Radio Aalsmeer, a local FM radiostation, is only 23 kilometers away from my QTH. But on 105.9 MHz it sits exactly between Radio Ronde Venen on 106.MHz (8 kms away) and RTW FM on 105.8 MHz (18 kms away). Both are quite a bit stronger here. Fortunately SDR console allows to limit the bandwidth to 0.1 MHz and while it did compromise quality a bit it wasn’t difficult to receive Radio Aalsmeer.
I sent my report to info info@radioaalsmeer.nl . Elbert who is secretary of the station and also works at the news desk was so kind to confirm my reception.
The Studio’s Aalsmeer building
Radio Aalsmeer is broadcasting from the studios of Joop van den Ende, the famous Dutch media producer who founded Endemol and Stage Entertainment. He bought the former flower auction site and transformed it to Studio’s Aalsmeer. And that’s where it all started.
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!
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:
BDXC : SWL 2262 PRe VERON : NL 14228 If you want to get in touch, just leave a message on one of my posts. Please note that I don't publish email addresses of verifiers which are not part of the public domain. So if you don't see the QSL address, just leave a message and I'll get back to you.
Feel free to copy anything on this weblog. I try to provide accurate information, but if I'm wrong: don't blame me! A link back to my site is appreciated when you copy info.
