Stargazing on 747

An era in broadcasting came to a close on Monday night when national Dutch broadcaster NPO closed down its MW outlets on 747 and 1251 kHz at around midnight local time and Radio Maria ceased broadcasting on 675 kHz.  

This leaves a few holes on the MW band, but one pirate station was quick to fill the gap on 747 kHz. As Radio 5 Nostalgia closed its transmitter Radio Sterrekijker switched on and stayed on air throughout the night and well into the afternoon today with non-stop music and the occasional announcement, interspersed with jingles.

Although I couldn't hear the signal last night due to mixing of various other stations, and couldn't hear it today as it was several hours before sunset, Sterrekijker was getting out very well across the Netherlands with his 50-metre high inverted L antenna. These recordings and pictures give a good idea of how the station was being received. The first one comes courtesy of Radio Pacman:

Sterrekijker is no stranger to trying out interesting frequencies and has tested on 1224 kHz in recent weeks. The success of this latest adventure into the main part of the MW suggests 747 will be the place to look out for him in the future. Don't forget Friday evening is the regular time to catch this industrious Dutch pirate.