A QSL from Xenon Transmitting Company on 6205 kHz, broadcasting from England, United Kingdom. I sent my report to xtcshortwave@googlemail.com . As they write in their email:
XTC (full name the Xenon Transmitting Company) has been on the air since 1993. We like to talk about various subjects rather than just play music. XTC does not have a regular schedule, but we try to be on the air over the Bank Holidays, Easter and Christmas.
If you google ‘UK Free Radio Shortwave Memories from the 1990’s’ you will find a very good blog which has more information about XTC and other stations that were active during that decade.
I received a fully detailed email to QSL Radio Ö1 Moosbrunn received on 6155 kHz. I sent my report to oe1.service@orf.at .
QSL email from Radio Ö1 Moosbrunn 6195 kHz
Radio Österreich International, also known as “Austria Calling” among English listeners, discontinued operations in 2003. Shortwave operations continued as Radio Ö1 International, but got reduced in coverage and quality. In 2010 there was only a 75 minute program on 6155 kHz left.
From March 2022 onwards, in response to the war in the Ukraine, it was decided to increase the number of broadcasts again. With 300 kW there are now morning, afternoon and evening programs on 6155, 13730 and 5940 respectively.
To honor the good old days: below the QSL card from “Austria Calling” as I received it in 1979.
QSL card “Austria Calling” Radio Österreich International from 1979
eQSL Radio Voyager from Northern Italy, broadcasting on 6956 kHz
A nice QSL from Radio Voyager. I heard them on 6956 kHz with nice Jazz music. According to their email they are Free Radio from Northern Italy, transmitting with 400 W on a dipole. I sent my report to radiovoyager@hotmail.com . They have a facebook page shared with – guess what – Enterprise Radio ! Star Trek fans will understand the connection. Unfortunately I’ve only just applied for membership, so I can’t tell you much more about this station.
One of the first things I discovered when I restarted the hobby almost 2 years ago is how easy it is to decode the various digital modes these days. I played with MultiPSK and received a weather fax from JOMOC Royal Navy Northwood on 2618.5 kHz. The quality was quite poor as I was still working with a simple indoor MLA30+ loop, which picked up a lot of noise. But the JOMOC ID was clearly visible:
Weather Fax from Royal Navy (pretty poor quality)
As I didn’t have an email address I sent my report by regular mail. One and a half year later I received a beautiful paper QSL card. And a letter apologizing for the delay. Well, it was worth waiting for:
Fully detailed “old school” QSL card from JOMOC RN Northwood
Apart from the long wait there was a complication in receiving this QSL. For some reason or another a customs declaration form was attached to the envelope. Indicating that the value of the contents was 10 GBP. And prior to delivery by PostNL I had to pay 8 Euros taxes and admin fee as the UK is no longer part of the EU. A complaint could only be filed after payment. Upon reception of the QSL I tried to file the complaint online. But PostNL forgot to properly register delivery in their systems so that didn’t work… In other words: basically I was taxed for something they were not even able to demonstrate that it was actually delivered😂 . The PostNL helpdesk explained that all I could do was send a letter to their head offices… in the end I got a 2.36 Euro refund… I left it at that…
I did not count on it as I didn’t had the time to listen to their full 1 hour programme. Just dropped them a quick comparison of the 6070 and 9670 reception quality. But probably out of courtesy towards a regular listener I received the August ’24 QSL for their broadcast via Channel 292, Rohrbach, Germany.
I am a fan of Channel 292. It is a nice platform for enthusiastic producers to share their view on music across international borders. This weekend I listened to Alt Universe Top 40. A nice show that provides context on a Top 40 chart in a selected year.
John McMullan is the man behind Alt Universe Top 40. He was so kind to confirm my reception report with a very nice email. Please check out John on his next show, and send him a report!
An e QSL for Scandinavian Weekend Radio on 11690 kHz. According to their website this is the first Finnish legal radio station to broadcast on MW and SW. The 100 Watt transmitter is located in Virrat, some 80 kilometers north of Tampere in central Finland. True to their name they broadcast during the weekend on various frequencies.
You can also get a paper QSL for 5 Euros, 3 USD or 2 valid and properly stamped IRCs.
e-QSL from Scandinavian Weekend Radio from Virrat, Finland
I received a nice email to QSL my reception of Jazz AM via Channel 292, Rohrbach, Germany, on 9670 kHz. Jazz AM is brought by gbradio.uk. They can be regularly heard on Channel 292, but on occasion use a U-turn construction to broadcast via Woofferton 3955 kHz, as explained in the email from John at Jazz AM:
A bit of background about Jazz A M. gbradio.uk is a very small scale programme producer located in Hampshire UK. I have had a long history of enjoying Jazz dating back to VOA Jazz Hour and the whole evenings of Jazz and events such as Montereux on Europe 1 and France Entire in the 1960’s during the period Jazz really took off in FRANCE.
The German Government licences Short Wave Broadcaster who can sell airtime at a reasonable rate. Encompas operate the only shortwave broadcast site in the UK. the BBC ,VOA,and overseas Broadcasters buy time but UK citizens can not as you cannot get UK Broadcast Licence for Shortwave. HOWEVER C292 is licenced by the German authorities and has a relay agreement with ENCOMPASS. So I do occasion broadcasts on 3955 kHz at 125 kW.
Best Regards John
For those interested: this is the schedule for the coming days:
Relay via Woofferton UK
3955 kHz Sunday 18th August 2100 to 2200 UTC 125 kW
10Kw via Germany Channel 292: (10db gain with beam)
9670 kHz Sunday 11th August 1000 to 1100 UTC Beam R 9670 kHz Sunday 11th August 2100 to 2200 UTC Beam R 9670 kHz Sunday 18th August 2100 to 2200 UTC Beam R 9670 kHz Saturday 24th August 2100 to 2200 UTC
A QSL for my reception of COPE Málaga on 89.8 MHz. I heard them during a Sporadic E opening on June 24th. The transmitter is located south west of Málaga and has a power of 5 kW. Again Artur from Maresme DX was a great help in making the connect with Javier Campos from the technical department at COPE Málaga.
Again with the help of Artur from Maresme DX I received a very nice email and a scan of a QSL letter from Radio Surco, broadcasting from Tomelloso, Spain, on 91.4 FM. I posted a recording of my reception on YouTube. Radio Surco has two transmitter sites: 2 kW on 91.4 MHz, and 1.2 kW on 99.2 MHz:
Radio Surco transmitter locations
Dear Peter,
Thank you for contacting us and receiving news from the Netherlands. This year, at least, we have received three messages like yours, from different locations. We assume that due to the location of our broadcast tower and the very flat area where we are, the waves work their magic and allow us to reach distant places.
We are a radio station with two broadcasting centers, but according to your instructions, it is Tomelloso’s that you heard. Radio Surco Tomelloso was born in 1986 and is an independent commercial station. Its cover, being a flat land, covers “La Mancha”, an area of the Autonomous Community of Castilla La Mancha to which four of its provinces belong. Tomelloso is in CiudadReal, specifically.
The Radio Surco Tomelloso station is located about 12 kilometers as the crow flies or cross-country
I attach the certificate you are requesting, although we do not have an official model. Thank you for being on the other side and greetings from Spain.
Montserrat Castellanos Cañones Directora
QSL letter from Radio Surco, Tomelloso, Spain, 91.4 MHz
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. A link back to my site is appreciated.
