During the opening on 22 May I received several stations from Bulgaria: BNR Radio Varna, Radio Shumen, Radio Hristo Botev and the national program Radio Horizont. Via reception.report@bnr.bg I received a beautiful QSL card confirming my reception report:
QSL card BNR Horizont, 88.1 MHz
I received BNR Horizont via their 91 kW transmitter located in Kavarna, situated on the Black Sea coast.
I like it when an organisation understands that they are representing a country. And send QSLs to people who are interested. If anything Bulgaria is on my “bucket list” now for visiting European countries. My report of a reception of Radio Shumen on 87.6 MHz was confirmed by BNR reception.report@bnr.bg . They sent this beautiful QSL card by mail!
I received Radio Shumen with a sports coverage on a local sports game. The ID is clearly heard on 7 seconds in this audio clip:
There are a few Radio Shumen transmitters, but the one from Venets is one of the stronger ones with 100 kW. Not that this necessarily matters much with Sporadic E receptions.
I picked up COPE Palencia during the sporadic E opening on July 20th with their local ID on 105.1 MHz. With 2 kW they are broadcasting from Monte Viejo to the south of the city of Palencia in Spain.
Manuel Lobejón, editor at COPE Palencia was so kind to reply with a fully detailed email confirming my reception. I sent my report to palencia@cope.es .
In the audio file you hear the annoucement of the network program “Fin de Semana” presented by Cristina Lópex Schlichting and the local ID.
Whereas it is always nice to hear and receive a QSL from a local outlet of one of the bigger networks in Spain, getting a smaller local radio station with a single transmitter confirmed is even more special.
Coverage of Radio Chinchilla (FMScan.org)
During the very good Sporadic E opening on July 20th I received Radio Chinchilla, the local radio station for Chinchilla de Montearagón (Albacete) in Spain. They are broadcasting with 500 Watts and again I’m flabbergasted with the quality of the reception. During 20 minutes I was able to listen to a program called “The Story de Kylie Minogue”. Unfortunately they did fade out before I heard an ID:
My report to rchinformativos@gmail.com was confirmed with a brief email reply within a day:
Radio Chinchilla began broadcasting in December 1988. According to Wikipedia it has one of the highest audiences. Most of the programming it offers is self-produced, including news, music, sports, entertainment… It has its own news services and broadcasts 24 hours a day.
I didn’t know the small city of Chinchilla de Montearagón which has a population of 4600. But it is one of these beautiful Spanish towns with lots of history!
RTV Slingeland is the local radio station for Winterswijk. They broadcast on 105 MHz with 100 Watt. Peter van der Wel was so kind to confirm my report.
QSL RTV Slingeland, local radio for Winterswijk on 105 MHz
On the internet I learned that RTV Slingeland became been part of 1Achterhoek. 1Achterhoek Radio was a merger between Gelre FM, A-FM (from Aalten) and what was then called Slingeland FM. Leuk FM is now also part of 1Achterhoek. One of the reasons was that stand alone operation became to costly. And the merger is in line with the Dutch strategy to move from local to fewer regional radio stations.
But already in 2023 RTV Slingeland left 1Achterhoek following a dispute over program content. Apparently they are looking for other partners now. RTV Slingeland is named after the little river Slinge, south of Winterswijk.
I received Leuk FM from Zieuwent with 32 Watts on 106.9 FM when visiting Winterswijk. Leuk FM is the local radio for Aalten/Berkelland. Sven Dimmendaal confirmed my report, stating that Leuk FM is now part of 1Achterhoek. There is a little bit more to say about 1Achterhoek, but that’s for another post.
During a visit to Winterswijk, a village located near the border with Germany, I was able to listen to Radio WMW, broadcasting from Bocholt on 88.4 MHz. Benjamin Rotzler was so kind to confirm my report.
QSL Radio WMW Bocholt 88.4 MHz
The abbreviation WMW stands for West Münsterland Welle. Radio WMW is one of 45 local radio stations in Nordrhein-Westfalen under the umbrella of Radio NRW. NRW provides programs to these local radiostations when they don’t have their own broadcasts scheduled. Pretty efficient!
Radio WMW network: it covers almost as much of The Netherlands as Germany. (source FMList)
There are 4 transmitters. I received the 1 kW transmitter from Bocholt, the transmitter in Borken on 97.6 is also 1 kW. The other two frequencies are 500 W.
RTW Waddinxveen is the local radio for Waddinveen, The Netherlands, a village 19 kilometers from my QTH. With 50 Watt they broadcast on 105.8 MHz. i sent my report to info@rtw.nl . Willy Klomp-Koel was so kind to confirm my report:
The first broadcast of RTW Waddinxveen was in 1987. As part of the strategy to move from local to bigger regional radio entities (see my earlier blog) RTW Waddinxveen is cooperating with other local radio stations in RTV Midden Holland.
Radio Castilla-La Mancha is a Spanish public radio station belonging to the Radiotelevisión de Castilla–La Mancha group , a company dependent on the autonomous government of Castile-La Mancha . It belongs to the Federation of Radio and Television Organizations of the Autonomies , a professional association that brings together the main regional public radio and television channels in the country.
I heard them during the July 1st, opening. Jesus Sanchez was so kind to confirm my reception report. Apart from identifying the station with PI code I received a traffic message for Toledo, Spain:
UPDATE: A strong Radio Castilla La Mancha station ID. I heard this one on 105.9 MHz, which has only a 350 Watt relay listed in Riópar, Castilla La Mancha:
Radio Castilla La Mancha Network (courtesy:FMLIST)
On 92.0 MHz I heard COPE Madrid, Spain. Actually it was COPE Mas Madrid via a 2 kW relay transmitter in Villalbilla, 25 kms east of Madrid:
the Villalbilla / Monte El Viso relay station
According to FM list I heard a COPE Más Madrid broadcast, but I heard an annoucement of both COPE Madrid and COPE Más (with the frequencies 106.3 and 94.8 for the Madrid transmitters):
COPE Madrid is Madrid’s leading generalist channel, with a broad focus on news, sports, and current affairs, strongly oriented towards the local community and sports enthusiasts.
COPE Más is a supplementary channel that places more emphasis on entertainment, lifestyle and cultural topics, often with a local and accessible approach.
My reception report was confirmed by Mrs. Beatriz Perez Otin, journalist, producer and presenter at COPE. Thank you Beatriz!
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