"It's not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on" - Marilyn Monroe

Month: May 2025

QSL Auckland HFDL 10084 kHz

Since I resumed the hobby I spent quite a bit of time on maritime DX (DSC mode) and NDBs. But I didn’t do as much on HF Aero. So time to see what’s going on the aero-bands. I did already a couple of SelCal decodes (so nice that we have programs like MultiPSK that allow us to do so) when I discovered HFDL.

I first heard Shannon. On audio the pattern is a brief tone, and then a data burst, as in this audio clip. Using the Klingenfuss guide I started to look for other frequencies, decoded with MutliPSK, and got some Auckland decodes.

Receiving something from New Zealand is always nice, but what about a QSL? I decided to contact Airways New Zealand. Todd, who is operations team lead at Airways told me that they were truly interested in my reception, it wasn’t Auckland Radio that I heard (as they are responsible for voice), but he could confirm I received the HF data link from Auckland.

Meanwhile I’ve learned a little bit more about HFDL. Apparently it is a service called ACARS (Aircraft Communications and Reporting System) initially developed by ARINC (Aeronautical Radio Incorporated). ARINC is now part of Collins Aerospace. UDXF offers a nice information sheet about this service that allows aircraft to exchange date via a ground station with their operators.

Apparently there are 16 ground stations that provide HFDL. I’ve heard Hat Yai, Telde (Canarias), Shannon and Auckland by now. The beauty is that via this digital technique aircraft can for example broadcast their position in 2 seconds, something which would take 1 minute by voice. And during high solar activity periods the digital mode of communication proved to be much more reliable for aircraft flying over polar regions in particular.

San Francisco, CA, USA
Molokai, HWA, USA
Reykjavik, Iceland
Riverhead, New York, USA
Auckland, New Zealand
Hat Yai, Thailand
Shannon, Ireland
Johannesburg, South Africa
Barrow, Alaska, USA
Muan, South Korea
Albrook, Panama
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Al Muharraq, Bahrain
Agana, Guam
Canarias, Spain

Now I fully understand that I’m just a beginner in this field. So if you have additions, corrections, just let me know by leaving a reply in the comments. Thank you!

Radio Onda Cero, Lima, 1160 kHz: a new personal MW DX record

I think I beat my Mediumwave DX record… Radio Onda Cero from Lima is 10537 kms from my QTH… which is 12 kms further than Radio Santa Rosa.

I don’t have a proper QSL (e)mail address, so if you have one, please let me know in the comments!

The quality of the reception was even a bit better than for Santa Rosa as I could identify at least two songs that were played. Onda Cero plays modern songs from Latin America. Below two clips of my reception… yeah I know it is bad.. but the ID is there and it is my 86th Transatlantic station. And again… 2 years ago I wouldn’t have thought I would be able to log stations like this:

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