Category: NDB (Page 1 of 8)

QSL NDB HA-348 Vopnafjörður/Hofsa

March 20, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

The other beacon verified on the QSL I recently got from Isavia is NDB HA Vopnafjörður Airport. Vopnafjörður is a small village in the north east of Iceland. Its Airport has slightly over 500 movements per year. Regular flights are carried out by Norlandair to Akureyri Airport in the north of Iceland 5 times a week. From there people can connect to other airports on Iceland including Reykjavik and seasonally to a number of Airports in mainland Europe.

QSL for NDB HL Vestmannaeyjar and NBD HA Vopnafjörður

The NDB HA is located in Hof (or Hofsa), a little hamlet about 15 kilometers SW of the airport.

Vopnafjörður Airport and Terminal Building

QSL NDB HL-345 Vestmannaeyjar/Helgafjell

March 19, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Vestmannaeyjar Airport is the first airport in Iceland constructed without foreign or military assistance. It is located on the main island of the Vestmannaeyjar Archipelago (the Westman Islands). With the construction of a nearby ferry terminal at Landeyjahöfn sailing times to the mainland reduced from 3 hours to 30 minutes. This resulted in a drop in demand for scheduled flights. Today there are only government sponsored flights to Reykjavik in winter (probably because shipping and road conditions might not be optimal).

My reception of NDB HL serving this airport on 345 kHz was confirmed (together with NDB-HA which is for another post) by Hjalti Geir Guðmundsson from Isavia, the operators of the airports in Iceland

There is a second beacon NDB VM on 375 kHz serving the airport as well. In hindsight I should have added that one to this report as it is one of the most regular received beacons from Iceland here in The Netherlands.

QSL NDB EAG-399 Logroño/Agoncillo

March 13, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

My reception of NDB EAG on 399 kHz for Logroño/Agoncillo airport in Spain was confirmed by Enaire. They couldn’t add the typical data sheet they usually provide with a verification as the beacon is owned by the military. This goes back to the fact that Agoncillo was designated to be a military airfield, although there were always commerical and private flights as well. (for more information check the history website). From the 1996 onwards the local government really made an effort to turn Agoncilla airport into Logroño’s airport.

NDB EAG-399 with Logroño-Agoncillo airport in the background

The NDB EAG can be spotted easily on Google Maps, to the south east of the runway. On the picture above you see the transmitterbuilding between the two masts supporting the dipole. In the back you see the control tower to the left and the new terminal building to the right. The roof of the terminal building seems to feature 5 “wine barrels” which I guess is a reference to the Rioja region of which Logroño is the capital.

Logroño-Agoncillo terminal building featuring 5 wine barrels.

QSL NDB GRA-412 Granada

March 8, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Via Enaire (informacion@enaire.es) I received a QSL for my reception of NDB GRA on 412 kHz. This beacon serves the Aeropuerto Federica García Lorca Granada-Jaën in the south of Spain. The airport is named after the Spanish poet Garcia Lorca who was murdered in 1936 by Nationalist Forces in the Spanish Civil War

A slightly better picture from Google Maps of this beacon:

And a picture of the terminal building. There are direct flights to various locations in Spain and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Terminal building Federico Garcïa Lorca airport Granada/Jaën

QSL NDB TON-335 Torralba de Aragon

March 6, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 2 Comments

Enaire was again so kind to confirm my reception of a few NDBs. I got a QSL for NDB TON Torralba de Aragon on 335 kHz. As usual with a nice information sheet:

Unfortunately it wasn’t clear to me from the information provided what the purpose of this beacon was. Torralba de Aragon is a small village, 115 inhabitants just south of the Pyrenees. There is a nearby airstrip, but on Ourairports.com the function is described as “terminal area navigation”. So my guess is that the beacon supports navigation at Zaragoza Airport.

Back to Torralba De Aragon, just because I like what this hobby brings us. Torralba is a small village but it has a beautiful church. I learned that the tower is built in Mudéjar style. The Mudéjars were the Muslims who remained in the former areas of Al-Andalus after the Christian Reconquista in the Middle Ages and were allowed to practice their religion to a limited degree. Mudéjar art is valuable in that it represents peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians during the medieval era. The things you learn triggered by a beacon sending – / — / -.

QSL NDB MI-346 Mikkeli

February 27, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 2 Comments

There are only 9 NDBs left in Finland. I heard 3 beacons for Kokkala-Pietarsaari airport in 2023, but my reception reports to Fintraffic remained unanswered.

Mikkeli Airport however is a small airport in the Finnish Lake District and they have their own local management. I sent my report to airport@mikkeli.fi .Mr. Sami Kahilakoski, FIS manager was so kind to confirm my report of my reception of MI on 346 kHz. And included a nice scan of the Instrument Approach Chart. That’s so nice, as I got these on paper in the 80s, but this is the first one I got since I resumed my hobby.

So this is my first NDB confirmed from Finland. As I said, Mikkeli is a small airport, with no regular flights. But it is popular for sport, gliding and parachute jumping activities.

Winter inspection of VNA-364 Vanja

February 23, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

I got a nice QSL for my reception of NDB VNA on 364 kHz, Vanja, for Umea airport some time ago: https://petersdxcorner.nl/sweden/qsl-ndb-vna-354-vanja/

Chris from Aviseq sent me some pictures when they had to do some inspection and maintenance work on the VNA beacon a few weeks ago. Quite a challenge in Swedish winter conditions:

QSL NDB JV-367 Ilulissat

February 12, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

Ilulissat Airport with the NDB JV tower visible in the background

Jakob Schytz, Ilulissat Airport Manager, sent me a very friendly detailed letter to confirm my reception of NDB JV on 367 kHz. And he also included a photo of the radio beacon (and one of himself in front of it, but for privacy reasons I prefer not to post that one here).

Ilulissat Airport is the 2nd biggest airport in Greenland. Currently a new airport is being built in Ilulissat, scheduled to be completed in 2026. Together with the airports in Nuuk and Qaqartoq the airport should form the backbone of air transport in Greenland. You can read more about these projects on the website of the Nordic Investment Bank.

QSL NDB SF-382 Kangerlussuaq

February 11, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

A nice QSL email for my reception of NDB SF at Kangerlussuaq Airport on 382 kHz. I made my reception using the BDMR/Clashmore SDR during the “Pyramid Event”. But this is definitely one of the stronger Greenlandic beacons so at a noise free location reception is possible in The Netherlands.

Kangerlussuaq was the main airport in Greenland until the new Nuuk Airport opened in November 2024. There is a lot to be said about the strategy and politics behind the development of Greenland Airports, as you can read here. Climate change apparently plays a role, as permafrost underneath Kangerlussuaq is thawing. But at the same time the Kangerlussuaq airport has a future because its location is less sensitive to weather and traffic disruptions, which is important for cruise ship passengers. And yes, in these days where Donald Trump is talking about taking over Greenland: this airport was constructed by the US military during WWII, when Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany.

Don’t forget to watch this nice Youtube clip about Kangerlussuaq Airport, its history and surroundings.

QSL NDB AA-336 Aasiaat

January 16, 2025 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

A QSL from another Greenland NDB which I received via the Clashmore Kiwi in Scotland during the recent CLE event: NDB AA on 336 kHz for Aasiaat airport. The operator was not allowed to open the MP3 file, but the description of the beacon signal was suffucient. The email text misses the details, but I have another email from Greenland Airports headoffice that does contain the details for my reception of this beacon AA-336 Aasiaat as well as NA-359 Narsarsuaq.

Aasiaat is a small airport on the west coast of Greenland, south of Disko Bay. From Aasiaat you can fly to the bigger airports at Nuuk and Ilulisat. In winter there are cargo flights from Aasiaat to nearby settlements for which you can book a seat as well. In summer the connection is by ferry only.