Happy New Year

A very happy new year to everybody out there - pirate radio fans, listeners and station operators. Many thanks for all the good wishes we received via email, which are always a pleasure to see. I hope 2015 brings you everything you wish for. 

I did some listening to the MW band during the early evening yesterday when there were some fair signals coming through. And it was good to hear Radio Driland back on the band for the first time in a while, using 1656 kHz for a long music programme. 

There were celebrations going on across the globe last night to celebrate the start of a brand new year - and it was no exception in the Netherlands, where plenty of pirates marked the start to 2015 in their own style. This picture was taken on the other side of the North Sea just after midnight.

Celebrating the New Year - Dutch style

The festive season often sees a few old name pop up with the odd broadcast, but there has not been so much to report this year, although conditions have not been particularly good and the noise level here has been creeping up in the last few weeks. I caught Sapporo qsoing on December 26, however, and it was good to hear Wilskracht with a fine signal during his music programme on December 30.

Going back to just before Christmas - December 19 - and Johnny Camaro was doing very well on 1629 kHz at around 1900. It was one of those occasions when conditions were just right for reception of the Dutch pirates here in England, and the signal was probably the best I've ever heard from this low power station. Take a listen . . . 

Dutch pirate station Johnny Camaro heard in England on 1629 kHz (December 19, 2014) by Mw_Pirate Fan on Mixcloud

Season's greetings

I hope everybody out there who stops by to read this blog every now and again is enjoying a happy and peaceful Christmas. Everything has been going well here and I am happy to report I have over two weeks off work with holiday now, so there will be time for plenty of relaxing, family time and, of course, radio time.

Although I didn't get chance to listen to the radio very much on Christmas Day, I did have some very nice radio-related presents, as you can see . . . 

A box of biscuits in disguise as a radio!

Many superb photographs in this fine publication

I've popped down to the radio room over the last few days and enjoyed listening to various stations, including Radio Marabu on 6239 kHz. I always like to tune in to their alternative music programming, and this Christmas has been no exception. 

This morning it was good to hear a steady signal from Polaris Radio on 7600 kHz and a good sound from the Free Radio Service Holland on 9335. And this afternoon I spent a good while tuned in to Weekend Music Radio on 6395. Jack Russel's festive programmes are the stuff of pirate legend, so it was great to hear him roll back the years today on a live broadcast with a powerful signal and great modulation as you can hear on this recording, which was made just before propagation conditions changed and the skip became longer. Towards the end of the recording you can start to hear the noise level increasing. But before that, the signal is almost local quality . . . 

Scottish pirate station Weekend Music Radio heard on 6395 kHz (December 28, 2014) by Mw_Pirate Fan on Mixcloud

Sunday lunch with a difference

Some bad news from the east of the Netherlands yesterday. At around lunchtime, Radio Tower was broadcasting on 6306 kHz when two members of the AT showed at the studio. However, the meeting was very civilised and the AT guys even had a drink while the transmitter remained on air. In fact, the broadcast continued for many hours and during the evening a second transmitter was added on 1611 kHz, which was giving a fair signal here in England.

The AT chat with a member of the Radio Tower team on Sunday afternoon

The Tower team was told they would receive a letter in due course that would tell them they would face a fine of 2,500 euro if they were found broadcasting from the same location again. So perhaps this will signal the end of the station?

Listening around on the MW band last night there was a distinct lack of activity. Clearly, now the AT has turned attention to AM, many stations are running scared. I also understand Santana and Vrolijke Mijnwerker have heard from the authorities in recent weeks, with a promise of a hefty fine if they return to the airwaves. Worrying times for pirate operators . . . 

Afternoon delight

I was working at home today and at just after 1430 I switched on the radio to the top of the MW band. I didn't really expect to hear anything as it was over an hour before sunset, which is when the Dutch pirate signals usually start to arrive over here. Imagine my surprise when I heard music on 1640 kHz. Then when that station closed down, there were signals on 1645 and 1629. 

I had found a qso between Cobra, Picolo and Baanbreker, and the first two of those names were new to me, although I think Picolo was a more well-known pirate using a different name which is a popular tactic at the moment to throw the increasingly active authorities off the scent. 

It was pretty impressive to hear these guys during the afternoon and a reminder that conditions are starting to pick up again for listening to Dutch pirates here in England. The signals weren't strong, and I wouldn't expect them to be at that time of day, but they were listenable, as you can hear on this short recording of Baanbreker . . .

Dutch pirate station Baanbreker heard in England on 1629 kHz (December 9, 2014) by Mw_Pirate Fan on Mixcloud

After that brief burst of activity, the band remained quiet for several hours, with nothing coming through until around 1820 when I heard another qso, this time featuring Baanbreker again, but with the addition of Interpol, Kleine Man and Derdeman, all of whom I've not heard for a good while. 

That's the great thing about this time of year over the summer months. Sure, propagation might be a little up and down, and skip can often be long with Balkan pirates coming in strongly, but it also gives the chance to hear Dutch pirates at a different time of day - and that means the opportunity to hear some names other than the norm. Some Dutch stations broadcast only in the daytime, which means for most of the year I don't get to hear them, but the winter months give that opportunity. Now if I lived by the sea on the east coast I would be hearing the stations round the clock every day of the year - but I don't, and if I did then I'd never leave the radio room!

Anyway, here's a recording of Interpol I made at around 1830 local time. Looking back through my logs it seems the last time I heard this station was on January 7, 2013 - nearly two years!

Dutch pirate station Interpol heard in England on 1632 kHz (December 9, 2014) by Mw_Pirate Fan on Mixcloud

Something different in SSB

Greetings from the radio room and apologies for the lack of recent blog action from this side. The reason: conditions being unsuitable for listening to the Dutch MW pirates here in England.

I just switched on the radio at 2215 and all I could hear was a Balkan pirate around 1630 kHz and various local noise. And that has been the story for the last few weeks. Couple that with the 48 metre band fading out during the late afternoon, and there hasn't been a great deal to pull me towards the radio just recently. The good news is this has been the same for the last few years and it won't be long before propagation changes and the MW pirates start coming through with consistently good signals.

I was having a tune around earlier in the evening - at about 1700 - and there were some final signals before the conditions changed. I heard the Zwarte Boekanier (who was also using the name Eenzamejager, which means Lonely Hunter in English) qsoing with Osaka and Digitaal. All were coming through really well. And then I heard a somebody around 1637 kHz whistling into a microphone. 

At first I thought it was somebody tuning up a transmitter. Then I realised the signal was in SSB, so I switched mode on the radio and heard somebody calling for the Boekanier. There was no station ID, but he was coming through very clearly. Who it was, I have no idea, although there were some Dutch fisherman on 1675 kHz a few minutes later, so just perhaps it was one of them and they had been enjoying some polka sounds and thought they would give a report. 

The same thing happened back in the late 1990s on the 76 metre band. There used to a lot of late-night pirate activity around 3945 kHz, where some Scottish fisherman also used to illegally chat to each other from time to time. From listening to them it turned out that they often used to listen to the pirates while they were out in the North Sea. The likes of Live Wire Radio, Subterranean Sounds and the Wizard's Magic Spell could then often be heard sending them best wishes and playing records for them!

Back in business

So this afternoon despite having something of a fear of heights I was at the top of a long ladder putting the loop antenna back in place at the top of one of the two masts and aligning it with a northerly direction so it would work in sync with the rotator. I was doing this after being without the loop for a week or two while waiting for a new part. Like I mentioned in my previous post, it has been a frustrating time as I haven't been able to receive signals on MW with anything like their usual strength.

But the good news is everything is working fine now and I am listening to the regular Sunday evening programme of Witte Tornado on 1647 kHz as I write this. And the signal is pretty good, despite propagation conditions not being great for hearing the Dutch pirates - I can hear a legal station from the US on 1610 with a fair signal.

It was also good to hear Matrix for the first time in ages during the late afternoon. Exactly two years ago he was over here in England to celebrate my wedding, so it was fitting to hear him on the radio today.

Earlier in the day I was listening to shortwave with the inverted v antenna. Skip was short during the morning but as we went into the afternoon, stations further afield started arriving with good signals. One of the best of the day was the Free Radio Service Holland, who could be heard on 7700 and 9300 kHz with a repeat of last weekend's programmes that were being aired again due to the SW blackout seven days earlier. I made a recording as Peter Verbruggen handed over to Roger Davis, the voice of Britain Radio International for so many years . . .

Free Radio Service Holland 7700 kHz heard in England on November 2, 2014 by Mw_Pirate Fan on Mixcloud

On the high seas (sort of)

For the last week I've been at sea. Well, my family and I were on some of Britain's canals, gently coasting along at around four miles an hour. And as we relaxed and enjoyed the great weather I noticed a few things that reminded me of the pirate hobby . . . 

It's been a little while since I heard Odynn on MW, but he was testing with a new antenna a couple of months ago and will hopefully be active during the autumn and winter months. As for Alaska, looking back at the logs I see it was just about 12 months ago I last heard him, and before that he was making it across the North Sea on New Year's Eve 2012. 

Anyway, it was nice to be reminded of the pirates as we meandered along some countryside waterways, and I even managed a little listening with my old Sony ICF 2001d and small portable loop. Now, tuning the bands while inside a metal box isn't ideal and there was all sorts of interference, even with most appliances switched off. So, on Thursday night in the pitch dark I took the receiver and loop outside and sat at the front of the boat and was very surprised to hear some cracking signals, none more so than Professor Sickbok, who was very strong on 1640 while qsoing with Casablanca. 

We're back home now and I've been doing some antenna maintenance. Yesterday I replaced the coax cable in the shortwave dipole antenna and tomorrow I'll be reinstalling the outdoor loop antenna which has been on the sidelines for a couple of weeks waiting for a new part. I can't wait to get it back in working order - it's essential for pulling in weaker signals on AM, and I've been lost without it. Trying to listen to MW, for example, with a SW antenna is not ideal and it's frustrating when signals are being received with only a fraction of the strength they should be, together with loads of noise as well. The right antenna for the job is so important . . .