Peter's DX Corner

The wonderful world of listening to the radio

Tag: Fax

QSL Royal Navy Northwood 2618.5 kHz

August 16, 2024 / / 3 Comments

JOMOC Northwood QSL
paper QSL from RN Northwood (JOMOC) on 2618.5 kHz

One of the first things I discovered when I restarted the hobby almost 2 years ago is how easy it is to decode the various digital modes these days. I played with MultiPSK and received a weather fax from JOMOC Royal Navy Northwood on 2618.5 kHz. The quality was quite poor as I was still working with a simple indoor MLA30+ loop, which picked up a lot of noise. But the JOMOC ID was clearly visible:

Weather FAX Northwood
Weather Fax from Royal Navy (pretty poor quality)

As I didn’t have an email address I sent my report by regular mail. One and a half year later I received a beautiful paper QSL card. And a letter apologizing for the delay. Well, it was worth waiting for:

Fully detailed “old school” QSL card from JOMOC RN Northwood

Apart from the long wait there was a complication in receiving this QSL. For some reason or another a customs declaration form was attached to the envelope. Indicating that the value of the contents was 10 GBP. And prior to delivery by PostNL I had to pay 8 Euros taxes and admin fee as the UK is no longer part of the EU. A complaint could only be filed after payment.
Upon reception of the QSL I tried to file the complaint online. But PostNL forgot to properly register delivery in their systems so that didn’t work… In other words: basically I was taxed for something they were not even able to demonstrate that it was actually delivered😂 . The PostNL helpdesk explained that all I could do was send a letter to their head offices… in the end I got a 2.36 Euro refund… I left it at that…



KYODO News by FAX on 16971 kHz

July 11, 2023 / / 4 Comments

As far as I know – and correct me if I’m wrong, comments are more than welcome – KYODO from Japan is the only service that still broadcasts newspapers in FAX on HF / Shortwave. According to their website they are radio-transmitted twice a day to about 800 ocean-going ships and fishing boats, and hotels in resorts abroad. The first newspaper was published in 1964.

I received them with my RSPdx and MLA30+ antenna on June 26th, around 17:30 h UTC on 16971 kHz. Interesting detail: apparently because of the complexity of the Japanese characters they transmit in 60 rather than the more common 120 lines per minute.

A good overview of the few FAX transmission still available can be found on this website. KYODO has transmissions from Singapore as well.

Kyodo Japan News Fax
Fax from Kyodo News Agency in Japan

QSL JMH Japan Meteorological Agency on 13988.5 kHz

July 4, 2023 / / 2 Comments
QSL from JMH / Japan Meterological Agency
A physical QSL card from JMH / Japan Meterological Agency

They still exist… physical QSL cards, sent by mail, full of details. A big thank you to the folks at Japan Meteorological Agency for keeping up the tradition! I got my QSL JMH Japan Meterological Agency on 13988.5 kHz for my reception of weather charts via fax, which is almost a tradition in itself!

QSL JMH / Japan Meteorological Agency
Nicely detailed QSL from JMH

I have to thank Hugo Matten as he reported good reception conditions late June for the reception of various stations from the Far East around 14 MHz. The QSL was accompanied with a kind letter with additional details:

QSL from JMA Japan Meteorological Agency
QSL letter from JMH

Far East Weather Fax

June 22, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Currently their are good conditions to receive some of the Weather Fax Stations from the Far East in the late afternoon, say between 17:00 and 21:00 UTC . The Japan Meteorological Agency is one of them on 13988.5 kHz, The callsign JMH is easily spotted top left:

They broadcast a satellit image at 19:10 h UTC:

Another station is Guangzhou Radio on 16826.25 kHz. Very clear image and ID, unfortunatly I didn’t sync them very well. I received them on 12629.25 kHz as well, but in lesser quality.

And on 13570 kHz there is HLL Seoul. Not every picture has their name attached, but the HLL callsign was obvious on this one:

Weather Fax from HLL Seoul

Check this link for the best info on the few Weather Fax stations that are still in operation!

QSL Charleville Radio 13920 kHz

May 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Following a tip from Hugo Matten I was trying to receive Charleville Radio VMC, Australia, transmitting weather fax messages on 13920 kHz for a while. Initially I didn’t succeed. On my suburban home QTH I’m very pleased with my Megaloop FX antenna on lower frequencies. However I am a bit worried that the performance in the higher frequency bands leaves room for improvement.

While camping I decided to test my new Boni Whip antenna in combination with the RSPdx. I purchased these specifically for camping trips. And on the first attempt I was lucky! Below you see one of the pictures I received, using HDSDR and MultiPSK. Australia is easily recognizable.

Weather Fax received from Charleville Radio, Australia
Weather report by FAX from Charleville Radio VMC, Australia

My reception on May 1st was awarded by Craig from Kordia with their beautiful eQSL card. Within in a day! Now I’m trying to catch Wiluna Radio… I got some signals, but not enough for a decent FAX image.

QSL Charleville VMC 13920 kHz Australia
QSL Charleville Radio VMC 13920 kHz (weather fax)

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