Another nice QSL from a local radio station in The Netherlands. This time from BR6, the local station for Bodegraven & Reeuwijk. John Bekker was so kind to confirm my reception report. He wrote that they have no QSLs, but in thThey have been heard as far as Wolfsburg, Germany, which isn’t bad given their power of only 50 Watts.
BR6 is also part of the RTV Midden Holland group (see my post on RTV Krimpenerwaard). Their antenna is located on an advertising column in an industrial park in the south of Bodegraven. Just over 10 kms from my QTH!
I hate these ugly advertising columns, but if you put a radio antenna on it, I can live with it😉
By the way… did you know that Bodegraven, like my own QTH Woerden is situated along the old river Rhine? Which was once the northern frontier, the “Limes” of the Roman Empire…
Back on my journey exploring the local FM radio scene: Another nearby local FM station is RTV Ronde Venen. They have two frequencies in use. I listened to their 60 Watt transmitter from Kockengen on 106 MHz (8 kilometers from my QTH). The other frequency is 105.6 MHz from Mijdrecht with 50 Watts. My report was confirmed within a day with a f/d email reply.
I heard and QSL-ed this station with a similar name “Radio Ronde Venen” in 1990 (no TV then apparently). This was the local radio from Mijdrecht, in the municipality Ronde Venen which was established when Mijdrecht, Vinkeveen, Wilnis and Waverveen merged into one muncipality in 1989.
Radio Ronde Venen logo in 1990
Kockengen however is part of the the municipality Stichtse Vecht. With RTV Stichtse Vecht they were broadcasting on 106 MHz from Kockengen and 105.3 MHz from Maarssen. But since the start of 2025 they decided to join efforts with RTV Ronde Venen. Financial considerations with regards to investments in the studio apparently played a role. As I described in my post on RTV Krimpenerwaard it is another example of the trend in which local stations merge into more regional entities… Not sure what happened to 105.3 MHz though, that transmitter seems to be taken off the air.
Best kept secret in The Netherlands is the beautiful Alblasserwaard. Even on public holidays the roads are quiet, perfect for cycling through a classic Dutch Polder scenery…
I heard Klokradio the local FM station in the Alblasserwaard on 107 MHz with 200 Watts from the village of Molenaarsgraaf. The distance is only 24 kilometers, but reception was a bit compromised with RPL FM from my home QTH on the adjacent 107.1 MHz.
Kees from the Technical Department (who is a HAM operator) was so kind to send me a detailed confirmation email:
Dear Peter,
We hereby confirm your receipt on April 10, 2025, 5:34 PM from Klokradio on 107.0 MHz.
Thank you for your message. It is always nice for us to hear where we can be received. Klokradio is the local broadcaster of Alblasserdam and Molenlanden in the Alblasserwaard. We started our broadcasts on December 15, 1990 and have existed for 35 years this year.
Because we have a large broadcasting area, we now use three transmitters/antennas. One antenna is on a flat in Alblasserdam (97.3 MHz) and the other two in Molenaarsgraaf (107.0 and 92.1 MHz). Attached is a photo of the mast in Molenaarsgraaf. The two horizontally stacked antennas at the top left are for 107 MHz, the yagi opposite for 92.1 MHz. The lower yagi is a receiving antenna for 97.3 MHz, which receives the signal from Alblasserdam and transmits it again on the other two frequencies. In this way we do not have delays when switching between the three frequencies (via RDS in the car). A bit complicated, but that is the disadvantage of a large, elongated service area. In addition, some pictures that you might like.
We transmit 24 hours a day, but because we work with volunteers, a large part of that time is filled by “the computer”. The broadcast that you heard was one of our live presented programs.
Of course I looked at your website; nice to read what equipment you (have) used. Thanks again and good luck with the hobby, 73’s.
Kind regards, Kees (PE1NAC)
Klokradio Techniek
The antenna with the two Klokradio Yagi’s
The municipality Alblasserwaard with the two antenna locations
It’s April… and I’ve a bit of a feeling this is the Doldrum season for us DX-ers. Winter propagation conditions on mediumwave are behind us. During sunny days the solar panel interference makes DX on MF/HF nearly impossible, and regular SpE conditions on FM are still at least a month away…
But radio is never boring, there is always something to look into. So I thought it might not a be a bad idea to spend some time this year in scanning the FM band for local radio. After all it is almost 50 years after local radio was legalized in The Netherlands.
Following the demise of offshore radio stations like Veronica and Noordzee, the government of The Netherlands allowed some experiments with local radio. And the band between 100 and 108 MHz was empty… except for pirate stations taking the opportunity (but that’s a story for another blog). Between 1984 and 1988 there was an “explosion” of local FM radio stations in The Netherlands. Mind you, in those days internet was not available to the public, and both city councils and entrepreneurs saw this as a must have and an opportunity to connect with a local audience.
QSL email from RTV Krimpenerwaard 106.6 FM, a local FM station in “my backyard”
40 years later it seems that a lot of these stations have merged, just as the municipalities they served merged into larger entities. RTV Krimpenerwaard is a good example. In 1989/1990 I received Radio Vrolek (from Nederlek), Radio Vlistam (from Vlist/Stolwijk) and Radio Bergambacht. Together with Radio Zilverstad from Schoonhoven they merged into RTV Krimpenerwaard… just like these villages (and of course, Schoonhoven is a “stad”) merged into the municipality Krimpenerwaard.
Coverage area of RTV Krimpenerwaard… one of the most beautiful areas in The Netherlands, called “Groene Hart” (Green Heart).
The interesting thing is that it doesn’t seem to stop here. If you browse for the website of RTV Krimpenerwaard you end up on the website of RTV Midden Holland, a cooperation between local radio stations in the region we refer to as “Het Groene Hart”. Including my own home town radio “RPL FM” in Woerden. Definitely professional, up to date… but also more and more regional radio rather than local radio… Should we fear this is a bit like what happened to Indepent Local Radio in the UK, with all these stations being bought by “Smooth” or “Gold” making them commercial regional stations rather than stations serving a local community? Your views?
Below the QSLs I got from VROLEK, VlistAM, and Studio Bergambacht…
I don’t think that there are many examples of regional stations which target an audience in two countries? But feel free to drop a comment if you know one. Anyway, Radio Seefunk, or better Das Neue Radio Seefunk is tuned into by some 147000 German and 35000 Swiss listeners.
Email from Radio Seefunk to confirm my reception
The station started as a local radio for the city of Konstanz under the name Seefunk Radio Bodensee. Today they have 13 transmitters across the south of Baden Württemberg in Germany. Rebranded to Das Neue Radio Seefunk in 2019 they bring music from “Vier Jahrzehnten” (4 decades) targeting an 30+ audience.
I received them while staying near Ulm. Mr. Grunewald was so kind to confirm my report sent to redaktion(at)radio-seefunk.de .
A QSL for my reception of COPE Málaga on 89.8 MHz. I heard them during a Sporadic E opening on June 24th. The transmitter is located south west of Málaga and has a power of 5 kW. Again Artur from Maresme DX was a great help in making the connect with Javier Campos from the technical department at COPE Málaga.
Again with the help of Artur from Maresme DX I received a very nice email and a scan of a QSL letter from Radio Surco, broadcasting from Tomelloso, Spain, on 91.4 FM. I posted a recording of my reception on YouTube. Radio Surco has two transmitter sites: 2 kW on 91.4 MHz, and 1.2 kW on 99.2 MHz:
Radio Surco transmitter locations
Dear Peter,
Thank you for contacting us and receiving news from the Netherlands. This year, at least, we have received three messages like yours, from different locations. We assume that due to the location of our broadcast tower and the very flat area where we are, the waves work their magic and allow us to reach distant places.
We are a radio station with two broadcasting centers, but according to your instructions, it is Tomelloso’s that you heard. Radio Surco Tomelloso was born in 1986 and is an independent commercial station. Its cover, being a flat land, covers “La Mancha”, an area of the Autonomous Community of Castilla La Mancha to which four of its provinces belong. Tomelloso is in CiudadReal, specifically.
The Radio Surco Tomelloso station is located about 12 kilometers as the crow flies or cross-country
I attach the certificate you are requesting, although we do not have an official model. Thank you for being on the other side and greetings from Spain.
Montserrat Castellanos Cañones Directora
QSL letter from Radio Surco, Tomelloso, Spain, 91.4 MHz
Where would I be with a little help from my friends? I heard Blue Radio Chella on 90.2 MHz, but my report remained unanswered. Artur Fernández Llorella was so kind to help me to get in touch with Alex Selfa, director of the station. Within a day I got a nice email confirmation:
Blue Radio is a local station broadcasting on 90.2 MHz with 2.5 kW power from Chella. Headquarters are in Xátiva, 50 km south of Valencia.
I received a nice and personal QSL email from Mrs. Fadela Yahiaoui Boudjelal at Radio Laghouat from Algeria. I heard them on 87.6 MHz, my first reception of an Algerian radio station on FM.
Mrs. Boudjelal writes that Laghouat is a beautiful oasis in the south of Algeria and invites everyone to visit. The funny thing is that, if you look on the map, Laghouat is pretty much in the north of Algeria. That said there is basically nothing south of it other than Sahara desert. It reminded me of my time in Edmonton, which was also referred to as “Northern Alberta”, basically because there was pretty much nothing north of it (while geographically it was located in the south).
With thanks to Patrick Robic and Artur Fernández Llorella for helping me to find the correct address.
A reader of this blog, Abdelilah (thank you for commenting) suggested that I did not know a lot about Algeria, and he is right. But, you learn through this hobby. In 1849 Laghouat was conquered by the French. The French ordered the slaughter of the entire population and the destruction of the town. Two thirds of the population were butchered before the order was withdrawn and the town was spared. No surprise maybe that the armed revolt against the French in 1955 started in Laghouat.
OOps… I checked my Spam inbox and had a nice surprise: a few weeks ago I received a QSL from Radio Tour, a smaller regional station from the Potenza area. I heard them on 101.8 MHz, a transmitter from Potenza with 500 Watts. I sent my report with MP3 to scrivi@radiotour.fm and received a reply within a day!
email to QSL my reception of regional station Radio Tour from Potenza, Italy
Radio Tour operates 13 fairly low power transmitters from the Potenza area. And that’s what I like about this catch! The strongest station is 4 kW on 100.3 MHz, also from Potenza. There is an 800 Watt transmitter in Balvano, and their third strongest transmitter is the one I received… The slogan of Radio Tour is “Radio Tour Viaggo in 1a classe nel passato” – “Radio Tour, I travel 1st class journey into the past”… which I found a bit surprising as I heard songs from the 90-ies… but that’s probably because of my own age…
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