Thanks to a tip from Goran Hardenmark I was made aware of a transmission from NTNU Ålesund, Norway. During a class exercise a radio check was made on 3366, 8297 and 12353 kHz. I heard nothing on 3 MHz, some weak conversation on 8 MHz (but not sure if it was NTNU), and a clear “All ships all ships” at 09:20 UTC on 12 MHz. I have to admit that I need to train my ears again for proper USB listening: I got a bit spoilt with all the digital modes!
eQSL NTNU Ålesund for their USB Radio Check on 12535 kHz
The Radio Check could be monitored via their Facebook group. And this also gave me the opportunity to chat with Mr AH Barmen who coordinated this course. He provided the following details:
The frequencies we used today are reserved for intership communication, 3366 KHz have been used for intership communication in Nordic waters, the two others are randomly picked from Appendix 17 – Sub Section B of the Radio Regulations. All maritime schools that provide training for maritime radio certificates are equipped with a ship radio station that can use these frequencies.
On our radio station we have a Sailor 6300 MF/HF radio, 150W and a 12 m antenna, in adition we have Sailor and Furuno NAVTEX receivers, two Sailor VHF’s, INMARSAT-C and an Iridium LT3100s.
I also received the special eQSL card for this event. Thank you Mr. Barmen!
QSL for ZSC Cape Town Radio 16804.5 kHz. Already in the 80-ies I tried this one when I received them in CW. No luck. More recently I tried again to get a QSL for their DSC transmissions. No luck. Then I got a contact email of Mr. Khan from Artur at Maresme DX, but even that took a 2nd attempt. But hey, here it is, a nice f/d eQSL showing the Table Mountain and the city of Cape Town, South Africa.
The call that I received as logged by ZSC itself: connect with MMSI 229989000, which is container ship CMA CGM RHONE on its way from Miami to Port Klang Malaysia.
And that was not all. The QSL was accompanied with a friendly email, a comprehensive letter describing the history of Telkom maritime services in South Africa, and a 4 page e-brochure:
Yep, not the shortest title for a post, probably the longest. Last week I received a DSC transmission identifying as MMSI 002573550 with a test to MMSI 002570000 “Norwegian Public Correspondence”. MMSI 002573550 is listed as Vardo VTS (Vessel Traffic Service).
Norway Vessel Traffic Service (Kystverket) has a nice website but to be honest the structure of VTS is not immediately clear. From this link I conclude that there are 5 VTS centres of which Vardo is one. They are responsible for safe maritime traffic, which includes things like navigational and weather warnings. But they seem to be active on VHF only. Nevertheless I decided to send a report to post@kystverket.no . Within a day I received this answer:
Good afternoon. NOR VTS/Vardo VTS/Navarea 19 and The National Coordinator for Navigational Warnings is placed i Vardø in North Norway. We broadcast navigational message to the seafarers. This we do in collaboration with Norwegian Kystradio. Some types of messages they send out and some we send out but the responsibility lies in Vardø. Norwegian Kystradio is located in Bodø. We are under Norwegian Coastal Administration. Best regards VTS operator NOR VTS NORWEGIAN COASTAL ADMINISTRATION
Not really a QSL. I followed up asking if they could confirm it was their station I heard, but that email has not been answered yet.
In parallel I sent a report to Kystradio Nord in Bodø. This resulted in this answer:
So where does that leave me? Well… in the old days (40 years ago) things were easy. You had an office, your own transmitter, your own antenna. Today you have a service. The service could be “monitoring emergencies” like what Kystradio Nord does, or “ensuring safe maritime traffic” like what VTS Norway is doing. But the employees often don’t have an idea on the technical infrastructure needed to perform these tasks. That is a given, with transmitters and antennas operated and maintained by contractors – such as Telenor.
I saw a post on the internet that said that we should regard MMSI 002573550 as a convenient telephone number. If that call is made and received by the antennas in Vardo (or any other antenna) the operators know that this call has to be routed to Vardo VTS (if there is even an operator involved to route such a call). That makes perfect sense.
I assume that it doesn’t make sense for Kystradio Nord to run a test with MMSI 002573550 for Vardo VTS via one of their other MW transmitters like in Bodø. So… this is a QSL for MMSI Vardo VTS via the Kystradio Nord transmitter in Vardo. Any thoughts? Let me know in via the comments on this post.
The eQSL for Kystradio Nord which also accompanied the “Vardo VTS” QSL.
“Amsterdam huilt”, “Amsterdam cries”. This beautiful song, exactly 60 years old, is as relevant as ever after what happened last night in Amsterdam. I feel ashamed, angry, powerless. I have no words. But I think it shouldn’t go unnoticed… hence this post.
Als vader weer bladert in zijn fotoboek Dan sta je versteld als hij weer vertelt Van de Weesperstraat en de jodenhoek
Als vader dan verhaalt hoe het leven begon Bij het ontwaken, handel en zaken Humor en gein, dat was de levensbron En had je een dag eens geen mazzel gehad Dan ‘s avonds naar de Tip Top waar je je sores vergat
Soms riep d’r nog een in het ‘t late uur ‘k Heb mooie olijven en uitjes in het zuur
Amsterdam huilt waar het eens heeft gelachen Amsterdam huilt, nog voelt het de pijn Amsterdam huilt waar het eens heeft gelachen Amsterdam huilt, want weg is de gein
Als vader verhaalt hoe de sabbath begon Dan sta je versteld als hij weer vertelt Hoe de voorzanger ‘Addesjem eilje nowa’ daar zong
Op het Channekefeest gingen de kaarsjes weer aan Dan werd er gewenst, door Godje gebenscht En dat het hun allen weer goed maar zal gaan
Voor er werd geplunderd en uitgeroeid Hebben daar jiddische Jeledjes gestoeid Men noemde hen ras, oh God ,oh God Waarom mocht het niet zijn zoals het er was
Amsterdam huilt waar het eens heeft gelachen Amsterdam huilt, nog voelt het de pijn Amsterdam huilt waar het eens heeft gelachen Amsterdam huilt, want weg is de gein
Op vrijdagavond koegel en peren Wie dat niet nascht, die kan ‘t ook niet waarderen Het boek gaat dicht en met een traan in zijn ogen
Fluistert hij: Mazzel en brooche voor de hele misjpooche Mazzel en brooche voor de hele misjpooche Mazzel en brooche voor de hele misjpooche
My previous post was about Izmir Türk Radio, a station that I rarely receive. But Istanbul Türk Radio from Turkey is – together with Coruna, Valencia and Olympia Radio – very dominant here on the DSC frequencies.
I received this email QSL in January 2023, about 2 months after I restarted the hobby. At the time I didn’t have this weblog up and running. So this is a bit of a catch- up:
QSL Istanbul Türk Radyo on 2187.5 kHz
Note that the reception date quoted is incorrect, it should be December 2022 obviously. Unlike Izmir, Istanbul Radio can also be heard on HF frequencies, making it an easier catch for listeners outside Europe/Middle East.
QSL for Izmir Türk Radio 2187.5 kHz. Back in the 80-ies I heard this station from Turkey quite often, or better said, I heard calls made to this station often on 2182 kHz. The “Iezzmir – Iezzmir” call from the radio officers was easily recognizable. But I never managed to QSL them.
Last night I heard them for the first time in DSC mode. They sent an answer to a test call from cargo ship Erge (Panamese flag) anchored in Izmir harbor. My report to turkradyo@kiyiemniyeti.gov.tr was answered within a day with an almost fully detailed reply.
A Eurocopter Tiger during an “Open Day” on Almagro “Coronel Sánchez Bilbao” airbase
Together with the QSLs for NDBs GE-421 and CVT-417 the Enaire email also served as a QSL NDB EAL Almagro, Spain on 332 kHz. But the usual Enaire info slide was not available, as the beacon is run by the military:
Le confirmamos que la recepción de las estaciones NDB con indicativos GE, CVT y EAL es correcta. Estos sistemas están operativos actualmente en España y apoyan procedimientos de aproximación. Se adjunta para su información datos relativos a la ubicación y características de dichas instalaciones. En el caso del NDB EAL, pertenece al Ejército no a Enaire, luego solo disponemos de los datos publicados en AIP.
NDB con indicativo EAL: – Ubicado en el Helipuerto de Ciudad Real/Almagro. Instalación perteneciente al Ejército que da apoyo a los procedimientos instrumentales del Helipuerto. – Frecuencia 332.000 kHz – Coordenadas publicadas en AIP. ETRS89: 38º57’10.0”N 003º45’17.0”W
The Almagro airbase is named after “Coronel Sánchez Bilbao”. It is the home of the Attack Helicopter Battalion #1 — BHELA I of the Army Airmobile Force. Which sounds wonderful in Spanish: Fuerzas Aeromóviles del Ejército de Tierra.
Logo of the BHELA I battalion stationed at Almagro Airbase
A QSL for NDB CVT-417 Madrid/Cuatro Vientos. Like Getafe Airport the Cuatro Vientos Airport is one of the oldest airports of Spain, established in 1911. Quatro Vientos translates as “Four Winds”. I received my QSL and a photo of the beacon via informacion@enaire.es.
NDB GE-421 Madrid/Grinon is a navigation aid for Getafe Air Base, a military base 14 kilometers south of Madrid. Established in 1911 Getafe is one of the oldest airfields in Spain. In addition to a logistics squadron from the Spanish Air Force the base hosts Airbus manufacturing facilities where the Eurofighter Typhoon is produced.
I sent my report to informacion@enaire.es and after a reminder got an email reply within a day including the photo of the beacon and the usual Enaire info sheet.
Within 10 minutes I received this email to QSL Reykjavik Radio 2187.5 kHz from Iceland. Not the most difficult catch from my QTH, but Iceland is always cool! I sent my report to reyrad@ihg.is, the Icelandic Coast Guard or Landhelgisgæslan. And I have to thank Artur for pointing me to this address as earlier attempts failed.
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. A link back to my site is appreciated.
