During my stay on the island of Curacao, March 2024, I received La Voz del Canaguate from Valledupar on 860 kHz. In excellent quality, no surprise given the distance. Of course I sent them a reception report, but I heard nothing… until last week, one and a half year later…
So “I might have heard them” but apparently La Voz del Canaguate is off the air due to their antenna being destroyed in a storm… Unfortunately I can’t find anything on the internet about it, they are not listed anymore in MWlist and WRTH app, so I wonder what happened?
This year I had again the privilege of spending some time on Curacao. Like last year I brought a radio with me: the Tecsun PL-368 I won in the SWL 2024 contest. I focused a little bit more on the upper side of the MW band this time. Below a list of the stations I received. Quite a few from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, more than a year ago. The most distant stations I heard were ZSN1 Nassau and Radio Monumental from Quito (both 1700 km), WFED with a WTOP program from Washington (3100 km) and LS6 Radio Buenos Aires (5300 km). I was pleased to receive ZBVI from the British Virgin Islands as well as the Voice of St. Maarten, two new DX countries for me. I am still waiting for a reply from the latter station.
For my report to HJCL Radio Panamericana on 1140 kHz I received a polite thank you email via radiopanamericana1140@gmail.com .
Radio Panamericana broadcasts from Girardot in Colombia with 10 kW. I heard them on Curacao, which wasn’t easy as Radio Paisa and most likely Radio Esperanza from Colombia are also active on this frequency.
Following a lecture on the relation between food and digestive problems I clearly heard an ID: “Esta es Radio Panamericana HJCL”. Radio Panamericana is an affiliate of the bigger Blu Radio network from Bogota and as such broadcasts Blu Radio programs as well.
A QSL from HJLK Radio Calidad, broadcasting from Cali, Colombia on 1230 kHz. I heard this station during my holiday on Curacao.
Email QSL for Radio Calidad de Cali on 1230 kHz
Radio Calidad is a RCN (Radio Cadena Nacional) station. RCN operates a few networks or brands as I explained in an earlier post. La Cariñosa is the program with focus on popular music. It is being broadcast on mediumwave from 15 cities, but according to Wikipedia three of them also have their own local station ID and programs: Radio Calidad from Cali, Radio Santander from Bucaramanga and Radio Paisa from Medellin. And indeed I heard an ID like “Radio Calidad la Cariñosa… y con la vocacion de servicio”.
A QSL email from Radio Maria Colombia, broadcasting from Manizales on 1500 kHz. I sent my report to info.col@radiomaria.org . The reply came from programas.radiomaria@gmail.com which looks like a more generic email address, but it carried the Radio Maria Colombia logo.
I got a confirmation from Radio Santa Fe for a reception from Curacao some time ago, but it is so much nicer to get a QSL for a reception from my home QTH. It is also my first MW QSL from Columbia at my home QTH!
Bianca Bernal confirmed my report and she is most likely family of Hernando Bernal who founded one of the first commercial radio stations in Colombia. She enclosed a nice picutre of the Radio Santa Fe office and their web app:
This year I switched from HDSDR to SDR console. I have to admit that I wasn’t immediately a big fan of it as SDR console is definitely a bit more complex interface. But HDSDR didn’t support my Elad FDM S3 which forced me to adapt.
A few months down the road I don’t want anything else than SDR Console for my medium-wave DX activities. The three biggest advantages of SDR Console over HDSDR are:
SDR console allows you to adjust lower and upper bandwidth indepently. This allows you to optimize the amount of modulation needed to get an audible ID.
SDR console offers a variety of highly tuneable filters. I particularly like the NR4 filter which might distort music a bit, but is a great help to improve voice.
The navigator functionality is so helpful to search your overnight recording for signals. I use 2 minute slots, and when a proper carrier is detect move forward (or backward) in 10 second steps.
Are there some disadvantages? Yes there are. There are more options, more functionality, but that also adds a bit of complexity. Scheduling a recording with HDSDR is a bit easier when you want to set both your center and tuning frequency: for example when you want to run an overnight DSC watch on 2187.5 while recording the entire medium-wave band. Starting an audio recording is a bit easier in HDSDR as well. But all in all, SDR console did help me to improve my medium-wave DX.
As an example, attached is a recording of Radio Santa Fé, Bogotá. I heard this station while staying on Curacao last year and even got a QSL. But I never expected to be able to pick up their ID in my noisy suburb location: “Eschucha Radio Santa Fe, 10-70..”. And of course I sent a report and applied for a confirmation.
I have heard AWR stations from many countries. While staying on Curacao I heard them on 1470 kHz from Medellin, Colombia. It is possible to hear this station with 5/1 kiloWatts in Europe…. My reception report to contacto@esperanzaradio.co was confirmed after 5 weeks with a brief email:
An email to QSL La Voz de Bogotá on 930 kHz. Another Colombian station I received during my stay at Curacao. I struggled to find an email address, but Arild was so kind to help me out. V/s is Mr. John Rodrigues
Confirmation email for La Voz de Bogotá on 930 kHz
La Voz de Bogotá started in 1931 as one of the first radio stations in Colombia. Today it is the flagship station of the Todelar Network. They also operate a number of FM stations like La X, of which you can see the logo on the confirmation mail.
I heard Radio Santa Fe during my stay on Curacao, and Ms. Blanca Bernal was so kind to QSL Radio Santa Fe 1070 AM.
Radio Santa Fe was founded in 1938 by Hernando Bernal Andrade and his wife Luisa Mahe. Bernal purchased a communications system from a crashed airplane, repaired it and with his wife bought a house in Centenario, a neighbourhood in southern Bogotá, where the first broadcasts of Radio Santa Fe started.
I wouldn’t be suprised if Ms. Bernal is family of the founder. And while I am very grateful for the response of Ms. Bernal I regret that they don’t do something like an e QSL….Years ago they sent a QSL like this:
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.
