The weekend of September 27th I participated in a Collective Listening Event (CLE 321) of the NDB-list group. I just fitted my make shift antenna in the garden (5x5x5 delta with NTi Megaloop FX box). And stations came booming in… Not only did I receive 6 beacons from Nunavut (I will write about that later), but I also received 5 new beacons from Iceland. In hindsight I guess that exceptional conditions were more important than my antenna… but judging my other medium wave receptions my antenna is working well! Hjalti Guðmundsson from Isavia was so kind to confirm my reception.
eQSL for 5 NDBs from Iceland
The first two beacons I’d like to comment on in my blog are NB on 387 kHz and OE on 415 kHz. Both are serving as navigation beacons for Akureyri Ariport. Akureyri Airport – or Akureyrarflugvöllur in Icelandic – was established in 1954. Already in 1928 there were flights to Akureyri, but those were seaplanes from Reykjavik landing on the fjord of Eyjafjörður. Today there are seasonal international flights from the UK, Switzerland and The Netherlands serving tourism.
I struggled a bit to find the location of both beacons, but I guess the map below is correct. I tried GoogleMaps to find a picture of the beacons… but so far I wasn’t successful. If you are… please let me know in the comments.
In June 2024 I listened to a program of Crusader Radio via Channel 292 on 9670 kHz. A few weeks ago (65 weeks later) I received a nice reply and confirmation for my report. Now I have to wait and see whether a “snail mail” QSL will reach my letter box.
Hi Peter,
thank you for your email and I can of course confirm that you received the program and it is a pleasure to do via email. Thank you very much for taking the time for the reception report. I have to apologise for the late reply. I am just wading through just short of 2000 emails of whom 95% are spam or scam.
The more refreshing it is to find a geniune email. You have added your address. We will soon be sending out real snail mail QSL cards I will make sure that yours will be in the batch to be sent out.
thank you very much again for your email.
Crusader Radio is broadcasting religious programs focusing on how to reach Salvation “through faith alone in our Lord Jesus Christ”.
A QSL from CBC Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland, Canada on 750 kHz. I struggled to hear them earlier due to the presence of nearby MCB from Alphen aan de Rijn on 747 kHz. But now that one has move to 846 kHz I can hear CBC regularly.
My report to radionews@cbc.ca received three different answers from people at CBC. One of them was Todd O’Brien who invited me for an interview in the afternoon show he was hosting. They replayed my recording of a topic on the Toronto Blue Jays and the original clip to show the listeners the difference is quality. How nice is that!
During my stay on the island of Curacao, March 2024, I received La Voz del Canaguate from Valledupar on 860 kHz. In excellent quality, no surprise given the distance. Of course I sent them a reception report, but I heard nothing… until last week, one and a half year later…
So “I might have heard them” but apparently La Voz del Canaguate is off the air due to their antenna being destroyed in a storm… Unfortunately I can’t find anything on the internet about it, they are not listed anymore in MWlist and WRTH app, so I wonder what happened?
Since 2018 the Voice of Indonesia is back on shortwave. They are using frequencies in the 90 meter band (3325 kHz) from Palangkaraya on the island of Borneo and 60 meter band (4755 kHz) from Jakarta on this island of Java. A remarkable change of strategy as most broadcasters have left shortwave, and tropical band frequencies in particular.
According to Voice of Indonesia the reason is to promote Indonesian culture and government views, at relatively low costs and with the ability to reach areas where digital infrastructure is not as easily available as in other parts of the world.
eQSL from RRI Voice of Indonesia on 4755 kHz
Via voilisteners@gmail.com I received a personal email and a beaticul eQSL card for my reception of their program on 4755 kHz. I listened to their Spanish and German program which could be received in reasonable quality at 17:30 and 18:00 h UTC respectively. They even have a Dutch program which I will try to receive on 3325 kHz in the coming months.
My first QSL from the Voice of Indonesia is from February1989. See below.
1989 QSL from the Voice of Indonesia
In those days they were still broadcasting in the 25 and 19 meter band, and despite their 100 kW of power I don’t recall it being an easy catch. Funny thing is that in those days they didn’t have a broadcast in Dutch.
My first medium wave QSL from China! CTGN, or China Radio International is broadcasting in Russian language on 1521 kHz from Hutubi with 500 kW. Hutubi is located 60 kilometers from Urumchi, the capital of Xinjiang. Officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
eQSl from CRI Radio Kitaya on 1521 kHz via English Service
On the audioclip below you can hear the familiar CRI tune, followed by a Chinese and Russian ID: “Govorit Mezhdunarodnoye Radio Kitaya (This is China Radio International speaking)”. I sent my report to crieng@cri.com.cn. After a recent reminder I received the e-QSL
Earlier I wrote about the 80th anniversary of the Voice of Vietnam. My reception report to englishsection@vov.vn was awarded with a beautiful traditional QSL in a nice envelope:
KTL is an internet radio station broadcasting a live stream from various studios across Germany and one in The Netherlands.
Occasionally KTL also uses Channel 292. I listened to a German program “Beatschuppen” full of oldies. I am not sure if this was a relay of their regular on-line radio program though. It offered the opportunity for listeners to send a request “Musikwunsch” which suggests that this broadcast was live.
My request didn’t make it to the show, but I got their e-QSL. I sent my report to andre(at)ktl-radio.de .
Thanks to a tip from Hugo Matten I learned that Radio Augusta is active again via the Radio Onda transmitter in Junglinster (formerly Radio Luxembourg). I received them last weekend. My report via their webform was answered three (!) times. By Mike Guy, the DJ on duty, by Didier Petit, station manager, and by David Angell who presents the Wednesday/Thursday shows.
The first time I heard Radio Augusta was when I received their program on 1611 kHz. Didier confirmed my reception report stating that the program content was Radio Augusta but that he is unaware of who relays the show on AM. He explained that he lives in Ivory Coast where he broadcasts via internet and on a local FM outlet. And so Radio Augusta on AM always remained somewhat shrouded in the mists of underground radio. And that’s how it should be, in my opinion!
eQSL Radio Augusta on 6140 kHz
In 2024 Radionieuws reported that the mediumwave radio station Augusta on 1611 kHz was taken off air by the BIPT, the Belgian Institute for Post and Telecommunications. Their location was apparently the Wallonian village of Péruwelz.
Radionieuws article about Radio Augusta shut down.
The good news is that Radio Augusta is now back in the “ether’… because for my generation internet radio will never beat the “vibes” of good old radio over the airwaves. Via Radio Onda, Junglinster, Luxembourg they are on the air at 1800 h UTC. Please check their schedule as this might change when we move from summer to winter time. But even if you don’t have the opportunity to listen to them through the airwaves, don’t hesitate to tune in to their internet stream… it truly brings back good old feeling of offshore radio as it was meant to be! “When the dreams come true”
I am a regular Channel 292 listener, but this weekend was the first time I noticed Radio Bandit on their 9670 kHz schedule. My report to Uwe Reiter was answered within a day.
Uwe wrote a nice email on his station:
“Radio Bandit is a one man show, unfortunately I don’t have a helpful team to help me. It can also be good: if mistakes are made, you know exactly who you can hold responsible. Yesterday’s broadcast was a test for me to find out what profit the Beam of Channel 292 brings, 10 dB were always possible. Otherwise I would have only ever used the omnidirectional antenna.
I am 67 years old. When I was about eight years old, my father gave me an old tube receiver, a Super AT with medium and short wave 50 to 30 m. On medium wave I listened to the numerous local stations at the time, on short wave nothing could be heard until I simply connected a few meters of wire to the existing antenna input. At that time, there were many more stations on shortwave than today. Everyone listened to Radio Luxembourg, including Radio Nordsee International from MEBO 2. In short, the virus radio had done its job.
I spent my childhood and youth in the shadow of the former Königs Wusterhausen transmitter south of Berlin. With its 20 kW medium waves for Radio DDR, several 250 kilowatt transmitters for Radio Berlin International, the foreign service of the former GDR and a 500 ! Kilowatt longwave transmitter for the Soviet occupying troops at the time, there was always enough HF in the air. That’s probably why I’m so radio-crazy and irradiated.
The Königs Wusterhausen antennas (picture supplied by Radio Bandit)
By the way, I only transmit on shortwave two or three times a year, simply when shortwave calls me. In 1974, RNI and Radio Veronica had to stop broadcasting. RNI then reappeared on the Internet in 2008, where I broadcast as Doc. Wolfgang Haus in the German service, which was always broadcast on Thursdays. At the legendary Radiodays in Erkrath I also had the opportunity to meet my former stars like Andy Archer. Dick de Graaf and Graham Gill in person.“
Uwe as Dr. Wolgang Haus on RNI German Service
Uwe might be a one man radio show, but it was obvious from the show that he had a solid radio background. And still a very pleasant voice to listen to. It was nice to learn that Uwe pretty much got addicted to radio the same way as I did. Growing up with offshore free radio and discovering the world on the family tube receiver in an era where there was no internet. By the way, you can learn more about Köning Wusterhausen in Germany in my post about the Funkerberg.
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