Fri Aug 17

3927: Radio Quintus heard playing schlager and polka, greeting Dave from England and several Dutch pirates @ 2145. He said was closing down soon. SINPO 44333.

3927: Radio Atlantis Int heard with ID @ 2208, playing rock music. Good signal. SINPO 44433.

6310: West Coast Radio heard @ 2155 playing New Order's "Blue Monday," greeting Marcel, QSO with Condor. Signal started fair but faded right down to nothing before fading up again. SINPO 34333.

6310: Radio Condor in QSO with WCR @ 2203. Signal much weaker but could just hear Condor. SINPO 24332.

(updated 22:10UTC)

Thurs Aug 16

3927: Radio Boomerang in QSO with West Coast and Cupid Radio @ 2105. Strong signal. SINPO 44444.

3936: Cupid Radio with a good signal @ 2010 playing rock and pop music, greeting listeners. SINPO 44333.

3936: West Coast Radio heard @ 2057 playing Depeche Mode from the 80s. Nice signal from WCR as well. Seems to be good conditions tonight. SINPO 44433.

6306: Radio Doctor Tim playing Elvis songs - obviously to mark the 30th anniversary of Elvis's death today. Heard playing "Now Or Never" at 2000. Weak signal with fair peaks. SINPO 24332.

6310: Radio Skywire heard @ 2130 playing "Man of Action," giving ID and email address. SINPO 34333. Click here for a recording

(updated 21:40UTC)

Pirate nostalgia

This last few week there has been no end of pirate radio nostalgia emanating from the United Kingdom with commemorations of the 40th anniversary of the Marine Offences Act, which saw the outlawing of the offshore radio staions in 1967.

The national newspapers have been full of reports of the swashbuckling pioneers from the 1960s and the broadcasts recreating those days via the Red Sands Radio RSL and Pirate BBC Essex.

Read about one writer's view in an item called Could Pirates Rule The Airwaves Once More? on The Guardian newspaper's blog at http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/08/piracy.html

Tues Aug 14

3910: Weekend Music Radio heard @ 2015 playing Radio Caroline airchecks from 1967. A repeat of Sunday's programme, so not sure if the real one or the hoaxer (real one - see comments). Good signal but some ute QRM. SINPO 43433. Of course today is the 40th anniversary of the Marine Offences Act.

Mon Aug 13

6220: Mystery Radio with pop @ 1655. Some splash from 6225. SINPO 33433.

6280: Unid station playing schlager and polka @ 2020. Weak signal with fair peaks. Noisy frequency. SINPO 23432.

6878: Laser Hot Hits via Pirate Music heard @ 2035 playing Blondie. Fair signal but utility QRM. SINPO 33433. I've not had a lot of luck hearing 6420 - I don't know how frequently it is on or whether it is just poor propagation.

(updated 20:40UTC)

Sun Aug 12

Poor conditions today with a lot of deep fading and signals going from very good to poor within a matter of minutes. There has been very little on today - even now at 1940, the only stations I'm hearing is Mystery Radio with a good signal on 6220 and WMR on 6400 (but not 3945) also coming in well.

3926: West Coast Radio rounding off the weekend. Heard @ 2145 playing Pink Floyd with a S9 signal here, but quite a lot noise tonight. SINPO 44333.

5720: Orion Radio coming in well @ 0740 playing the song "No More Mr Nice Guy." SINPO 34433.

6200: Radio Rapido (tent) @ 0920 playing an Echo & The Bunnymen song, some splash from 6207. Signal faded out before could get ID. SINPO 33433.

6207: Radio Scotland Int playing "House of the Rising Sun" @ 0930. He said was testing transmitter after connector problem last night. Good signal. SINPO 44433.

6220: Mystery Radio with pop @ 0755, weak signal here. SINPO 24332.

6245: Britain Radio Int v JRRI with a Marine Offences Act special programme. Heard @ 0910 with a good signal. SINPO 44433.

6265: Radio Borderhunter back from his holidays, playing Boney M "Ma Baker" @ 0900. Sounds like weak station underneath (possibly Premier Radio). SINPO 43433.

6280: Radio Merlin with full ID and contact details @ 0914, asking for reports. Op said station was commemorating the 40th anniversary of the MOA with Radio London recordings and offshore radio documentaries. Reception conditions very varied. Currently a very good signal, peaking at S9+10dB. SINPO 44433.

6305: Radio Saturnus with an Abba song @ 0750. Fair signal. SINPO 34433.

6400: Weekend Music Radio with Jack talking about offshore radio @ 0800. SINPO 34333.


6540: Radio Ramona playing oldies @ 0950, sounded like he was testing his mic. Poor-fair signal. SINPO 24332.

(updated 21:55UTC)

Sat Aug 11

3904: Bogusman heard @ 2100 reading emails and playing alternative rock. Good signal here. SINPO 44444.

3927: Radio Likedeeler greeting DJ Dipol and playing German rock @ 2110. Good signal - S9. SINPO 44433. Click here to hear a recording.

3945: Weekend Music Radio playing a news report about the 40th anniversary of the Marine Offences Act @ 1810. Fair signal but some splash from 3955. In parallel with 6400. SINPO 33433.

6220: Mystery Radio with pop and jingles @ 1600. Some splash from 6225 (Radio Racja). SINPO 33433.

6255: KBC via Lithuania playing David Bowie "Rebel Rebel" @ 2210. Strong signal. SINPO 55544.

6275: Laser Hot Hits with oldies @ 0800. Fair signal here. SINPO 34433.

6280: Unid station (Merlin?) playing a recording of the final hour of offshore station Radio London. Heard @ 1610. Some local QRM. SINPO 33433.

6310: Radio Condor (tent) heard @ 2105. Sounded like dance music, but weak signal on noisy frequency. SINPO 24332.

9290: Radio Six International via Latvia @ 0745 with Saturday Sounds. Back on shortwave after several months absence. SINPO 45444.

6300: Radio Valencia playing "Ring of Fire" @ 1555, followed by ID. SINPO 34433.

6400: Weekend Music Radio with Jack talking about the 40th anniversary of the Marine Offences Act @ 1805. Deep fades. SINPO 44433.

(updated 22:10UTC)

Fri Aug 10

Out all day so no chance for listening any earlier on.

6255: KBC v Lithuania signing on @ 2200 with usual strong signal. SINPO 55544.

Thu Aug 9

6265: Premier Radio Int heard @ 2000 playing 70s music. Live programme with time checks and mentions of "broadcasting from the west coast of Ireland." Some splash from Iran on 6255. SINPO 33333.

6285: Radio Skywire heard @ 1910, playing schlager. But noisy frequency with SSB and other QRM but ID came through on signal peak. SINPO 23332.

6310: Radio Condor with dance music@ 2140, said was signing off soon. Went off at 2151. Fair-good signal here. SINPO 34333. Click here for audio clip.

(updated 21:45UTC)

Pirate BBC Essex

BBC presenters are taking to the sea on board a former lightship to mark 40 years since the Marine Offences Bill became law.

Johnnie Walker of BBC Radio 2, Emperor Rosko, Norman St John and John Kerr are just four of the DJs taking part.

Programmes from the LV18 start on Thursday August 9 and continue 24-hours a day until 15:00 on Tuesday August 14 - 40 years to the day and time that nearly all the original pirate stations went off air.

Tim Gillett, Programmes Editor for BBC Essex, said the original pirate DJs were queuing up to take part in this unique radio event, legally broadcasting from the bridge of the LV18.

"We did a similar thing in 2004 when we celebrated 40 years since the start of pirate radio, when pirate radio, led by Radio Caroline, broadcast off the Essex coast," he said. "It was phenomenally popular, with thousands of emails and hits to the website from all over the world.

As well as by tuning in to Pirate BBC Essex on 729, 765 and 1530 MW, the shows can also be heard via the BBC Essex website. (Waveguide)

(via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD)

-----------------------------------

More details and the internet connection is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/local_radio/pirate_bbc_essex/

Wed Aug 8

6275: Radio RWE v Laser Hot Hits @ 2045, talking about radio with classical music interludes, IDs and giving out email address. Bit of surprise since announcement on Alfa Lima said this was going out at 0600UTC tomorrow morning. Web address is http://www.radiorwe.com/ Poor-fair signal. SINPO 24332.

Tues Aug 7

6311: Radio Bonofox heard @ 1710 playing polka following by ID. He said was testing modulation. Deep fades with signal disappearing into the noise. SINPO 24332.

Mon Aug 6

3927: West Coast Radio heard @ 2145 playing rock music, asking for reports. Good signal but some static noise. SINPO 44333.

Martin Schoech's pirate address list

I've updated my pirate-radio address-list PWdB:
http://www.schoechi.de/pwdb.html

The main part of the list (other names, P.O. boxes, activity, etc.) is only for subscribers, since I want to get some reward for my work and also because some of the pirates are rather suspicious about the publication of certain data on the web.

But the part of the list with the E-mail-addresses and the www-pages can be seen for free:
http://www.schoechi.de/pwdb-ema.htmlhttp://www.schoechi.de/pwdb-emb.html

Orders and critical comments are welcome!

Payment for a subscription to the list please via PayPal, the price is 5 EUR / 6 USD for 2 years .
For the same you can also get free access to the files of the QSL Info Pages QIP.

Yours
Martin Schoech

(info via swpirates)

Sun Aug 5

3927: Radio Likedeeler playing rock music @ 2125, greeting listeners. SINPO 34333.

3945: Weekend Music Radio playing oldies @ 1935. Good signal but some static noise. SINPO 44333.

6045: MV Baltic R v Juelich signing on @ 1200. Gave web address as http://www.rrms.de/
Playing rock and pop. SINPO 55544.

6200: Radio Rapido @ 0910 greeting listeners, playing rock music. Some SSB QRM. SINPO 33433. Clip here for audio clip.

6210: Radio Geronimo playing a documentary about Radio Caroline @ 0800, then some soft rock before closing down at 0815. Fair-good signal. SINPO 34433. Clip here for audio clip

6220: Mystery Radio with pop @ 0805. SINPO 34333.

6305: Radio Altrex playing oldies @ 0813. Weak signal but just caught ID. Later heard in QSO with Sallandse Boer. SINPO 24332.

6306: Radio Brandaris Int playing song "You're Daddy's Little Girl" @ 1230 followed by ID and hotline number, signing off - "very hot in the studio". SINPO 34433.

6307: Sallandse Boer in QSO with Radio Altrex @ 0900. SINPO 34333.

6310: Radio Odyssey with non-stop 80s music @ 2135 and occasional IDs by woman. SINPO 34333.

6314: Radio Kilo Tango Lima playing oldies @ 1730, followed by ID. SINPO 34433.

6315: Radio Zodiac heard @ 1125 playing Simple Minds. Deep fades but fair peaks. SINPO 34333.

6325: Radio Saturnus heard playing the song "Chequered Love" @ 0750. Fair signal. SINPO 34333.

6400: Weekend Music Radio playing Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" @ 0755. Good signal here. SINPO 44444.

6420: Laser Hot Hits playing a song by the Human League @ 1740. Best reception I've had of Laser since they moved here. Fair-good signal but some fading. SINPO 34433.

6540: Radio Hamamelis @ 0805 with schlager, deep fades. SINPO 24332.

6730: Unid station in lsb. Thanks to tip from Marcel on Alfa Lima forum. Tuned in @ 1940 to hear station playing "I Am What I Am" with man talking almost continuously in Portuguese. Fair signal here (S5). I wonder who this is? Click here to hear recording.

(updated 21:40UTC)

Sat Aug 4

3935: Radio Nova heard @ 2000 giving out mailing address of PO Box 2702, Herten and web address of www.listentoradionova.com Also playing 80s music. Some splash from Radio Underground. SINPO 23332.

3940: Radio Underground heard @ 1750 with radio news and music. According to message left on the Alfa Lima forum, it might be the last time. Let's hope not as it's always an interesing listen. Poor-fair signal at the moment. SINPO 24432.

3945: Weekend Music Radio with offshore radio documentary @ 1800. Jack said was using this frequency to avoid clashing with the Dutch on 3910. Again, poor-fair at moment. SINPO 34433.

6220: Mystery Radio with a live programme presented by Chris Ise @ 1950 playing dance music. Good signal here. Andy Walker heard @ 2150. SINPO 44433.

6255: KBC via Lithuania, signing on @ 2200. Signal peaking at S9+30dB. I think long skip conditions are doing better on 48m tonight. SINPO 55544.

6275: Laser Hot Hits with oldies @ 0845. Fair signal but some fading. SINPO 34333.

6290: Unid station playing A-ha "Take on Me" @ 2145, with periods of silence. SINPO 33433.

6400: Weekend Music Radio heard playing recordings of Red Sands Radio @ 2135. Deep fades with signal going from very good to inaudible.

9290: Radio Joystick in German via Latvia with dance music @ 0905. SINPO 45444.

(updated 22:10UTC)

Fri Aug 3

3904: Bogusman with a repeat of a programme he aired a week or so ago. Heard @ 2040 with the usual reflections on life and playing alternative music. Good signal but rapid fading. SINPO 44433.

6255: KBC v Lithuania with a show by Wolfman Jack, playing the Four Seasons @ 2243. Usual "mighty" signal. SINPO 55544.

6270: Radio Gloria (see comments) playing lots of 60s music, probably via an unknown station. Coming in with a fair to good signal @ 2025. SINPO 34333.

6310: Radio Romeo Echo playing "Ha, Ha, Said the Clown" from the 60s @ 2035. Fair signal but some SSB QRM. SINPO 33333.

6400: West Coast Radio playing rock music. Poor signal plus utility noise making reception very difficult @ 2140. SINPO 23332.

(updated 22:45UTC)

Thurs Aug 2

3927: West Coast Radio playing rock music @ 2210. Fair-good signal. SINPO 34333.

6311: Unid station playing polka and country music @ 1955. SINPO 33333.

Radio Six to return to shortwave

Effective August 11th, Scotland’s only independent international broadcaster, Radio Six International, returns to shortwave with a resumption of its Saturday morning broadcast on 9290 kHz beamed to Europe, the Far East and Pacific regions.

The programme – transmitted every Saturday between 0700 and 0800 GMT – will be relayed from the 100 kW facility at Ulbroka, Latvia as well as from the 2.7 kW medium wave transmitter on 945 kHz in Riga, Latvia.

The station has recently expressed reservations about the effectiveness of short wave transmissions, and is available 24 hours a day on the internet at http://www.radiosix.com as well as via satellite and FM in various parts of the world at certain times of day.

The shortwave and MW transmissions will continue until the end of September, when the situation will be reviewed.

For further information contact Tony Currie, Programme Director, at Radio Six International – tony @ radiosix.com

Radio Six International, PO Box 600, Glasgow G41 5SH, Scotland
Telephone and fax: +44 141 427 0531


(Tony Currie, July 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

Wed Aug 1

3927: Radio Whitesnake and Cupid Radio playing plenty of rock music on an otherwise quiet night on the bands. Heard @ 1900 playing Bad Company "Feeling Like Making Love." Fair signal. SINPO 34433.