The main networks like RNE, SER, Onda Cero and COPE still have local stations which provide a nice DX target. The biggest problem is to hear the local ID. A good opportunity for COPE stations is around 21:57 h UTC (22:57 h local time in Spain). In the late evening hours they broadcast the network program “La Linterna”, but at this time it is interrupted by a local ID followed by local commercials.
I heard COPE Jaén on 1143 kHz. This frequency is shared with COPE Ourense. The two stations often mix, making it a bit more difficult with my limited knowledge of the Spanish language. But this time I heard COPE Jaén only. Mr. Simon from the Engineering department Andalucia Sureste was so kind to confirm my report.
While conditions towards the USA and Canada are very poor, the medium wave continues to suprise me. I’d never thought that in my suburb location I would be able to receive stations from South America. Recently I heard Radio Santa Fe from Colombia, but two nights ago I heard Radio Santa Rosa from Lima, Peru on 1500 kHz. That’s 10525 kilometers which sets a record for me!
Now please don’t think that this is “easy listening”. For a start: 1500 kHz is a frequency on which I always experience heavy noise, sometimes by a pulsating signal that sounds as if it is sending digital information. But if someone in Peru keeps shouting “Santa Rosa” than all of a sudden you have 4 perfect IDs (and a lot of noise) in 2 minutes. Check it out on this Youtube clip.
I’m trying to get a QSL from them, but I struggle to find an email address that works. So if someone has a suggestion, please let me know!
UPDATE: thanks to Patrick Robic I got a brief reply from Mr. Riofrio. His gmail logo suggests that he works at Radio Santa Rosa. But it’s hardly a QSL, so I will order myself a pigeon and send him out with a regular mail to Lima:
While Transatlantic conditions are poor there is still plenty to listen to on medium wave. This week I received TWR from Parakou, Benin. They started a bit earlier than announced. Around 0305 h UTC I heard some nice African music like the song “Noé” from Pasteur Plaingué. The Shazam app works wonders… At 0320 their regular program started in Hausa, the lingua franca of the region. The typical TWR interval signal was absent.
QSL TWR Africa from Parakou, Benin, 1476 kHz
My report was answered within a day by Mrs. Lorraine Stavropoulos, DX manager for TWR Africa via lstavrop@twr.org. Unfortunately, unlike the e-QSL from TWR Eswatini which featured the 50 years anniversary logo, there is no reference made to Benin. This seems to be a bit of a TWR policy, as neither of my Kyrgyzstan QSLs indicated the QTH.
A QSL for CFZM 740 Zoomer Radio, Toronto. I heard this station for the first time this year. The reception report was via their webform. Following a brief email exchange Genya Hulak was so kind to send me a fully detailed email:
The 740 AM frequency was in use by CBL (a CBC station) until 2000. But as their AM transmissions suffered from interference in downtown Toronto they left this frequency. Despite the interference issue many stations contested for this clear channel frequency. The application was granted to CHWO which moved from 1250. CJYE is their replacement on 1250. The CBC brand is still visible on the Hornby transmitter building:
CBC transmitter station at Hornby, now in use by CFZM 740
In 2007 the CHWO operations were sold and the station was rebranded to CFZM. The format is “oldies and adult standards”.
In The Netherlands the 1485 kHz is reserved for 1 Watt LPAM’s. That should make it an interesting frequency, but despite their low power, Radio 182 from Waddinxveen at 15 kilometers from my QTH is so dominant that it blocks other stations. Their signal probably benefits from a good antenna location and only green fields in between them and me.
So when I visited family in Akersloot I decided to test my new Tecsun PL-368 radio, the one I won during the SWL-2024 contest, on 1485 kHz. I was able to pick up Radio Elvira from Heerhugowaard over a distance of 15 kilometers. Just above noise level at a 2dB SNR (it’s a nice feature that the Tecsun displays this info). They replied with a kind email explaining that for some reason their coverage is only 4-5 kilometres north, but significantly better to the south (where I was receiving them).
Radio Elvira has a nice website where they also post some local news. They advertise as “Radio Elvira 1485 Dijk en Waard”. Dijk the dutch word for dike, and Waard the dutch word for polder.
Yesterday I received a Radio Rossii program on 1215 kHz. This frequency is not listed in the WRTH or MWLIST but it used to be in use by Radio Transmitting Centre 5 in Kaliningrad.
eQSL Radio Rossii on 1215 kHz from Kaliningrad
Mr. Andrey Molokov confirmed my report in a day with a f/d eQSL which indeed suggests it was the Kaliningrad RTC5 that was active with 150 kW. Mr. Molokov acts as QSL manager and can be reached via andrey_hamradio[at]mail.ru .
The first QSL of the 2024/25 Transatlantic season. I heard CJMR from Oakville, Ontaria, Canada with nice Indian music. Again the Shazam app was a great aid in identifying the songs. I sent my report via their web form. Mrs. Paige Dent, Director of Engineering, was so kind to confirm my reception:
I already noticed that CJMR has the same postal address as CJYE 1250 “Joy Radio”, and it was Mrs. Dent who signed my PPC last time. So I did sent a PPC to CJMR as well, and do hope that she will sign again. And do note they apparently have plans to acquire CKTB 610 AM as well!
CJMR brands itself as “The Voice of the City” and as a multicultural station they are broadcasting in 15 different languages.
And yes I do know there are perfectly good opportunities for Transatlantic DX in summer, most of all towards South America, but I like the seasonal notion for North American reception.
Of the many BBC Local Radio stations which you could hear on MW there are only 6 left: Norfolk, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Derby, Guernsey and Cumbria. As soon as Radio Romania Actualitati shuts down at 22:00 UTC you can hear them with a local program. Later in the night they switch to a relay of BBC Radio 5 live.
Mr. Andy Stevenson, operations engineer at the BBC Technology group was so kind to confirm my report by email. He included a link to a site which shows the antennas in Carlisle: https://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/gallerypage.php?txid=1452
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.
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