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Tag: Longwave (Page 1 of 7)

QSL NDB GE-421 Madrid/Grinon

One of the oldest Airfields in Spain!

NDB GE-421 Madrid/Grinon is a navigation aid for Getafe Air Base, a military base 14 kilometers south of Madrid. Established in 1911 Getafe is one of the oldest airfields in Spain. In addition to a logistics squadron from the Spanish Air Force the base hosts Airbus manufacturing facilities where the Eurofighter Typhoon is produced.

I sent my report to informacion@enaire.es and after a reminder got an email reply within a day including the photo of the beacon and the usual Enaire info sheet.

QSL NDB CBL-380 Campbeltown

Campbeltown is a small airport located on the tip of the Kintyre peninsula at the west coast of Scotland. Mr. Tom Harper from HIAL was so kind to confirm my reception report for NDB CBL for Campbeltown on 380 kHz.

Like so many other airports in the United Kingdom Campbeltown started as an Royal Airforce base. Since 1960 it served the US Marine Corps as the airport was used to guard the entrance to the Firth of Clyde where the US had stationed nuclear submarines. In 1995 the US Navy handed the airport back ending NATO operations. But this little aerodrome still features the longest runway of all airports in Scotland, with apparently only 2/3 off it leased to HIAL.

Email to QSL NDB CBL Campbeltown on 380 kHz

QSL NDB SBH-351 Sumburgh Head

A friendly email from Sumburgh ATC to QSL my reception of the beacon SBH Sumburgh Head, 351 kHz on the Shetland Islands. Sumburgh is one of the bigger airports operated by HIAL with flights to various cities in the UK as well as Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands.

Chloe form Sumburgh ATC also sent a nice picture of the runway with the red and white box containing the NDB transmitter clearly visible.

Sumburgh Airport, with the NDB in the red/white container just below the departing aircraft.

QSL NDB DND-394 Dundee

A QSL for NDB DND at 394 kHz for Dundee Airport. Mr. LJ Smith from Air Traffic Control at Dundee was so kind to confirm my reception within a day. This is my fifth confirmation from a HIAL airport. They operate 11 airports in the Scottish Highlands. With 708 km Dundee is the one closest to my location. As before I sent my report to info@hial.co.uk, asking them to forward it to the local Air Traffic Control officer.

Dundee Airport sells itself as “the gateway to golf” as championship courses at St Andrews, Gleneagles and Carnoustie are nearby. It is a small airport though, mainly used by charters and private aircraft. Loganair operates flights to London City Airport, Kirkwall (Orkney) and Sumburgh (Shetland).

Dundee Airport

QSL NDB OD-322 Örnsköldsvik

The fifth and final beacon of this series. A QSL for NDB OD-322 Örnsköldsvik Airport. Not in Lapland but close. Örnsköldsvik is the first airport in the world to have a remotely controlled air control tower. It is controlled from Sundsvall–Timrå Airport.

Örnsköldsvik Airport

Below please find the excerpt of the email to QSL the Lapland beacons. Thanks to Chris from AVISEQ. Feel free to contact me for the QSL address by dropping a comment!

QSL NDB DK-328 Vilhelmina

The fourth beacon from the Lapland region in Sweden. Chris from Aviseq sent me an email to QSL NDB DK at 328 kHz, Vilhelmina. The beacon serves as navaid for South Lapland Airport, 1547 km from my QTH.

As is the case for Lycksele and Hemavan Airport there are daily flights from Vilhelmina to Stockholm Arlanda. Vilhelmina itself has a population of only about 4000. Apparently the huge distances to be covered in Sweden justify the airport.

QSL NDBs NUT-325 and SUT-342 Hemavan Airport

Another two NDBs from Lapland, Sweden. NDBS NUT on 325 kHz and SUT on 342 kHz serve as navigation aids for Hemavan Tärnaby Airport. The distance to my QTH is 1632 kilometers.

Hemavan Tärnaby Airport with the ski resort Hemavan in the background

Hemavan and Tärnaby are ski/winter sport resorts. From the airport, which is adjacent to Hemavan, you can see the slopes in the background. Amapola (aka Populair) Airlines operates flights between Hemavan and Stockholm Arlanda.

My reports were confirmed by Chris from AVISEQ.

QSL NDB OL-320 Lycksele

Chris from Aviseq, who also QSL-ed my reception of the beacons WU and VNA for Umea Airport, was so kind to confirm my reception of the beacon OL for Lycksele, Sweden on 320 kHz by email as well.

Lycksele Airport is located in South Lapland, a sparsely populated area in the north of Sweden. The distance to my QTH is 1590 km. Amapola operates daily flights to Stockholm from Lycksele Airport.

To give you an impression what it means to dig such a signal out of the noise with Pskov software I added the above picture. In the yellow/black panel you see how OL is received… Every line from left to right is a capture of the cyclic signal. As you can see the first minutes/cycles offered a better signal… The aggregate is a clear OL identification in morse code.

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