Peter's DX Corner

The wonderful world of listening to the radio

Month: April 2024 (Page 3 of 3)

QSL Paradise FM 103.1 MHz

April 3, 2024 / / 2 Comments

Since 2010 Curacao, a former Dutch colony, is an independent country. And thus the EDXC lists it as a separate radio country as well. Unfortunately, by the time I resumed my hobby about a year ago, the only medium wave station Z86 went bankrupt and is off air. The Dutch Coastguard in Willemstad, which I received often between 1980-1990, doesn’t have a significant HF presence anymore as ship traffic goes by satellite. All that is left is basically FM. So when I visited the island in March this year I decided to send QSL requests to the stations I heard, in an attempt to add Curacao to my collection.

Email to QSL Paradise FM.

Joris Reer from Paradise FM was the first to reply with an email confirmation of my reception. Joris, who is host of the afternoon show, also asked my phone number. Next day I was on the air in the “Reer in het Verkeer” show explaining what our beautiful hobby is all about. Unfortunately for English speaking readers the show, like the QSL, is in Dutch which is still the official language on Curacao, next to Papiamento and English.

If I did my homework correctly, Curacao is the 197th radio country in my collection. And yeah, Joris was correct that it is a bit of a “cheat” as it is obviously not really DX. The only other “cheat” in my collection is Liechtenstein. I received “Radio L” while traveling with my wife on a 1500 km bicycle tour through the Alps years ago. I drafted my reception report during a stop for lunch in the capital Vaduz.
But if anything, the Paradise FM QSL is a nice memory of a beautiful holiday on Curacao!

Joris Reer, afternoon show host on Paradise FM.

LPAM Kilrock 1287 kHz off air from June 1st

April 2, 2024 / / 1 Comment

One of my favorite LPAM stations because of their music selections, Kilrock 1287 kHz, will go off air June 1st as the owner is relocating. As they write on their website (translated in English):

Dear medium wave listeners,

KilRock currently broadcasts radio on 1287 kHz AM. These broadcasts will have to be stopped for a longer period of time as of June 1. Our program offering remains available online via kilrock.nl and the websites that offer KilRock radio on their own pages.

Why does KilRock stop broadcasting on 1287 AM?

Willem moves to another home. Our transmission system will have to move with us, as it is located at Willem’s home. There is no other installation location available, unless a temporary installation location for our transmission installation can be found elsewhere in the Hoeksche Waard. We do not expect to be able to realize something like this in the short term. The move is scheduled for July 2024. The antenna mast and transmitter must be dismantled well in advance and ready for transport. The disassembly work will start on June 2. That is why KilRock will no longer be receivable via 1287 kHz from Saturday, June 1 after 6:00 PM. The intention is to resume medium wave broadcasts from the new location as quickly as possible.

New start date unknown.

It is still unclear from what date we can switch the channel back on. This depends, among other things, on how quickly we can obtain an environmental permit at the new location; Such a permit is required if you want to install a transmission tower over eleven meters high. We will inform you via our Facebook page and this website if there are any new developments. Always keep in mind that KilRock is a hobby project. There are often more important things in life than pursuing a hobby. A move should be considered one of the most important things in life, whether it is fun or not…

Curaçao DX adventure (3)

April 1, 2024 / / 0 Comments

For an island with a population slightly over 190.000 people Curaçao has quite a few FM radio stations! I heard 17 different ones during my stay on the island. Ok this is not DX, but I’m just fond of radio. And it was nice to see the variety of radio stations in either Dutch, Papiamento (or a mix) or even in Spanish (like Radio Rumbera). Quite a few religious stations (New Song, Messianic Waves, Deltha), and a wide variety in music styles.

That said I didn’t get the impression that the situation is sustainable from a financial point of view. The economy of the island was severely impacted by the closure of the Isla refinery in 2019. Covid hit tourism, the only other main source of income, badly. And this impacts revenue streams from commercials.
Yes there are stations with sound programming, disc jockeys, up to date news bulletins, a healthy volume of commercials and presence on social media. But there are also a few that seem to be a “skeleton” operation with non-stop music mainly. The owners of the only medium wave station Z86 and Mi95 on FM went bankrupt earlier this year…

88.3Rockórsou
91.5Hitradio 915
92.1Direct Life
92.7Radio Deltha 92.7
93.3Telecuraçao FM
96.5Radio New Song
97.3Dolfijn FM
97.9Easy FM
98.5Radio Semiya
99.7Radio Mas
100.3Messianic Waves
101.9Radio Hoyer 1
103.1Paradise FM
104.5Radio Active
105.1Radio Hoyer 2
107.1Direct 107
107.9Rumbera FM

Messianic Waves seems to have replaced Hit 100.3 FM/Super Jumbo on that frequency. I did not receive anything on the frequencies for Laser 101 (101.1 MHz), Radio One (103.9 MHz) and Fiesta FM (106.3 FM). Not sure whether they are still online as their websites are also silent. And I might have missed logging Clazz FM on 95.1 MHz. The FM-Scan site does list a few other stations that I didn’t hear.

I did not actively search for stations outside Curaçao other than Aruba (which I tried from Westpunt) and Bonaire. But no results for these two islands. I did hear two stations from Venezuela though, both from Punto Fijo (145 kms away):

PDVSA on 105.7 FM, a station from the Venezuelean State Oil Company, also identifying as La Voz Petrolina.

Radio La Voz Internacional on 101.3 FM. I had this station listed on 106.9 FM, with Festivo FM listed on 101.3 FM, so maybe something changed overthere.

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