I am a fan of NDB listening. Not only because you get nice QSL replies, but also because the NDB List group organizes a “Coordinated Listening Event” every month. It is fun and you can compare your own reception results with those of other enthusiasts.
On the 309th listening evenent running from October 25th-27th the aim was to log up to 8 beacons from each Maidenhead square. Maidenhead is the locator system used by radio amateurs.
Conditions to the north and north west were not good. But that was more than compensated for by good conditions to Russia on the first night. In total I logged beacons from 19 Maidenhead squares and I was able to reach the max 8 for 8 of them. You can see the results below. CLE 309 results: date/time/frequency/call/distance/ITU/location
HM 26.10.2024 0300 380.0 FIL 2993 AZR Horta / Faial Island HP 25.10.2024 2030 392.0 KF 2065 ISL Keflavik IM 25.10.2024 2345 432.0 HMB 1920 ALG Hammam Bou Hadjar for Oran 25.10.2024 2015 382.0 LAR 1812 POR Arruda 26.10.2024 1900 415.0 ON 1868 ALG Oran / Es Senia 26.10.2024 1945 356.0 SGO 1435 ESP Sagunto 27.10.2024 0200 292.0 MIA 1968 MEL Melilla 27.10.2024 2315 407.0 BCR 2343 ALG Bechar 27.10.2024 2045 425.0 EVR 1805 POR Evora IN 25.10.2024 1930 410.0 C 1389 ESP La Coruna 25.10.2024 1930 401.0 COA 1381 ESP La Coruna 25.10.2024 1930 389.0 ZRZ 1242 ESP Zaragoza 25.10.2024 1730 359.0 LOR 766 FRA Lorient / Lann Bihoue 25.10.2024 1745 351.0 OSA 811 FRA Ouessant 26.10.2024 1845 417.0 CVT 1465 ESP Madrid / Cuatro Vientos 27.10.2024 2015 383.0 ALD 562 GSY Alderney 27.10.2024 2015 329.0 JW 595 JSY Jersey IO 26.10.2024 0215 347.0 NQY 709 ENG Newquay 25.10.2024 2345 361.0 CFN 933 IRL Donegal / Carrickfin 25.10.2024 1800 328.5 EGT 857 NIR Londonderry / Eglinton 25.10.2024 2245 401.0 BBA 985 SCT Benbecula 25.10.2024 2345 344.0 WCK 864 SCT Wick 25.10.2024 2345 351.0 SBH 947 SHE Sumburgh Head 25.10.2024 1715 388.5 CDF 573 WLS Cardiff 26.10.2024 2215 395.0 KW 906 ORK Kirkwall / Orkney Isl. IP 25.10.2024 1930 337.0 MY 1340 FRO Myggenaes JL 27.10.2024 0230 450.0 AOO 2907 LBY El Sharara ? (ROO) 27.10.2024 2015 470.0 WF 2618 LBY Wafa JM 26.10.2024 1830 423.0 BJA 1715 ALG Bejaia / Soummam 26.10.2024 2345 510.0 BL 1741 ALG Blida 26.10.2024 1845 424.0 GRS 1914 ALG Ghriss 27.10.2024 0130 394.0 IZA 1493 BAL Ibiza 27.10.2024 0215 384.0 ADX 1408 BAL Andraitx for Palma de Mallorca 27.10.2024 0100 412.0 SIG 1816 SCY Sigonella (CT) 27.10.2024 1915 316.0 CAL 1468 SAR Cagliari / Elmas JN 25.10.2024 1800 340.0 BLK 1197 BIH Banja Luka 25.10.2024 2015 715.0 C 778 CZE Caslav 25.10.2024 1930 436.0 SME 1078 HNG Sarmellek / Balaton 25.10.2024 2245 412.0 HUM 1320 HRV Humac 25.10.2024 2215 420.0 GO 1535 MNE Podgorica 25.10.2024 1815 463.0 CL 1034 SVN Cerklje 26.10.2024 1730 375.0 GLA 642 SUI Gland for Geneva / Cointrain 27.10.2024 2030 375.0 CV 1101 COR Calvi / Ste Catherine JO 25.10.2024 1715 360.5 MAK 159 BEL Mackel for Brussels Ntl 25.10.2024 1715 352.5 DD 172 BEL Oostende 25.10.2024 1715 355.0 ONW 105 BEL Antwerpen / Deurne 25.10.2024 1715 352.0 LAA 107 DEU Niederrhein 25.10.2024 1800 357.0 KD 474 DNK Kolding / Vamdrup 25.10.2024 1845 373.0 NW 139 HOL Maastricht / Beek 26.10.2024 1915 375.0 EKO 507 XOE Ekofisk L 26.10.2024 1745 380.0 ULA 571 XOE Ula / BP Platform JP 25.10.2024 2330 345.0 STM 1652 NOR Strommen / Mo I Rana 25.10.2024 2330 348.0 SAD 1840 NOR Leknes / Sandsund 26.10.2024 2200 368.0 OY 1243 SWE Sveg 27.10.2024 0100 414.0 STA 1036 XOE Stafjord A Platform 27.10.2024 0100 414.0 STC 1030 XOE Statfjord C 27.10.2024 0100 615.0 STB 1027 XOE Statfjord B Platform 27.10.2024 2330 328.0 DK 1547 SWE Vilhemina 27.10.2024 2245 364.0 VNA 1566 SWE Vanja KN 25.10.2024 2230 399.0 KMN 1999 BUL Burgas / Kamenar 25.10.2024 2345 297.0 PEP 1733 MKD Prilep 25.10.2024 1830 521.0 BSW 1767 ROU Bucuresti / Baneasa 25.10.2024 2100 349.0 OPE 1778 ROU Bucuresti / Otopeni 25.10.2024 2100 470.0 QL 2482 RUS Taganrog 25.10.2024 1800 405.0 JST 1574 SRB Nis / Justic 25.10.2024 1900 425.0 KE 1220 SVK Kosice 25.10.2024 2030 580.0 KC 2252 UKR Kacha KO 25.10.2024 2015 920.0 G 1295 BLR Grodno / Obukhovo 25.10.2024 2015 840.0 KR 1090 KAL Kaliningrad / Khrabovo 25.10.2024 1800 407.0 PN 1143 LTU Palanga 25.10.2024 1800 437.0 NP 1048 POL Tomaszow-Mazowiecki / Porter 25.10.2024 2100 770.0 B 2151 RUS Moscow / Sheremetyevo 25.10.2024 2015 1215.0 WT 2174 RUS Kartino 25.10.2024 2015 732.0 AO 2209 RUS Aksinyino 25.10.2024 2345 478.0 MF 2286 RUS Larionovo KP 26.10.2024 2115 329.0 WU 1578 SWE Umea 27.10.2024 2300 377.0 OL 1782 SWE Lulea / Kallax LM 27.10.2024 0345 355.0 ARB 3670 IRN Ardabil LN 25.10.2024 2130 486.0 KL 2538 RUS Krasnyy Sulin 25.10.2024 2015 876.0 WG 2783 RUS Volgograd / Gumrak 25.10.2024 2030 618.0 NK 2939 RUS Akhtubinsk 26.10.2024 0230 618.0 TB 2939 RUS Akhtubinsk 25.10.2024 2030 777.0 ST 2723 RUS Sirotinskaya LO 25.10.2024 2200 705.0 PX 3250 RUS Perm / Bolshoye Savino 25.10.2024 2230 995.0 DW 2922 RUS Nikolskoye 25.10.2024 2345 672.0 M 3131 RUS Bugulma 25.10.2024 2015 905.0 UD 2623 RUS Buturlino 25.10.2024 2015 932.0 KR 2783 RUS Krasnoarmeysk 25.10.2024 2015 965.0 BL 2890 RUS Kazan 25.10.2024 2015 960.0 RP 2505 RUS Sosnovkoye 26.10.2024 2015 963.0 KCh 3374 RUS Orenburg-2 MO 25.10.2024 2330 1130.0 YS 4425 RSE Kalachinsk MP 25.10.2024 2030 752.0 BB 3616 RSE Beryozovo
I wrote “SWL” between quotes because this is also an MW contest. You can listen to MW, SW or both.
Having participated in the very enjoyable SWL contest 2024 I am going to focus on MW for this one. Let”s see if I can log 250 stations on MW.
But no matter what you would like to do, on behalf of SWL F14368 Frank I would like to invite you to participate in the SWL Contest 2025. You can find the details by clicking this link! If you think you don’t have a good listening location you can opt to use a Kiwi SDR as well. I do hope to see you in the results!
“Amsterdam huilt”, “Amsterdam cries”. This beautiful song, exactly 60 years old, is as relevant as ever after what happened last night in Amsterdam. I feel ashamed, angry, powerless. I have no words. But I think it shouldn’t go unnoticed… hence this post.
Als vader weer bladert in zijn fotoboek Dan sta je versteld als hij weer vertelt Van de Weesperstraat en de jodenhoek
Als vader dan verhaalt hoe het leven begon Bij het ontwaken, handel en zaken Humor en gein, dat was de levensbron En had je een dag eens geen mazzel gehad Dan ‘s avonds naar de Tip Top waar je je sores vergat
Soms riep d’r nog een in het ‘t late uur ‘k Heb mooie olijven en uitjes in het zuur
Amsterdam huilt waar het eens heeft gelachen Amsterdam huilt, nog voelt het de pijn Amsterdam huilt waar het eens heeft gelachen Amsterdam huilt, want weg is de gein
Als vader verhaalt hoe de sabbath begon Dan sta je versteld als hij weer vertelt Hoe de voorzanger ‘Addesjem eilje nowa’ daar zong
Op het Channekefeest gingen de kaarsjes weer aan Dan werd er gewenst, door Godje gebenscht En dat het hun allen weer goed maar zal gaan
Voor er werd geplunderd en uitgeroeid Hebben daar jiddische Jeledjes gestoeid Men noemde hen ras, oh God ,oh God Waarom mocht het niet zijn zoals het er was
Amsterdam huilt waar het eens heeft gelachen Amsterdam huilt, nog voelt het de pijn Amsterdam huilt waar het eens heeft gelachen Amsterdam huilt, want weg is de gein
Op vrijdagavond koegel en peren Wie dat niet nascht, die kan ‘t ook niet waarderen Het boek gaat dicht en met een traan in zijn ogen
Fluistert hij: Mazzel en brooche voor de hele misjpooche Mazzel en brooche voor de hele misjpooche Mazzel en brooche voor de hele misjpooche
Since my retirement two years ago I have plenty of time for my old DX hobby again after an absence of over 25 years. I soon noticed that my attention was mainly focused on the medium wave and digital utility modes. But what is the state of that good old shortwave today? And how does that compare to 30-40 years ago? The SWL 2024 contest, organized by Frank F0DUW, seemed like a great opportunity to give this a thorough review. But before I do: please don’t forget to check the details of the upcoming SWL Contest 2025 at the end of this post!
The contest rules
The goal of the contest was to receive as many stations as possible in each shortwave band, from 120 to 11 meters. Furthermore, it had to be AM transmissions, so no DRM. Pirates were allowed to be counted, even if they were a bit outside the official meter bands. Each participant would be rewarded with an e-Award. From a Bronze Award for participants reporting 1-49 stations, via Silver, Gold, Platinum to a Diamond Award for participants scoring more than 250 stations.
The contest rules didn’t focus on transmitter location but on what I would call “broadcasters” or “producers” if you like. That needs a bit of explanation. If you heard BBC on 9410 from Tinang and then received it on 9510 from Tashkent, that counted as 1 “station”: “BBC on the 31 meter band”. If you received BBC Tinang on 9410 (31 meter band) and BBC Tinang 11825 (25 meter band) then that counted as two stations. Similarly, a Sunday spent listening to Channel 292 on 9670 kHz quickly yielded several “stations”: Radio Powerrumpel, Radio Waves International, Superclan Radio and so on.
Not a lot of “Tropics” on the tropical band
The contest ran from June to August. Because I was still very busy with sporadic E on FM in June, I actually only started to monitor the bands thoroughly in the second week of July. In total, I received 425 stations from 55 ITU countries that were distributed over the meter bands as follows:
Although these were summer conditions, one thing immediately stands out: the tropical bands deliver very few “tropical” stations these days. There is still an occasional station from Australia or Indonesia at 120 or 90 meters, but I didn’t manage to receive those. The 19 stations at 75 m were far from “tropical”. They all came from Europe, with the various stations broadcasting on Channel 292 from Germany on 3955 kHz accounting for 13 of them.
At 60 meters it is just only a little bit better. There are still some Asian stations to receive, including Tajik Radio (Tajikistan). Africa was represented by Voice of Hope from Zambia and VOA Botswana, but you don’t really hear the African traditional songs and rhythms of years ago. From Latin America I picked up the Cuban Radio Rebelde, Radio Brasil Central and the religious pirate “La Montana” from Venezuela. I could even hear Radio Tarma from Peru. Small reminders of what used to be a favorite band for DX-ers years ago.
49 meters: the most important shortwave band today?
The 49 meters is the band where I heard the most stations by far. That’s partly due to a good number of pirates around that band. I heard 28 of them, mainly from the Netherlands and the UK. I heard more than 20 different programme makers on Channel 292. The reception of Channel 292’s American counterpart, WRMI Radio Miami International, is a bit more dependent on conditions, but it did result in 8 stations at 49 meters. You receive them better on 19 meters, which resulted in 15 stations for me.
The WRMI programs are very different from those of Channel 292. On the latter station you will hear a lot of stations that want to keep the memory of offshore radio alive in addition to several serious program makers who offer alternative music. “CM Obrecht”, “Radio Carpathia” and “The Isle of Music” are good examples of those. WRMI brings everything that is not “mainstream” from the United States. Everyone seems to want to reach the entire US and preferably the world via Miami. From the super-fanatical preacher on “Classic Redneck Radio” and endless mostly right-wing political speeches to bizarre programs such as “Your UFO show” and “Supreme Master TV” where you are treated to all kinds of conspiracy theories. I really enjoyed it.
Yet there is still plenty of “real” DX to experience at 49 meters. The various factions from Ethiopia and the surrounding area all seem to have their own station. Mali Radio comes through loud (I suspect that Chinese investments do play a role here). Myanma Radio was perfectly audible and even provided my first QSL for Myanmar, something I couldn’t do 40 years ago. Brazil brought RN da Amazonia and Voz Missionaria. What is also nice to follow is the arrival of legal Finnish low power stations such as Radio Piko and Realmix Radio in this band.
All Chinese are alike? It’s not that bad.
China, as expected, was an important source to boost my number of stations received. I heard 47 Chinese stations. But identification is not so easy. China Radio International, of course, has plenty of programs in English and is omnipresent on every band. Only then do you realize that Radio Moscow has completely disappeared from the scene.
It is more difficult to distinguish Chinese National Radio CNR 1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 13 and 17 from each other. The fact that a number of those programs broadcast on the same frequencies and stations as the PBS stations Sichuan, Xizang and Xinjiang further complicates matters. But fortunately, there are many co-channel crosschecks you can make. The languages and IDs in Kazakh (CNR17) or Uyghur (CNR13) are also clearly different from Chinese and recognizable. The specific format of CNR2 Business Radio, where a male/female duo of presenters seem to talk non-stop commercial-like as on an American news channel, is easy to pick out.
Deutsche Welle and Schweizer Radio are still alive on Shortwave!
While China apparently still believes very much in shortwave to reach a global audience, there are few other state broadcasters that share that opinion. In the Far East it’s not so bad. The Koreas, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines: they all have programs targeting listeners abroad. Radio New Zealand has more powerful transmitters than it had in the past and their programs aimed at the South Pacific can be received easily.
In Europe the only stations that offer a Radio France Internationale, Radio Exterior de España and Radio Romania International are the only stations with that are still active extensively. To hear the BBC in every band, I had to put in some effort to tune in at the right time as most of their programs are broadcast from transmitters in the East. I learned that Deutsche Welle still broadcasts a few hours in Arabic and Amharic. And Schweizer Rundfunk is still surviving on shortwave with an hour via the Kall-Krekel transmitter.
Many of the religious stations I knew from the past were still in the air: AWR, TWR, FEBC, HCJB, WINB. As were the several U.S. government-sponsored propaganda stations such as Radio Liberty and Radio Marti. Newer to me is the fact that the VOA now brands quite a few stations as if not part of VOA: Studio 7, Radio Deewa, Radio Ashna or Radio Mashaal for example. Also new to me: different groups, sometimes more political resistance oriented, sometimes more motivated by humanitarian reasons are renting airtime from major channels abroad such as Woofferton, UAE or Tashkent. For example I heard Radio Ergo, a small broadcaster with support from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They broadcast humanitarian news from the UAE for regions in Somalia.
More interesting for the DX-er than for the listener.
My conclusion: there is still plenty to do on shortwave for a DX-er who is mainly interested in picking up a signal from a distant country. And even if you want to collect QSLs, you can still do so quite easily. Although you will often have to be satisfied with an e-QSL or email. For the real listener who is interested in content, shortwave is going downhill in my view. Unless you speak several Asian or African languages.
The other day I read somewhere: “The only English transmissions I can pick up are alt-right or religious nuts. Are there any sane people broadcasting on SW in English?“. I don’t want to go that far, and I would certainly be doing serious religious stations such as AWR and TWR a disservice. But a certain trend has been going on for a while. And I’m curious what happens if major maintenance is needed on transmitters and antenna parks like Woofferton, Issoudun or Nauen. Is that still financially feasible or will we see them forced to close as well?
“And the winner is…”
So, what did the SWL 2024 contest bring for me in addition to the Myanma Radio QSL, my 197th radio country verified? Well, in the first place a lot of DX and listening pleasure, some surprising receptions – I can’t forget to mention RTM Wai FM from Malaysia at 25 meters, or Alaskan public Radio KSKO via Kostinbrod – and quite a few QSLs. And I easily reached the target for a Diamond Award.
To my surprise, Frank had managed to arrange some nice prizes through sponsors. Because I finished first with 425 stations, to my great surprise, I received a nice Tecsun PL-368 and a Retevis cap. But again, participating and having fun are more important than winning in my opinion.
SWL (and MW) 2025 contest runs from January to February.
I am very happy that Frank has decided to organize a next contest. It may be called “SWL contest 2025”, but you can now also listen to the medium wave. There are actually three contests: you can listen to MW, SW, or both. On SW this time the goal is to receive as many transmitter locations as possible (regardless of the band), on MW the location doesn’t matter.
This summer I decided to participate in the SWL 2024 contest. This contest was organized by Franck F0DUW . Aim was to log as many broadcasters in each metre band. I had a slow start as I was very busy in June with Sporadic E receptions, but in July/August I focused a bit. In the end I was able to log 425 broadcasters. This was not only more than enough to qualify for the “Diamond” certificate, but it also makes clear that shortwave isn’t dead!
I plan to give more information about what I heard in a future post, but that will take a little bit of time. Stay tuned!
Thanks to Franck for organizing. On his facebook page he announced that there will be another contest starting January 1st, 2025.
Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot announced a new program on September 21, 2024. A must for lovers of LA music and those who long for the old “tropical band” years.
Their message:
Our special guest Julio Cesar Pereira, who has done the excellent Ginga Brasil! programme on shortwave in the past, will be with us to present the very distinctive music of the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sur n Brazil. This episode may surprise even regular followers of Brazilian music.
1700-1800 UTC 9670 kHz with beam E-F towards South Asia but very good in Eastern Europe and parts of Eurasia
1900-2000 UTC 3955 & 6070 kHz (omnidirectional for Europe and beyond)
2300-2400 UTC 9670 kHz with a special beam M-N towards South America for this episode. This might also be audible in parts of South Asia.
All transmissions from Channel 292, Rohrbach, Germany
Reception reports will be recognized via eQSLs even if webSDRs are used (provided that which SDR is clearly identified and the report covers the whole program, not just a few minutes.)
Atlantic 2000 will be on the air this Saturday, 10th of August, from 0800 to 0900 UTC (1000 to 1100 CEST) on 6070 and 9670 kHz via Channel 292. Streams will be available at the same time here: http://radioatlantic2000.free.fr
It’s almost time…. On Sunday, July 21st, we kick off our annual ‘Summer Splash’. For the 4th time, you can listen to us on shortwave for three summery Sunday evenings from 19:00-21:00 UTC / 21:00-23:00 CEST. Frequencies will be (subject to change) 5940 and 9300 (alt. 9335). We are sorry for the lack of our 7700 outlet.
Radio Taiwan International plant auch in diesem Jahr Ausstrahlungen des deutschsprachigen Programms von der Sendeanlage in Tamsui. RTI strahlt dafür am Samstag, 6. Juli, jeweils 10-minütige Testsendungen zu folgenden Zeiten und Frequenzen aus: