The wonderful world of listening to the radio
Free Radio Service announced their Summer Splash:
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.
Read more on their website: https://frsholland.nl/2024-summer-splash/
Citrus AM on 918 kHz is, if only because of the name, a station I wanted to receive. But it is virtually impossible to receive this station at my QTH. Initially Monique 918 AM dominated the frequency, and when they left the frequency Sitara from nearby Houten ramped up their power.
When we spent some time at Luttenberg for a dog event, I was able to listen to this station. I sent my report to info@citrus-am.nl. Four months later I received this beautiful QSL… Bear in mind, Citrus AM is a hobby station, so I don’t blame them for taking some time.
The Netherlands is a pretty flat country. But there are still factors that influence propagation. I already noticed that LPAM stations in the central part of the Netherlands where three big rivers and polders set the scenery are received very well. But between Emst (the QTH of Citrus AM) only 80 kms away and my location the Veluwe, a sandy ridge 80 meters high, is pretty effective in blocking local AM signals.
Citrus AM is truly a hobby broadcaster. Currently they are operating from a – as Erik from Citrus AM describes – fairly simple AM frequency generator with amplifier. Their provisional antenna is relatively short and will be replaced in future.
While searching for sporadic E DX I came across this regional station that I had not yet listened to: Regio 90 from Leersum. Via a webform on their site I submitted a report. The next day I received a kind email from Jos Sterkenburg confirming my reception. I happened to have tuned in to his program:
With 300 Watt Regio 90 is operating on 91.7 from Leersum. They suffer a bit from interference from the 50 kW VRT1 station in Flanders. Target audience is the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and the region just south of it. This is one of my favourite areas for cycling and I can definitely recommend anyone to visit the many castles around Langbroek and Wijk bij Duurstede!
Radio Aktief is a LPAM station from Tilburg. With 50 Watt listed they have a little bit less power than most LPAMs that operate with 100 Watt. At 60 kilometers to the south of my QTH they are still a relatively easy catch. My guess is that last year Smooth Radio got in their way, otherwise I should have picked them up earlier. But Smooth has left AM…
Radio Aktief is built around a very enthusiastic club of technical people and DJs. RadioKidoki is an alternative station ID. They offer a great variety of music styles, so there is a big chance that you will hear something special. I listened to the “Full Experience Show” with a lot of alternative rock, sometimes almost psychedelic.
I sent my report to contact@radio828.nl . Within a day I received an email and eQSL, and yesterday I received a couple of nice flyers by “snail mail”.
As announced earlier: from June 1st Kilrock Radio on 1287 kHz will be off air as the owner of this LPAM station is moving house. At the same time Unique Gold, currently active on 675 kHz from Wijchen, is planning to add 1287 kHz from Malden. Given the proximity of Wijchen to Malden my guess is that they will use this frequency to broadcast another of the 4 audio streams Unique produce.
I suggested that this might create a conflict with Kilrock Radio when they resume broadcasts. The answer I got from Unique is that they deliberately waited for Kilrock to go off the air. And the owner of Kilrock apparently moves to the province of Zeeland (further away) and might even come back on a new frequency (they have to reapply for a license). If that is the case it will be interesting to see if they retain the name Kilrock Radio, as the “Kil” in Kilrock refers to the river “Dordtsche Kil” close to their current location.
I received a polite email as QSL for my reception of Unique Gold on 675 kHz. Unique Gold is a LPAM (100 Watt) station in Wijchen, about 66 kilometer away from my QTH. As is the case with a few other stations from that area their signal is surprisingly strong. I suspect that the rivers flowing through the central part of the Netherlands help to promote propagation. And they have antenna at 70 meter height next to a lake. I sent my report to info@unique.am .
Hans Coenen of Unique Gold also told me that they are planning to start broadcasts on 1287 kHz as well. That will create a bit of a conflict with Kilrock when they return on the air after the relocation.
UPDATE: I learned that Kilrock might relocate to the province Zeeland. In that case there is probably no conflict, they might even apply for a new frequency. Will be interesting to see if they retain their old name, as “Kil” refers to the geographical area they are broadcasting from.
Unique Gold is one of 4 radio streams offered by Unique via the internet and they are also active on DAB. You can read more about this station on: https://unique-fm.nl/en/who-we-are/ .
QSL Radio Batavia 6280 kHz. I received a brief email and an e-QSL card for my report to radiobatavia@hotmail.com . Radio Batavia is a pirate station operating from the Netherlands. They use a home made tube receiver on an inverted V antenna 2×12 meter. When I listened to them they played a Radio Batavia song.
A QSL for Johnny Tobacco Radio on 6275 kHz. At first I thought I received Akenzo, which is also broadcasting on this frequency.
Johnny Tobacco runs a 1.5 kW transmitter on a dipole. And yep it was “booming in”. Location is in the north east of the Netherlands. I heard “Abu Dhabi” as an alternate ID. I got the address through this excellent website: https://shortwavedx.blogspot.com/
With Impact AM from Wassenaar frequently dropping off the air, I had the opportunity to listen to, and QSL Zender Zanussi & Radio Hercules on 819 kHz. I sent my report to radio819am@hotmail.com .
Zender Zanussi & Radio Hercules is (are) operated by two brothers Johan and Andre. On Saturdays Johan runs Radio Hercules playing English music mainly. On Sundays Andre runs Zender Zanussi with with mainly Dutch music. And indeed I heard Zender Zanussi with polka music (the music typically played by pirate stations from the Netherlands) and some German classics as well.
Johan and Andre have been active in the pirate scene since 1977. But like a few other stations in the eastern part of the Netherlands they used the opportunity created in 2016 to start a legal 100 W LPAM operation. They are active on 819 kHz since December 2023 from the village of Mastenbroek, Overijssel province, The Netherlands. In the western provinces of the Netherlands Impact AM is usually dominant on 819 kHz. The other LPAM station “Studio Denakker” from Klazienaveen is apparently not active yet.
Last weekend I was able to receive Radio Casanova International on 6060 kHz. This is a legal shortwave station broadcasting from Winterswijk in The Netherlands. They are in the air on 6020 and 6060 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They use 400W, 1600 PEP via an inverted V antenna. Within a few hours I received their beautiful eQSL via radiocasanova@hotmail.com .
Despite their strong signal the reception quality was a bit compromised due to interference from solar panels as it was a sunny day.
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