Staying sane

The final day of November is coming to a close and tomorrow is the first day of winter if you follow the meteorological seasons, although I favour the astronomical season which doesn't begin until December 21st. One thing is for sure, however, and that is we're closing in on a new year, and one which we all hope will bring us much more stability in our lives than 2020 has managed.

I was speaking to a regular MW pirate listener the other day and he mentioned how following the Dutch scene has kept his mind occupied over the last months, and I began thinking about how true that has also been for me. 

On November 5 England entered Lockdown 2.0 in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the result of which was that pubs, restaurants, bars, cinemas, gyms were closed again. Those measures are due to be lifted this week, but it is surely no coincidence on a personal level that this is post number 16 for November, a level that I have only once managed to match in a single month during the eight-year life of this blog. 

The only ever time I have posted so much was in May 2012 (a month after the blog started), which speaks for itself in terms of how the Dutch pirates have also kept my mind occupied. 

One reader of the blog commented on a post a few days ago saying: "It is hard to feel in a bad mood with the Dutch accordions playing their uplifting melodies". And that is another thing . . . I often find myself tapping the desk in time to the music coming out of my speakers and it is a pleasure to hear the same reassuring voices day in, day out  - many of whom I've met during my near 30-year interest in the hobby - at a time when we have not been able to get out and about so much.

So, for every one of the pirates who have been on air during 2020, I say many thanks. You have kept yourself occupied, together with listeners throughout Europe. The Dutch MW scene is clearly in very good health, and long may it last.

Here are the stations I have heard today:

Freq Time Station name SINPO

Monday, November 30, 2020

1646 1610 Baanbreker 25332 (q)

1618 1638 Drukstroomjager 45444 (m)

1660 1711 Digitaal 35333-45434 (m)

1629 1748 Skywire 25222 (m)

1647 1811 Telefunken 25222 (t) 

1618 1818 Akai 35443 (r)

1618 1824 Speedygonzales 35333 (q)

1629 1827 Admiraal 45444 (m)

1620 1832 Monza 45444 (q)

1645 1833 Wegpiraat 35443 (q)

1638 1840 Boomerang 35443 (t)

1655 1903 Oldtimer 35333-45444 (m)

1665 1912 Vrolijke Mijnwerker 45434 (m)

1661 2002 Concorde 33433 (m)

1636 2007 Marconist 25222-35333

1638 2010 Casablanca (Twente) 35333 (m)

1648 2218 Pereboom 35333 (m)

1655 2243 Vrolijke Mijnwerker 45434 (m)

(m) = station was broadcasting a music programme
(q) = station was qsoing
(r) = station asking for a reception report from another station
(t) = station was testing

Observations

• Propagation conditions today were again rather unstable and several stations were notably weaker than I would usually expect, particularly Speedygonzales and Boomerang. Interestingly, low-power pirate Skywire was doing quite well and Akai had some great peaks on his signal.

Early start

I really enjoy this time of year with the shorter days and longer nights. One of the reasons is the extra time it gives for listening to the MW pirates from the Netherlands, so today I decided I would be early out of bed to have a good tune around. Here's what I heard, plus logs for later in the day:

Freq Time Station name SINPO

Sunday, November 29, 2020

1630 0543 Hemmeling 34443 (m) 

1647 0544 Telefunken 25332-35333 (t)

1611 0639 Utopia 25332-35333 (m)

1670 0650 Melkbus weak signal (m)

1620 0658 Noordster 35333 (q)

1620 0700 Blauwe Piraat 25332 (q)

1621 0703 Musky 24222 (q)

1630 0711 Vliegende Hollander 25222-35333 (q)

1629 0713 Bootsman weak signal - 25222 (q)

1645 0734 Marconist weak signal (q)

1635 0743 Boeren Zwaluw weak signal (q)

1646 0800 Eigen Risico 25222 (q)

1646 0819 Karel Doorman 25332 (q)

1660 0825 Digitaal weak signal (q)

1629 1557 Marskramer 35443 (m)

1660 1557 Digitaal 35333-45444 (m)

1620 1648 Uniek 25222 (m)

1647 1834 Barones 45444 (m)

1636 1852 Mi Amigo 34333-44444 (m)

1665 1852 Vrolijke Mijnwerker 45434 (q)

1665 1905 Concorde 25222-35333 (q)

1625 2255 Pandora 45434 (t)

(m) = station was broadcasting a music programme
(q) = station was qsoing
(r) = station asking for a reception report from another station
(t) = station was testing

Observations

• I was immediately rewarded for not having enough sleep by hearing Hemmeling on 1630 kHz with a lovely music programme. I usually hear this station for only a few minutes at a time during qsos, so it made a great change to hear him today spinning a few records and sending out greetings to listeners.
• When Hemmeling closed down it kickstarted a qso featuring a whole host of other stations, which was great fun. I heard some stations I don't catch very often - Boeren Zwaluw and Vliegende Hollander - and tracking them across the band was very entertaining. I must say a thank you to Pacman for helping me along the way.

• Propagation conditions were not the greatest throughout the day, and were rather volatile during the evening. That didn’t stop Vrolijke Mijnwerker and Concorde making contact with Radio Romeo in Serbia once again - always great to hear these cross-language qsos!

Super Saturday

I spent plenty of time with the radio on Saturday as I was working on various projects that meant I could listen as well as get my other jobs done. The radio is such a great distraction - and the more I listen to these voices from all over the Netherlands, the more I remember why I enjoy this hobby so much.

Freq Time Station name SINPO

Saturday, November 28, 2020

1633 0530 Barcelona 55444 (m)

1670 1549 Digitaal 35333-45444 (m)

1647 1555 Professor Sickbok 35443 (q)

1629 1558 Nachtzwerver 25332 (q)

1645 1613 Marconist 23322 (q)

1633 1636 Bizon 24222-34443 (m)

1630 1744 Sapporo 35443 (q)

1668 1744 Concorde 35333 (m)

1655 1744 Belladonna 34343 (m)

1639 1745 Akai 24222 (q)

1645 1748 Turfsteker 25322-35333 (m)

1640 1751 Casablanca 55444 (q)

1639 1755 Admiraal 44444 (q)

1640 1807 Wegpiraat 35343(q)

1665 1836 Concorde 35443 (t) 

1635 1854 Linda 35333-45444 (m)

1625 1930 Blauwe Koe 55444 (m)

1611 1951 Veluwse Ster 45444 (m)

1675 1951 Technical Man 45444-55444 (m)

1660 2007 Concorde 35443 (m)

1652 2240 Moby Dick 44444(m)

1642 2240 Lotus 55544-55555 (r) 

1647 2249 De Klok 24322 (m)

1615 2250 De Klap 34433 (m)

1645 0002 Avia 25222 (m)

1620 0005 Philadelphia weak signal (t)

1625 0011 Turftrekker 45444 (t)

1634 0146 Polkaman 23322 (m)

(m) = station was broadcasting a music programme
(q) = station was qsoing
(r) = station asking for a reception report from another station
(t) = station was testing

Observations

• A very busy day on the MW band with a stack of pirates on air and making their way to my radios here in England. Barcelona kicked it all off, coming in loud and clear with his regular Saturday morning programme on 1633 kHz. After being inaudible during daylight hours, signals could be heard again over here from just before 4pm and it was a nice surprise to hear Bizon for the first time in a while - he was testing with just 50 watts and doing well.
• Radio Linda was on air during the evening with a long programme on 1635 kHz until just after 0100. This station appears on the band every now and again in memory of Radio Wadloper, who sadly died in March 2019, and features Jan’s daughter Linda at the helm together with members of the Pier Clan in Friesland.
• There were lots of other stations broadcasting with music programmes throughout the evening, with Veluwse Ster delivering a powerful sound on 1611, and Technical Man blasting in on 1675 kHz - he sent me these photos direct from the studio while he was on air and has allowed me to share them with you:

The best signal of the day came from Lotus who was asking for a report late in the evening on 1642 kHz. There was no response from any other stations, but there was further activity to come, including a nice music programme from Avia on 1645 kHz and tests from 50 watt station Philadelphia on 1620 kHz and a superb sound from Turftrekker on 1625 kHz while testing some different sound processing equipment with the smaller of his transmitters. You can get a decent idea of reception over here from this video I made:

Friday, November 27, 2020

1625 1626 Napoleon 35443 (m)

1670 1706 Digitaal 45444-55555 (m)

1620 1719 Uniek 35443 (m)

1635 1729 Wegpiraat 35333

1655 1735 Vrolijke Mijnwerker 54444 (m)

1629 1741 Nachtzwerver 34443 (m)

1647 1800 Pacman 45434-55444 (m)

1660 1833 Belladonna 35333-45444 (m) 

1626 2106 Eigen Risico 35333 (m)

1636 2220 Mi Amigo 45334 (m) 

1665 2222 Armada 35333 (m)

1665 2237 Vrolijke Mijnwerker 55444 (m)

1645 2244 Nachtzwerver 45333 (m)

Observations

• Lovely to hear Napoleon on air again this evening - his soothing voice is always a pleasure to listen to.
• Back in the 1990s a station I heard a great deal of was Radio Pacman. He was a regular on shortwave back then, so it was lovely to catch the Pacman Show on 1647 kHz this evening. This is more regularly heard as part of low-power legal station Radio Eldorado’s output on 1467 kHz, so it was a great chance for pirate listeners to sample the programme tonight, courtesy of a relay via Mike Radio. There was lots of nostalgia, including offshore radio recordings, and the email address of radio.pacman@hotmail.com was given. If you you are in the Netherlands, you can catch the Pacman Show every Monday to Friday from 17.00-18.00 via Eldorado and various other stations on MW and SW (check frequencies 801, 918, 1395, 3920, 3940 and 6195!)

Thursday, November 26, 2020

1640 1530 Barones 25322-35333 at 1626 (m)

1617 1621 Black Molly 25342, 45444 at 1823 (m)

1631 1638 Ros Am 45444 (t)

1640 1749 Drukstroomjager (m) 55444-55555

1629 1816 Dolfijn 35443-45444 (m)

1629 1942 Columbia 45444 (m)