Ilulissat Airport with the NDB JV tower visible in the background
Jakob Schytz, Ilulissat Airport Manager, sent me a very friendly detailed letter to confirm my reception of NDB JV on 367 kHz. And he also included a photo of the radio beacon (and one of himself in front of it, but for privacy reasons I prefer not to post that one here).
QSL email for NDB JV-367 Ilulissat
Ilulissat Airport is the 2nd biggest airport in Greenland. Currently a new airport is being built in Ilulissat, scheduled to be completed in 2026. Together with the airports in Nuuk and Qaqartoq the airport should form the backbone of air transport in Greenland. You can read more about these projects on the website of the Nordic Investment Bank.
A nice QSL email for my reception of NDB SF at Kangerlussuaq Airport on 382 kHz. I made my reception using the BDMR/Clashmore SDR during the “Pyramid Event”. But this is definitely one of the stronger Greenlandic beacons so at a noise free location reception is possible in The Netherlands.
Kangerlussuaq was the main airport in Greenland until the new Nuuk Airport opened in November 2024. There is a lot to be said about the strategy and politics behind the development of Greenland Airports, as you can read here. Climate change apparently plays a role, as permafrost underneath Kangerlussuaq is thawing. But at the same time the Kangerlussuaq airport has a future because its location is less sensitive to weather and traffic disruptions, which is important for cruise ship passengers. And yes, in these days where Donald Trump is talking about taking over Greenland: this airport was constructed by the US military during WWII, when Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany.
Don’t forget to watch this nice Youtube clip about Kangerlussuaq Airport, its history and surroundings.
Yesterday I received a nice e-QSL for Polderpop Radio, a LPAM station from Veldhoven, The Netherlands on 1134 kHz. For details of this station see my previous post about my reception of this station.
46 years ago Radio Sofia, the international service of Bulgaria, was one of the first shortwave programs I regularly listened to in the evening. Radio Sofia, now renamed to Radio Bulgaria, terminated their shortwave service in 2012. But the powerful 270 kW transmitter from Vidin on 576 kHz with the BNR Horizont program is an easy catch though. And fortunately they still issue traditional QSL cards:
fully detailed QSL from Radio Bulgaria (BNR Horizont) on 576 kHz
I sent my report to reception.report@bnr.bg and received my QSL 3 months later.
Not my first QSL from Antigua. In the 80’s and 90’s we had the Caribbean Relay station broadcasting Deutsche Welle and BBC programs. But it is my first MW (mediumwave) QSL from this island, and another country I can add to this blog. I got a nice email from Mr. Nathan Owens explaining the mission of this station.
You can learn a bit about the history of this station on their website. They are active since 1975, and there have been a few times the station had to recover from hurricanes. But for 50 years now the station has been broadcasting their message from the Caribbean.
Akashvani or All India Radio is another broadcaster that still issues nice paper QSL cards. I sent my reception report on their program in French to spectrum-manager@prasarbharati.gov.in . Seven weeks later this beautiful card was delivered.
Following the earlier e-QSL I now got a paper QSL for my reception of Radio Thailand, Udonthani, on 7475 kHz. I heard them in September, and following a reminder in December I got the e-QSL in a day, and this nice postcard a month later!
There is low power (100 Watts) and “Real Low Power”. 1485 is the “Real Low Power” AM (LPAM) frequency in The Netherland: stations should have 1 Watt maximum. There are around 25 stations active on this frequency. Unfortunately DX-ers in the Netherlands will typically hear one dominant station only. Outside the Netherlands you might be able to benefit from variations in propagation conditions, enabling you to hear several stations.
On my QTH Radio 182, only 15 kilometers away (basically across the meadow) is dominant. But using my NTi Megaloop FX antenna to “null” them out, there is apparently enough of a signal left for Atlantica AM from Dordrecht. On Sundays that is, because I that’s when they are “on air”.
You can check your reception against Flux Radio, because they broadcast the Atlantic AM transmissions as well. If you receive them, feel free to go to the Facebook page of Cor Hitzerd. That’s how I got in touch:
Following my report I had a nice conversation with Cor. He shared quite a lot about his pirate history, his friends on the air, and how they as pirates promoted lots of Dutch artists. The fact that you can connect to station owners is so nice about DX-ing these days! Cor also sent me a few pictures… here we go:
For DX-ers and QSL collectors listening to LPAM stations in The Netherlands can be rewarding. First of all because many of them are run by radio enthusiasts who don’t mind taking the time to explain a lot about their station via messenger, whatsapp or email. But also because it is a very dynamic scene.
In 2023 I got a QSL from 1134AM from Ooijen. They are gone and now I can hear Polderpop Radio from Veldhoven on this frequency. Broadcasting with 100 Watt they can be received in reasonable quality 82 kilometers away. That is: during the day, in the evening hours it is usually Radio Kuwait that I find here.
Polderpop Radio has quite a history. They’ve been on cable, mediumwave, internet, DAB+ and now they’re back on AM. Their program focuses on popmusic from Dutch artists. I sent my report via the contact form on their website, and Jacco Hagoort from Polderpop Radio confirmed my reception within a day.
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.
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.
Feel free to copy anything on this weblog. I try to provide accurate information, but if I'm wrong: don't blame me! A link back to my site is appreciated when you copy info.
