1st birthday eQSL from Key Channel Radio

Key Channel Radio sent me this special eQSL to mark their first year. The broadcast was in collaboration with Radio Dr Tim. Many thanks.

Mon Jan 30

4029 1635 Laser Hot Hits. Oliva Newton John & ELO "Xanadu." SINPO 44444.
5700U 1715 Radio Oleg. Move from 6305, instrumental tune. SINPO 24432.
6305U 1655 Radio Oleg. Duran Duran "Save A Prayer," then "Rio," greets, ID. SINPO 34433.

(via Kiwi SDR, SW England)

Radio Oleg eQSL

Great eQSL received from Radio Oleg. Many thanks.

Sat Jan 28

3900 1605 Polaris Radio. Move from 6380. Sparks "Beat the Clock," ID. SINPO 34333.
4029 1558 Laser Hot Hits. Honeyz  "End of Line," reading reception reports. SINPO 34333.
6235 1446 Radio Waves Int. Small Faces "Itchy Coo Park," ID, address. SINPO 34333.
6240 1415 Radio Altrex. Bonnie Tyler "It's A Heartbreak," greetings, cow sounds. SINPO 34333.
6280 1810 Cosmic Radio. Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven", quick ID and sign off 1813. SINPO 54444.
6285 1400 Happy European Union Radio (Rainbow). "Whole Lotta Loving," greetings, "Radioactivity." SINPO 44444.
6290U 1511 Radio Oleg. Flock of Seagulls "More You Live," ID, 25W.  SINPO 24332.
6305 1352 Radio Merlin Int. Gary Numan "Cars," Icehouse "Hey Little Girl", SINPO 34333.
6325 1519 Radio Joey. Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky." SINPO 54444.
6380 1540 Polaris Radio. "Dragon's Lair," greetings. SINPO 44444.
6423 1550 Studio 52. Country and Dutch music. SINPO 34333.
6915 1525 Key Channel Radio with Dr Tim. Middle Eastern music. SINPO 23332.

(via Kiwi SDR, SW England)

Thurs Jan 26

4029 1950 Laser Hot Hits. Phil Collins & Phillip Bailey "Easy Lover,"  utility QRM. SINPO 33333.

(via Kiwi SDR, SW England)

eQSLs from The Ghoul & Moose AM

Couple of eQSLs landed in my inbox during the past few days. The Ghoul sent me this great eQSL for his programme on Sunday - heard straight after the Bogusman.

New station Moose AM also sent me this super QSL. He said he was only using 8W with a homemade transmitter.

Thanks to both stations!

Sun Jan 22

*3935 1755 Radio Underground. Greetings, polka then Kate Bush "Wuthering Heights." SINPO 44444.
*4029 1805 Laser Hot Hits. Gary Drew show. Twilight 22 "Mysterious", then Tyrone Davis. SINPO 44433.
6210 0950 Radio King Shortwave. ID jingle, country music. SINPO 34333.
6231.5 1435 Radio Digital. Dance music, ID. SINPO 34333.
6235 0944 Radio Waves Int. French song, ID. SINPO 34333.
6260 1357 Radio Montferland. "I'm Losing Your Love," SINPO 55544.
6262 1422 Radio Titanic. Sixties music, ID. SINPO 34333.
6285 1038 Radio Rainbow. "Like A Rainbow," ID, greetings, "Alive and Kicking." SINPO 54444.
6285 1330 The Ghoul. Song by The The, comedy clip, Cornershop "Brim Full of Asha." SINPO 54444.
6285 1441 Bogusman. Jesus Jones "Bring it All Down," chat, Jesus & Mary Chain. SINPO 55444.
6295 0937 Radio Deltracks. Rainbow. SINPO 44433.
6295 1341 Telstar Radio. New Order "Blue Monday," greetings. SINPO 54444.
6300 1024 Radio Waldmeister. Pink Floyd "Another Brick in the Wall." SINPO 44433.
6305 0930 Mike Radio. Electro, "Tubular Bells," SINPO 55544.
6320 1346 Radio Orion 2000. "Eve of Destruction," SINPO 34333.
6325 1007 Radio Night Pirate. Polka. SINPO 24332.
6330 1352 Radio Joey. Dance music. SINPO 54444.
6380 0950 Radio Nachtrijder. Country music. SINPO 24332.

(via Barneys SDR, near London/ *via Kiwi SDR, SW England)

Sat Jan 21

3905 1729 Unid. Relay Arrow Classic Rock playing Guns N Roses. SINPO 34333.
4029 1716 Laser Hot Hits. Charlies & Eddie "Would I Lie to You," SINPO 34333.
6210 1445 Radio Komintern. Russian music. SINPO 33333.
6225 1458 Radio Casanova. Boney M "Daddy Cool." SINPO 33333.
6290 1421 Telstar Radio. Kraftwerk "Radioactivity," greetings. SINPO 54444.
6305 1416 Radio Underground. Greetings, jingles, oldies. SINPO 44433.
6316 1452 Radio OZNRH. Jazz music. SINPO 34333
6390 1428 Studio 52. Paul Young "Love of the Common People," SINPO 33333.
6910 1405 Moose AM. "Oxygene," ID, email, signing off. SINPO 34333.
6930 1411 Radio Orion 2000. "Cecelia," "This Will Be the Last Time," SINPO 44433.

(via Twente SDR)

The history of pirate radio - and why it's still here

Dazed magazine has a feature on FM pirate radio in London:

"Drive around some parts of London today and you’re still liable to hear mainstream radio broadcasts drowned out by fleeting bursts of unfamiliar music.

Pirate radio stations have been illegally hijacking the FM dial since the 1990s, but while the pirate scene is far smaller than it was in its heyday, the movement is still thriving on a local scale, and a vibrant array of online-only stations are inspired by the energy and spirit of the pirates.

To put it simply, pirate radio never left London.

The UK’s pirate radio story starts with Ronan O’Rahilly’s Radio Caroline back in the 1960s, famously avoiding the authorities by broadcasting from international waters, but it was really the 1990s that paved the way for pirate radio in this country."

Read the full article at:
http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/34394/1/pirate-radio-history-and-future?curator=MusicREDEF

Wed Jan 18

4029 1727 Laser Hot Hits. Paul Carrick "Where Did I Go Wrong" then Bruce Springsteen "Born to Run." SINPO 33333.

(via Kiwi SDR, SW England)

Key Channel Radio 1st birthday show

Mon Jan 16

4029 1847 Laser Hot Hits. Nick Straker Band "Walk in the Park," SINPO 33333. (via Twente SDR)

Sat Jan 14

4029 1530 Laser Hot Hits. "Break From the Old Routine," SINPO 34333.
6281 1446 Telstar Radio. "Message to You Rudy," "On My Radio." SINPO 44433.
6290 1440 Tower Radio. "Camouflage," "CHina in Your Hand," IDS, greetings. SINPO 54444.
6300 1550 Cosmic Radio. Blondie "Atomic," SINPO 54444.
6320 1507 Radio Joey. Dance music. SINPO 34333.
6330 1623 Radio OZNRH. Sade "Your Love is King." SINPO 33333.

(via Kiwi SDR, SW England)

Dutch AT takes legal station off air by mistake

The Dutch Radiocommunications Agency (AT) has made a serious error in its fight against pirate stations.

On Thursday it dismantled the antenna of Vechtdal NL in Ommen on 105.6 MHz, thinking it was an unlicensed station.

But the station is in fact legal, and is a theme channel of Vechtdal FM. The Agency says that something obviously went wrong with the checking of licences.

It remains to be seen if the Agency will pay for the costs of rebuilding the antenna and any collateral damage, bearing in mind that there is no established procedure for dealing with such a situation. Vechtdal NL is still operating online.

(Andy Sennitt, PCJ - Media Related Topics Facebook group via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK Yahoo group)

Shortwave relays this weekend

Hamburger Lokal Radio via Shortwave Station Göhren, Germany with 1KW to Western Europe:
 6190 KHz     Every Saturday      07.00 to 11.00 UTC
 7265 KHz     Every Saturday      11.00 to 16.00 UTC  
 9485 KHz     Every Sunday        10.00 to 13.00 UTC    
Contact email: redaktion@hamburger-lokalradio .de

European Music Radio transmissions via;
WBCQ to Central & North America on 7490 KHz on 14th January between 22.00 to 23.00 UTC
KBC to Western Europe on 6045 KHz on 15th January between 09.00 to 10.00 UTC
Shortwave Station Göhren on 9485 KHz on 15th January between 09.00 to 10.00 UTC
Channel 292 on 6070 KHz on 15th January between 14.00 to 15.00 UTC
Contact email: emrshortwave@gmail.com

EMR Internet Repeats on 15th January 2017:
EMR will repeat this months Transmissions via two streams running at the following Times:16.00, 18.00, 20.00 UTC
http://nednl.net:8000/emr.m3u  will be on 96 kbps /44 KHz stereo for normal listening
http://nednl.net:8000/emr24.m3u will be 24 kbps / 22 KHz mono will be especially for low bandwidth like mobile phones.
(at 17.00, 19.00 &  21.00 UTC are recordings from the 15th of January 1978 with AJ's  DX & Roger Tate's mail box )

KBC via:
Media Broadcast to America on 6145 KHz every Sunday between 00.00 to 01.00
Contact email: themightykbc@gmail.com

Hobart Radio via:
Channel 292 to Western Europe on 6070 KHz Sundays between 21.00 to 21.30 UTC
WRMI to Americas, Asia/Pacific on 9955 KHz Sunday between 03.30 to 04.00 UTC
WRMI to Americas, Asia/Pacific on 9955 KHz Tuesday between 22.30 to 23.00 UTC
WBCQ to North America on 5130 KHz Mondays 03.30 to 04.00 UTC
Contact email: hriradio@gmail.com

Radio Joystick
Sunday, 11:00 UTC, 7330 kHz via Moosbrunn w/ 100 kW: Charlie-Prince-Show

NEXT WEEK
Radio City via:
IRRS to Europe on 7290 KHz (every 3rd Friday) between 19.00 to 20.00 UTC
IRRS to Europe on 9510 KHz (every Saturday) between 09.00 to 10.00 UTC
Challenger Radio to Northern Italy on 1368 KHz every Saturdays from 20.00 UTC onwards
Radio Merkurs on 1485 KHz Every Saturday between 20.00 onwards
Contact email: citymorecars@yahoo.ca
A comment: IRRS has been noted on a Sunday on 9880 kHz instead of 9510 kHz, in order to avoid co-channel interference from a domestic Chinese station. This may perhaps also apply to Saturday transmissions.

Good Listening!
73s
Tom

Tues Jan 10

4029 1850 Laser Hot Hits. Oldies, SSB QRM. SINPO 23332. (via Twente SDR)

Mon Jan 9

3936 2022 Unknown Radio. Brass band music, canned IDs, SSTV. SINPO 24332.
6335 1849 Radio Blacklake. Instrumental music, ID, then Elvis Presley "Suspicious Minds." SINPO 34333.

(via Kiwi SDR, SW England)

Sun Jan 8

4029 1656 Laser Hot Hits. Bruce Springsteen "Born to Run." SINPO 44433.
5800 1708 Laser Hot Hits. Jammed by carrier on 5799.6.
6205 1635 Laser Hot Hits. Ian Lawrence with Diana Dors and George Michael songs. SINPO 44433.
6210 1630 Radio Komintern. Russian patriotic music. SINPO 34333.
6305 1618 Radio BZN. ID, email address, BZN. SINPO 34333.
6320 1610 Radio Joey. Dance music. SINPO 54444.
6920L 1646 Unid. Classical music. SINPO 24332.

(via Kiwi SDR, SW England)

Sat Jan 7

3905 1931 Radio Alice. Instrumental mx, greetings, signing off. SINPO 44444.
4029 1528 Laser Hot Hits. Old recording of Radio Gemini. SINPO 34333.
*5800 0940 Laser Hot Hits. Oldies. SINPO 24332.
6205 1913 Laser Hot Hits. "I Don't Want to Hurt You Anymore," SSB QRM. SINPO 33333.
*6210 0932 Radio King SW. "Walking in Memphis," fair signal. SINPO 34333.
6232 1502 Radio Southsea Melody. ID, Goombay Dance Band. Heard on 6235 at 1515. SINPO 34333 (both frequencies).
*6310 0922 Radio Deltracks. "Holding back the Years," ID. SINPO 44433.
6310 1918 Radio OZNRH (pres). Mellow jazz. SINPO 33333.

(Kiwi SDR, SW England/ *via Barneys web SDR, Bedford)

Thurs Jan 5

4029 1850 Laser Hot Hits. Britney Spears song, fair signal. SINPO 34333. (via Twente SDR)

Wed Jan 4

*4029 1552 Laser Hot Hits. Bruce Springsteen "Hungry Heart," some utility QRM. SINPO 33333.
5800 1539 Laser Hot Hits. Foxx "Single Bed." SINPO 24332.
6300 1515 Countdown Radio. Phil Collins "You Can't Hurry Love." SINPO 34333.

(via Barneys web SDR/ *via Twente SDR)

Chris Watson of Radio Geronimo Shortwave passes away

Tribute to Chris Watson of Radio Geronimo SW from his friend Shaun:

"I have just heard from Peter Verbruggen of FRS Holland that my long time friend and colleague at Geronimo Shortwave, Chris Watson, (real surname Regan) has passed away at home in France last Wednesday 28th December.

Chris was involved in shortwave free radio for over 30 years, operating Radio 48 in the 80s, and then Geronimo Shortwave from the 90s through to last year. He had a passion for shortwave and even though it became more difficult for him to broadcast via his own transmitter in more recent times due to his domestic circumstances, he kept Geronimo Shortwave going through various relay stations.

I worked alongside Chris since the 80s when I was operating Radio Apollo International on shortwave, often running both stations from the same woodland either in Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire or Wales.

He and his wife Pat became firm friends. The last time I met him was about 4 years ago on one of his occasional visits back to the UK when he helped me out with some shortwave aerial problems. I still continued recording shows for Geronimo until a couple of years ago when my work on the Prog Mill took over more of my radio time, but he was always supportive of that and my continued shortwave work with FRS Holland and was in touch as recently as October.

Chris was a true stalwart of shortwave free radio, with a genuine passion and enthusiasm which never dimmed. Shortwave will certainly be worse off for his absence.
Rest in Peace Chris. And may that big transmitter in the sky get a SINPO of all the 5's!"

(via Facebook)

This is very sad news. I have listened to Radio Geronimo Shortwave for many years and I remember listening to some of the stations he was involved in during the 1980s. RIP, Chris.