I don’t know what it is… there is so much to listen to on the internet, but receiving a station with music that isn’t mainstream via the airwaves… it is always a bonus. Via Channel 292 I listened to Kölsch in de Welt with a program dedicated to Kasalla. Kasalla is a popular German Kölschrock band from Cologne, formed in 2011, known for energetic hits like “Pirate” and “Stadt met K” that dominate carnival sessions. Their music blends rock with Cologne dialect lyrics, celebrating local pride and creating euphoric live atmospheres across Germany and beyond.
It fits the mission of Kölsch in die Welt: to spread the Cologne way of life, music, and culture far beyond the cathedral city. With energetic Kölsch rock hits and tours throughout Germany and Europe, they carry pride in Cologne, its dialect, and its traditions to the world. Whether at concerts or planned international performances, Kasalla brings the spirit of Carnival, Kölsch, and Cologne to a global audience.
While staying for holiday on Curacao I had the opportunity to receive the BBN Radio stations from Colombia (BBN Bogotá 1100 AM) and Venezuela (BBN Caracas 1260 AM). And both of them sent me a QSL. But I never heard BBN Radio stations on my home QTH… until this month:
During a good opening to Panama (I heard Radio Adventista 1560 AM as well) I picked up BBN Radio from Rio Abajo/Via Cincentenario. That’s how it is listed in MWLIST, but in fact it is a suburb of Panama City. The building and antennas are clearly visibile on GoogleMaps (we live in beautiful times to be able to just do this on the internet):
BBN Radio, 1350, Panama City (Via Cincuentenario)
BBN is not as well known in the DX community as for example TWR and AWR. That is most likely because they do not operate on Shortwave. The organisation runs quite a few FM stations in the United States, in addition to 4 low power AM stations. But they are also active in 14 countries in South America, with medium wave presence in Chile, Colombia, Panama and Venezuela. Rather than excited preaching heard so often on other stations the BBN programs that I listened to were always about explaining the Bible in a more modest fashion.
My QSL is the first Mediumwave QSL from Panama. Not the first QSL from Panama, as I received QSLs for HPP Panama Radio from Balboa (Maritime) in 1989 and Panama Aeradio in 1990. That said, I’d never though I would be able to receive such a station on my suburb QTH. The trick: 1) A large loop antenna in the garden (I have an NTI Megaloop FX on a 6x6x6mtr delta shaped loop on a flag pole) 2) Record every night the entire MW band with your SDR 3) Use WavViewDX to analyze each recording: it reveals the few minutes a signal is strong enough to make an attempt to decode it 4) Become a member of MWLIST.org. Sometimes it helps when friends tell you which IDs you should try to recognize…
Asfalt Telegrafen is a hobby station that received a temporary license to broadcast on 1494 kHz every year around New Year’s Eve. That was all there was to it for this friendly station. But on the Asfalt Telegrafen website, I read that they received a new frequency, 1440 AM:
November 27, 2025:
After three requests, we have finally received a new frequency from PTS, the Swedish postal and telecommunications company, namely 1440 kHz = 208.3 meters on the medium wave band.
And the Arctic DX Club now reports the following via SDXF:
We have fantastic news: thanks to a generous offer from Torleif Roos, the Arctic Radio Club can broadcast weekend programs via Asfalt Telegrafen. Peter Stillberg has compiled two programs that will be broadcast according to the following schedule:
On December 20th and 21st (repeat), and on December 24th and 25th (repeat) from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM on SNT on 1440 kHz, the old frequency of Radio Luxembourg!
Listener reports can be emailed to: Asfalttelegrafen: am1440khz@gmail.com or CountryGospelChurch: peter@countrygospelchurch.com Correct reports will be answered with a QSL card via email.
We hope for a good reception. Many thanks to Peter and Torleif for this excellent arrangement. We would like to congratulate Torleif, because after three attempts, he has finally received permission from PTS to transmit Asfalttelegrafen on 1440 kHz for the entire first half of 2026!
Greetings Peter Stillberg
So it looks like we can enjoy Asfalt Telegrafen for much longer, and the above offers some great QSL opportunities!
Ruqui is the nickname of Jordan Alcolea. I followed him on his DX blog RuquiDX already for quite some time. Here he posts about his radio receptions and QSLs.
But Jordan also has a radio program that runs on Channel 292, Radio Casanova and Wooferton: RuquiRadioAM. I heard him with a program with nice “Celta Folk Rock” and a German/Spanish ID:
Jordan answered my report to ruquiradioam@hotmail.com in 3 weeks with a very nice QSL:
QSL RuquiRadioAm via Channel 292
You can find the schedule for the RuquiRadioAm upcoming broadcasts here. Big thanks to Jordan. After the famous Glenn Hauser he is probably the second DX-er which I heard with his own shortwave radio show.
A very nice QSL from WBT Charlotte, North Carolina, broadcasting on 1110 AM. Not my first QSL from North Carolina, as it is the home of the Greenville VOA transmitters for as long as it lasts.
Back to WBT in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the oldest and most powerful radio stations in the southeastern United States. It first signed on the air on April 10, 1922, as the fourth licensed commercial radio station in North Carolina, originally owned by the Southern Radio Corporation and operating with just 100 watts. Early programming featured live music, local talent, and play-by-play broadcasts of the Charlotte Hornets minor-league baseball team.
eQSL from WBT Charlotte… a prime example of stations that honor their DX listeners!
In 1925 the station was purchased by Charlotte automobile dealer C.C. Coddington, who increased power and moved the studios into the city. The call letters WBT (which originally stood for “Watch Buick Travel,” a nod to early sponsor Buick) became permanently associated with Charlotte when Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company (later Jefferson-Pilot, and now Lincoln Financial) acquired the station in 1929. Under Jefferson ownership, WBT joined CBS in 1929, became a 50,000-watt clear-channel station in 1933 (one of the first in the South), and built its famous three-tower directional array on Nations Ford Road that still protects WWWE in Cleveland at night.
And a nice email as well… Kudoos to WBT!
From the 1930s through the 1960s, WBT was the dominant full-service station in the Carolinas, airing a mix of network programs, country music shows (including the legendary Briarhoppers), farm reports, and powerful news operations that made it a primary emergency information source during hurricanes and ice storms. It shifted to news/talk in the 1970s, added FM simulcast on 99.3 WBT-FM (later WLNK) in the 1990s, and was sold along with Jefferson-Pilot’s broadcasting assets to Greater Media in 2006 and then to Entercom (now Audacy) in 2017.
Today, after more than a century on the air, WBT remains Charlotte’s heritage news/talk station, still broadcasting with 50,000 watts on 1110 kHz and identifying itself proudly as “The News Talk 1110 & 99.3 WBT.”
I heard them on October 16th LT with a “Go Rhino” commercial:
I’m really grateful for the fact that there are still stations that award DX listeners with nice QSLs. A big thanks to WBT an their team!
WBT could be heard regularly at my QTH in October 2025. The clip below is what I heard on from October 23rd, with clear WBT ID’s.
1008 kHz is a busy frequency here in Woerden. With the antenna directed 300 degrees for Transatlantic reception Radio Experience, Wageningen is dominant. Hugo Matten made me aware of a new radio station from Monster near The Hague, Radio Intiem. As conditions for TA DX were poor I changed the direction of my antenna to block out Radio Experience, heard Radio Intiem with a test transmission on Saturday, but Radio Transparant in decent quality on Sunday.
My reception report to info@radiotransparant was confirmed with an email:
Below a clip of their show with a “Dit is Radio Transparant voor de omgeving Flevoland” ID.
Radio Transparant is registered as an LPAM station Creil, in the Noordoostpolder. The Noordoostpolder was the first of three huge reclamation projects to gain more agricultural land in The Netherlands, which added a 12th province to The Netherlands.
Reception here (120 kms) benefits from the fact that the groundwave signal is across the IJsselmeer.
NDB 385-IS is located in northwestern Iceland. It serves the small airport of Ísafjörður. Located in the fjord the approach of this airport is quite challenging requiring flying along the mountains and making a sharp turn before landing.
Ísafjörður Airport
The beacon IS is located at the entrance of the fjord, situated on a cliff which seems to house several antennas:
The beacon IS Ísafjörður is one of the antennas located on top of the cliff
My reception report was confirmed by Hjalti Guðmundsson from Isavia.
Radio Intiem is a new LPAM station from the village of Monster near The Hague. They started testing two weeks ago, and are broadcasting with 100 W on Saturday only. Cor Hendriks from Radio Intiem ( radiointiem(at)gmail.com ) confirmed my reception report within a day:
Thanks for your email. We restarted two weeks ago after a 30-year hiatus. We were a pirate FM station from 1984 to 1995, and now we’re legal on AM. We broadcast only on Saturdays from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. There’s also a stream available; download the My Tuner Radio app. We’re still in the testing phase. Greetings from Cor Hendriks of Radio Intiem in Westland.
“You can’t get closer to heaven” is a nice article (in Dutch) about the history of Radio Pirates in Westland, the region with all the greenhouses south of The Hague.
Radio Intiem audio clip November 29th
Radio Intiem wasn’t an easy catch. Normally I have the loop antenna 120/300 degrees for transatlantic reception. But it results in Radio Experience from Wageningen being dominant. I’ve often noticed that reception along the river area in the central part of The Netherlands is pretty good. So I turned the antenna 10/190 to get them at the null. But this favored Radio Transparant from Creil, who also have the benefit that their direction is over the water surface of the IJsselmeer mainly.
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