Author: Peter Reuderink (Page 36 of 46)

Daddy’s got a brand new tool!

August 23, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 5 Comments

Don’t know why but I always liked NDB (Non Directional Beacon) DX-ing. Maybe because it because it is all about low power stations in CW. Maybe it is because they brought me a QSL that everyone was looking for in the 80-ies: Jan Mayen Island and Bjornoya (Bear Island) in addition to Andoya. In the EDXC country list Jan Mayen and Bjornoya, the latter being part of Spitsbergen/Svalbard, count as separate radio countries!

QSL NDB LEX, NDB LJS, and NDB LMS — One of my most treasured QSLs: Jan Mayen and Svalbard (Bjornoya)

Actually i was quite surprised that NDBs are still in the air as navigation aids these days. I understand that the beacons that were mainly serving maritime traffic (like the ones above) are gone, but their are still plenty of airports that have an NDB up and running.

40 years ago I had this Murphy B41 tube receiver working for me on my NDB hunts. Designed shortly after WWII it was standard British Admiralty issue. It was rock solid and had a superb S/N performance, but it also weighed over 45 kgs! I vividly remember how much effort it took to carry it to the attic in my parents house. It was even equipped with a manual that described how you could effectively destruct the receiver should it risk falling in enemy hands.

Back to today: I opened this post with “Daddy’s got a brand new tool!”. It is called Pskov NDB. Of course many of you will probably know it already, but hey, I’m just 8 months back in business. NDBs have a periodic signal. With this knowledge a Fourier analysis technique is used to pull the CW signals out of the noise… So just record 10 to 30 minutes of long wave bandwith with your SDR, and let Pskov have a go at it. I’ve been playing with it for a day – and I love it already!

You can downloaded Pskov from the NDBlist site. The good news is “it is for free, and with your RSPdx receiver and laptop, you have to carry significantly less than 45 kgs!”. The bad news for me personally is that I do realize that I have programmed and done many Fourier analyses in the past working to get my PhD in Physics. But I really forgot how to do it….

QSL Alcaravan Radio 5910 kHz

August 22, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 2 Comments

I received Alcaravan Radio on Sunday night on 5910 kHz. Following a program with Latin American music I heard a DX program “Onda Continua”. In this program they also transmitted their call sign and frequency in CW, so I could practice my morse skills again. The e- QSL Alcaravan Radio 5910 kHz arrived in just two days.

QSL Alcaravan Radio Puerto Lleras 5910 kHz

e- QSL Alcaravan Radio, Puerto Lleras, Colombia on 5910 kHz

The DX program was presented by Rafael Rodriguez who is also QSL manager for Alcaravan Radio: rafaelcoldx@yahoo.com . He wrote me that “Onda Continua” is aired on Saturdays and Sundays at 1, 4 and 9 hr UTC.

Rafael also invites you to visit his DX blog: http://dxdesdecolombia.blogspot.com/, and his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DXdesdeColombia/videos .

QSL Piepzender Zwolle 7405 kHz

August 20, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Radio Piepzender (Peep-sender) is a station that can be heard in the 41 m band during the weekend. The station is also testing on various other bands, but as far as I know there is no regular schedule.

Email QSL from Radio Piepzender, 7405 kHz, Zwolle, The Netherlands

I got this email for my reception report of their transmission on 7405 kHz. As you can see power is 150 watts. The transmitters of Piepzender are quite impressive: robust Rohde and Schwarz.

Stationmanager Henri asked me to make it explicit that reception reports should go to radioqsl@hotmail.com. Other email addresses are not monitored anymore.

You can also get a paper QSL if you send 5 Euro to:

PO Box 2702
6949 ZG HERTEN
The Netherlands

Impressive Rohde & Schwarz transmitters of Radio Piepzender, Zwolle

QSL Radio Andorra via Kall-Krekel 3985 kHz

August 18, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Thanks to a tip from Artur at Maresme DX I tuned in to a program of Radio Andorre. This program, broadcast via Kall-Krekel at 3985 kHz, told about the history of Radio Andorra. I really recommend to visit their website to get acquainted with the history of this radio icon. Unfortunately there no stations other than on FM in Andorra these days. So it is difficult to get anything else than an amateur radio QSL from this tiny mountain country in the Pyrenees.

QSL Radio Andorre — Email from Aqui Radio Andorre program

In 1939 Jacques Tremoulet, who owned several private stations in France, founded Radio Andorra. The main reason for this was that he feared prohibition of his stations in France whereas the country (principality) of Andorra had a special – independent – status.

During WWII, thanks to the neutrality of Andorra, the station continued broadcasting without control from neither France nor Germany. But after the liberation of France problems started for Radio Andorra. Tremoulet was accused of collaboration for his attempts to preserve his stations in the occupied territory. He was sentenced to death and sought refuge in Spain and Switzerland until he was acquitted in 1949.

QSL Radio Andorra 1980 — QSL card for my reception of Radio Andorra in 1980. They were also broadcasting on SW 6220 kHz those days.

That did not put an end to the “war” between the French government and Radio Andorra. Aiming for full control over radio in France the government initially jammed the station with transmitters in Bordeaux and Paris. When the court found this unlawful the French government decided it was better to beat Radio Andorra through competition. Ultimately this resulted in the start of Radio des Vallée, later renamed to Sud Radio in Andorra. But not after the French government closed the border with Andorra for a year to frustrate the operation of Radio Andorra and to put pressure on Andorra to allow construction of this new station. In 1961 both stations got a license to operate for a period of 20 years.

In 1981 the government of Andorra decided not to renew the contracts of Radio Andorra and Sud Radio, as they wanted to establish their own radio company… And that was the end of medium and shortwave broadcasting from Andorra. Fortunately I have my QSLs and I can say that I traveled through Andorra, crossing the Port d’Envalira with my wife on bicycle…. but that was, like my QSLs, years ago.

The love of my life… on top of the Envalira, in the 80-ies

QSL Atlantic 2000 International via Channel 292

August 17, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

I received this e- QSL from Atlantic 2000 International for my reception of their program transmitted via Channel 292, Rohrbach-Waal, Germany. What I like about their program is the music selection which also features French popular music. When I was young we heard much more French chansons on the radio…

QSL Atlantic 2000 international via Ch. 292 — e- QSL from Atlantic 2000 International, broadcasting via Channel 292

With the e-QSL I also received some information in French about this station which has a 45 year old history. About as long as my own radio/DX-ing career! I took the liberty to translate some of it here:

After broadcasting on FM from 1978 to 1982, Atlantic 2000 International was heard for the first time on shortwave on June 6, 1982, on 7325 kHz. The following shows aired monthly until July 1988 with 25 and 30 W transmitters.

After more than 19 years of absence, Atlantic 2000 returned to the airwaves on October 28, 2007, on 6280 and 6210 kHz.

From 2008 to 2010, Atlantic 2000 broadcast its programs from Italy, on the transmitters of Mystery Radio, then Radio Amica.

From December 2010, our programs were broadcast from Germany by
different relay stations:

on 3985, 6005 and 7310 kHz via Shortwave Service at Kall-Krekel (12/2010 to 02/2017)
on 9480, then 9485 and 7265 kHz via MV Baltic Radio in Göhren (10/2011 to 01/2016)
on 3955, 6070, 7440 and 9670 kHz via Channel 292 at Rohrbach Waal.
In July 2016 and January 2018, Atlantic 2000 was relayed by the WINB transmitter, located at Red Lion in the USA, on the frequency of 9265 kHz, with a power of 50 kW.
In 2021, several shows were aired by Radio Miami International (WRMI)
from Okeechobee in Florida (USA), with a power of 100 kW.

On their website you can learn that the name Atlantic 2000 is much older than 45 years. That name belonged to a station broadcasting from San Sebastian to the French Atlantic Coast, with roots going back to Radio Andorra (which will be a topic of my next post). Following the death of dictator Franco this station was closed in 1975 by the Spanish government. The FM broadcasts from the French Atlantic coast starting in 1978 were a tribute to this station.

Having sent my report I should be informed about future broadcasts, which I will post accordingly on this blog. Stay tuned!

Gold 1548 kHz off air end-September

August 17, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 4 Comments

Other Gold mediumwave stations closed already in June this year. Gold 1548, servicing London from the Saffon Green transmitter, will follow end-September (source: Ydun’s Medium Wave Info).

Before the merger of many independent local radio stations in the United Kingdom this was the transmitter of Capital Radio. With 97.5 kW this station was significantly more powerful than other ILR stations and easy to receive here in The Netherlands. The higher power probably has to do with the size of the London area and the urban environment.

In the 1980s I had a lot of fun chasing the different ILR (and BBC) local radio stations. The stations all had their own local identity and studios and hadn’t merged into larger conglomerates yet. Below you can see the Capital QSL I received in 1980. Had it been a post stamp it would have been a collector’s item given the apparent misprint of the frequency. Truth be told, I regularly get confused with the 1458, 1485, 1548 and 1584 frequencies myself.

QSL Reach Beyond Australia 15460 kHz

August 16, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Reach Beyond broadcasts from Kununurra in Northwest Australia. For my reception of their “Women of Hope” program in Tamil I received this nice e- QSL in about three days. I sent my report to radio@reachbeyond.org.au .

QSL Reach Beyond Kunumurra Australia — E- QSL from Reach Beyond, Kununurra, Northwest Australia

In 2001 HCJB was granted permission for the construction of a transmitter in Kununurra, and the station went live in 2003. In 2014 the ministry changed its name from HCJB Global into Reach Beyond. Fortunately their dedication to DX-ers all over the world with their QSL policy did not change. Today Reach Beyond is broadcasting to the the Asia Pacific region in 25 languages. You can learn about the history of Reach Beyond Australia on their website.

QSL DCF77 Time-Signal 77.5 kHz

August 15, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 2 Comments

QSL DCF77 Mainflingen Time-Signal 77.5 kHz

I received this beautiful QSL card DCF77 Time-Signal on 77.5 kHz by mail. The transmitter is located in Mainflingen, Germany. The QSL was accompanied by a folder on how time is managed. I also received a 2009 magazine from the PTB (Physikalisch-Technischen Bundesanstalt) with a special topic on 50 years of DCF77. This magazine is also available online. I sent my report to dirk.piester@ptb.de .

As you can read on the QSL there is no voice announcement of the time. Instead the date and time are transmitted by in code through the interval between second markers (0.1 s = “zero”; 0.2 s = “1”). You can see this in my waterfall map below. The gap prior to second 53 and 57 is twice as big. At the minute there is no gap.

DCF77 signal. The binary code is clearly visible.

QSL VORW via WRMI 5950 kHz

August 14, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

QSL VORW Radio via WRMI — A very original QSL card from VORW Radio

John Jurasek the program host of VORW Radio International sent me a very original e- QSL via vorwinfo@gmail.com. I heard them on 5950 kHz via WRMI, Okeechobee, USA.

VORW stands for “Voice Of the ReportoftheWeek”. “ReportoftheWeek” is a podcast on YouTube reviewing fast food, frozen meals and energy drinks. But what I heard on shortwave was a mix of pop music and a summary of reception reports received.

John also attached the latest schedule for VORW:

Main Broadcasts:
4840 kHz at 2 AM Eastern every Saturday Morning (New Show)
4840 kHz at 12 AM Eastern every Monday Morning (New Show)

Repeat Airings:
6115 kHz at 6 PM Eastern every Saturday Evening (Rebroadcast)
5950 kHz at 7 PM Eastern every Saturday Evening (Rebroadcast)
5950 kHz at 8 PM Eastern every Sunday Evening (Rebroadcast)
15770 kHz at 4 PM Eastern every Tuesday Afternoon (Rebroadcast)
15770 kHz at 12 PM Eastern every Thursday Afternoon (Rebroadcast)

QSL Radio Igloo via WRMI 5950 kHz

August 12, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

I received a this nice e- QSL from Radio Igloo. Via WRMI 5950 kHz they brought a program about Britt Wadner, owner of offshore pirate Radio Syd. In 1962 Radio Syd was the successor of Skånes Radio Mercur, the first Swedish pirate station. The popularity of pirate radio is easily understood if you know that Swedish National Radio played a maximum of 60 minutes of recorded music a day, with only two or three “pop songs”.

QSL Radio Igloo via WRMI showing Britt Wadner and the radio ship.

Unfortunately for me Radio Igloo targeted North and South America from the WRMI location (Okeechobee, Florida, USA). In combination with some propagation disturbance that night it made it difficult for me to really understand the details of what was said about Britt Wadner and her ship. But the 60’s music was very enjoyable.

Hopefully there will be broadcasts targeted to the European audience in future, as happened in the past using a transmitter in Europe. Reports to radioigloo@gmail.com are welcome. Please do specify not only technical details but let them know what you think of program content.