"It's not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on" - Marilyn Monroe
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.
The beacon IS is located at the entrance of the fjord, situated on a cliff which seems to house several antennas:
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 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.
A QSL from Kystradio Nord for the reception of Svalbard Radio (Spitsbergen) on 8414.5 kHz. It was the first time I received them on this frequency. Earlier I heard them on 2182.5 kHz, please consult my previous post for more details about this station.
This time I heard them responding to a test call of the Russian Ice Class Crude Carrier “Kapitan Gotsky, which was located near Nova Zembla. On the picture below you can see the very special design of such a ship.
Kapitan Gotsky acts as a shuttle between a production location near Nova Zembla and the port of Murmansk (source: shipinfo.net).
And no suprise, the ship is on Sanction List as a consequence of the war between Russia and the Ukraine.
Isavia was so kind to send me a QSL for 5 radio beacons from Iceland I received recently. See also previous posts of NDB GO, and NDB 387-NB and 415-OE. NDB RK Reykjavik operates Reykjavik Domestic Airport. The beacon is situated on the golf course of Golfklúbbur Seltjarnarnes.
Reykjavik Airport was constructed by the British Army during World War II on the site that was previously in use for sea planes mainly. After the war the airport was handed over to the Icelandic government. It acted as the main gateway for international flights from Iceland. But it was considered too small for the bigger jet planes introduced in the 60-ies which instead used Keflavik Airport (50 kms away).
Ever since there have been discussions on the future of Reykjavik Airport. In 2019 that resulted in the closure of the shortest runway, allowing housing development projects. Other than that no decision has been made on closure or relocation.
As I wrote to Jim: “If you would have asked me if there would be Trance on Shortwave… I would have said no.” But with good quality reception via Channel 292 it is possible, although it my wife who goes to trance festivals with me preferring to stay behind the radio.
Within a day I got this nice fully detailed QSL from Jim for my reception report of SJTJ on Channel 292, Germany. Sunny Jim (Jim Salmon) has a very nice website about his radio adventures.
Maybe it is “old man” emotional, but then again. In Germany they are destroying communication infrastructure like they are destroying energy infrastructure, while at the same time they tell us “we are at war with Russia”.
So in Mainflingen (well known to us DX-ers) 3 antennas went down. Their demise can be seen in this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pA9vgduChA
Mainflingen is the home of DCF77, the time signal station that transmits on 77.5 kHz. And no worries… DCF77 is still alive and kicking. But Mainflingen was also the backup station for the Deutschlandfunk, broadcasting from Donebach on 153 kHz. And of course I QSL-ed this station in the 80-ies… but rather than 153 it had 155 kHz on the QSL. Was it the backup from Mainflingen I received 46 years ago?
Another thing I didn’t know but found out: the antennas in Mainflingen are part of the logo of the community of Mainhausen which Mainflingen is a part of.
A QSL for the reception of Radio Radio via Channel 292, Rohrbach, Germany on 9670 kHz. The QSL address was the same as for The Ghoul: differentradio@yahoo.co.uk .
I listened to a program with middle of the road pop music and invitations send a reception report and apply for a QSL.
A QSL from KSET on 6160 kHz. No not, a US call sign, but a program from Imaginary Stations via Shortwave Gold, Winsen on 6160 kHz.
Imaginary Stations makes an effort to build each program around a specific theme.
This time music released on audio tape ony was played: “Imaginary Stations celebrates the analog renaissance with KSET, K-S-E-T, dedicated to the fascinating world of audiotapes… Tune in and unwind with us .. on some of the coolest cassettes to be found anywhere. Hey can you hand me that pencil?”.
Those who are as old as I am will remember that you indeed used a pencil to rewind the tapes by sticking a pencil in one of the spools.
The call sign KSET is another gimmick of Imaginary Stations. They often use a name that not only refers to the program content, but also suggests a US or Canadian call sign. Their next show on November 22nd/23rd is called CMDY.
Italy has lots to offer for the medium wave enthusiast. Radio Studio X is broadcasting with 5 kW from Momigno near Pistoia in Tuscany, Italy. Two other frequencies are listed as 1485 kHz from Livorno and 1584 kW from Arezzo, both with 1 kW. However, MW-List shows these as “inactive”. The station pioneered AM stereo transmissions in C-QUAM format.
I tried to QSL them earlier, but without success. This time I used the qsl@radiostudiox.it address and QSL manager Stefano replied within a day.
Radio Studio X is a beloved independent station renowned for its nostalgic embrace of 80s and 90s dance, pop, and electronic music. It delivers an infectious playlist of classic hits alongside lesser-known gems that delight longtime fans and DJ enthusiasts alike.
With its streaming app, online museum showcasing vintage radio and music memorabilia, and a vibrant Facebook community, Radio Studio X embodies the enduring spirit of Italy’s freewheeling pirate radio heritage, providing 24/7 grooves that transport listeners back to the neon-lit dancefloors of yesteryear while maintaining a quirky, community-driven charm in the digital age.
As far as I know there are 4 stations active on DSC watch 2187.5 kHz from Turkey. Earlier I received replies from Istanbul Radio, Samsun Radio and Izmir Radio. So when I received a test confirmation from Antalya Türk Radio on a test message of tanker ADRIA in the eastern Mediterranean I hoped to put a “crown” on my Türk Radio QSL collection.
Unfortunately contrary to the other QSLs which contained a polite and detailed confirmation, this one was just an “It’s true” message… More text than my Buenos Aires Radio QSL, that’s true… and if anything I’m grateful for the reply.
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