A nice QSL email from Stockholm Radio Sweden for a DSC message on 2187.5 kHz with a copy of the classic Stockholm Radio QSL card with call sign SDJ attached. I sent my report to info@stockholmradio.se .
email QSL for Stockholm Raidio at 2187.5 kHz
I sent this report because Hugo Matten received such a nice reply on his report. But as was explained to me in an earlier email all emergency monitoring (GMDSS/DSC) is done by JRCC Sweden, located in Gothenburg. They have access to the facilities of Stockholm Radio for that purpose.
Stockholm Radio is in fact only responsible for the VHF services from Stockholm.
A copy of the physical QSL card for Stockholm Radio that was in use in the 80s was enclosed.
A QSL from SAQ Grimeton for my reception of their special 100th anniversary transmission on 17.2 kHz, July 2nd, 2025.
QSL to celebrate the 100 Year Anniversary Transmission of SAQ Grimeton
Reception quality was pretty good with an easy to decode CW signal: VVV VVV VVV DE SAQ SAQ SAQ:
SAQ Grimeton Radio Station is a historic longwave transatlantic wireless telegraphy station located near Varberg in southern Sweden. Built between 1922 and 1924, it is the only remaining station of its kind from the early 20th century and is renowned for its use of a unique Alexanderson alternator, a pre-electronic transmitter technology developed by Swedish-American engineer Ernst Alexanderson. The station, with the callsign SAQ, operates on a very low frequency (VLF) of 17.2 kHz and was primarily used to transmit Morse code telegrams to North America, particularly to Radio Central on Long Island, New York, from the 1920s through the 1940s. During World War II, it served as Sweden’s sole telecommunication link with the world and was later used for submarine communications until 1996.
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:
Another beacon from northern Sweden confirmed. A QSL for NDB OO-369 Örnsköldsvik. The other NDB for this airport is OD-322. Chris Landstrom from Aviseq was so kind to send a confirmation (together with NDB OL Luleå):
As for OO, it’s definitely our station but it baffles me how your reception was so much worse than previous NDB’s or even OL which is several hundred kilometers further away from you than OO is, I looked into weather history for these dates and saw nothing that should indicate a worse prerequisite in terms of climate and considering OO’s placement there shouldn’t be any difficult obstructions or similar making it much worse than OL. I’m not aware of any conflicting frequencies that could play a role but maybe you have an idea what could cause this? Our monitoring receivers are generally placed at nearby airports so any long-range discrepancies wouldn’t be picked up; but it would be fun to understand it better.
“I’m happy to confirm that Peter Reuderink has received the following stations: NDB OO on 369 kHz on October 26th, 2024, 22:15 h UTC, and NDB OL on 377 kHz, on October 27th, 2024, 23:15 h UTC”
I explained Chris that the quality of the reception depends on the propagation at the time I scan that specific part of the frequency band. And at the time conditions were not stellar due to solar activity. Moreover, OO shares a frequency (with similar offsets) with NL Goteborg-Landvetter and MNE Munich, which are more or less in the same antenna direction and definitely much stronger at my QTH.
It’s nice to have these sort of conversations with the engineers that maintain these beacons!
Chris Landstrom from Aviseq Sweden was so kind to confirm my reception of OL Luleå on 377 kHz (as well as OO Örnsköldsvik):
We’re happy to confirm these receptions – technically OL Luleå @ 377 kHz belongs to our colleagues in Luleå but due to workload right now I’m confident you’ll struggle for a reply there. They have quite a bit more work this time of year than we do so they’re pretty busy right now. I feel confident enough that we’re looking at OL Luleå here so I’ll go ahead and confirm that.
Luleå Airport is quite a busy airport with regular flights to Gothenburg and Stockholm, but also to Paris, Düsseldorf and London, plus charters to various holiday destinations around the Mediterranean.
December 1st, 1924, was the day on which the VLF transmitter in Grimeton with call sign “SAQ” was taken into service. The station connected with telegraphy transmission across the Atlantic to Riverhead and Rocky Point on Long Island, New York. The quality of the Centennial Transmission was exceptionally good… better than any of my SAQ receptions so far.
The fifth and final beacon of this series. A QSL for NDB OD-322 Örnsköldsvik Airport. Not in Lapland but close. Örnsköldsvik is the first airport in the world to have a remotely controlled air control tower. It is controlled from Sundsvall–Timrå Airport.
Örnsköldsvik Airport
Below please find the excerpt of the email to QSL the Lapland beacons. Thanks to Chris from AVISEQ. Feel free to contact me for the QSL address by dropping a comment!
The fourth beacon from the Lapland region in Sweden. Chris from Aviseq sent me an email to QSL NDB DK at 328 kHz, Vilhelmina. The beacon serves as navaid for South Lapland Airport, 1547 km from my QTH.
As is the case for Lycksele and Hemavan Airport there are daily flights from Vilhelmina to Stockholm Arlanda. Vilhelmina itself has a population of only about 4000. Apparently the huge distances to be covered in Sweden justify the airport.
Another two NDBs from Lapland, Sweden. NDBS NUT on 325 kHz and SUT on 342 kHz serve as navigation aids for Hemavan Tärnaby Airport. The distance to my QTH is 1632 kilometers.
Hemavan Tärnaby Airport with the ski resort Hemavan in the background
Hemavan and Tärnaby are ski/winter sport resorts. From the airport, which is adjacent to Hemavan, you can see the slopes in the background. Amapola (aka Populair) Airlines operates flights between Hemavan and Stockholm Arlanda.
Chris from Aviseq, who also QSL-ed my reception of the beacons WU and VNA for Umea Airport, was so kind to confirm my reception of the beacon OL for Lycksele, Sweden on 320 kHz by email as well.
Lycksele Airport is located in South Lapland, a sparsely populated area in the north of Sweden. The distance to my QTH is 1590 km. Amapola operates daily flights to Stockholm from Lycksele Airport.
To give you an impression what it means to dig such a signal out of the noise with Pskov software I added the above picture. In the yellow/black panel you see how OL is received… Every line from left to right is a capture of the cyclic signal. As you can see the first minutes/cycles offered a better signal… The aggregate is a clear OL identification in morse code.
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.
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