager Theo Postma via radiotpot@ziggo.nl
Earlier this year I received an e-QSL for my reception of Radio Babylona. This station from the province of Groningen in NE part of the Netherlands can be heard at my home QTH, but I made my reception during a stay in nearby Exloo, over a distance of only some 10 kilometers. This explains the excellent SINPO rating.
Originally Radio Babylona was on air all week, but this was a bit too much work, so now you can listen to the station in the weekend only. You can read more about this station on their website.
Via the English Desk of Radio Romania International I received this email as QSL Antena Satelor 1314 kHz.
On this frequency Antena Satelor has two transmitters: one in Valu lui Traian (near Constanta), and one in Timisoara. Antena Satelor is a state owned station that started in 1991. The programmes target the audience living in the rural villages in Romania. For listeners outside Romania this comes with the benefit that you can listen to very nice folk music from Romania on this station.
And ofcourse you can also listen to the English service of Radio Romania!
When you are collecting QSLs it is ups and downs. Sometimes you receive a QSL every single day, and sometimes the (e)mailbox is a barren desert. It was like that when I started this hobby in the 80-ies, and it’s still like that since I returned to the radio waves.
But… it is also a good opportunity to reflect upon some old QSL cards. And since my last post was on “Kystradio Sør”, I’d like to share three QSLs from Norwegian Coastal Radio Stations that don’t exist anymore as “independent” stations: Florø, Tjøme and Aalesund.
In the 80-ies there were at least a dozen stations Norwegian Coastal Radio stations active on MF. 2182 kHz was the “calling frequency” where vessels and coastal stations made the initial contact. Announcements of weather bulletins and navigational warnings were made here. Most sought after by DX-ers were the stations like Jan Mayen, Bjørnøya and Longyearbyen, as they provided the opportunity to QSL Jan Mayen and Svalbard, two separate EDXC radio countries (I did hear Jan Mayen once, but never got a QSL… I had to hunt NDBs to get these countries).
Receiving the stations was one thing, but QSL-ing the Norwegian stations was another challenge. In the end I only managed to get three of them: Florø, Tjøme and Aalesund. Want to learn more? Check this Wikipedia article on the history of Telenor Kystradio.
© 2024 Peter's DX Corner
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
