MW Pirate Review

Many of you will know that we produce an MP3 download once a month with an audio review of the previous month's activity on the pirate scene with many recordings made here in England and elsewhere around the world. The May edition will be available soon. In the meantime, if anybody has missed previous editions, here are the links to download them:

Edition 1: August 2011

Edition 2: September 2011

Edition 3: October 2011

Edition 4: November 2011

Edition 5: December 2011

Edition 6: January 2012

Edition 7: February 2012

Edition 8: March 2012

Edition 9: April 2012

Poor propagation continues

Reception of the Dutch pirates at the top of the MW band continues to be difficult in England this week as the propagation is poor. There have been some good peaks, but signals are variable and even the stations running more power have been struggling. However, here is what we have heard during the last few days . . .

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

1660       2113       Euromast 35533 music programme
1672       2114       Armada 35533 testing
1628       2118       Centraal 24532 qsoing
1646       2233       Casablanca 35533 qsoing
1650       2242       Jeneverstoker 25542 qsoing
1645       2321       Pandora 35543 qsoing

Monday, May 7, 2012

1645       1941       Witte Raaf 34533 music programme

1672       2113       Armada 33533 music programme

1639       2117       Dageraad 23532-34543 qsoing

1647       2119       Monte Carlo 45554 qsoing

1631       2123       Vrije Vogel 23532 qsoing

1633       2137       Barcelona 45554 qsoing

1646       2304       Casablanca 35533 qsoing

1645       2333       Pandora 45544 qsoing

1638       2335       Underground weak signal trying different antennas

1656       2338       Jeneverstoker weak signal qsoing

Sunday, May 6, 2012

1647       2313       Casablanca 34533 qsoing              

1645       2320       Pandora 34533-45544 qsoing

Observations

• Casablanca, Jeneverstoker and Pandora are becoming regular with their late-night qsos. Because of the conditions, signals have been down on usual, although Pandora has still been peaking particularly well
• Underground from England was switching between vertical and dipole antennas on Monday evening, although propagation made it difficult to judge which was best. The station had earlier been on 1476 kHz. Also active from the UK with a special Bank Holiday appearance on 648 kHz was Radio Albatros, although we were unable to hear him at our location
• One of the best signals we heard on Monday evening came from Monte Carlo. You can hear how the reception sounded by clicking here

Conditions not great tonight

Tuning in to the top of the mediumwave band at around 2300 UTC on Saturday evening, conditions were not good and stations whose signals are usually strong were much weaker. The noise level was also considerably higher than usual. This is what we have heard:

Saturday, May 5, 2012
1621       2318       Spakenburg 24432-34443 qsoing

1656       2320       Romax 24432 qsoing

1630       2323       Mondeo 23422 qsoing

1645       2328       Monte Carlo 24432-34443 qsoing

1656       2343       Jeneverstoker weak signal qsoing

1640       2347       UK44 23322 music programme then qso

1665       2350       Polkaman 24432 music programme

1646       0006       Powerliner weak signal qsoing

1512       0013       Studio Jaknikker 23422-34423 music programme

Observations

• Comparing Spakenburg's signal to the one received 24 hours earlier suggested that propagation conditions were not optimal for reception of Dutch pirates here in the UK this evening
• Nice to hear Mondeo for the first time in a while. Let's hope signals are stronger next time he is on air
• Very interesting tonight on 1512. The frequency is not usually good for night-time transmissions, but with different propagation Studio Jaknikker was coming in quite well
• While the MW stations were generally struggling to make an impact here, there was plenty of late-night activity on shortwave from the Netherlands, with Tower (6300), Spaceman (6308), Flying Dutchman (6325 USB) and Ascona (6375) all coming in very well indeed, along with Relmus on 5800 and then 5775

Friday night is radio night!

We did a little listening during the evening after arriving home from work. Here are the stations heard from the Netherlands:

Friday, May 4, 2012

1680       2156       Relmus 24322 music programme
1645       2156       Turftrekker 34333-35443 music programme
1635       2158       Grutte Pier 44434-45434 music programme
1645       2202       Spakenburg 42443
1665       2203       Polkaman 24432-34433 music programme
1629       2205       Powerliner 22322 music programme
1625       2211       Spakenburg 44444-55444 short music programme
1640       2259       Telstar 33433 music programme
1655       2338       Jeneverstoker 24422-35433 qsoing
1645       2343       Powerliner 24332 qsoing
1646       0025       Casablanca 45444 asking for report
1645       0031       Pandora 55544 qsoing

Observations

• The most incredible reception tonight was Relmus on 1680. Okay, the SINPO was not massive at 24322 - but the power was very small. In fact, he was running just 4-5 watts and it was possible to copy pretty much all of his announcements. After he closed down he switched to shortwave for a short broadcast on 5810 kHz where reception was also very good with around 14 watts. The antenna is certainly doing a great job 
• Nice to hear Spakenburg on air this evening. He quickly moved from the busy 1645 down to 1625 where reception was excellent. Click here to listen to just how good it was. Many thanks for the mentions about this blog! 
• Grutte Pier often has a fine signal here in England and tonight was no exception. Listen to our reception by clicking here
• As well as Relmus, there was low-power action from Powerliner, Jeneverstoker and Polkaman. Proof that when conditions are right, high power is not necessary

A quiet night on the band

There was very little activity this evening and a lot of static at the top of the mediumwave band making listening very difficult. However, a couple of stations from the Netherlands were coming through the noise:

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

1669       2200       Eendracht 25222 music programme

1654       2244       Turfsteker 25232 asking for report

Observations

• Very nice to hear Eendracht for the first time in a long while. It was a shame the listening conditions were not a little easier

Plenty of strong signals

Tuesday, May 1, 2012
1646       1930       Orban 55544-55555 asking for report

1647       2003       Armada 35333-45444 qsoing

1646       2008       Vrolijke Mijnwerker 55544 qsoing

1629       2040       Rebel 24322 music programme

1624       2044       Underground short broadcast

1627       2044       Noordzee 54444 qsoing

1660       2054       Centraal 34333 music programme              

1653       2055       Readymix 34433 qsoing

1647       2104       Noordzee 55444 qsoing

1512       2116       Studio Jaknikker 33533 music programme

Observations

• Strongest signal on the band tonight belonged to Orban, who had his trademark superb modulation quality and depth booming loud and clear on 1646. A long recording of Orban, followed by Armada and Vrolijke Mijnwerker can be downloaded here
• Here's a short video of Mijnwerker's signal in the Netherlands, courtesy of Radio Salo
• Rebel was doing very well with around 30 watts during his music programme
• More and more stations seem to be using 1512. The trouble with the channel for reception in the UK is that several legal European stations are audible during darkness and stations from the USA can be heard on 1510. Studio Jaknikker was peaking well this evening, although the other stations were constantly fading in and out

Back home - to more rain!

So today we are back home again after driving through the wet weather! The Lowe HF225 and outdoor loop, which you can see in the picture, are now back in action!

Not too much listening this evening, but here are the stations heard on our regular equipment:


Monday, April 30, 2012
1654       2212       Turfsteker 24332 qsoing

1656       2214       Jeneverstoker 24322-35333 qsoing

1646       2215       Vrolijke Mijnwerker 55544 qsoing

1647       2220       Montecarlo 44444-55444 qsoing

1629       2223       Calipso 55544 qsoing

1646       2230       Casablanca 42443-55544 qsoing

1645       0004       Pandora 55544 qsoing

Observations

• On an evening of qso activity, Vrolijke Mijnwerker, Calipso and Pandora were blasting in here strongest of all, with Pandora sounding particularly powerful, both in terms of signal and modulation quality
• Nice to hear Turfsteker again, with a power announced as 50 watts