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.
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
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 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.
After 65 weeks I received a friendly email from YvesZor at Bangkok Radio to QSL my reception of a DSC message from Bangkok Radio on 12577 kHz. It was worth the wait, although in the meantime YvesZor already QSL-ed my 2 MHz reception of Bangkok Radio which is a bit more special.
email to QSL my DSC 12MHz reception of Bangkok Radio
I’ve always two receivers covering the 8 and 12 MHz DSC channels. And sometimes you catch something new… last night Bandar-e-Anzali radio from Iran was received on 12 MHz (12577 kHz).
Funny detail: Anzali is a port on the Caspian Sea, but the message was to acknowledge a DSC test from CHEMROAD QUEEN, a Panamese flagged tanker anchored near the port of Al Jubail in the Persian Gulf. There is no waterway to connect the two.
CHEMROAD QUEEN anchored near Al Jubail Port (Marine Traffic website).
My previous post was about the reception of Bandar Abbas (e Shahid Rajaei) Radio from Iran which was a new DSC station for me. I didn’t expect an answer on my reception report, but within a day I had a kind reply from the Duty Officer.
A brief email to QSL Bandar Abbas (e Shahid Rajaei) Radio on 12577 kHz
It’s not often that I receive a new DSC station outside Europe, but last week I received Bandar – e Shahid Rajaei on 12 MHz. They acknowledged a DSC test from containership MSC Eyra under the flag of Panama.
I always thought this station in Iran was named “Bandar Abbas” radio, and that’s where I sent my reception report to: abbasradio@pmo.ir . Not that I have high hopes on receiving a reply… The new name Shahid Rajaei refers to one of two ports in Bandar Abbas, and that explains the name!
A QSL for MRCC Constanta, Romania, with a DSC message on 16804.5 kHz. Mr. Marius Roibu sent a fully detailed reply on my report to rna@rna.ro . The transmission was directed to the Italian ship “Valle di Granada” near the Brazilian coast on its way from Rio to Gibraltar.
MRCC Constanta was operated by “Radionav” company until 2020 when they went bankrupt. Today the Romanian Naval Authority is responsible.
A QSL MRCC Klaipeda 12577 kHz. I sent a report to them earlier, but didn’t receive a reply. Today I saw that another DX-er was successful, so I dug up my latest reception of this station and tried again… guess what, an hour later a fully detailed eQSL was delivered to my inbox! I sent my report to mrcc@mil.lt
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.
