For all you anoraks out there

Do you remember the weekly newsletters published by Anoraks UK back in the 1980s? Sadly they ended just as I was getting interested in the hobby. However, they are all now available to download. Have a look here and take a trip back in time

Latest logs

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

1648       2005       Caldera 23322-34443 qsoing

1640       2010       Jonny Pecon 44444 qsoing

1655       2010       Relmus 45434-55544 testing new modulator

1646       2011       Mustang 45444-55444 qsoing

1658       2018       Test Piraat 33422 qsoing

1655       2100       Turfsteker qsoing

1637       2112       Casablanca (not Emmen) qsoing

1654       2115       Vuurvogel 55444 testing
1620       2120       Kolibrie 33543 music programme

1633       2310       Barcelona 45434-55444 music programme

1647       2311       Bluebird 35433-45434 music programme

1656       2320       Romax 35443 testing

1665       2326       Polkaman 23322-34333 music programme

1615       2353       Napoleon 45444 music programme

1636       0011       Arrianne 45544 report for Barcelona

1655       0036       Jeneverstoker 24332-34333 qsoing

1639       0043       Veronica 33433-33443 qsoing

1636       0050       Pandora 55544 qsoing

1648       0056       Casablanca 43443 (later 45444) qsoing

Monday, February 25, 2013

1647       1600       Bluebird 24442 qsoing

1650       1605       Zwarte Boekanier 35443 qsoing

1655       1610       Vuurvogel 25342 qsoing

1625       2110       Melkbus 24432-35433 music programme

1644       2120       Vrolijke Mijnwerker 55544-55555 music programme

1648       2125       Caldera 23432-34443 music programme

1663       2147       Readymix 34333-35433 music programme

1638       2235       Calipso 55444 music programme

1647       2330       Noordzee 35433-454444 report for Mijnwerker

1647       2332       Casablanca 44444 report for Mijnwerker

Observations

• Propagation conditions are not at their peak right now for listening to the Dutch MW pirates here in England. However, there was plenty to listen to on Tuesday evening. You saw the pictures of Relmus's new modulator a couple of days ago, and he was testing it out on 1655. By the end of the test, the modulation was booming and sounding great
• Vuurvogel has been busy in the last few weeks and we have heard him qsoing several times. On Tuesday night, however, he appeared to be testing a much bigger transmitter which was blasting a very strong signal into our location. He was also talking in English with the ID of Radio Firebird International - and that voice sounds very famous. I remember it on my radio many years ago with some tremendous late-night programmes
• Kolibrie was a new one for me and was on air with a long music programme. We made a nice recording that will be one of the many featured on the next MW Pirate Review which will be available to download in March
• Napoleon signed on very late and played some music into the early hours which was a nice surprise. He has used 1615 a couple of times recently and it is a good frequency
• There was a late-night qso into the early hours of Wednesday morning that featured Dutch stations Arrianne, Pandora, Casablanca, Polkaman, Jeneverstoker, Veronica, Bluebird and Barcelona, several of whom were also chatting to Radio Jaguar from Serbia 

Up and down

Anybody listening to Dutch pirates over the weekend is likely to have found propagation conditions in their favour during the early evening - that is certainly what I found with signals coming in really well between around 1600 and 1800. As darkness arrived, so the conditions were more volatile, especially on Sunday evening when at one point most stations faded out. Here is what I heard . . . 

Sunday, February 24, 2013

1625       1559       Quintus 35433-45444 music programme. Close at 1642

1611       1602       Zwarte Non 35443 at 1648 music programme

1635       1609       Batavier 34433 music programme

1647       1610       Witte Tonado 35343 (55544 at 2020) music programme

1655       1617       Vuurvogel 25342 (35443 at 1646) qsoing

1671       1824       Viking 34433 music programme

1655       1831       Relmus testing

1620       1846       Eldorado 44444 music programme

1639       2015       Wadloper 44434 music programme

1651       2030       Uniek 33433-34543 music programme

1638       2307       Calipso 55444-55555 testing

1647       2319       Casablanca 45444 qsoing

1653       2325       Jeneverstoker 24332 qsoing

1638       2339       Underground weak signal

1647       0020       Bluebird 35433 music programme

Saturday, February 23, 2013

1652       1701       Uniek qsoing 35543

1625       1701       Batavier 35433 at 1743 (45544 at 1752) music programme

1611       1702       Tower 44544 at 1821 music programme. Close at 0051

1512       1702       Edelkampioen 43533 music programme (started at 1615 after Tempico closed)

1648       1704       Caldera  25442 (34443 at 1834) music programme

1627       1706       Dr Blow 33443 qsoing

1656       1710       Rodester 35333 (45444 at 1735) qsoing

1668       1721       Pontiac  45444 qsoing

1636       1729       Keizer En Keizerin 34333 music programme

1620       1731       Kruik 24432-34433 music programme

1656       1752       Digitaal 34333 qsoing

1630       1825       Lancia 23422-33433 qsoing

1647       1827       Zeewolf 23432-33443 qsoing

1647       1850       Bluebird 32532-43543 music programme

1648       1855       Moby Dick 43433 music programme

1640       2159       Witte Raaf 34433-44444 music programme

1625       0040       Witte Raaf 34433-44444 music programme

1636       0045       Romax 34433 qsoing

Thursday, February 21, 2013

1664       2244       Amigo 35543 music programme

1638       2244       Hot Radio (via Calipso) 55544

1620       2245       Anton 55544 music programme

1629       2245       Babylona music programme

1656       2320       Wilskracht 25432-35333 qsoing

1656       2326       Jeneverstoker 35333 qsoing

1646       2331       Casablanca 45444 qsoing

1647       2345       Noordzee 44444-55555 report for Anton

1653       2347       Monte Carlo 34443 report for Anton

1639       2354       Monte Carlo 34443 qsoing

Observations

• Great to hear British pirate Underground back on MW. He can usually be found with his polka music on shortwave but, using a T antenna, he was back on 1.6 MHz over the weekend. Although his signal was a little hit and miss here, it was hitting the Netherlands well enough and he had a qso with Calipso
• Many thanks to Witte Tornado for the English music during their regular Sunday programme. While the propagation conditions held up, the signal was excellent once again
• On Saturday I heard Edelkampioen for the first time. This station was first active around 20 years ago but has recently returned to the air operated by the son of original pirate, with a little help from his own son. The station made a comeback around three months ago and can usually be heard once a week on 1512. A great example of the pirate bug being passed down from generation to generation
• I first heard Caldera a couple of weeks ago when he was qsoing with 45 watts. He's got a new transmitter now and was trying it out on Saturday afternoon/evening. The signal got stronger as time went by and he was coming in really well by 1830. I'm looking forward to hearing more from this station
• There was a good qso on Saturday evening during which I heard Zeewolf for the first time in a while on MW. I wonder if his regular Friday night programmes on 1647 will make a return at some point?

Picture this . . .

Anybody who has ever listened to Relmus will know this is one station that pays special attention to detail, especially when it comes to audio and modulation. We can expect a slightly different sound from this powerful pirate very soon as he has a new modulator and power supply, built with more than a little help from Dr Einstein, the brains behind many of the signals you hear on the MW band. Relmus sent me these pictures on Sunday night and has kindly allowed me to share them with you . . . 

Nice catch

A little deviation here to shortwave . . . the weekend is a good time to catch US pirates on 6.9 MHz, where many of the stations broadcast in sideband mode. At around 0200 on Sunday morning I heard a signal on 6925 USB and it turned out to be Radio Jamba International. It's a new station for me and one I was very happy to hear. Also coming through was Wolverine Radio on 6935.

Blast from the past

In these times of e-qsls it is not often that something arrives in the post from a pirate station. But a few days ago this sticker came from Radio Veldwachter after I heard the station recently qsoing. When I first started listening to the pirates, something would be dropping through the letterbox pretty much every day. Many thanks for this reminder of those days . . . 

A quick reminder

Good evening from England

You might have noticed that I make quite a few videos of my reception of the Dutch pirates on MW. All of these are posted on our YouTube page. You can find all the videos by clicking here