"It's not true I had nothing on, I had the radio on" - Marilyn Monroe
This morning I noticed that Radio Monique, a LPAM from Velsen-Noord, The Netherlands, was missing on 1332 kHz. According to their website the New Year Storm hit the antenna with 10 Beaufort, causing significant damage. Moreover, as some fuses blew out as well, there might be electrical damage requiring the installation to be inspected.
While I wish them a speedy return to the airwaves it might be an opportunity to tune in to other stations on this frequency.
In The Netherlands the 1485 kHz is reserved for 1 Watt LPAM’s. That should make it an interesting frequency, but despite their low power, Radio 182 from Waddinxveen at 15 kilometers from my QTH is so dominant that it blocks other stations. Their signal probably benefits from a good antenna location and only green fields in between them and me.
So when I visited family in Akersloot I decided to test my new Tecsun PL-368 radio, the one I won during the SWL-2024 contest, on 1485 kHz. I was able to pick up Radio Elvira from Heerhugowaard over a distance of 15 kilometers. Just above noise level at a 2dB SNR (it’s a nice feature that the Tecsun displays this info). They replied with a kind email explaining that for some reason their coverage is only 4-5 kilometres north, but significantly better to the south (where I was receiving them).
Radio Elvira has a nice website where they also post some local news. They advertise as “Radio Elvira 1485 Dijk en Waard”. Dijk the dutch word for dike, and Waard the dutch word for polder.
A very nice, fully detailed eQSL from Mike Radio. Mike Radio is a Free Radio station operating from the province of Gelderland, The Netherlands. For the Gen Z folks: the station is powered by solar energy!
I sent my report to mikeradio(at)live.nl . UKdxer told me than Mike is one of the younger free radio stations in the Netherlands.
My personal opinion is that rules on hobby broadcasting via MW/SW should be relaxed as apparently nobody seems to care about the interference of PV installations on these frequencies…
Thank you Mike!
For the reception of Radio Frieloo on 6290 kHz I received a friendly QSL email from the operator. I sent my report to frieloo(at)outlook.com .
Radio Frieloo is a pirate station operating from the province Gelderland in The Netherlands. The operator told me that he is not often in the air. When it is the case it is mostly to test antenna designs. The transmitter is a R&S with 100 Watt as shown in the picture.
An e QSL for a new LPAM station from the Netherlands. Golden Oldies Radio from Hoogvliet near Rotterdam started broadcasting on 1224 kHz earlier this year. Power is 100 Watt. Here in Woerden (Hoogvliet is about 45 kms south west from here) reception is good during day time, but in the evening COPE Lugo is causing interference. At the same time it has become more difficult to receive the Radio 1224, another LPAM from Lunteren, some 50 kilometers to the east from my home QTH.
I sent my report to contact@goldenoldiesradio.nl . More info on the Golden Oldies Radio website.
A nice colorful eQSL from Radio Joey on 6395 kHz. All I can tell you is that Radio Joey is a pirate station from The Netherlands (as shown on the QSL) which also shows the hotmail address.
I got a nice e QSL document for my reception of pirate radio station Polaris Radio on 6390 kHz. It had with quite a bit of information which I will not share here for obvious reasons. Unlike most pirate stations they are transmitting from the western part of The Netherlands with a maximum power of 2 kW into an inverted V antenna. I sent my report to polarisradio@hotmail.com .
A birthday present! Upon return from a nice birthday dinner I noticed that I was receiving Cupid Radio on 6290 kHz on my SDR receiver. Dropped an email to cupidradio@hotmail.com which was read during the show. The next day I wrote a full report which was answered with a personal email and this nice QSL card.
I was told that they were operating on 15105 towards the US earlier that evening. They moved to 6290 kHz when the band closed, and that’s where I found them playing hard rock music like AC/DC and Kiss. The power is 500 Watts generated by two Russian GU81 tubes… and I like that sort of technology as that is the sort of stuff that got me into radio! This YouTube video gives you a good impression about the size of these things!
Cupid Radio has a very interesting Facebook page… I encourage you all to check it out! They run SSTV as well, albeit mainly on 13 and 19 m…. I would really like to catch one of those!
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.
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