Received on my little Grundig G6 Aviator while spending some time with family in Akersloot: Backyard AM, a low power AM station from Zaandijk. Somehow I did not yet receive them on my home QTH in Woerden. My guess is that this is because they are active weekends only. More importantly: Danko Radio from Hungary might get in their way. That said, according to their schedule they are a little bit longer in the air on Sunday’s than Danko Radio (between 20 and 21 h UTC) so that could provide a window of opportunity.
Their beautiful QSL shows one of the most iconic views of the Netherlands, the “Zaanse Schans“, close their QTH Zaandijk.
Older DX-ers might remember that 1116 kHz was once the frequency of Radio Bloemendaal. This religious broadcaster was the first religious broadcaster in the Netherlands, and for a long time the only legal station other than the state radio company that was heard on medium wave. But I will dedicate another post to them!
Not exactly DX from my location, but I am also a QSL collector and the Dutch Coastguard issues this nice QSL email. So here it is. I received my QSL Dutch Coastguard Den Helder 518 kHz for one of their NAVTEX transmissions.
e- QSL Dutch Coastguard Den Helder 518 kHz
The Dutch Coastguard has a nice website in English, but their history is best told on the site in Dutch (use Google to translate). Coastguard activities in the Netherlands started following a tragic incident with a Navy ship “Zr.Ms.Adder” in 1882. The ship sank near Scheveningen, but nobody noticed the ship was missing. Only when the first bodies washed ashore alarm bells went off. From 1882 onwards the crews on the lighthouses – which were already there as navigation aids – had to monitor traffic actively and had to report incidents.
Over the years 6 different departments in The Netherlands developed activities on the North Sea. Fishery, Traffic, Justice, Defense, Finance and Internal Affairs. In 1987 it was decided these departments had to work together from a central location in IJmuiden. I have a PPC QSL from 1993 indicating that in those days radio traffic was limited to emergency frequencies (2182 kHz and VHF) only. Telephony/telegraphy including weather and navigational warnings were broadcast via PCH Scheveningen Radio.
1993 QSL from Dutch Coastguard IJmuiden
In 1994 it was concluded that the cooperation between the 6 departments needed improvement. The Coastguard was established as an independent entity, with its operations coordinated under responsibility of the Royal Dutch Navy. As a consequence the Coastguard centre moved to Den Helder which is the main port of the Navy.
With more an more communication going via satellite Scheveningen Radio closed in 1998. My guess is that since then navigational warnings via NAVTEX were transferred to the Coastguard.
1980 QSL for Scheveningen Radio on 2182 kHz. Scheveningen Radio went off air in 1998.
A fully detailed eQSL from Radio Veronica on 5955 kHz. The transmitter is located in Westdorpe/Overslag in the Zeeuws Vlaanderen region near the border of The Netherlands with Belgium. The transmitter is listed with 1 kW. HF propagation can be a bit tricky, but given the signal strength overhere in Woerden (120 kilometers) I do think they are broadcasting with less power than that.
I sent my report to qsl@radioveronica.nl and received the eQSL from qslcards@radiocorp.nl
Sunlite is now Radio Veronica on 5955 kHz
The station is owned by Herbert Visser. He is founder/owner of Radiocorp , the company behind radiostations like 100%NL, SLAM! and SUNLITE. Herbert apparently runs the short wave station on 5955 as a hobby project. Broadcasts started in December 2021, intially relaying the Sunlite programs.
In 2023 Radiocorp was bought by Mediahuis, the company that also bought Radio Veronica. This probably explains the switch to relay Radio Veronica programs since end 2023. Herbert changed his eQSL format accordingly. Many shortwave listeners had hoped that Veronica Vintage would be relayed, which would be a better fit for an AM transmitter.
Since December 29th the LPAM station Rivierenland Radio can be heard on 891 kHz. Their 100 W transmitter is located in Huissen near Arnhem. That is only 74 kilometers east from my QTH. The only other station on this frequency is Radio Algerie which, coming from the south, can be “nulled out” easily with my loop antenna. So pretty good reception here! I sent my QSL request to rivierenland-radio@rivierenlandradio.nl
Email QSL and logo of Rivierenland Radio, Huissen, 891 kHz
There is quite a bit of variety among the Dutch LPAM stations. Some of them, like Album AM, are hobby stations interested in technical aspects and DX reception. Other stations are a legal continuation of a former Free Radio station, bringing a few hours of music a week, mostly during weekends only.
And there are stations like Rivierenland Radio who have a more professional 24/7 approach, and where the AM presence is a just an extension of what they are already doing on DAB+ and internet. Via DAB+ Rivierenland Radio can be heard between Arnhem and Eindhoven, in the eastern part of the Netherlands.
Zuid West Brabant is a low power medium wave station from Heerle. A little village between Bergen op Zoom and Roosendaal in the province Noord-Brabant in The Netherlands. With 100 Watt they are active on weekends. Within a day I got their QSL via zuidwestbrabant@hotmail.com.
eQSL from LPAM station Zuid West Brabant AM from Heerle on 1467 kHz
Funny detail: I happened to come across this station while listening via a KiwiSDR in the North of Scotland. At 970 kilometers distance reception was still quite good. Nevertheless I switched to my home QTH, only 80 kilometers away from Heerle.
I would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone who follows or just visits my blog a Merry Christmas!
On the picture above you see the Tallest Christmas Tree of the World. Almost 370 meters tall, with lights connected on the guy wires of the Gerbrandy Radio/TV tower near IJsselstein. The tower is about 14 kilometers away from my QTH, but I can easily see it from my house! If visibility permits, you can even spot this tree from 40-50 kilometers distance. This year we celebrate the 25th time that the lights went on.
The eQSL from Radio Blackstone International on 6270 kHz is very appealing. One of the nicest in my collection now. Thank you Herman!
e QSL from Radio Blackstone International 6270 kHz
Radio Blackstone International is a Free Radio station that is irregularly in the air on short wave. Herman uses home made tube transmitters, or vintage army transmitters. For the transmission that I received on 6270 kHz a Telefunken T400 transmitter from 1958 was used. Radio Blackstone International is located in the province of Drenthe, The Netherlands. I sent my report to radioblackstone@outlook.com. Herman is also operating as “Zeewolf” on mediumwave.
There is only one NDB (nondirectional beacon) left in The Netherlands, and that is NW at Beek, or Maastricht/Aachen Airport. This airport is also “home” of Dutch Air Traffic Control (LVNL), so I sent them an email (info@lvnl.nl) to ask what makes NW so special. I got a friendly reply (thank you!):
LVNL has phased out all NDBs and Locators in recent years, with the exception of the NW beacon. The reason for this is that we now use satellite navigation and these beacons are no longer needed. The navigation procedures have been adjusted accordingly. This was possible in most of the airspace above the Netherlands. Only part of the airspace and route structure in the south of the Netherlands is currently too complex to use satellite navigation. As a result, more time is needed to safely introduce the satellite navigation-based procedures in the border area with Belgium. It is expected that this will be possible sometime in the coming years. After that we can also phase out the NW beacon.
Belgium still has 11 active NDBs, with SLV-386.5 in Spa and ONL-290 in Liège close to Maastricht.
I received a nice QSL letter for my reception of Golden Oldies Radio on 5835 kHz. I sent my report to contact@goldenoldiesradio.nl
From the QSL letter: Every sunday morning -in winter time- Golden Oldies Radio is live on air @ 5835 AM from 8.00 till 14.00 CET by Dutch Relay Service, and 24/7 @ internet-radio: www.goldenoldiesradio.nl . Programs are presented in dutch language and mainly directed to the Netherlands and Belgium. Golden oldies Radio is in the spirit of former offshore radio station Mi Amigo!
The three DJ’s of the sunday show of Golden Oldies Radio
BDXC : SWL 2262 PRe VERON : NL 14228 If you want to get in touch, just leave a message on one of my posts. Please note that I don't publish email addresses of verifiers which are not part of the public domain. So if you don't see the QSL address, just leave a message and I'll get back to you.
Feel free to copy anything on this weblog. I try to provide accurate information, but if I'm wrong: don't blame me! A link back to my site is appreciated when you copy info.
