Saturday, January 04, 2020

Off to a good start

I’ve started the new year as I hope to continue, with plenty of radio time and finding lots of pirate radio signals to tune into. The outdoor loop antenna is pointing straight towards the Netherlands and the local noise level here is low which is a big help when it comes to pulling in some of the lower-power operators.

As well as evening listening, I’ve managed to get to the radio a couple of times before sunrise and have been pleased to hear numerous stations. Here’s how the log list is shaping up:

Freq      Time     Station name SINPO Type of broadcast

Saturday, January 4, 2020
1645      0648      Rietvink 35333-45444 music programme
1633      0650      Alabama 45444-55444 report for Barcelona
1633      0652      Barcelona 55444 qsoing
1652      0703      Eigen Risico 35333 report for Rietvink
1614      0719      Eigen Risico 35333 music programme
1633      0735      Polka Express 35333 music programme
1614      0829      Eigen Risico weak signal report for Polka Express
1636      1707      Mi Amigo 35433 music programme
1647      1708      Keizer en Keizerin 35333-45444 music programme
1615      1726      De Klap 25222-35333 music programme
1634      1801      Barones 54444 music programme
1630      1817      Friese Piraat 24332-34333 music programme
1655      1831      Turfsteker 35443 testing
1672      1912      Vonkenboer 25332 qsoing
1673      1915      De Klok 25332 qsoing
1640      2320      Mi Amigo 45444 qsoing
1635      2320      Pandora 55544-55555 music programme
1646      2321      Monte Carlo 45444-55544 qsoing
1638      0016      Bluebird 55544 report for Pandora







Observations
     I arrived at the radio just a little too late to hear any of Radio Barcelona’s regular Saturday morning broadcast on 1633 kHz, which kicks off very early. However, I heard Alabama giving a report, and then heard Barcelona return to the airwaves to give a report back. Both stations were coming in very strong, very loud and very clear
     Eigen Risico (Own Risk) was busy this morning reporting to various stations. First, he came up when Rietvink closed down; he then gave a report to Alabama, and then came up on 1614 when Polka Express closed down. By that time the sun was up here in England and the propagation had changed making reception difficult
     There were some super signals on the band tonight, with Barones sounding awesome on 1634 for a lengthy music programme. There was loads of depth to his modulation, and the same goes for Pandora who closed the night on 1635. Monte Carlo and low-power Turfsteker were also doing very well, as you can hear from the recordings above
     It was good to hear Friese Piraat for the first time in a while. He sent over some pictures while he was broadcasting:

  

Friday, January 3, 2020
1632      0645      Bootsman 24222-35333 music programme
1617      0652      Blauwe Piraat 24222 report for Bootsman
1615      0655      Eigen Risico 35333 report for Bootsman
1640      0706      Zeelandia 34333 report for Bootsman
1633      0708      Noordzee 35333-45344 music programme
1645      0736      Rietvink 35443 asking for a report
1644      0750      Wilskracht 25222-35333 report for Noordzee
1614      1651      Eigen Risico 35333 music programme
1630      1731      Admiraal 35443 music programme
1645      1740      Zwolse Vliegenvanger 45333-45444 testing
1616      1745      Blauwe Piraat 25222 qsoing
1652      1746      Turfsteker 25222 music programme
1647      1747      Armada weak signal-35323 qsoing
1611      1754      Zwarte Boer weak signal music programme
1638      1757      Admiraal weak signal qsoing

Observations
     The day started with Bootsman on 1632 kHz and then lots of stations coming up on the band with reports, including Zeelandia, who is a rare catch for me
     A new name to my ears was Zwolse Vliegenvanger. Apparently he was active during the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Welcome back!
     Conditions on the band during the early evening were not great, but Armada was much weaker here than usual before becoming stronger a few minutes later. He sent me a message to let me know he was experimenting with antennas, first trying a T design and later an inverted V. Very interesting to hear what a big difference there was between the two, although in the Netherlands other stations reported he was his usual strength with both antennas

Thursday, January 2, 2020
1638      2212      Spanningzoeker 45434-55444 testing
1630      2215      Meteoor 45433-45444 qsoing
1645      2216      Curacao 25222-35333 music programme
1620      2220      Ruisbreker 24222 music programme
1638      2221      Morgenster 25222 qsoing
1635      2231      Electron 25222 qsoing
1645      2305      Meteoor 45444 report for Curacao
1635      2307      Pandora 45444 music programme
1645      2318      Alabama 55444 qsoing

1 comment:

  1. Great start to 2020.
    An inspiration - I must dust the radio and get on chat!

    ReplyDelete