Clocking on

Just like nowadays I listened to the Dutch MW pirates extensively during the 1990s. I used to have an octagon loop antenna and amplifier, which worked really well with the Sony ICF2001D receiver that I still use every now and again today. Most nights, and especially at weekends, I would tune around at the top of the band and see what I could hear. My favourite station was Radio Barones and even back then he would boom in loud and clear. He must have been using 1611 kHz one night and I thought it would be an interesting experiment to see if I could hear him on the little clock radio that sat next to my bed. So, I placed it next to the loop and tuned around and . . . there he was - the Baro on my clock radio!

All these years later I thought I would try the experiment again. And on Wednesday evening I placed a 1980s Bush clock radio inside my loop antenna and tuned around. I had no idea how high this radio could tune, so imagine my surprise when I came across the famous voice of Jan Tabak - on 1650 kHz. Most domestic radios are not set to receive stations above 1620, but this one certainly is, and Jan Tabak was coming in loud and clear. Perhaps some people will think it is impossible to receive foreign pirate stations on such a radio, but I made a short video for everybody to see . . .

A few minutes ago I was trying out the clock radio again and heard Jeneverstoker playing some records. It just goes to show that as long as you have a decent antenna, any radio will do! And you can make your own loop antenna for MW very cheaply. Have a look here.

And now for a few recent logs from this side of the North Sea . . .

Tuesday, May 14, 2013
1620       2043       Kolibrie 35333 music programme
1650       2109       Jan Tabak 45444-55555 music programme
1638       2110       Bluebird 45444-55544 music programme
1645       2128       Noordzee 43433 report for Kolibrie

Monday, May 13, 2013
1633       2129       Barcelona 55444-55555 music programme
1655       2129       Relmus 45434 music programme
1663       2130       Readymix 43443 music programme
1657       2148       Jan De Roos 45444-55444 music programme
1640       2209       Monte Carlo 35333 report for Barcelona
1648       2229       Casablanca 45434 qsoing
1653       2244       Jeneverstoker 35333-45343 report for Jan De Roos
1655       2321       Pluto weak signal testing
1636       0004       Pandora 55555 music programme

Sunday, May 12, 2013
1620       0515       Zonnester 35322-45444 music programme

Observations

• Jan Tabak's broadcast was something of a marathon. He is usually on air for only a few minutes - using this or one of his many other names - but it was gone 0400 Dutch time in the early hours of Wednesday morning when he finally shut down the transmitter. I really enjoy his style of broadcasting as you never quite know what to expect next - from the music to the talk, literally anything could happen! More long broadcasts please
• The weather on Monday evening was not good, especially in the north of the Netherlands. Relmus was experiencing a thunder storm while he was on air, and he reckons it might have been lightning that caused his abrupt departure from the airwaves. He expects to be back on air soon though
• At around midnight on Monday there was a big signal on 1636 - and some powerful audio to match. It was Pandora, who was on air for around an hour playing plenty of English music. He often signs on the band quite late and when I listen to him I often think how I must be one of only a few people in the world tuned in as most people are in bed sleeping!
• On Sunday morning Zonnester was busy with his weekly programme on 1620. I didn't manage to get out of bed early enough to listen live, but I left the computer recording the frequency and listened back to about an hour of his broadcast. It always amazes me how many messages and calls he receives while on air. This must be one of the most popular regular pirate broadcasters

Winding down on a Saturday night

It is the early hours of Sunday morning as I write these words and I'm having a listen to the pirates on MW and SW after a day at work. Tower has just closed down on 1611 and I am currently tuned to Bluestar on 1625, who has just taken a live telephone call from Tante Foek. She can often be heard singing along to tunes on 1671 kHz, but did tonight's singing via the telephone line! Moby Dick is still going strong just up the band, and a little higher is Polkaman on 1665. There is a fair bit of static to contend with tonight as various parts of Europe are battered by rain, but signals are coming through well and it is easy listening. 

Saturday, May 11, 2013

1611       2319       Tower 44444-55444 music programme

1625       2320       Bluestar 45333-55444 music programme

1638       2320       Bluebird 44444 music programme

1648       2320       Moby Dick 45444-55555 music programme

1665       2320       Polkaman 24222-34333 music programme

Friday, May 10, 2013

1638       2057       Bluebird 33433 music programme

1643       2058       Wadloper 54444 music programme

1647       2058       Armada 54444 music programme

1656       2058       Studio 69 35443-45444 music programme

1512       2058       Winnetou en Verona 44454 music programme

1683       2107       Bravo Sierra 25232-34333 music programme

1539       2115       Batavia 22432-33433 music programme  

1629       2211       Calipso 55555 music programme

1650       2242       Jeneverstoker 35343 qsoing

1643       2243       Monte Carlo 34443 qsoing

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

1670       2129       Korenklopper 45434 music programme 

1656       2129       Studio 69 44444 music programme

1652       2129       Uniek 34333-45444 music programme

1636       2130       Barcelona 55444 qsoing

1635       2134       Mi Amigo 34333 qsoing

1683       2137       Bravo Sierra 24222 music programme

1620       2140       Batavia 45434 music programme

1632       2140       Barcelona 55444 qsoing

1645       2156       Spakenburg 45444 qsoing

1620       2251       Valencia 34333 asking for report

1665       2252       Majorca 35343-45344 qsoing

1650       2343       Monte Carlo 33433 qsoing

Observations

• On Friday night one of the best signals came from Wadloper. He was busy on 1643 for some hours, along with his good friend Relmus, who sent me a couple of photos from the transmission site. Interesting how the power had doubled by the time the broadcast came to an end!

• Just like Wadloper, Studio 69 operates from Friesland. Sometimes he uses around 25 watts and on other occasions has somewhat more power. Friday night was one of those with a power boost. Take a listen to his great signal here
• There was a nice surprise on Friday when I heard Batavia on 1539. He uses this frequency quite often for his music programmes, but I've never managed to hear his signal on the channel before. There were some legal stations audible most of the time, but Batavia's signal peaked up very nice at one point, and I made a recording, which you can listen to here
• Calipso is always incredibly strong here and right around Europe. Friday night was no exception as he hit the magic 55555 sinpo while using a new inverted L antenna - the same type as that used by Radio Barones

• On Wednesday evening it was good to hear Mi Amigo for the first time in a good while. Also busy with a programme at the same time was Korenklopper. For those who would like to catch his broadcasts, it's always worth checking out the area just above where most of the Dutch pirates operate - 1670-1700 is his favourite part of the band
• I sent Uniek a recording of his Wednesday broadcast as the signal was so good. In return I had another superb qsl in my inbox

Getting the jobs done

It's been a few days since I posted here on the blog. I've been busy with work and enjoying the sunshine while tidying the garden on my days off. I also found a great way to display one of the superb presents we had when getting married last year. We were lucky enough to have several Dutch pirates come over to England to share the happy day with us and they brought some fantastic clogs with our names on. They are now adding a touch of colour to the house . . . 

And yesterday there was time for some antenna adjustments. The outdoor loop antenna is now much higher than previously, sitting up by the roof of the house, and although signals are not particularly stronger, I noticed a little less noise when tuning around the top of MW. 

Coming in very well last night was Rebel on 1636. He is usually busy around 1620 with long music programmes, but last night he was qsoing with Calipso. I listened firstly on the loop antenna with the Lowe HF225 and later on the small indoor loop with the Sony 2001D. Despite using only low power, Rebel was doing a great job. And as for Calipso, he sounded like a local station, with no antenna at all! It was also possible to hear the Jeneverstoker without an antenna, although his signal was much weaker. Not bad at all for around only 100 watts, though.

Here are a few recent logs . . . 

Monday, May 6, 2013

1620       2220       Calipso 55544 testing

1636       2225       Barcelona 55544 music programme

1656       2225       Studio 69 25442-45444 music programme

1620       2230       Napoleon 45444 report for Calipso

1638       2252       Bluebird 45444-55544 qsoing

1648       2300       Casablanca 45444 qsoing

1650       2307       Monte Carlo 35443-45444 qsoing

1653       2327       Jeneverstoker 25332 qsoing

Friday, May 3, 2013

1646       2158       Vrolijke Mijnwerker 55534 music programme

1638       2158       Bluebird 44444 music programme

1636       2159       Keizer En Keizerin 23432 music programme

1654       2215       Nachtzwerver 23432-33433 qsoing

1634       2226       Monte Carlo 33433 qsoing

1655       2236       Monte Carlo 34433 qsoing

1622       2244       Marskramer (Friesland) 34433 music programme

Wall-to-wall activity

After a great day enjoying some warm weather - between the rain and hail showers! - I switched on the radio at around 2100 utc. Saturday nights are always busy on MW and this evening was no exception. It was wall-to-wall all night long and as I write these words there are stations still on air. Barcelona, for example, is booming in on 1633 while he plays a few records after qsoing . . . 

Also still on air at 0030 utc (0230 Dutch time) is Moby Dick on 1648 and Polkaman on 1665. There is also a little Balkan activity higher up the band.

Here's the list of stations heard here in England this evening:

Saturday, April 27, 2013

1620       2105       Batavia 35433 music programme

1629       2105       Quintus 45434-55544 music programme

1636       2105       Keizer En Keizerin 25322 music programme

1641       2105       UK44 24332-34333 music programme

1648       2105       Moby Dick 45444-55444 music programme

1671       2106       Viking 35433-45444 music programme

1665       2108       Polkaman 24322 music programme

1685       2110       Bravo Sierra 25332 music programme

1642       2130       Akai 44444 music programme

1655       2136       Witte Raaf 44434-55444 music programme

1611       2145       Dinkelland 34443 music programme

1636       2205       Spakenburg 44434-54444 qsoing

1647       2205       Noordzee 44444 qsoing

1647       2213       Monte Carlo 44444 qsoing

1662       2217       Majorca 33433-44444 qsoing

1665       2217       Relmus 43443 music programme

1647       2220       Digitaal 43443-55444 qsoing

1675       2228       Relmus 45444 music programme

1636       2312       Romax 34433-44444 qsoing

1625       2321       Batavier 45444-55555

1633       2333       Barcelona 55544 qsoing

1645       2336       Dinkelland 33333-44343 qsoing

1656       2352       Noordzee 54444 qsoing

Observations

• There were some cracking signals on the Kenwood tonight. Quintus was blasting in with a long programme on 1629 - his regular channel at the top of the MW band. Also on air with a music show and cracking signal was Witte Raaf on 1655
• It's been a while since I last heard UK44 on air, so it was good to hear him with non-stop music and jingles on 1641
• A very big signal cropped up on 1625 at around 2320 utc. It turned out to be Batavier, who is now regularly strong here at our location in the UK. His big pal Relmus was on air at the same time, starting off on 1665 before moving to 1675. He sent over a couple of pictures while he was transmitting . . . 

• As usual, plenty of stations were qsoing. I haven't heard Dinkelland for a while and, after a music programme on 1611, he joined in the chatting to a whole host of stations. One of those was Majorca, who I haven't heard before. If I heard correctly, he announced that he was running 60 watts. If that is so, he was doing very well indeed. Take a listen to reception by clicking here
• Digitaal was qsoing and doing a little testing on 1645 and by the time he closed down his signal was very strong indeed. He often runs around only 100 watts, so if he was using normal power, it was very impressive, with a sinpo peaking as high as 55444

Thrilling Thursday?

It's been an interesting night on the MW band. After the sun had set - after some rain, as you can see in the picture - I switched on the Kenwood R5000 and heard plenty of signals. As I write these words at around 2345 utc, Santana is still busy with a music programme on 1619, Bluebird is playing records on 1629 and Bravo Sierra is still going on 1656. It's good to hear some music and chatting sometimes rather than qsos, especially when there is a little English talking as well!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

1615       2026       Batavier 45434-55544 music programme

1629       2026       Bluebird 55544 music programme

1646       2027       Vrolijke Mijnwerker 55544 qsoing

1670       2029       Underground 24332 music programme

1644       2029       Vuurvogel 55444 qsoing

1620       2032       Kruik 24322-35333 music programme

1647       2037       Armada 45434-55544 qsoing

1656       2050       Bravo Sierra 24332 music programme

1649       2111       Monte Carlo 43543 qsoing

1638       2129       Batavia 34433 music programme

1654       2134       Noordzee 43433 music programme

1627       2142       Vuurvogel 44444 qsoing

1619       2206       Santana 34433-44444 qsoing then music programme

1665       2213       Polkaman 24332 music programme       

1648       2213       Casablanca 55544 qsoing

1645       2219       Noordzee 44444 qsoing

1645       2222       Monte Carlo 44444 qsoing

1629       2226       Calipso 55544 qsoing

1650       2305       Jeneverstoker 35443 qsoing

1650       2307       Monte Carlo 55544 qsoing

1665       2331       Monte Carlo 55544 qsoing

Observations

• Good to hear Underground earlier in the evening than usual and on a weeknight. It is often 0100-0200 in the early hours of a Saturday or Sunday morning when he appears on his usual frequency of 1670, so this was a nice surprise
• I was listening to 1620 for quite some time, trying to work out who was on the frequency. The station closed down at 2141 and I still wasn't sure who it was. However, he came back to qso with various stations and I finally got the ID of Kruik - and 1620 is where he can usually be found
• Bluebird is often one of the strongest stations here and tonight was no exception. He was booming in on 1629, playing music, then qsoing before playing more music. I often leave one of the old valve radios tuned to Bluebird while I'm doing things like writing this blog. In fact, I am listening to him right now!

• Among his selection of Dutch and English music, Santana was playing plenty of jingles, which were a nice touch. Not so many of the Dutch MW pirates have these, so it's always good to hear them

Building your own radio

A couple of days ago I was chatting to the operator of Radio Soerabaya. He hasn't been on air for a while, but he's still been busy with his soldering iron - making his own MW radio set. He sent me this video . . .

The birds

What a superb day we've had here in the UK. The sun showed itself and we had a fine time walking in the local park. And as the sun went down, our loop antenna was glowing . . .

There was time for some radio listening during the evening, and for bird watchers it was very interesting at the top of the MW band! Vuurvogel (Firebird) was busy qsoing on 1655; then Bluebird joined the chat on 1629; he was followed by the other Firebird on 1650. And while all this was going on, Kolibrie (Hummingbird) was on 1620 with his regular Tuesday music programme. I don't think I've ever heard so many Dutch birds in one place at the same time!

Here's the full list of stations heard on Tuesday evening, together with a few other recent logs . . . 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

1664       2020       Kristal 44444 music programme

1647       2020       Calipso 55544 music programme

1620       2026       Kolibrie 25232 music programme

1654       2050       Vuurvogel 55444 qsoing

1663       2100       Readymix 34333 qsoing

1629       2105       Bluebird 35333-45343 qsoing

1655       2107       Studio 69 25222-25332 qsoing

1632       2127       Albatros 34433 qsoing

1650       2133       Firebird 25332-35443 qsoing

1646       2207       Vrolijke Mijnwerker 55544 testing

1674       2228       Pluto weak signal testing

1648       2250       Casablanca 55544 report for Mijnwerker

Sunday, April 21, 2013

1670       2035       Matrix 35433-35544 music programme

1635       2035       Johnny Camaro 25332 music programme

1647       2035       Witte Tornado 35343 music programme

1610       2040       Anton 43543-43544 music programme

1652       2045       Uniek 25322 music programme    

Observations

• Many thanks to Chris from Radio Uniek who sent over this great qsl yesterday. I think he must have the largest selection of qsls for his listeners I have ever come across. With every report seems to come another qsl and they always look great. Keep up the good work
• Apart from Kolibrie on 1620, Tuesday night was mainly qso action with some fine signals arriving from across the North Sea. Top of the pile were Calipso, Vrolijke Mijnwerker and Casablanca. Using somewhat less power was Firebird, operating with 100 watts and peaking really well
• Bluebird announced on air that he was operating with just 45 watts, but it sounded more than that at times! With less power still was Studio 69, broadcasting with his now usual 25 watts
• A few weeks ago Pluto started testing on MW with around 40 watts, and our friend Pacman heard him with a good signal. I told Pacman that I would soon hear Pluto here in England, and he told me he didn't think that would be possible. Well, this evening, I was able to detect a carrier from Pluto on 1674. I had to use USB mode to hear it, but it was audible, as was some speech saying "Radio Pluto.... Radio Pluto" . So, Pacman.... I think you must buy me a very nice cake when I see you next!
• Great to hear Albatros in the air on Tuesday night. This is the one from the south of the Netherlands, not be confused another station with the same name further north! The signal was coming in really well, and you can listen to a recording by clicking here
• Conditions on Sunday evening were far from optimum but one of the best signals on the band was coming from the east of the Netherlands and from Matrix on 1670. This was the best reception we've had of the station for some time and it was a pleasure to listen to this low power pirate. 100 watts was certainly doing very well. More programmes soon please!

Weekend listening

We woke at around 0600 utc on Saturday morning and, as the portable radio was sitting next to the bed, I thought I would have a quick tune around at the top of the MW. Straightaway there was a signal on 1645 with pretty decent reception. I soon found out it was Vriendschap, from the east of the Netherlands.

I spent most of the day at work, but as I write these words in the very early hours of Sunday morning I am listening to Chris from Radio Uniek on 1652 kHz. He is a regular with long music programmes, always on the same frequency. I'm listening again with the old Pye receiver, which is currently hooked up to a coil antenna sitting around ten metres high. Uniek is peaking at 44444, which is super reception as Chris says he is running his usual 90 watts of power.

I've been tuning around for the last half and hour or so and I've also heard Monte Carlo, Polkaman, Moby Dick and Jeneverstoker. Underground has also been busy on 1670 again, although I couldn't hear him this time, which suggests conditions are going long skip.

I'll hopefully be enjoying some sunshine on Sunday, but there will be time for some listening as well, so I will report back here soon.

Mixed bag

A quick scan around the top of the MW band this evening revealed conditions were not particularly good. Dutch pirates Calipso and Vuurvogel were nice and strong as usual, but Radio Anton on 1610 kHz was weaker than typically. That is in contrast to Tuesday evening when most signals were coming in very well while we were listening on the 1950s Pye valve radio. Batavia was doing well with his music programme, and there were some great signals from the various stations qsoing with each other. One of those was Casablanca. Have a look at this video of the reception . . . 

The Sunday Star

During the winter Radio Zonnester from the Netherlands can often be heard here in England with a long music programme on 1620 khz on a Sunday morning. Today I switched on the portable radio at around 0700 utc and got a nice surprise when the station was coming in loud and clear. With the clocks having changed and with the days getting longer, I did not expect to hear very much on the frequency, but Zonnester was blasting in and could still be heard at 0800, with reception finally disappearing at around 0815. A nice start to the day and great to listen to a pirate while lying in bed during the daytime! Have a look at the video to see my reception . . .

Have a look at our YouTube page for more videos. Click here

In the news

Many thanks for the comments we receive every now and again for this blog - I am very happy everybody seems to be enjoying what I have to say! In response to Paul, who asked to see some old free radio magazines, our friends at The Pirate Archive have many editions of old publications that can be downloaded. Take a look here

On location

It's been a busy few days here in England, and last weekend we spent a little time in a caravan by the sea in Devon. We watched the Grand National on television (the horse we backed finished second!) with the sun beaming through the windows and it was a fine day. Of course, the Sony portable and small loop antenna made the journey with us . . .

On Sunday evening (April 7), I switched on the radio in the evening and heard plenty of stations from the Netherlands. Utopia was coming through loud and clear on 1620 . . . 

I also heard Bluebird, Vuurvogel, Batavia, Uniek, Jeneverstoker and Underground on 1670. In fact, Steve was peaking with a really nice signal, sometimes better than at home. Conditions were particularly good that evening. I made a small video of Monte Carlo's signal . . .