Category Archives: AM

Norway DXer tunes into CBC Saskatchewan

SX-99-Dial-Nar

Many thanks to my pal, Sheldon Harvey (of the International Radio Report and CIDX), for sharing this news item from the CBC News in Saskatchewan:

Ole Forr is a 58-year-old radio lover who tunes into radio stations across the world for fun

A dairy farmer in Norway went to great lengths to tune into CBC Saskatchewan.

Sure, The Morning Edition with Sheila Coles is the No. 1 morning radio show in Saskatchewan. But few people could have expected it to reach a group of listeners more than 5,800 kilometres away— and not through the internet.

Ole Forr doesn’t let thousands of kilometres and the Atlantic Ocean get in the way of his hobby.

[…]Every late October, Forr and three friends visit a remote location in northern Norway, where he said they spend up to two weeks listening to radio broadcasts using some very long-range receiving antennas.

On Oct. 27, 2015, Forr tuned into CBK 540 AM from Andøya, Norway.

“It’s very remote, so there is no man-made noise,” Forr said. “From October to March, it’s very dark up there so to have dark between the transmitter and the receiver.”

Forr contacted CBC Saskatchewan to verify his recording, providing MP3 evidence of the broadcast.[…]

Read the full article, along with audio, on the CBC News Saskatchewan website.

Thanks again, Sheldon! I love stories like this that give our radio hobby a little time in the limelight!

Sangean DT-500W: a new AM / FM / Weather Alert Pocket Radio

Sangean-DT-500W-Front

Many thanks to my pal, Jeff McMahon from The Herculodge, who has just apprised me of a new Sangean AM/FM/WX portable: the DT-500W. Jeff learned about the new pocket radio via a comment on his blog.

DT-500W-SideIt appears the DT-500W is powered by a rechargeable Li-ion Polymer 3.7V (1850mAh) battery. I would expect good longevity from a full charge.

Based on the specifications, the receiver covers all NOAA weather radio frequencies, the FM broadcast band (87.5 – 108 MHz) and the full AM broadcast band (520 – 1710 kHz). I also noted on the spec sheet, however, that the AM broadcast (mediumwave) band is limited to 10 kHz tuning steps. Not a great contender for the ultralight DXer or someone who travels outside North America if so!

Click here to view the Sangean DT-500W on Sangean’s website.

As of posting, I can’t find the DT-500W listed with any online retailers.

Thanks again for the tip, Jeff!

Ayar notes LW and MW transmitters still active in France

AM-Dial-Digital-Grundig-Mediumwave-MWIn response to our previous post about France, Germany and Luxembourg leaving the AM broadcast bands, SWLing Post contributor Ayar (HB9EVW) comments:

It is indeed a sad day for AM broadcasting. Not only Germany, France and Luxembourg, also the Czech Republic will turn off 3 MW transmitters on January 5th 2016. The three transmitters carrying the CRo Plus program are: 639, 954 and 1332 kHz.

[In the Czech Republic, there] are 2 transmitters on 693 kHz, the bigger one in “Liblice” with 750 kW will be switched off, but the smaller one in “Ostrava-Svinov” with 30 kW will remain active for now, or at least until the FM coverage is good enough for this region.

In France (including Monaco), there will still be few active LW and MW stations:

162 KHz. Allouis (France Inter)
216 KHz. Roumoules (RMC)
1467 KHz. Roumoules (TWR)
1467 KHz. Col de la Madone (Radio Maria France)
1593 KHz. St Goueno (Bretagne 5)

I am already recording some of the transmitters from Germany and France. I can receive few of them here in Switzerland even during the day.

Many thanks, Ayar. I would love to share some of your recordings on the SRAA.

Mediumwave: France, Luxembourg and Germany go silent

france-germany

On Facebook, Mike Terry reminded me:

“Tomorrow France, Germany and Luxembourg go very quiet on medium wave.”

He’s right–there will be more empty space on the AM broadcast band for those living in or near France, Germany or Luxembourg.

I hope there are Post readers out there who might be able to make recordings of some of these stations as they go off the air.  I would like to add those recordings to the archive. Please comment or contact me if you can.

Radio France to shut down mediumwave

La Masion de la Radio, Paris, France, (Photo source: Gérard Ducher via Wikimedia Commons).

La Masion de la Radio, Paris, France, (Photo source: Gérard Ducher via Wikimedia Commons).

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Marc, who shares this news from Radio France.

The article (in French) notes that as of midnight on December 31, 2015, Radio France will cease all mediumwave broadcasts permanently. Up to this point, Radio France’s mediumwave transmitters have broadcast France InfoFrance bleu RCFM and France Bleu Elsass.

The article notes that regions previously within the broadcast footprint of their mediumwave transmissions are now serviced via FM and/or online streaming.

Click here to read the article on Radio France’s website.

Ukraine to launch radio station for troops

Disputed Ukraine Map via Wikimedia CommonsMany thanks to SWLing Post reader, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who shares this article via Sputnik News:

Ukraine plans to launch a new radio station for the military in 2016.

Alexei Makukhin, an advisor to the Ukraine’s Defense Minister, said during a press briefing that a new Ukrainian radio station for military personnel will begin operating on March 1, 2016.

“It’s no secret that our troops on the frontline often suffer from an information vacuum,” Makukhin said. “So we need a radio station. Seventy percent of its content will be music; there will also be news broadcasts and programs for the troops – where soldiers can say hello to their friends and relatives, request songs and share stories live on air.

There will also be programs featuring interviews with experts and military personnel.”

The new radio station will be reportedly funded by Spirit of America, a non-profit company which assists US military personnel deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa.

Continue reading on the Sputnik News website…