Cambridge 105 FM in UK (Internet)

Cambridge 105 FM in Cambridgeshire, UK was logged on 31 October 2012, using their Internet stream. A programme of pop music, community announcements and station promotions, including a live Halloween feed called "Man on the Moon", was monitored from 18.30 to 19.30 UTC. The stream was received at: 32 kps in aac format over an application called TuneIn Radio, which was installed on both an Apple iPod Touch and Blackberry Bold 9700. 

A reception report was emailed to Cambridge 105 FM,  "Community Radio In Your City". In less than an hour I received two emails. One from the Station Director, who confirmed that I had listened to their Internet stream. Another message, I assume from  the station's engineer,  who apologised that the station's actual QSL card could only be issued for their "radio" transmission. 

Website:

cambridge105.fm

Email: 

studio@cambridge105.fm

publicity@cambridge105.fm

QSLs for October 2012

The following confirmations were received during the month of October 2012:

Adventist World Radio - DX Bangladesh Wavescan (eQSL) transmitting from Guam
RWN Russian Standard Frequency & Time Service  (QSL card) transmitting from Moscow
Radio France International (eQSL) transmitting from Montsinery, French Guiana
Radio Free Asia (QSL card) transmitting from Sitkunai, Lithuania
The Mighty KBC (eQSL) transmitting from Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Radio Trans Mundial (QSL card) transmitting from Santa Maria-Camobi, Brazil
Atlantic 2000 International (eQSL) Internet broadcast from France
Evangelische Missions Gemeiden/Media Broadcast (eQSL) transmitting from Wertachtal, Germany
St. Petersburg Regional Centre - VOR (QSL card) transmitting from St. Petersburg, Russia
Voice of Turkey (QSL card) transmitting from Emirler
Radio Argovia FM (QSL letter) Internet broadcast from Aarau, Switzerland
Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (eQSL) transmitting from Ekala
Radio PMR Pridnestrovie (eQSL) transmitting from Tiraspol,  Pridnestrovie Moldovian Republic
Adventist World Radio - Wavescan Indian DX Report (eQSL) transmitting from Trincomalee
Adventist World Radio - Wavescan Japan Shortwave Club DX Report (eQSL) transmitting from Wertachtal
Radio Free Asia (QSL card) for medium-wave transmission via Vladivostok, Russia

Indirect QSLs:
Radio Ukraine International (QSL card promised) via Internet stream from Kyiv, Ukraine
Voice of Russia (QSL card promised) transmitting from Samara, Russia
Voice of Maldives (verification promised) transmitting on medium-wave from Male, Maldives
Voice of America (QSL card promised) transmitting from Kuwait

CBC Radio Nord Quebec (via Sackville, NB)

CBC Radio Nord Quebec has been received the past few days (29 and 30 October 2012) with amazing strength and clarity on 9.625 kHz, here in South East Asia. Sadly its operation from the CBC Sackville, New Brunswick short-wave site is slated to cease at the end of October. See this article on the revocation of its licence to operate.

Needless to say, despite many letters and petitions to both the CBC and the Canadian government, over the past several months, this heritage site is to be foolishly dismantled. Interestingly enough, this did not have to happen. Keith Perron of PCJ Media, based in Taiwan, proposed to the CBC that his company would take over the management and funding of the Sackville facility. He provided a working model -- similar to one used at ABC in Australia -- that would have turned a profit within two years, but the CBC made it clear it had no interest in the deal.

Alas, I am thankful I had the good fortune to QSL this station in late December 2011. At the time -- as is usally the case -- I did not realise its days were numbered, just as those of Radio Canada International.

For me, it is another sad chapter in short-wave radio broadcasting.  I have great memories of first hearing and frequently listening to this station on the 49 meter band, back in the late 1960s, when I lived in Denver, Colorado. So long CBC Radio Nord Quebec via Sackville!

In memory of this wonderful station I give you CBC Radio Nord Quebec -- as heard in Malaysia on 29 October 2012 -- HERE and HERE.

CBC Radio Nord Website

Farewell ;-(

MTVA / MR1-Kossuth Radio (Solt, Hungary on Medium-Wave)

MTVA (MR1-Kossuth Radio), transmitting on medium-wave from Solt, Budapest, Hungary, was logged on 24 October 2012. When RRI Bandung, Indonesia signed off, a Hungarian language broadcast of news, sports and talk format was noted from 17.15 to 17.45 UTC. This medium-wave transmission was heard on 540 kHz. Transmission was heard again on 27 October at approximately the same time and checked against their Internet stream. Reception (SINPO) was 23322 -- weak signal strength amidst some atmospheric noise, slight interference from another station and fading every five minutes or so. Despite these conditions, audio was detected, but not always clear. After 18.00 UTC reception gradually worsened.

Reception report was emailed on same day, messaged to their FaceBook page and posted in subsequent days. This QSL-letter, along with sticker, arrived in the mail on 6 March 2013.  My understanding is MTVA (MR1) underwent reorganisation and restaffing in early 2013, thus the first QSL-letter was delayed. Even then, it was obtained with the help of a DXer in Hungary and an MTVA staff person who was among the station's retirees. On 5 March 2013 (assuming the QSL-letter overlooked), I sent a follow up email and the new verisigner from the Technical Department confirmed with a rubber stamp and his signature. To all of you, Köszönöm!

Solt Antenna Site

Email:

mr1-kossuth@radio.hu 

Address: (address may have changed since this posting)
Magyar Radio
MR1-Kossuth Radio
1088 Budapest, 
Brody Sandor u. 5-7. 
HUNGARY

WINB (Red Lion, Pennsylvania)

Radio Station WINB, transmitting from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, USA was logged on  27 October 2012. Christian religious programming was observed from 21.55 to 22. 55 UTC on 9.265 kHz. Reception (SINPO) at 21.55 UTC was 15321 -- initially a weak carrier was heard, then occasional audio was noted when signal peaked upward, otherwise reception was inaudible much of the time. Audio gradually improved around 22.20 UTC, allowing voices to be more clearly detected, but generally signal remained poor. As the grey line was ending (and sunrise approached) in Malaysia, signal disappeared entirely around 22.50 UTC.  

Reception report was emailed immediately afterwards and posted in subsequent days. A follow-up email to WINB Frequency Manager, Mr. Hans Johnson, yielded a prompt reply on 2 January 2012.  Unfortunately when I logged the station I did not make a recording. I learned later that an audio file  is crucial for Mr. Hans Johnson to consider issuing a QSL. In my follow-up report I mentioned this to him, and he rather curtly -- great PR for WINB I might add -- stated in so many words no QSL would be forthcoming unless an audio file accompanied the report. Therefore, take note, Mr. Hans Johnson is a stickler for "audio files", regardless of the quality of reception. 

Ironically, on 4 January 2012, I did receive a QSL card from WINB. It was signed by Mr. Fred W. Wise. I would assume he responded to my reception report I mailed to the station. Moral of story? For a QSL the old-fashioned way, submit your report by mail and address it to Mr. Fred W. Wise. A wise man, indeed!

Email:

winb40th@yahoo.com

Address:

Radio Station WINB

2900 Windsor Road

Red Lion, Pennsylvania 17356

USA

Manx Radio - Isle of Man (Internet)

Manx Radio AM 1368 on the Isle of Man was received over the Internet on 25 October 2012.  Listened to Alex in the Afternoon, lots of advertisements, news and a music programme in Gaelic from 15.45 to 17.05 UTC.  A 64 kps Internet stream in MP3 mode provided excellent fidelity and an unbroken stream. Broadcast was heard using an Apple iPod Touch and Blackberry Bold with TuneIn Radio application linked to wifi.

A reception report was emailed shortly after logging Manx Radio. This QSL card arrived in the mail on 24 December 2012.

Email:

studio@manxradio.com

reception@manxradio.com

Website:

manxradio.com/

Radio Ukraine International (Internet)

Radio Ukraine International (RUI) in an Internet stream  from Kiev was logged on 22 October 2012. A German language broadcast of news, Ukrainian music and Ukrainian news journal  was heard from 14.00 to 15.00 UTC. The broadcast began with the Radio Ukraine International (Radio Kiev) interval tune, formerly heard on short-wave. The streaming link used was http://pp.wi.com.ua/NRCU4?WMContentBitrate=20000. 

A reception report was emailed, submitted on-line and posted to RUI on the same day. On 26 October 2012, Vira Maliy on behalf of the English Section Letter Department of RUI replied: "A QSL card is on its way to you." This QSL card indeed was received on 7 November 2012.

Address:

National Radio Company of Ukraine

Radio Ukraine International

26, Khreschatyk Str., 

Kyiv, 01001, Ukraine 

Website:

radioukr.com.ua

Adventist World Radio - Wavescan (via Guam)

Adventist World Radio - Wavescan "DX Bangladesh Report", transmitting from Guam, was heard on 21 October 2012 from  16.30 to 17.00 UTC. Reception (SINPO) on  11.740 kHz was 45444 -- slight atmospheric noise and minor fading, otherwise signal strength was good and audio clear. 

Reception report was emailed to DX Bangladesh and Wavescan on the following day. This eQSL from DX Bangladesh was received on 29 October 2012. The QSL card from AWR arrived in the mail on 8 November 2012.

Broadcast Belgium - "The Disco Palace" (via Issoudun)

Broadcast Belgium  - "The Disco Palace", transmitting in DRM from Issoudun, France, was logged on 20 and 21 October 2012. Transmission time was from 15.30 to 16.30 UTC on 15.775 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 55545. I observed a very clear and powerful signal using a large amount of bandwidth from 15.770 to 15.780 kHz. No audio was detected owing to a non-DRM receiver and / or decoder. Content of broadcast, as the name of the station would suggest, was presumably disco music from the late 70s and early 80s.

Although I have no actual content describing the track list played at The Disco Palace, I have submitted a reception report to indicate the signal strength of Broadcast Belgium from Issoudun in my quarter of the world. Whether they (The Disco Palace and Broadcast Belgium) wish to reply with a QSL is entirely their perorogative. Broadcast Belgium generally requires 2 IRCs or US$2 for a QSL card. Many a time I have submitted a report merely to indicate the quality of reception (without IRCs or money), not always expecting a reply, yet ultimately I receive a QSL card or eQSL.

It should be noted in some countries (Malaysia, for one) that IRCs are no longer available from their post offices; PayPal transactions (in Malaysia) were recently suspended preventing the purchase of IRCs elsewhere; and it is illegal (in Malaysia) to pass currency through the mail.and subject to theft.

In any event, reception reports sans IRCs and money have been posted. All email addresses to Broadcast Belgium and "The Disco Palace" have failed delivery. Online reports have failed to deliver as well. Their respective FaceBook pages seem to be the only way to message them; albeit, how successful this will be is anyone's guess. Therefore, an initial report will be submitted by post.

POSTSCRIPT:
After I posted the above blog entry, it was reported the email address at Broadcast Belgium will be operational in November 2012. Apparently a spammer has temporarily caused them to shut down their email and on-line messaging. I certainly will try to email at a later date.

THE DISCO PALACE

Address:
The Disco Palace
c/o Alyx & Yeyi, LLC
5201 Blue Lagoon Drive, 8th Floor
Miami, FL 33126
U.S.A.

Tel: 
+1 (305) 572-8070

Email (Invalid and/or obsolete):
info@thediscopalace.com

BROADCAST BELGIUM
Address:
Broadcast Belgium
P.O. Box 1
2310 Rijkevorsel
Belgium

Email Technical Manager: 
info@broadcast.be

Websites:
www.thediscopalace.com/
www.broadcast.be

The Mighty KBC (via Plovdiv, Bulgaria)

The Mighty KBC in a test transmission to North America from Plovdiv, Bulgaria  was logged on 21  October 2012. Music and a male announcer was heard from 01.50 to 02.00 UTC (broadcast time 01.00 to 02.00 UTC) on 9.500 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 14321 -- a terribly weak signal hampered by atmospheric noise and fading prevented clear reception. Despite these conditions, I was able to detect a weak carrier signal with occasional audio when the signal peaked upward. Surprisingly, I received this eQSL despite limited content and very poor reception. My intention was merely to report what I observed.

A reception report was emailed and sent on-line to The Mighty KBC shortly after the broadcast ended. This eQSL came in response to the on-line submission within six hours.

Radio Trans Mundial (via Santa Maria-Camobi, Brazil)

Radio Trans Mundial, transmitting from Santa Maria-Camobi,  Brazil, was logged on 17 October 2012. Portuguese language broadcast was monitored from 18.50 to 19.15 UTC on 11.735 kHz. Reception (SINPO) at 18.50 UTC was 34332 -- weak to fair signal strength amidst static and droning transmitter sound, otherwise speech was audible and clear at times. After 19.15 UTC, reception worsened to 24221 due to increased weakness of signal and static.

Reception was emailed to Radio Trans Mundial. Within a few days,  this QSL was emailed to me, stating the actual card would be posted soon. The QSL card and literature arrived on 3 January 2013. Thank you very much, Rudolf!

Email: 

rtm@transmundial.com.br

Voice of Russia (via Samara)

Voice of Russia, transmitting from Samara, was logged on 18 October 2012. A German language broadcast of magazine reports and news was observed from 10.05 to 11.00 UTC  on  15.700 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 34342 -- fair signal with atmospheric noise and slight fading. Despite these conditions, audio was clear.

A reception report was emailed to VOR's German and English language sections on the same day. On 22 October 2012, Elena Osipova in the Letters Department of the World Service of the Voice of Russia sent this email message: "Your reception report of October 18th has been checked and found to be correct. A QSL card verifying it will be sent to you by the regular mail." QSL card arrived in the mail on 30 November 2012. VOR sent another QSL card on 13 December 2012, which unfortunately stated the wrong frequency and transmitter site.

Email:

post-de@ruvr.ru

Another QSL but with wrong frequency and  TX site

National Broadcasting Corporation / Radio East New Britain

National Broadcasting Corporation / Radio East New Britain in Rabaul, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea was logged on 13 October 2012. Domestic music from PNG, news in Tok Pisin and a phone-in listener was observed from 11.05 to 12.05 UTC. Transmission was on 3.385 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 25332 -- weak signal strength with faint audio amidst fading and slight atmospheric noise. At times signal peaked upward and speech was clearly heard.

Recordings of the reception quality can be sample HERE and HERE. Listen closely. Music and station ID can be detected. 

A reception report was emailed and posted a few days later. Finally -- after many follow-up emails -- on 21 January 2013, I received  confirmation from  NBC Radio East New Britain in Rabaul, PNG.  The Provincial Director at Radio East New Britain, Mr. Terry Longbut, emailed and confirmed the above self-prepared eQSL (which was tightly cropped). He filled in the details, signed and stamped with the station's common NBC seal. Included with the attached eQSL was the following message from him: "Hello,  Mr. Breyel. So sorry for the long delay in responding to your email mainly due to technical problem. This is to verify and confirm your reception report request via the qsl card attached. Cheers, Terry." I replied thanking him and requested a Letter of Verification on NBC stationery (which may be pushing my luck). He responded promptly: "Noted". Thank you very, very much, Terry.

Address:

National Broadcasting Corporation

Radio East New Britain

P.O. Box 393,

 Rabaul, East New Britain

 Papua New Guinea

Email:

info@nbc.com.pg

National Broadcating Corporation / Radio New Ireland

National Broadcasting Corporation / Radio New Ireland in Kavieng, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea was logged on 12 and 13 October 2012. A broadcast of music and speaking in Tok Pisin was observed on 3.905 kHz. Reception (SINPO) at  11.10 UTC, on 12 October, was 24331 --  mostly carrier signal with faint audio. Reception (SINPO) at 10.50 to 11.55 UTC, on 13 October, continued with a weak carrier signal, but gradually with faint audio of a male announcer amidst fading and severe atmospheric noise. After 12.00 UTC, only a weak carrier signal was heard.

To listen to a sound file of Radio New Ireland as heard in South East Asia, click HERE. This recording was made at 11.25 UTC on 13 November 2012. Reception began to improve significantly by November. Signal was exceptional strong on 18 December 2012 from 19.15 to 19.50 UTC. A sample of music and DJ speaking in Tok Pisin may be heard HERE.

Reception report was emailed and posted.

Address:

National Broadcasting Corporation

Radio New Ireland

P.O. Box 477,

 Kavieng, New Ireland, 

 Papua New Guinea

Email:

info@nbc.com.pg

Voice of America (via Kuwait)

Voice Of America -  IBB/BBG, transmitting from a relay site in Kuwait, was logged on 5 September 2012. VOA Special English broadcast included the programmes the "Making of a Nation" and "American Mosaic". Transmission was  monitored from 20.30 to 21.00 UTC on 7.555 kHz. Reception (SINPO): 44444 -- good signal strength and some interference which increased after 20.50 UTC, otherwise clear reception. At 21.00 UTC,  VOA Special English transmission ended, followed by VOA Radio Ashna. 

Reception report was emailed to VOA.  VOA emailed on 16 October 2012, promising to send a QSL card. This QSL card arrived in the mail on 16 January 2013.

Evangelische Missions Gemeiden (via Wertachtal)

QSL card from Evangelische Missions Gemeiden /
 Missionswerk Friedensstimme

Evangelische Missions Gemeiden (Missionswerk Friedensstimme), transmitting from the Media Broadcast site in Wertachtal, Germany, was logged on 13 October 2012. A Russian language broadcast of religious programming  was heard from 15.00 to 15.30 UTC on 11.695 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 44444 -- good signal strength, clear audio, slight transmitter droning and minor fading.

A sound file of this transmission may be heard HERE.

eQSL from Media Broadcast in Wertachtal

Reception report was emailed to Media Broadcast and posted to Missionswerk Friedensstimme. Media Broadcast confirm by email on 16 October 2012.  QSL card from Missionswerk Friedensstimme arrived in th email on 16 November 2012.

Address:

Missionswerk Friedensstimme

Postfach 100638,

51606 Gummersbach, Germany

Voice of Maldives - Dhivehi Raajjeyage Adu (MW)

Voice of Maldives (Dhivehi Raajjeyage Adu) -- Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation, transmitting from Male, Republic of Maldives, was logged on 10 October 2012. Broadcasting in the Divehi (Maldivian) language, Islamic programming and music was monitored from 16.45 to 17.30 UTC on the medium-wave frequency of 1449 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 34332 -- fair signal strength when it peaked, then faded every 7 minutes. Despite these conditions,  signal was audible and clear throughout much of the broadcast. 

To give you an idea of the reception of Voice of Maldives (from Male) in Malaysia, you may listen to the following audio file HERE. It was recorded on 10 October 2012 at approximately 16.57 UTC. 

Reception report was emailed the following day. On 17 October 2012, I received this message from Maldives Broadcasting Corporation, after contacting them on FaceBook: "Thank you for the information. Will check and reply to you shortly with confirmation." 

POSTSCRIPT (16 May 2016)
Azad from Maldives informs me that this is not the Voice of Maldives. Thank you very much, Azad! At least this answers why there was neither a follow-up from the station nor a QSL. The big question remains: Based on the audio file above, who is the broadcaster? I now suspect Iran, in particular, IRIB Bandar-e-Torkeman [Bandar Torkaman] in Golestan Province. The station operated during this time period and at 400 kW which is certainly a powerful enough signal to reach Malaysia.

Radio Argovia FM, Switzerland (Internet)

Radio Argovia FM "Classic Rock" in Aarau, Switzerland was logged on the Internet 28 September 2012. A broadcast of classic rock was heard  from 16.10 to 17.05 UTC. Mode of reception was an  Internet stream at 128 kps. Web link used was http://tun.in/seJRT

Reception report was emailed to Radio Argovia on same day. This QSL letter with two suckers arrived in the mail on 10 October 2012.

Email:

Sekretariat@argovia.ch

Programmleitung@argovia.ch
support@argovia.ch

AWR-Wavescan (via Trincomalee)

Adventist World Radio - Wavescan, transmitting from Tricomalee, Sri Lanka, was received on 7 October 2012. Dr. Adrian Peterson profiled early Olympic radio coverage in Germany and Radio Australia's transmitters used during the Melbourne Games in 1956. Afterwards he featured a report on early short-wave jamming transmitters. This was followed by Toshi Ohtake's presentation of the Japan Shortwave Club DX Report. This broadcast was monitored from 15.30 to 16.00 UTC on 15.255 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 45333 -- good signal strength with atmospheric noise and fading, otherwise speech was clear and audible.

A reception report was emailed to Wavescan and JSWC shortly after the broadcast. Kazuhiko Iwasa (岩沙一彦), QSL Manager for Japan Shortwave Club (JSWC)replied with this eQSL and email the following day: "Thank you for your reception report.We are pleased to confirm that you have heard our program. Your valuable opinions on our programmes will always be appreciated." A QSL from AWR arrived in th email on 6 November 2012.

Email:

wavescan@awr.org

jswcqsl@live.jp

Radio Free Asia (via Sitkunai)

Radio Free Asia, transmitting from Sitkunai, Lithuania, was logged on 7 October 2012. Programming in Uyghur consisted of news and in-depth reports. Time monitored was from 01.00  to 01.30 UTC (broadcast time 01.00 to 02.00 UTC) on 9.400 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 24332 -- weak signal strength, some station interference and atmospheric noise, but clearly audible. 

Reception report was emailed to RFA immediately after logging the transmission.

Radio Free Asia (via Vladivostok on MW)

Radio Free Asia, transmitting presumably from Vladivostok, Russia, was logged on 16 September 2012. A Korean language broadcast of news and current events was  monitored from 16.02 to 16.30 UTC. Transmission was on the medium-wave frequency of 648 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 24422 -- fair signal strength despite transmitter hum and slight interference when signal faded out every 7 to 10 minutes.

Reception report was emailed to RFA on the same day. This QSL card arrived in the mail on 4 October 2012.

Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation

All Asia Service of Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, transmitting from Colombo-Ekala, Sri Lanka, was logged on 2 October 2012. An English language broadcast of music, news and Christian programming was observed from 01.25 to  02.35 UTC on 15.745 kHz. Reception  from 01.25 to 02.00 UTC was (SINPO) 34333 -- fair signal strength, minimal station splatter, transmitter droning distorted audio slightly whenever the signal peaked upward and atmospheric noise was worse whenever the signal faded out comple. From 02.00 to 02.30 UTC  station splatter ceased, fading continued, droning and audio distortion was less apparent and insignificant to degrade overall quality. At 02.35 UTC, signal abruptly dropped off and only carrier was audible. This is odd because SLBC's signal usually is steady and improves later in their broadcast.

A reception report was submitted shortly afterwards. This eQSL arrived on 8 October 2012.

Adventist World Radio - Wavescan (via Wertachtal)

Adventist World Radio - Wavescan, transmitting from Wertachtal, Germany, was logged on 30 September 2012. A programme about the first wireless communication in Australia was highlighted, followed by a feature on TV/Radio broadcasters who offer Portuguese language programmes, then lastly the 5th Edition of Indian DX Report. Transmission was from 12.00 to 12.30 UTC on 17.535 kHz. Reception (SINPO) was 35333 -- fair signal strength with moderate atmospheric noise and ripple fading. Despite these conditions, speech was audible and clear. Quality of the transmission was degraded to 25332 after 20.20 UTC.

A reception report was submitted to Indian DX Report shortly after the broadcast. The following day I received verification that an eQSL would be sent to me. Indeed, this eQSL was received on 5 October 2012. Thank you very much, Prithwiraj.