A QSL CBEF 1550 “La Première” from Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Thanks to Hugo Matten! I sent a report to cbef@radio-canada.ca twice. But twice all I got back was an acknowledgement by a CBEF employee that my email was received, and my request forwarded to the responsible team…. and that was all.
Hugo however got a direct reply from Mihai Bulgaru, Supervisor Transmission. So my third email went directly to Mihai. And yes he was so kind to reply to me as well, even referring to Hugo’s report:
Mihai included two nice photo’s of the station and transmitter site as well:
CBEF 1550 “La Première”, Windsor, Ontario
A big thanks to Mihai for the confirmation, and thanks to Hugo for sharing his QSL!
One of my favorite LPAM stations because of their music selections, Kilrock 1287 kHz, will go off air June 1st as the owner is relocating. As they write on their website (translated in English):
Dear medium wave listeners,
KilRock currently broadcasts radio on 1287 kHz AM. These broadcasts will have to be stopped for a longer period of time as of June 1. Our program offering remains available online via kilrock.nl and the websites that offer KilRock radio on their own pages.
Why does KilRock stop broadcasting on 1287 AM?
Willem moves to another home. Our transmission system will have to move with us, as it is located at Willem’s home. There is no other installation location available, unless a temporary installation location for our transmission installation can be found elsewhere in the Hoeksche Waard. We do not expect to be able to realize something like this in the short term. The move is scheduled for July 2024. The antenna mast and transmitter must be dismantled well in advance and ready for transport. The disassembly work will start on June 2. That is why KilRock will no longer be receivable via 1287 kHz from Saturday, June 1 after 6:00 PM. The intention is to resume medium wave broadcasts from the new location as quickly as possible.
New start date unknown.
It is still unclear from what date we can switch the channel back on. This depends, among other things, on how quickly we can obtain an environmental permit at the new location; Such a permit is required if you want to install a transmission tower over eleven meters high. We will inform you via our Facebook page and this website if there are any new developments. Always keep in mind that KilRock is a hobby project. There are often more important things in life than pursuing a hobby. A move should be considered one of the most important things in life, whether it is fun or not…
Recently I received Bangkok Radio on 2187.5 kHz. With 9225 kilometer this is by far my most distant maritime reception on MF. Unfortunately I couldn’t find an email address, until Néstor Damián Fischetto provided me with one. Within a few days I received a fully detailed email from YvesZor, radio operator at the station:
Dear Peter Reuderink,
Thank you for your email and for sharing your reception report of Bangkok Radio. We are delighted to hear that you were able to receive our station on 2 MHz, especially considering the distance of over 9225 kilometres. It’s always gratifying to know that our signals are reaching listeners around the world.
We confirm your reception of Bangkok Radio on 2187.5 kHz on February 27th, 2024, at 20:28 h UTC. Your dedication to the hobby of radio reception for over four decades is admirable, and we are honoured to be a part of your listening experience.
Should you have any further questions or if there’s anything else we can assist you with, please feel free to reach out to us.
Thank you once again for reaching out to Bangkok Radio. We value your support and interest in our broadcasts.
Warm regards,
YvesZor [YZ] Radio Operator Bangkok Radio
Big thanks to Nestor (and Rob IZ0CDM, who provided similar address info a few days later)!
I did not get my PPC signed, but I did get an email to QSL CFAJ 1220 St. Catherines ON, Canada. I sent my report to info@classic1220.ca.
1220 kHz is a good frequency for listening to Transatlantic MW stations, nicely in between European 1215 and 1224 kHz. That said, despite their 10 kW of power it is still not so easy to hear CFAJ. Their antenna pattern, using a nine (!) tower array, is tuned to a for Europe unfavorable NW/SE direction. This is done to reduce interference with neighboring US transmitter WHKW Cleveland. And exactly that station is the one that is heard more often Europe.
Praveen Amirtharaj, who answered my reception report, talks about “our new station”. And it is true, this station went on-air in 2020 with the call sign CFAJ. Since 1967 a station with callsign CHSC was active on this frequency, but their license was terminated in 2010 as the authorities (CRTC) concluded following format violations, physical deterioration and financial issues the station would not be able to comply in future.
In 2015 a new application to use the facilities of CHSC was granted to a new organization that runs CFAJ since 2020 with a Classic Hits format.
Received on my little Grundig G6 Aviator while spending some time with family in Akersloot: Backyard AM, a low power AM station from Zaandijk. Somehow I did not yet receive them on my home QTH in Woerden. My guess is that this is because they are active weekends only. More importantly: Danko Radio from Hungary might get in their way. That said, according to their schedule they are a little bit longer in the air on Sunday’s than Danko Radio (between 20 and 21 h UTC) so that could provide a window of opportunity.
Their beautiful QSL shows one of the most iconic views of the Netherlands, the “Zaanse Schans“, close their QTH Zaandijk.
Older DX-ers might remember that 1116 kHz was once the frequency of Radio Bloemendaal. This religious broadcaster was the first religious broadcaster in the Netherlands, and for a long time the only legal station other than the state radio company that was heard on medium wave. But I will dedicate another post to them!
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.
Isfjord Radio Station
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!
Update: For my reception report to CJYE in January I got two friendly email repies from Hollie at the admin desk. But they didn’t really qualify as a QSL. So I tried it with the PPC format that I started to use this year. Paige Dent, director of engineering was so kind to sign and return the QSL to me.
PPC QSL from CJYE 1250 Oakville ON, Canada
CJYE 1250 “Joy Radio” brings Christian music and talk radio to the greater Toronto area. I sent my report to: 309 Church Street, Oakville, ON, L6J 1N9, Canada.
A fully detailed QSL letter from Malin Head Radio 518 kHz. Watch officer Mc Dermott was so kind to confirm my report within minutes. I sent my report to: mrsc.malin@transport.gov.ie . Its my second QSL from Malin Head Radio. The first one was from 31 years ago for a USB transmission on 2182/1677 kHz.
fully detailed e-QSL letter from Malin Head Radio on 518 kHz
Malin Head Coast Guard Radio has a nice facebook page posting their current activities. But I also found a “facebook legacy site” with some interesting information:
The station was opened in 1902 by the Marconi Marine Company on behalf of Lloyds. Located at the northernmost tip of Ireland, this station was ideally positioned to communicate with shipping coming across the Atlantic or from northern waters. But already in 1805 Lloyds had a signal station on this location.
Mailn Head Radio at the opening in 1902. The old signal tower on the right.
In 1988 the morse code services from Malin Head on 500 and 421 kHz were discontinued. That turned out to be a bit early. There was one instance where the station’s 500kHz automatic alarm receiver, which remained on watch, was activated by the signals of a sinking ship far out in the Atlantic. Malin Head Radio was the only station able to copy the weak signals from the ship’s lifeboat. With the station’s transmitters dismantled, return transmissions had to be made by her sister station Valentia Radio – not the most ideal means of conducting a distress situation.
Thanks to the team of Malin Head Radio for issuing QSL to us DX folks. And once again I learned something just by listening to the radio!
Not exactly DX from my location, but I am also a QSL collector and the Dutch Coastguard issues this nice QSL email. So here it is. I received my QSL Dutch Coastguard Den Helder 518 kHz for one of their NAVTEX transmissions.
e- QSL Dutch Coastguard Den Helder 518 kHz
The Dutch Coastguard has a nice website in English, but their history is best told on the site in Dutch (use Google to translate). Coastguard activities in the Netherlands started following a tragic incident with a Navy ship “Zr.Ms.Adder” in 1882. The ship sank near Scheveningen, but nobody noticed the ship was missing. Only when the first bodies washed ashore alarm bells went off. From 1882 onwards the crews on the lighthouses – which were already there as navigation aids – had to monitor traffic actively and had to report incidents.
Over the years 6 different departments in The Netherlands developed activities on the North Sea. Fishery, Traffic, Justice, Defense, Finance and Internal Affairs. In 1987 it was decided these departments had to work together from a central location in IJmuiden. I have a PPC QSL from 1993 indicating that in those days radio traffic was limited to emergency frequencies (2182 kHz and VHF) only. Telephony/telegraphy including weather and navigational warnings were broadcast via PCH Scheveningen Radio.
1993 QSL from Dutch Coastguard IJmuiden
In 1994 it was concluded that the cooperation between the 6 departments needed improvement. The Coastguard was established as an independent entity, with its operations coordinated under responsibility of the Royal Dutch Navy. As a consequence the Coastguard centre moved to Den Helder which is the main port of the Navy.
With more an more communication going via satellite Scheveningen Radio closed in 1998. My guess is that since then navigational warnings via NAVTEX were transferred to the Coastguard.
1980 QSL for Scheveningen Radio on 2182 kHz. Scheveningen Radio went off air in 1998.
A station that I received quite often this year was WZAN “The Outlaw” from Portland, Maine, USA on 970 kHz. They are listed with only 5 kilowatts, but their – for us DX-ers excellent – location on the Atlantic coast most likely makes up for that. This can easily be seen on the night-time coverage maps published on the interesting Radio Locator website:
Mr. Phil Zachary from the Portland Radio Group replied to my reception report by email. He mentioned that they get quite a few reports from DX-ers. In 2019 the stations changed from ESPN sports to its current “classic country” format, branded as “The Outlaw”.
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.
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