Signals in snowy England

Greetings from the UK, where it's snowing and making me feel very wintry. You can see the Wellbrook loop antenna above after just a few minutes of tonight's snow, and I'm always grateful that I can maintain this amazing antenna at ground level with no need for it to be up high.

It's been a fun couple of days listening to the happenings on 1.6 MHz, so I'll share the logbook with you and my observations on this week's activity:

Freq Time Station name SINPO (type of broadcast)

Thursday, January 8, 2026

1611 1749 HetWe (Baantje) 34333 (m)
1620 1751 Professor Sickbok 45444 (m)
1629 1751 Mosfet 55444-55555 (m)
1638 1751 San Antonio 34433 (m)
1645 1751 Batavier 45444 (m)
1653 1752 Turfsteker 34443 (t)
1512 1812 Marskramer 35443-45444 (m)
1638 1820 Luka 34333 (m)
1611 1834 Monza 33333-44444 (q)
1611 1852 Spanningzoeker 23422 (q)
1611 1926 Mustang 55434 (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

• A very interesting 60 minutes this evening with conditions doing a complete 180 degrees during that time. When I turned on the radio, stations that are usually on the weaker side here were coming in better than ever. The perfect example was San Antonio, who was broadcasting on 1638 kHz - I would go as far as to say this is the best signal I’ve heard from him. Then there was Baantje on 1611 kHz coming in well with his rock and roll tunes and plenty of chat.
• The more powerful stations like Professor Sickbok, Batavier and Mosfet were strong as you would expect, but by around 7pm local time here in the UK, that all changed and conditions became very volatile. This coincided with the skies starting to cover our neighbourhood with the first snow of winter, and those strong signals suddenly became weaker and more watery. The one that was least affected was Professor Sickbok on 1620 kHz, although his signal did take a hit, but not as much as other stations.
• It was great to hear Mustang back on air this evening. Once propagation conditions had settled down again, he was booming in on 1611 kHz with some very powerful modulation.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026
1629 1547 Schaduwjager 35343-45444 (m)
1620 1615 Bison 35443-45444 (q) report for Schaduwjager
1629 1619 Pandora 35333 (q)
1635 1623 Bonanza 25342 (m)
1620 1636 Digitaal 45444 (q)
1665 1650 Tarzan 25322 (m)
1620 1711 Ros Am 24322-45444 (t)
1611 1742 Atlantic 25322-35433 (t) testing antenna
1611 1832 Vontrekker 25322 (m)
1645 1908 Klaverboer 35443 (m)
1656 1940 Kentucky 24322 (m)
1627 1949 Turftrekker 55444 (m)

Observations

• When I was younger I always dreamed of being hidden away somewhere with a transmitter and broadcasting during a snowstorm. It somehow seemed so romantic - my only connection with the outside world in bad weather being through the radio waves. It might still happen, but tonight I managed it in reverse, listening to Ros Am, broadcasting from snowbound Friesland across the North Sea with a special test programme for me! I have lovely memories of hearing the station operator in the early years of my listening career, so it’s always great to hear him all these years later. Ros Am somehow taps into everything I like in a pirate broadcaster, the music being a big plus - nearly every track I ever hear is one I would happily play myself at home or in the car. Thanks for braving the snow and getting the station on air tonight - I hope you had as much fun broadcasting as I did listening for the whole two hours you were on air.