"It's not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on" - Marilyn Monroe
QSL for NDB ZRZ Zaragoza on 389 kHz. A beacon with a strong signal, but somehow often compromised by QRM at my location. The ZRZ beacon is located 15 kms NW of Zaragoza Airport.
My report was confirmed by informacion@enaire.es .
Zaragoza Airport history goes back to the Cold War. Constructed by the US it was one of three major USAF Cold War airbases in Spain. But what I didn’t know is that is was used as a Transoceanic Abort Landiing facility for Space Shuttle missions.
The Moosbrunn shortwave antenna is no more since January this year. Fortunately I was able to get a confirmation of my reception of ORF Radio Ö1 broadcasting via Moosbrunn.
It is sad to see the destruction of the Moosbrunn facilities just after the celebration of 100 years radio in Austria. CARO, the Club Amateur Radio ORF, aired a special centennial broadcast on 6055 kHz in October 2024. It took a while (no problem, after all it is all volunteers work), but this week I received the beautiful eQSL.
I listened to a rebroadcast of an interview with Prof. Harranth who was the curator of the Dokumentationsarchiv „Funk“ (Radio) with 6 million items about Austrian radio history.
CARO sent the following accompanying message with the QSL:
The ORF Amateur Radio Club (a division of the ORF Sports Association, known as CARO) organized a series of broadcasts following the announcement of the demolition and decommissioning of the large shortwave transmitting station in Moosbrunn. These broadcasts paid tribute to the station’s decades-long successful operation. Some of these audio programs can be replayed via CARO’s website: https://www.oe1xrw.radio
Additionally, the website offers a comprehensive documentation of the former station’s history for those wishing to read or view more about it.
For many years, Moosbrunn stood as a symbol of Austria’s positive global image and the voice of its people. The station housed a dedicated shortwave editorial team — first under Radio Österreich International (ROI), later under a modified retransmission of standard ORF radio content.
Among the broadcasts were several historical retrospectives, including a program commemorating 100 years of radio in Austria. A particularly notable feature was an unpublished interview with the late Prof. Wolf Harranth, who passed away in 2021. In it, Harranth candidly explained the political, social, and technical background of the founding of ORF’s predecessor, Radioverkehrs AG (RAVAG).
Following the final transmission by Radio Dessau on 31 December 2024, deconstruction of the Moosbrunn site began in early 2025. First to be brought down was the globally unique, 70-meter-high and equally wide rotatable curtain array antenna, followed by other remaining structures like the log-periodic antenna and the “Reusenantenne”. The transmitter building was cleared. Discussions are underway regarding future use of the property, including possible 5G technology experiments.
In total, nearly 1,000 reception reports were received across the two final broadcasts (October and December 2024), including several hundred written and email confirmations. Because it was initially unclear whether the site might be preserved, the sending of QSL confirmations was delayed. Eventually, a dedicated CARO QSL team was formed, with Wolfgang OE3OBB managing electronic confirmations.
CARO sincerely thanks everyone for their confirmation reports and long-standing loyalty to the Moosbrunn transmitter — many of which spanned several decades.
We wish you good health and continued success.
Club Amateur Radio ORF, Vienna
My 6th and final Azores beacon confirmed (there are only 6 active NDBs on the Azores) is PI on 420 kHz. This beacon is located on Pico Island. Pico Airport is also a smaller airport operated by Sata Aeródromos. But in addition to flights to the island of Terceira and Sao Miguel it also offers flights to Lisbon in mainland Portugal.
My report was confirmed by Marco Figueiredo from Nav Portugal.
During the night of July 25th/26th I heard three new NDBs from the Azores. GC on 428 kHz on Graciosa Island was one of those and it was confirmed with the other two by Mr. Figueiredo from NAV Portugal:
The bigger airports of which I received other beacons (Horta, Ponta Delgada, Flores) are managed by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal. Smaller airports like Graciosa are managed by SATA Aeródromos. They also operate the airports on Islands Corvo, Pico and São Jorge. SATA is the abbreviation of Serviço Açoriano de Transportes Aéreos and they also operate the daily flights to Graciosa to Lajes and Ponta Delgada.
The night of July 25th/26th offered excellent reception conditions from the Azores. I heard all 6 NDBs including 3 new ones! Mr. Figueiredo from NAV Portugal was so kind to confirm my reception report. So my Azores collection is now complete
NDB HT Horta on 360 kHz is one of two NDBs on Faial Island. The other one, FIL on 380 kHz, is easier to receive in The Netherlands. Horta Airport is relatively small with flights to neighbouring islands in addition to a scheduled flight to Lisbon, Portugal.
During the opening on 22 May I received several stations from Bulgaria: BNR Radio Varna, Radio Shumen, Radio Hristo Botev and the national program Radio Horizont. Via reception.report@bnr.bg I received a beautiful QSL card confirming my reception report:
I received BNR Horizont via their 91 kW transmitter located in Kavarna, situated on the Black Sea coast.
I like it when an organisation understands that they are representing a country. And send QSLs to people who are interested. If anything Bulgaria is on my “bucket list” now for visiting European countries. My report of a reception of Radio Shumen on 87.6 MHz was confirmed by BNR reception.report@bnr.bg . They sent this beautiful QSL card by mail!
I received Radio Shumen with a sports coverage on a local sports game. The ID is clearly heard on 7 seconds in this audio clip:
There are a few Radio Shumen transmitters, but the one from Venets is one of the stronger ones with 100 kW. Not that this necessarily matters much with Sporadic E receptions.
And here is the front of the QSL card:
I picked up COPE Palencia during the sporadic E opening on July 20th with their local ID on 105.1 MHz. With 2 kW they are broadcasting from Monte Viejo to the south of the city of Palencia in Spain.
Manuel Lobejón, editor at COPE Palencia was so kind to reply with a fully detailed email confirming my reception. I sent my report to palencia@cope.es .
In the audio file you hear the annoucement of the network program “Fin de Semana” presented by Cristina Lópex Schlichting and the local ID.
Whereas it is always nice to hear and receive a QSL from a local outlet of one of the bigger networks in Spain, getting a smaller local radio station with a single transmitter confirmed is even more special.
During the very good Sporadic E opening on July 20th I received Radio Chinchilla, the local radio station for Chinchilla de Montearagón (Albacete) in Spain. They are broadcasting with 500 Watts and again I’m flabbergasted with the quality of the reception. During 20 minutes I was able to listen to a program called “The Story de Kylie Minogue”. Unfortunately they did fade out before I heard an ID:
My report to rchinformativos@gmail.com was confirmed with a brief email reply within a day:
Radio Chinchilla began broadcasting in December 1988. According to Wikipedia it has one of the highest audiences. Most of the programming it offers is self-produced, including news, music, sports, entertainment… It has its own news services and broadcasts 24 hours a day.
I didn’t know the small city of Chinchilla de Montearagón which has a population of 4600. But it is one of these beautiful Spanish towns with lots of history!
A very nice QSL letter from Jennifer Bath at NAV Canada for my reception of NDB YMH Mary’s Harbour on 250 kHz, 4012 kms away from my home location. It was not the first Canadian NDB that I received at my location (that was CA-281 Cartwright), but it is my first QSL. Thanks to Wolf, DE2WHG, for giving me the address tip.
To my surprise I wasn’t only able to receive this signal during summer, but also in pretty good quality as you can see on the picture below. I have to admit that with 1000 Watt the transmitter power is higher than most European beacons. And Roelof Bakker – and experienced NDB DX-er – told me that indeed this beacon is often stronger in summer than CA from Cartwright.
Mary’s Harbour Airport (YMH) is a small airport in Canada with domestic flights only, operated solely by Provincial Airlines (PAL Airlines). There are two non-stop destinations from Mary’s Harbour: Blanc-Sablon (YBX) and St. Lewis (YFX), each with around 9 flights per month.
The airport has one gravel runway and limited facilities. And no internet presence, so this is the best picture I could find:
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