Tag: Kystradio

QSL for Vardo VTS MMSI 002573550 reception on 2187.5 kHz

November 10, 2024 / Peter Reuderink / 2 Comments

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.

QSL Svalbard Radio 2187.5 kHz

March 11, 2024 / Peter Reuderink / 3 Comments

In October 2023 I (and some other DX-ers on YADDNet as well) received a DSC message from Svalbard Radio with MMSI 002570900 on 2182.7 kHz. This station MMSI is not received very often. And what I heard was an acknowledgement of a test message sent by the ferry Silja Serenade on its way between Mariehamn in Finland and Sweden on the Baltic Sea. So I wondered if I truly received Svalbard Radio.

I sent a reception report to Kystradio Nord in Bodø (kystradio.nord@telenor.no), as they remotely operate Svalbard Radio. But quite unusual for them I did not get an immediate answer. So I tried again last week. And with apologies (which is not necessary at all as they are just doing us DX-ers a favor on all of our requests) I got an email that QSL-ed my reception of Svalbard Radio.

Email confirming that I received the Svalbard transmitter of Telenor, Kystradio Nord

The email also explains why there was such a strange connect between a ferry on the Baltic and Svalbard Radio/ The test acknowledgements are fully automated on many (but not all) coast stations. So my guess is that the radio officer – who has to execute a mandatory weekly test – decided to go for something special… and triggered a response from the Svalbard transmitter?

This means that I have received a QSL from a station from mainland Svalbard/Spitsbergen for the first time. Not a new radio country though, as Bjornoya (Bear Island) which I received with NDBs LJS in the past and BJO last year is considered part of Svalbard according to the EDXC country list.

But where exactly is this station located on Svalbard? The first maritime station on Svalbard/Spitsbergen, Svalbard Radio was established in 1911. The location was Finneset, close to Barentszburg, the Russian settlement on Spitsbergen. But in 1930 the station was moved to Longyearbyen. And in 1975 the transmitters/antennas moved to Longyear – Svalbard Airport. Since 2006 the station is remotely controlled by Kystradio Nord in Bodø.

But that is not the location of the MF transmitters though. In 1932 two Soviet ships went aground. These were probably coal ships to Barentszburg. The Russian coal mining company Arktikugol developed an intiative to improve the navigational aids. It included the construction of a new station on Isfjorden in 1933. Once it was called Isfjord Radio, but since 1976 the station is remotely operated by above mentioned Svalbard Radio after completion of the Longyear – Svalbard Airport facilities. The Isfjord name seems no longer in use. Isfjorden is also the location from which Svalbard NAVTEX messages are being transmitted.

Today the housing facilities of the radiostation in Isfjorden are exploited by Basecampexplorer to accommodate arctic tourists. So it is possible to make a visit!

QSL Ørlandet Radio 518 kHz

December 10, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 8 Comments

Via Stian Tveit, QSL manager at Kystradio Sør, I got this informative QSL letter for my reception of Ørlandet Radio at 518 kHz, I sent my report to kystradio.sor@telenor.no, but you can also send your reports directly to stian.tveit@telenor.no. Mind you, Kystradio Sør is only responsible for stations below 65N. The more northern stations are responsibility of Kystradio Nord.

QSL Letter Orlandet Radio - Kystradio Sor — QSL letter from Ørlandet Radio on 518 kHz

Orlandet Radio, callsign LFO is one of three stations that broadcast NAVTEX information on 490 and 518 kHz. The others are Jeloya and Rogaland Radio, all controlled from Kystradio Sør.
UPDATE: what is known as Jeloya (letter M) is actually located in Tjome/Horten and should be referred to as Tjome Radio. Rogaland (L) and Orlandet (N) are still – albeit remotely operated – separate transmitter sites. See also comments below. (Thanks to Stian Tveit from Telenor).

LGQ Rogaland Radio with B1 “L”, Jeloya which is actually Tjome “M”, and Orlandet “N” came in nicely!

QSL Kystradio Sør (Florø Radio) 2187.5 kHz

April 3, 2023 / Peter Reuderink / 0 Comments

I already made a post about the QSL from Kystradio Nord, Bodoe, Norway. Earlier this year I also received a QSL card from Kystradio Sør (Coastal Radio South) from Sola in the southern part of Norway. It was broadcasting a DSC message.
In the past the station in Sola was called “Rogaland Radio”. But with the merger of the operations of Tjome Radio, Floro Radio and Rogaland Radio, the name was changed to Kystradio Sør. Actually, the TX location I received was located in Florø. Kystradio Sør operates with 24 operators, mainly on VHF and MF. Everything south of 65N is the responsibility of Kystradio Sør, everything north of it is for Kystradio Nord. Both stations are operated by Telenor and are not owned by the government.