Peter's DX Corner

The wonderful world of listening to the radio

Month: September 2023 (Page 1 of 3)

QSL Radio NUG 11940 kHz

September 29, 2023 / / 0 Comments

As long as I have been listening to shortwave radio there have been stations representing the opposition in countries where Freedom of Speech is an issue. Radio NUG is representing the National Unity Government of Myanmar. This government opposes the junta in Myanmar, and is recognized by the European Union as the legitimate government of Myanmar.
The NUG programs are being broadcast from Paochung , Taiwan in the Burmese language. Currently they are on the air on 11940 kHz, 14:00 – 14:30 h UTC, and 17790 kHz, 02:00 – 02:30 h UTC. Given propagation conditions the first frequency is your best bet in Europe. It is also where I got this QSL Radio NUG 11940 kHz for. At the Radio NUG site you can find a web form to submit your reception report which resulted in this computer generated QSL. Today the site also shows an email address for QSL cards: RadioNUG@MoCITMyanmar.org .

QSL Radio NUG, broadcasting from Paochung, Taiwan
e QSL from Radio NUG, broadcasting from Paochung, Taiwan

Special QSL Radio Taiwan International 11995 kHz

September 29, 2023 / / 3 Comments

Earlier I received a special QSL Radio Taiwan International on 11995 kHz for a report on the German program. Normally this program is broadcast from Kostinbrod in Bulgaria, but in July it was also transmitted from Tamsui, Taiwan.

In August the French program was in the air from Tamsui, also on 11995 kHz. For reports on this transmission another special QSL Radio Taiwan International was awarded. And again via regular mail! Throughout the year you can listen to their French program via the powerful transmitters in Issoudun, France or Kostinbrod, Bulgaria.

QSL Radio Taiwan Int. French service from Tamsui
Special QSL card for the French program of Radio Taiwan, directly from Tamsui, Taiwan

QSL NDB KW-395 Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

September 28, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Last weekend I participated in another Coordinated Listening Event organized by the NDB list community. I will report more about this in a future post. But the first QSL is already in: Mikko Kinnunen from the Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd. (HIAL) was so kind to send an email to QSL NDB KW-395 Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland (United Kingdom). I sent my report to info@hial.co.uk .

Mikko was quite surprised by the distance covered (906 km). But as you can read in the email they have their own DX as well! On their VHF frequency they regularly receive Birmingham and Dusseldorf control tower. I guess this occurs during favourable tropospheric conditions.

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) is responsible for the management and operation of 11 regional airports serving some of the nation’s remotest communities: at Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Dundee, Inverness, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick John O’Groats

QSL NDB KW-395 Kirkwall Airport, Orkney Islands, Scotland
email to QSL NDB KW-395 Kirkwall Airport, Orkney Islands, Scotland

EH3ARRL is advocating Catalunya as a separate DXCC country

September 28, 2023 / / 0 Comments
EH3ARLL advocates Catalunya being a separate DXCC country
EH3ARLL advocates Catalunya as a separate DXCC country

Browsing through my SSTV recordings on 14230 kHz I found this interesting call sign: EH3ARRL. The station was on air September 23rd, 11.41 h UTC. Checking the QRZ.com website I learned that the call sign EH3ARRL is owned by a group of amateur radio operators from Catalunya. EH3ARRL is advocating that Catalunya should be a separate DXCC country.

For those unfamiliar with the radio amateur jargon: ARRL is the American Radio Relay League, the national association for radio amateurs in the USA. DXCC stands for DX Century Club, an award for those operators who can confirm having worked stations from 100 countries. And of course the ARRL defines what counts as a country, and doesn’t. All over the world radio amateurs use the ARRL DXCC definition to determine how many countries they worked. By the way, as a DX-er I always used the EDXC country list, which is a bit different.

The EH3ARRL group argues that Catalunya, while being part of Spain, has its own government, own police and own telecommunications. And they have their own EA3 radio prefix. They quote examples like Scotland, England, Wales and various other territories and enclaves that are counted as a separate DXCC radio country, while they are also not an official state. If you agree with them you can sign their petition on the change.org website.

Later that afternoon I received the SSTV picture from EA3BIL, who happens to be one of the operators behind EH3ARRL.

QSL NDB PIS-424 Pisarovina / Zagreb

September 26, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Still a little bit of catch-up to do. Mr Boris Mrkonja at Croatia Control, Zagreb, was so kind to QSL NDB PIS-424 located near Pisarovina for Zagreb Airport.

This NDB (Non Directional Beacon) was among one of the first beacons that I received after installing my NTi Megaloop FX antenna a few months ago. As I had never received a beacon from Croatia I was really happy with this result: apparently with my new receiver and antenna it was still possible to do some NDB DX. This beacon is located 1078 km from my QTH. I made my reception “by ear”, so without the use of the wonderful Pskov software I recently installed. So give it a try, this beacon is often really strong and easy to receive!

Email to QSL NDB PIS-424 Pisarovina, Croatia

QSL Olympia Radio SVO 8414.5 kHz

September 25, 2023 / / 2 Comments

Earlier this year I received this nice e QSL Olympia Radio with call sign SVO. My report was for a DSC message on 8414.5 kHz. I sent my QSL to olympiaradio@ote.gr . Like in many countries maritime or coastal radio stations in Greece merged into one station: Olympia Radio. Occasionally I do see other MMSI station identifiers popping up like for example Aspropyrgis Radio, but as far as I know everything is centrally controlled since 1998.

QSL Olympia Radio SVO, Greece
e QSL from martime station Olympia Radio/SVO, Greece

As said, in the past there were multiple radio stations. Athens (SVA) was the station operating on both MF and HF. Iraklion (SVH), Limnos (SVL), Kerkyra (SVK), Rhodos (SVR) and Chios (SVX) were operating on MF only. Of those Kerkyra was most frequently received in the Netherlands. Below you can see the QSLs I received in the 80-ies from Athens and Kerkyra Radio.

1982 QSL Athens Radio SVA, Greece
1982 QSL from Athens Radio SVA, Greece
1988 QSL Kerkyra Radio, Greece
1988 QSL from Kerkyra Radio SVK, Korfu Island, Greece

Radio Romania International goes e-QSL

September 22, 2023 / / 2 Comments

I received an email from the English desk of Radio Romania International announcing their new winter schedule. In the same email they announced that they are working ways to send out digital or eQSLs in 2023. As we are already in the 4th quarter I’m not sure if this is a typo, although I’m still waiting on a 2023 QSL. Anyway it is a pity as I loved the old school QSL they sent, and they were reliable verifiers.
Recent budget cuts forced them to close two out of five transmitters. So I guess the move to eQSLs is probably another cost reduction measure.

QSL Torshavn Radio 2187.5 kHz

September 19, 2023 / / 0 Comments

I started this weblog a few months after I resumed DX-ing. As a result there are a few QSLs that I didn’t post yet. One of those is this comprehensive Word document I received as QSL Torshavn Radio. Torshavn Radio – call sign OXJ – is part of the MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) on the Faroe Islands. I received them with a DSC test message on 2187.5 kHz. It is a pity that they forgot to tick the DSC box on the document, but I applaud them for sending this neat QSL. I sent my report to MRCC@vorn.fo.

QSL Torshavn Radio, Faroe Islands
E-QSL letter from Torshavn Radio, Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but with a very high degree of self-governance. They are not part of the European Union. The debate on whether they should become fully independent of Denmark lingers on… For us DX-ers and QSL-hunters that doesn’t make a difference: the European DX council has long declared it a separate radio country.

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