Peter's DX Corner

The wonderful world of listening to the radio

Tag: MW (Page 1 of 13)

QSL Citrus AM 1332 kHz

July 5, 2024 / / 2 Comments

Citrus AM on 918 kHz is, if only because of the name, a station I wanted to receive. But it is virtually impossible to receive this station at my QTH. Initially Monique 918 AM dominated the frequency, and when they left the frequency Sitara from nearby Houten ramped up their power.
When we spent some time at Luttenberg for a dog event, I was able to listen to this station. I sent my report to info@citrus-am.nl. Four months later I received this beautiful QSL… Bear in mind, Citrus AM is a hobby station, so I don’t blame them for taking some time.

The Netherlands is a pretty flat country. But there are still factors that influence propagation. I already noticed that LPAM stations in the central part of the Netherlands where three big rivers and polders set the scenery are received very well. But between Emst (the QTH of Citrus AM) only 80 kms away and my location the Veluwe, a sandy ridge 80 meters high, is pretty effective in blocking local AM signals.

Citrus AM is truly a hobby broadcaster. Currently they are operating from a – as Erik from Citrus AM describes – fairly simple AM frequency generator with amplifier. Their provisional antenna is relatively short and will be replaced in future.

Citrus AM 918 kHz transmitter

Citrus AM antenna

QSL Radio Koper-Capodistria 1170 kHz

June 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Thanks to my friend Artur from Maresme DX I got a promising contact address at Radio Koper-Capodistria from Slovenia. My report from April for the reception of their program on 1170 kHz was answered after 10 weeks with this beautiful paper QSL card (front and back).

A nice paper QSL card from Radio Koper – Capodistria, Slovenia

From all the medium wave QSLs I collected in the 80ies, Radio Capodistria is one of the few stations still left on medium wave. But according to a recent post on Ydun’s Mediumwave Info the continuation of medium wave operations might be at jeopardy. Below you can see the QSL I received almost 44 years ago, with “Koper” pennant and car stickers. At the time Slovenia was still part of Yugoslavia.

1980s QSL from Radio Koper/Capodistria

QSL Tallinn Radio 2187.5 kHz

June 11, 2024 / / 0 Comments
A paper QSL from Tallinn Radio

A beautiful paper QSL card from Tallinn Radio 2187.5 kHz from Estonia. I received them with a DSC test message and sent my report to tallinnradio@riks.ee . It was my second attempt in trying to QSL them. The station is operated by Riigi Infokommunikatsiooni Sihtasutus (RIKS). This non-commercial entity provides communication services to public institutions and other state-budgeted institutions.

QSL Radio Aktief 828 kHz

June 4, 2024 / / 3 Comments

Radio Aktief is a LPAM station from Tilburg. With 50 Watt listed they have a little bit less power than most LPAMs that operate with 100 Watt. At 60 kilometers to the south of my QTH they are still a relatively easy catch. My guess is that last year Smooth Radio got in their way, otherwise I should have picked them up earlier. But Smooth has left AM…

Radio Aktief is built around a very enthusiastic club of technical people and DJs. RadioKidoki is an alternative station ID. They offer a great variety of music styles, so there is a big chance that you will hear something special. I listened to the “Full Experience Show” with a lot of alternative rock, sometimes almost psychedelic.

eQSL from Radio Aktief

I sent my report to contact@radio828.nl . Within a day I received an email and eQSL, and yesterday I received a couple of nice flyers by “snail mail”.

Nice set of Radio Aktief flyers received by regular mail! Thank you!

QSL MRCC Lisboa 2187.5 kHz

June 1, 2024 / / 0 Comments

On my second attempt I received a fully detailed email, with their nice logo, to QSL MRCC Lisboa 2187.5 kHz. I received them acknowledging a DSC test of RoRo ship “Grande Brasile” on its way from Portugal to Senegal. I sent my report to mrcc.lisboa@marinha.pt . Please note that I edited the picture of the QSL email to remove phone numbers etc. for privacy reasons.

QSL email for MRCC Lisboa on 2187.5 kHz

1287 kHz changes: Kilrock and Unique

May 31, 2024 / / 0 Comments

As announced earlier: from June 1st Kilrock Radio on 1287 kHz will be off air as the owner of this LPAM station is moving house. At the same time Unique Gold, currently active on 675 kHz from Wijchen, is planning to add 1287 kHz from Malden. Given the proximity of Wijchen to Malden my guess is that they will use this frequency to broadcast another of the 4 audio streams Unique produce.

I suggested that this might create a conflict with Kilrock Radio when they resume broadcasts. The answer I got from Unique is that they deliberately waited for Kilrock to go off the air. And the owner of Kilrock apparently moves to the province of Zeeland (further away) and might even come back on a new frequency (they have to reapply for a license). If that is the case it will be interesting to see if they retain the name Kilrock Radio, as the “Kil” in Kilrock refers to the river “Dordtsche Kil” close to their current location.

QSL Unique Gold 675 kHz

May 30, 2024 / / 2 Comments

I received a polite email as QSL for my reception of Unique Gold on 675 kHz. Unique Gold is a LPAM (100 Watt) station in Wijchen, about 66 kilometer away from my QTH. As is the case with a few other stations from that area their signal is surprisingly strong. I suspect that the rivers flowing through the central part of the Netherlands help to promote propagation. And they have antenna at 70 meter height next to a lake. I sent my report to info@unique.am .

Hans Coenen of Unique Gold also told me that they are planning to start broadcasts on 1287 kHz as well. That will create a bit of a conflict with Kilrock when they return on the air after the relocation.
UPDATE: I learned that Kilrock might relocate to the province Zeeland. In that case there is probably no conflict, they might even apply for a new frequency. Will be interesting to see if they retain their old name, as “Kil” refers to the geographical area they are broadcasting from.

Unique Gold is one of 4 radio streams offered by Unique via the internet and they are also active on DAB. You can read more about this station on: https://unique-fm.nl/en/who-we-are/ .

QSL Zender Zanussi & Radio Hercules 819 kHz

May 21, 2024 / / 0 Comments
eQSL Zender Zanussi en Radio Hercules

With Impact AM from Wassenaar frequently dropping off the air, I had the opportunity to listen to, and QSL Zender Zanussi & Radio Hercules on 819 kHz. I sent my report to radio819am@hotmail.com .

Zender Zanussi & Radio Hercules is (are) operated by two brothers Johan and Andre. On Saturdays Johan runs Radio Hercules playing English music mainly. On Sundays Andre runs Zender Zanussi with with mainly Dutch music. And indeed I heard Zender Zanussi with polka music (the music typically played by pirate stations from the Netherlands) and some German classics as well.

Johan and Andre have been active in the pirate scene since 1977. But like a few other stations in the eastern part of the Netherlands they used the opportunity created in 2016 to start a legal 100 W LPAM operation. They are active on 819 kHz since December 2023 from the village of Mastenbroek, Overijssel province, The Netherlands. In the western provinces of the Netherlands Impact AM is usually dominant on 819 kHz. The other LPAM station “Studio Denakker” from Klazienaveen is apparently not active yet.

QSL Port Said Radio 2187.5 kHz

May 9, 2024 / / 2 Comments

A brief email to QSL Port Said Radio on 2187.5 kHz. I received the station in February acknowledging a DSC test message from a tanker Dilos anchored in Port Said Harbour. Initially I tried to reach out to the Port Said Harbour authorities via psp@portsaid.gov.eg , but without success. Rob (IZEROCDM) at DX Fanzine was so kind to share the portsaid.radio@te.eg address that delivered him the QSL. Thank you so much Rob!

This is only my 2nd QSL from Egypt. I don’t know how many reports I sent to Radio Cairo… but they were all to no avail.
The other Egyptian QSL I have is from the Middle East News Agency (MENA). I vividly remember how in 1993 I built a small RTTY decoder using an OpAmp (918?). It ran with software on the first PC I owned, an IBM PS/2 with an 80286 Intel CPU (10 MHz). With only one purpose… to get a QSL from my 181st radio country.

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