Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Lennart Weirell, who shares the following in response to our Radio Veronica post yesterday:
Hi Thomas,
I heard and reported Radio Veronica end of 1964-11-06 and got the enclosed
QSL [above].Regards,
Lennart Weirell
What a brilliant QSL, Lennart! Thank you so much for sharing.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Scott Gamble, who writes:
[I was in Amsterdam recently] and was in a meeting over at the NDSM Wharf, and I happened to stumble upon Radio Veronica next to the office where I was meeting.
Never though I’d be so close to it. Such a cool piece of history.
Wow! What a fantastic opportunity to catch a glimpse of the legendary Radio Veronica! Thank you for sharing your photos, Scott.
Check out more info about Radio Veronica on Wikipedia:
Radio Veronica was an offshore radio station that began broadcasting in 1960, and broadcast from offshore for over fourteen years. It was set up by independent radio, TV and household electrical retailers in the Netherlands to stimulate the sales of radio receivers by providing an alternative to the Netherlands state-licensed stations in Hilversum.
Broadcasts began on 21 April 1960. The station announced itself as VRON (Vrije Radio Omroep Nederland; Free Radio Station [of the] Netherlands) but changed to Radio Veronica, after the poem “Het Zwarte Schaap Veronica” — The Black Sheep Veronica — by the children’s poet Annie M. G. Schmidt.
After the station’s closure, some of its staff applied for a broadcasting licence and continued as a legal organisation with the same name.
The original Radio Veronica became the most popular station in the Netherlands. It broadcast from a former lightship Borkum Riff anchored off the Dutch coastline. The ship was fitted with a horizontal antenna between the fore and aft masts, fed by a one-kilowatt transmitter. Most of its programmes were recorded in a studio on the Zeedijk in Hilversum. At the end of the 1960s the studios and offices moved to bigger premises on the Utrechtseweg in Hilversum. Initially advertisers were reluctant to buy airtime, but those that did reported increases in sales and gradually the station’s revenue improved.
For a short time the station also ran an English language service under the call letters CNBC (Commercial Neutral Broadcasting Company). Although short-lived, CNBC was presented by professional broadcasters who were able to give invaluable technical advice to Veronica’s Dutch staff.
My daughter hold the Kenwood TH-F6 HT while we listen to the ISS contact.
Many thanks to my good buddy Eric (WD8RIF) for reminding me about a scheduled ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) contact between Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques and Faith Christian Academy in Orlando, FL, USA.
Astronaut David Saint-Jacques (Source: Canadian Space Agency)
Living in the mountains, I miss a lot of low angle ISS passes due to ridge lines blocking my line of sight. This time, though, the pass was high and mostly to my open south which meant it was one of the longest ARISS contacts I’m monitored.
My daughters drop everything to monitor radio or visual ISS passes–this February 14th pass was no exception.
In fact, I’m sure a lot of their enthusiasm about studying for their ham radio licenses stems from these ARISS events.
Of course, it doesn’t take an amateur radio license to monitor an ISS VHF transmission. I’ve used everything from handheld scanners to handheld ham radio transceivers. Click here to read a post with a short tutorial on monitoring ARISS contacts.
My daughters helped me make short videos of David Saint-Jacques’ replies (of course, we can’t hear the FL school’s transmissions). Below, I’ve matched the school’s questions with his answers:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Have you ever monitored an ARISS contact or grabbed one of the SSTV transmissions from the ISS? Please comment!
Please consider supporting us via Patreon or our Coffee Fund!
Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen, who notes that the FCC Enforcement bureau now has an interactive map showing actions against pirate radio stations by location.
It’s been a busy winter season here at SWLing Post HQ. Many of you might have noticed a slow response time if you’ve tried to contact me. I’m in the midst of a rather involved investment property renovation that’s consumed nearly all of my spare time.
Still, I’m keeping up with the Post and even managing a little one-on-one radio time in the early mornings/late evenings. Indeed, I’ve actually tried to turn my renovation project into an opportunity to play a little radio. The property is unoccupied and very rural, so there’s quite literally no RFI there. Woot!
Since I’ve been spending time evaluating the new CCRadio3 (click here to read my preview), I’ve also had the CCRadio EP Pro, Sony ICF-5500W and the legendary Panasonic RF-2200 nearby for comparison purposes.
All of these radios have their strong points, but the Panny RF-2200 is still the rig I reach for the most. That’s why I listed it as one of my daily drivers.
It also helps that my RF-2200 feels like a brand new unit after Vlado re-capped and cleaned it.
Band-scanning with the RF-2200 is such a tactile experience. The ‘2200 tuning knob is quality and almost feels like a weighted encoder you’d find on a proper tabletop receiver. The RF-2200 even has fast/slow tuning gears and you can calibrate the dial so easily. Though tuning on the shortwaves feels a little vague, I find mediumwave is incredibly accurate.
Speaking of the dial and logging scale, I think it’s one of the most attractive from the 1970s:
Since I’ve been doing most of my listening around sunrise and sunset, it’s been a lot of fun to fit in a little mediumwave DXing as well. I see why the RF-2200 was one of The Professor‘s favorites.
If you ever find a good deal on a Panasonic RF-2200, don’t hesitate, just grab it! Occasionally you’ll find one on eBay, but also check your local hamfests and swap meets! That’s where I’ve had the most luck.
If you ever find a ‘2200 for less that $100-125 that’s in decent cosmetic shape, with the original antenna, clean battery contacts, and is in good mechanical shape (meaning the tuning mechanism and dial work as they should), buy it! If there’s an electrical problem, Vlado can fix that. In fact, if your RF-2200 still has the original capacitors, you’d probably want to re-cap it anyway to keep leaky caps from eventually harming the board or internals. Plus, a properly re-capped ‘2200 will play like a new one!
My takeaway? The RF-2200 is a keeper! I suppose that’s why I even have a spare!
Do you have or would you like an RF-2200? Please comment!
Please consider supporting us via Patreon or our Coffee Fund!
Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Skip Arey (N2EI), who shared the following video on Facebook:
Any electrical spark creates radio waves and acts as a transmitter. You hear sparks on a radio as interference. That’s why lighting makes radios crackle, and even the tiny spark in a switch is enough to make a noise on the radio when turning on a light./blockquote>