Busy on the band

Well last night was a good one for listening to the Dutch pirates on MW, with good conditions and lots of stations coming through to our location here in England . . . 

Monday, August 13, 2012

1645       2033       Vrolijke Mijnwerker 45444 qsoing

1629       2035       Calipso 55544 music programme

1647       2037       Armada 34333 qsoing

1660       2039       Centraal music programme

1670       2039       Batavier 35333-35443 music programme

1646       2044       Orban 45444-55444 qsoing and playing recordings

1646       2052       Schaduwjager 55454 qsoing

1650       2057       Meteoor 55454 qsoing

1652       2101       Monte Carlo 34443 qsoing

1647       2109       Noordzee 34443-45444 qsoing

1645       2127       Electron 35343-45454 qsoing

1650       2158       Monte Carlo 35433-45444 qsoing

1630       2208       Zwarte Schaduw 25422 qsoing

1651       2211       Uniek 25432-35433 qsoing

1633       2212       Barcelona 55434 qsoing

1644       2252       Casablanca 45434 qsoing

Observations

• Much of the activity centred on a qso around 1645 kHz with lots of stations joining in. Orban was very strong and powerful as usual and was playing recordings of the stations in the qso. Also blasting in was Schaduwjager. You can listen to a recording here
• You can listen to the excellent reception of Meteoor by clicking here and you can hear a superb signal produced by Electron by clicking here
• The big stations were coming in well, but lower-powered ones like Zwarte Schaduw and Uniek were also doing well
• Centraal was busy with a programme that was also going out on 6325 kHz and was received very well here

Pirate listening on the move

On our way home from the Netherlands yesterday, we crossed the incredible Afsluitdijk which links the provinces of North Holland and Friesland and runs for 20 kilometres with the North Sea on one side and the Ijsselmeer on the other

While we drove over the causeway we were tuned in to 1575 kHz and to Radio Batavier who was running seven watts and booming in loud and clear. Have a look at the video below . . . 

Super holiday in the Netherlands

Working windmill at Dokkum on August 8, 2012

Well my family and I are back home in England after a super holiday in the land of the pirates. We arrived back at around 0200 this morning after 11 days in the Netherlands, visiting lots of free radio friends and enjoying some great times.

As we drove home from the port at Harwich, we stopped for a few minutes and checked the portable Sony with little loop antenna and we heard Barones, Spakenburg, Meteoor and Monte Carlo in the car! All with good signals as well!

A visitor in the Radio Zeewolf studio on August 3, 2012

I would like to say a very big thank you to everybody we met during our holiday, especially to Barones, Zeewolf and Relmus who were kind enough to let me, my girlfriend and daughters stay in their houses and looked after us very well. Also, many thanks to all the pirates who were kind enough to show their studios and take us on visits to other pirates. It was very much appreciated. 

The Relmus mast pictured at midnight on August 8, 2012

Check back soon as I will be adding recordings and videos from the holiday . . .