Conditions not great tonight

Tuning in to the top of the mediumwave band at around 2300 UTC on Saturday evening, conditions were not good and stations whose signals are usually strong were much weaker. The noise level was also considerably higher than usual. This is what we have heard:

Saturday, May 5, 2012
1621       2318       Spakenburg 24432-34443 qsoing

1656       2320       Romax 24432 qsoing

1630       2323       Mondeo 23422 qsoing

1645       2328       Monte Carlo 24432-34443 qsoing

1656       2343       Jeneverstoker weak signal qsoing

1640       2347       UK44 23322 music programme then qso

1665       2350       Polkaman 24432 music programme

1646       0006       Powerliner weak signal qsoing

1512       0013       Studio Jaknikker 23422-34423 music programme

Observations

• Comparing Spakenburg's signal to the one received 24 hours earlier suggested that propagation conditions were not optimal for reception of Dutch pirates here in the UK this evening
• Nice to hear Mondeo for the first time in a while. Let's hope signals are stronger next time he is on air
• Very interesting tonight on 1512. The frequency is not usually good for night-time transmissions, but with different propagation Studio Jaknikker was coming in quite well
• While the MW stations were generally struggling to make an impact here, there was plenty of late-night activity on shortwave from the Netherlands, with Tower (6300), Spaceman (6308), Flying Dutchman (6325 USB) and Ascona (6375) all coming in very well indeed, along with Relmus on 5800 and then 5775