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.
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>
Many thanks to Amanda Dawn Christie, who writes:
I also want to let you know that Spectres of Shortwave is currently screening online, for a limited time (March 4), on this science film website: https://www.labocine.
com/film/2172 I think it costs $3 for the month to access all of the films on this site.
Feel free to let others know.
Many thanks for letting us know, Amanda!
Post Readers: I’ve been to a screening of Spectres of Shortwave—it’s a wonderful film and certainly a must-watch for anyone who loved Radio Canada International.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who shares the following:
I’ve recently got back into computer games after a gap of several years, and have recently discovered one called “The Division”.
The level of detail in the game is amazing, and the representation of parts of Manhattan compare very favourably with Google Street View.
Radios popup fairly regularly as props in houses and military bases, including this windup model shown in the image above.
Thanks for sharing, Mark! That’s impressive design detail for a game. Looks like a radio I’d consider purchasing. I’m very curious if it’s based on a real life design–if so, I’ve never seen it. Please comment if you can ID this radio.