On December 17th I received two GMDSS DSC messages from Port Sudan Radio on 8414.5 kHz. Both were messages to imaginary MMSI numbers: 888888888 and 99999999, so I guess these were tests.
Port Sudan popping up on my DX Atlas map
Now Sudan is one of the countries I did not manage to QSL. Letters to the Sudan National Broadcasting corportation (which was broadcasting on shortwave in the 90’s) or Khartoum Aeradio remained unanswered.
This time I sent an email to Port Sudan radio which until now remained unanswered. But as I learned that the Danish company Danphone was involved in the recent installation of GMDSS equipment at Port Sudan Radio I asked if they could help out. I got a friendly reply, for which I’m grateful, but no QSL or contact.
So Sudan remains on my “to do” list.
Email from Danphone, confirming that they implemented GMDSS in Port Sudan, but no QSL.
A QSL for my reception of NDB AST on 325 via Enaire: informacion@enaire.es. It is one of two beacons for Aeropuerto de Asturias in Northern Spain. The other one is AV-387 which I got confirmed earlier.
Power 927 broadcasts from Abbiategrasso, south west of Milan. I’ts a pity that a station that boasts that it “brings the medium waves back to life” doesn’t foster the DX community that supports exactly this purpose. I heard Power 927 since 2022 and sent multiple reports. Never got a reply.
The good news is that Antonello Napolitano, the man behind DX Fanzine, runs a DX program “Bande Rumorose” on a couple of Italian LPAM stations. Power 927 is one of them. And he does QSL!
This is what Antonello wrote:
Thank you very much for your report on the reception of the DX Show in Italian “Bande Rumorose”. It has been checked and agrees with our log.
Attached please find a F/D eQSL for listening to the DX Show “Bande Rumorose” (If it contains errors, don’t hesitate to write to me again!). Let’s explain the meaning of the QSL’s cartoon.
“Bande Rumorose” literally translates as “Noisy Bands” and means “Rumble Strips.” The key point of the image is precisely the wordplay. In road signage, “Bande Rumorose” refers to those strips on the asphalt that make the car vibrate and produce noise to attract the driver’s attention.
Here, however, “Bande” (Italian for “Bands”) should not be understood in its road-related meaning (“Strips”), but as radio bands — specifically medium wave and shortwave.
The illustration suggests that, from the point of view of “ordinary” people, that is, those who are not passionate about radio, these radio bands appear to be nothing more than a collection of noise, static, interference, and incomprehensible signals. Just as rumble strips on the road are annoying to drivers, radio bands seem “noisy” and uselessly chaotic to those who fail to grasp their appeal.
The cartoon therefore plays on the contrast between the common perception: just annoying noise, and that of the DXers: signals, communications, QSLs, passion The pneumatic drill becomes an extreme metaphor for the attempt to “silence” or destroy that world which, for those who don’t love it, seems like nothing but a lot of racket. It is an affectionate irony toward a passion that few people understand, but which, for those who live it, is anything but noise.
For your information, “Bande Rumorose” is being carried over 5 italian MW stations (Radio Metropolis, Radio Briscola, Emmereci Radio (or Media Radio Castellana), Power 927 and Radio Centrale Milano. Future plans call for the addition of other medium wave stations in Italy and, hopefully, of a shortwave relay, too!
The program, which I describe as an old style DX show, consist of DX News, profile and/or history of both, MW and SW stations from all over the world, interviews with DXers and shortwave personalities (for example Dino Bloise) and logs of recently received medium and short wave stations (some of them accompanied by good quality recording of their jingles or station identification announcements!).
“Bande Rumorose” is on air as follows (All times CET = UTC+1 hour):
• Emmerreci Radio, Castel San Pietro Terme (BO), Sundays, at 1100, Fridays at 2300 on 711 e 1098 kHz. • Power 927, Abbiategrasso (MI), Sundays at 1100, Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, at 2100 on 927 kHz. • Radio Briscola, Lenta (VC), Sundays, at 1100 and 1830 on 1449 kHz. • Radio Centrale Milano, Milano, Sundays, at 1030, Mondays, at 2300 on 1575 kHz. • Radio Metropolis, Trieste, Sundays, at 2205 on 1503 kHz and 93.90 MHz FM for the city of Trieste.
Reception reports with comments on the content of the show are welcome (Short mp3 recordings appreciated) EXCLUSIVELY to: banderumorose@dxfanzine.com
Please note that reports sent to any other e-mail address, even if they are under my control, will not be verified!
For the sake of good order, let me add that reports based on reception via public remote SDR receivers (Twente, Kiwi and so on) will not be verified. The reason is simple: such reports are useless as we can check such online SDR receivers by ourselves.
CJCB is a Canadian radio station broadcasting from Sydney, Nova Scotia at 1270 AM. The station is the third oldest radio station in Nova Scotia, hitting the airwaves on February 14, 1929. The station’s current format is country.
CJCB is the only commercial radio station in Canada to broadcast on 1270 AM. The station is owned and operated by the Maritime Broadcasting System, a company that owns several other radio stations in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. I heard them with country music. My report using their webform was answered within a day.
While the transmitter location is Sydney, the station advertises as CJCB Cape Breton:
The call letters CJCB originally stood for “Cape Breton” (the “CB” part), chosen when the station launched on February 14, 1929, as one of Canada’s early commercial radio outlets.
Founder Nate Nathanson explicitly intended it to serve the island’s population, and the “CB” directly represented Cape Breton.
Sydney is the largest city and regional hub of Cape Breton Island (part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality), so a station based there naturally positions itself as the voice of the entire island, not just the city.
The station broadcasts content relevant to all of Cape Breton, including coverage of the Cape Breton Eagles (the island’s QMJHL hockey team), local events, and island-wide community programming.
In short, while the transmitter and studios are technically in Sydney, CJCB identifies as a Cape Breton station because that’s its heritage, its audience, and its intended market.
Kilrock Radio, a beloved Dutch low-power AM (LPAM) station known for its free-form mix of pop, rock, and soul music, has completed a significant relocation from its original home in ‘s-Gravendeel to Zuiddorpe in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen.
The move was prompted by station owner Willem Klomps relocating his residence in July 2024. As a result, broadcasts on 1287 kHz medium wave ceased on June 1, 2024, after over a year of on-air presence in the Dordtsche Kil area — the inspiration for the station’s name.
Kilrock AM 1287 retained their name, but also the nice eQSL card
After an intensive relocation process and home renovations, Klomps began rebuilding the studio and antenna mast in late July 2025. The station retained its “Kilrock” branding, fittingly, as the new region also features local “kil” waterways. On September 20, 2025, Kilrock Radio resumed test transmissions on the same frequency, 1287 kHz, marking its return after more than a year off the AM band.
Despite the distance (with 116 kilometers the distance from my QTH in Woerden to Zuiddorpe is three times bigger than that to their previous location in ‘s Gravendeel), reception quality was pretty good in the afternoon. I did have to turn the 6x6x6 m delta loop N/S to receive them. At night SER Galicia is dominant.
Enaire (informacion@enaire.es) was so kind to confirm another couple of beacons from Spain that I received. This time I heard NDB VT from Vitoria on 308 kHz. As usual they sent their nice information sheet:
NDB 308-VT is one of the two NDBs for Vitoria Airport. The other beacon is is 345-VTA. Below you can see how they nicely align with both sides of the runway. Both antennas have a set-up which is a bit different from most Enair beacons: a “Sistema radiante de tipo margarita” as opposed to most Enaire beacons that have a dipole: “Sistema radiante de tipo T”.
It is always nice to receive Christmas wishes from stations you sent a report to. But it was very nice to get quite a few wishes from friends that I enjoy this hobby with. Thank you all for following my blog, and once again, all the best for 2026!
Below a selection of some of the e-cards I received, plus a very special email to start with:
Christmas wish from YvesZor at Bangkok Maritime Radio. I have never received Chrismas wishes from a utility station, so that’s a first!
Nestor Fischetto… thanks for all your support with questions about radio stations from Argentina, Nestor!
A nice fully detailed eQSL from T8WH Hope Radio, broadcasting from Palau. Mrs Deborah Anderson answered my reception report via their website in a day. Palau is an archipelago of 340 islands, islets and atolls. Only eight of the islands are inhabited.
The construction of the shortwave station started in the 1980s initiated by High Adventure Ministries (founded by George Otis Sr.), a U.S.-based Christian organization. As construction was delayed by environmental concerns High Adventure Ministries rented air time at AWR Guam before the Palau site was completed in 1991. They operated under the callsign KHBN (sometimes referred to as T8BZ later). The station used transmitters sourced from other sites, including older RCA units from HCJB in Ecuador and possibly a Harris unit from the U.S. Early plans considered Guam or even a ship-based facility, but the project settled in Palau. It broadcast evangelical Christian programming, primarily targeting Asia.
Around the early 2000s the station was acquired by LeSea Broadcasting (later Family Broadcasting Corporation) under Dr. Lester Sumrall. It became part of World Harvest Radio International (WHRI), operating as Angel 3 (T8WH) and Angel 4 (T8BZ), with multiple 100 kW transmitters. The site in Medorm featured curtain antennas directed toward East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Northeast Asia. Programming focused on English-language Christian content, reaching China and other restricted areas, with some brokered time for other ministries. World Harvest Radio closed the Palau site on October 27, 2019, ending its shortwave operations there (and consolidating elsewhere)
QSL from WHRI, a station broadcasting from Indiana, USA, in the late 80ies. For some time they broadcast from Palau as well
In September 2020, the facilities were acquired by MFC Ministries (led by Apostle Joe Perozich), which relaunched it as Hope Radio. Test transmissions resumed in late 2020 (e.g., on 9930 kHz), and it continues to broadcast Christian programming to Southeast Asia and beyond.The site remains active as of late 2025, making it one of the few remaining shortwave relay stations in the Pacific focused on religious content. No major government or secular international broadcasters (like Radio Australia or Voice of America) have historically used this specific transmitter; earlier references to such relays appear to be misidentifications.
To everyone who visits my blog… I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And of course a lot of good DX!
For me 2026 will be a year of change. We will be moving from the densely populated part of the Netherlands in the west, to one of the most rural parts of the country. And our house is under construction as you can see (I have to admit the big Christmas tree and the snow are AI).
The lines for 3 antennas, a rotor and a clean grounding are already in place
Of course the new house will have a radio shack and facilities to connect to three antennas in the garden. On the picture above you can see the work in progress.
As we will move to a temporary house in the next few weeks I might have less time to spend behind the radio, resulting in fewer posts on this blog. It’s an investment in what hopefully will be a QTH with less QRM!
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.
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.
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