A very nicely designed QSL card from Radio Badger. A Free Radio Station on 6040 kHz from the UK. I think I saw the card somewhere and really wanted to add this one to my collection!
Reception was far from perfect, but I was able to copy a few songs (Shazam helped me big time) and with some effort recorded this ID… “Radio Badger”
Radio Badger has a very nice (and a bit funny) website radiobadger.co.uk . Check it out! They announce 6070 kHz as a frequency which might imply that they occasionally use Channel 292. But I never saw them in the Channel 292 program schedule. No problem, the website also offers a live stream as well so you can listen to their excellent music selection in stereo quality. Of course we DX-ers prefer the real short wave sound!
Within a day I received a PDF e-QSL for my reception of RTW Wai FM, broadcasting on 11665 kHz from Kajang, Malaysia. The EDXC (European DX council) still treats Malaysia as two DX countries, making this a West Malaysia reception.
eQSL RTM Wai FM, Kajang, Malaysia on 11665 kHz
As can be deduced from the name Wai FM is in fact a national FM network operated by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). The purpose of the shortwave broadcast on 11665 kHz is to extend its reach to rural and remote areas in Sarawak (East Malaysia), where FM signals often cannot penetrate due to challenging terrain, dense forests, and limited infrastructure. This allows indigenous communities, such as the Kenyah, Kayan, Iban, Bidayuh, and Lun Bawang, to access programming in their native languages, including news, folklore, music, and cultural content that has been a station staple since its origins in the 1950s.
Transmissions are scheduled from 21:45 – 14:05 h UTC. They originate from RTM’s powerful 100 kW shortwave site in Kajang (Peninsular Malaysia), beamed eastward at a 93-degree azimuth to target Sarawak specifically. This might also explain why in Europe late night reception (long path) is often more easy than early afternoon.
Last year I received a QSL from Port Said Radio on 2187.5 kHz. Prior to that my only QSL from Egypt was from the Middle East News Agency (MENA) for a 1993 reception report. In those days I built a small RTTY converter connected to my first PC allowing me to decode these messages. It was quite common for news agencies to have an RTTY outlet on shortwave. It resulted in a nice QSL letter:
QSL letter from MENA Cairo broadcasting on shortwave
Despite many attempts I’ve never been able to get a QSL from Radio Cairo. But a DX friend of mine, Paul Flanagan, triggered me to give it another shot as he received what he described as a “pre-QSL email”. So I tried again and indeed, within a day I received this “pre-QSL email”:
pre-QSL email from Radio Cairo
So now I have to wait and see if that elusive e-QSL will arrive in my email inbox one day…
I listened to a Turkish program from Radio Cairo on 9900 kHz. They seem to have broadcasts in English, French, German on the 31 meter band as well, but I have the impression that it is a bit erratic. And when I receive them the signal is often strong, but a poor modulation compromised reception quality. Below a clip of my recent reception with time announcement.
Like the German service of Radio Taiwan International the French service of RTI also ran test transmissions this year from Tamsui. For my reception report on three frequencies I received a beautiful paper QSL:
Today is the 80th anniversary of a well known Shortwave broadcaster: The Voice of Vietnam.
My 1980s QSL for the Voice of Vietnam
The Voice of Vietnam started broadcasting on September 7th, 1945 from Hanoi in what was then called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The station was established shortly after the August Revolution of 1945 at the end of World War II. The communist-led Việt Minh sought indepence and defeated the French in 1954.
The Voice of Vietnam was one of my first real DX QSLs when I started the hobby in 1979. I received a reply in 3 months. The 10040 kHz they were broadcasting on just outside the formal 31m band made that they suffered less from interference. With the formal QSL leaflet came a more friendly postcard.
Grettings from the Voice of Vietnam, card issued in 1980
In yesterday’s English broadcast the Voice of the Vietnam spent some time on military parades celebrating the August Revolution. But there was also a special topic on the history of the Voice of Vietnam:
I like chasing DX stations. But I also like listening to producers that offer something special on shortwave. For that reason I regularly check the Channel 292 calendar. But Shortwaveradio.de also offers nice programs.
This weekend I listened to SURF, a program from Imaginary Stations via Shortwave Gold. My report was confirmed by DJ Frederic Moe with a nice eQSL:
Imaginary Stations is a shortwave radio program producing creative broadcasts with themed music and content. One of these is around surf classics (SURF series). Another theme is analog music archives (The Ancient Analogue Archive). They are on air via Shortwave Gold (Shortwaveradio.de) and WRMI. In the program I listened to they invited people to become member of their Pen Pal club, and the Japanese “Surf” music played was by recommendation of a member from Tokyo.
You can find more info about Imaginary Stations on this Factsheet:
By the way, the Facebook page of Imaginary Stations and Radio Skybird features Shivering Sands Army Forts in the Thames, from which Radio City was broadcasting. A place full of radio history as I explained in an earlier post.
The Moosbrunn shortwave antenna is no more since January this year. Fortunately I was able to get a confirmation of my reception of ORF Radio Ö1 broadcasting via Moosbrunn. It is sad to see the destruction of the Moosbrunn facilities just after the celebration of 100 years radio in Austria. CARO, the Club Amateur Radio ORF, aired a special centennial broadcast on 6055 kHz in October 2024. It took a while (no problem, after all it is all volunteers work), but this week I received the beautiful eQSL.
QSL card CARO Moosbrunn transmission on 6055 kHz
I listened to a rebroadcast of an interview with Prof. Harranth who was the curator of the Dokumentationsarchiv „Funk“ (Radio) with 6 million items about Austrian radio history.
CARO sent the following accompanying message with the QSL:
The ORF Amateur Radio Club (a division of the ORF Sports Association, known as CARO) organized a series of broadcasts following the announcement of the demolition and decommissioning of the large shortwave transmitting station in Moosbrunn. These broadcasts paid tribute to the station’s decades-long successful operation. Some of these audio programs can be replayed via CARO’s website: https://www.oe1xrw.radio
Additionally, the website offers a comprehensive documentation of the former station’s history for those wishing to read or view more about it.
For many years, Moosbrunn stood as a symbol of Austria’s positive global image and the voice of its people. The station housed a dedicated shortwave editorial team — first under Radio Österreich International (ROI), later under a modified retransmission of standard ORF radio content.
Among the broadcasts were several historical retrospectives, including a program commemorating 100 years of radio in Austria. A particularly notable feature was an unpublished interview with the late Prof. Wolf Harranth, who passed away in 2021. In it, Harranth candidly explained the political, social, and technical background of the founding of ORF’s predecessor, Radioverkehrs AG (RAVAG).
Following the final transmission by Radio Dessau on 31 December 2024, deconstruction of the Moosbrunn site began in early 2025. First to be brought down was the globally unique, 70-meter-high and equally wide rotatable curtain array antenna, followed by other remaining structures like the log-periodic antenna and the “Reusenantenne”. The transmitter building was cleared. Discussions are underway regarding future use of the property, including possible 5G technology experiments.
In total, nearly 1,000 reception reports were received across the two final broadcasts (October and December 2024), including several hundred written and email confirmations. Because it was initially unclear whether the site might be preserved, the sending of QSL confirmations was delayed. Eventually, a dedicated CARO QSL team was formed, with Wolfgang OE3OBB managing electronic confirmations.
CARO sincerely thanks everyone for their confirmation reports and long-standing loyalty to the Moosbrunn transmitter — many of which spanned several decades.
We wish you good health and continued success. Club Amateur Radio ORF, Vienna
Not my first QSL of this station. I received one earlier in 2023. But there is no harm in sending an additional report to a station that keeps a tradition alive. I heard them during the Easter weekend. As last time the QSL was part of a lengthy PDF with lots of history… I sent my report to wmrscotland@mail.com and got a reply after 16 weeks. Hey, it’s a hobby after all, so things can take a bit of time.
A hand drawn QSL used in 1981. That’s when I ran my own Radio Arcadia pirate station and for a teenager the costs of printing a QSL card was quite something.
Like last year the German service of Radio Taiwan International ran a few test transmissions to find the best frequencies for their summer broadcasts from Tamsui. My reception report to deutsch@rti.org.tw was awarded with a beautiful QSL that arrived 6 weeks later by mail.
QSL for the test transmission in German of Radio Taiwan International from Tamsui
Every year the BBC has a short program with family greetings to the staff of the British Antartic Survey. This year the program was aired for the 70th time. It’s a bit of a tradition as unlike 70 years ago the researchers have access to broadband internet enabling them to communicate with friends and family in the UK.
I heard them on 12065 kHz from Woofferton and on 9575 kHz from Ascension Island. A program with family greetings from the UK to the folks at South Georgia and Rothera Base. And with a brief message from King Charles as well. In the 90-ies I as able to receive these BAS stations on 9106 kHz, but I’m not sure whether they are still active on that frequency given modern communication tools.
Below the opening clip taken from the Woofferton broadcast as it was of better quality. The Ascension broadcast had a strange digital signal over it which almost seemed to originate from the station itself.
I sent a report to their eQSL service. Unfortunately it only returns random picture postcards without reception details. But fortunately mine was with a picture of Ascension Island facilities.
no detail eQSL from BBC World Service, for my report of the Antartic Midwinter Broadcast
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