The wonderful world of listening to the radio
I received this beautiful e QSL from station Witte Tornado (White Tornado) and Lady. A pirate station operating from Almelo, The Netherlands, on 1647 kHz. Operator Gerard informed me that they are on air every 2nd Sunday from 17:00 to 00:00 h local time.
If you want the email address, drop me a note via a comment on this mail.
As a follow up to my previous post: I received a kind email from Stephen Jones (gwendolinestreet(at)gmail.com), the producer of “16 Gwendoline Street”. I received this program via IRRS-NEXUS, Italy, 1323 kHz. Stephen wrote that the program I received a program that was made by Rose from Radio Northern Europe International while he was visiting a poetry festival on the Isle of Wight.
“16 Gwendoline Street” has been on air via IRRS since 2007. Focus is mainly on a core group of dedicated listeners to what Stephen describes as “Loosely Arts based”.
Listening to the radio can bring you very close to current affairs. For my report on a Radio Rossii program transmitted on 999 kHz I received this QSL from Pridnestrovsky Radiotelecentr (prtc@idknet.com). The Radiotelecentr also broadcasts programmes of Vesti FM (1431 kHz) and Trans World Radio (1548 kHz).
Pridnestrovsky Radiotelecentr is located near Grigoriopol in Transnistria, a small strip of land between the river Dniestr and the border with Ukraine. Transnistria literally means “across the Dniestr. When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1990 this part of the former Moldovan Soviet Republic broke away. They hoped to stay within the Soviet Union. In 1992 a military conflict ended with a ceasefire and the creation of a demilitarized zone. The region which calls itself the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic has since been autonomous but is not recognized by any UN member state. It is still seen as part of Moldova.
In 2022, while the Russian invasion in Ukraine took place, a wave of attacks struck Transnistria. Two blasts on April 26th destroyed the two most powerful antennas of the radio station. There are different views on who was behind the attacks. From the email I received it is clear what the station administration thinks of it.
In less than one hour after sending my report I received a QSL COPE Valencia on 1296 kHz. My reception was confirmed with a QSL by Carlos Corral from the local technical department who also confirmed my report for COPE Murcia. Thank you Carlos!
COPE is an acronym for Cadena de Ondas Populares Españolas. This nation wide network is established by the Spanish Episcopal Conference – the catholic bishops in Spain – with the intent to bring religious programs. Since 1980 the network evolved to a more generalist radio. They still bring religious programs though, and the church has a prominent spot on the COPE website.
When I returned to the hobby I learned that low power broadcasting on AM was legalized in the Netherlands. One of the first stations and QSLs I received was LPAM Radio Monique on 918 kHz. Once broadcasting as an offshore pirate from the famous radio ship “Ross Revenge” they now settled in Velsen-Noord. (Velsen-North is the part of Velsen north of the Noordzeekanaal – North Sea Channel – connecting Amsterdam to the North Sea – got it?)
With their antenna on top of an industrial building in Velsen, providing good grounding, they enjoy quite a big reception area despite their low power of only 100 W. Much to the frustration of other LPAM stations in The Netherlands using the same frequency. For us DX-ers the good news is that they issue a nice eQSL card witnessing their heritage. Send your reports to studio@radiomonique.am.
Earlier this year I received a short email for my reception of SER Radio Manresa. Manresa is a city in Catalunya, Spain. The nation wide morning news program of the SER network is called “Hoy por Hoy”. If features slots for regional news allowing you to identify a specific station.
My report was sent to informatius@els40.com.
In November last year I received an email QSL for my reception of SER Radio Leon, Spain on 1341 kHz. I sent my report to radioleon@radioleon.com.
Nice detail in the email: using medium wave I was one of the few people abroad able to listen to Radio Leon. Access to the Radio Leon internet stream was blocked outside Spain for the duration of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar (in relation to broadcasting rights and royalties)!
In May I received TWR (Trans World Radio) Central Asia on 1377 kHz. I heard a program in the Ukrainian language. My reception report was awarded with a nicely detailed e-QSL, signed by Mr. Kalman Dobos:
One thing is missing though and that is the transmitter location. I haven’t seen anything else than “Central Asia” on their QSLs. It seems to be common knowledge though that the station is located in Gavar, Armenia. With 500 kW it can be heard in very good quality here in The Netherlands (SIO 454).
On Wednesday evening 21:28 UTC I received a local program from COPE Murcia on 711 kHz. Murcia is the name of a city and corresponding region in Spain. Carlos Corral from the Technical Department was so kind to confirm my reception with a nice email. Thank you Carlos!
I enjoyed an email conversation with Dicky Denkers, the man behind the transmitters and antennas of LPAM stations Radio Emmeloord and Radio 0511. The antenna of Radio 0511 is located in Easternijtsjerk (in Frysian) or Oosternijkerk (in Dutch). In the north of the Netherlands, close to the Waddenzee. It is an inverted L , mounted on a windmill as you can see in the picture below:
Radio Emmeloord was stronger than Radio 0511 at my holiday location near Appelscha, some 50 kms away in the Drents-Friese forests. Dicky explained to me that the longer wave length might help getting through an area surrounded by forests. Being an experienced mediumwave broadcaster – going back tot the days of Radio Veronica and MiAmigo – he mentioned that stations in the past also struggled in this respect.
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