Tag Archives: MF Marine Band DXing

Update to Don Moore’s Marine Broadcast List

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Marine Broadcast List Updated

By Don Moore

I just updated my by-time listing of scheduled marine broadcasts in the MF 1600-3400 kHz range. This is primarily based on the by-location listings at the DX Info Centre website. Of special interest at the moment is Iqaluit Coast Guard Radio in Canada which uses six different transmitter sites in the Canadian Arctic. These seasonal broadcasts will be ending soon with the close of Arctic navigation.

The spreadsheet also includes a tab of selected scheduled marine broadcasts on HF frequencies. It does not include easier stations such as the US Coast Guard or the stations in Australia. See the DX Info Centre for complete by-frequency listings.

My by-time listings: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Uju43a0ftROV5Dt56IgY7CMwAecDaa6TVLs7iHaHj6I/edit?usp=sharing

DX Info Centre MF Listings: https://www.dxinfocentre.com/mb.htm

DX Info Centre HF Listings: https://www.dxinfocentre.com/marineinfo.htm

My article on MF Marine DXing: https://swling.com/blog/2021/12/guest-post-an-introduction-to-dxing-the-mf-marine-bands/

My article on Norwegian MF stations: https://swling.com/blog/2021/12/guest-post-don-targets-rare-norwegian-stations-during-newfoundland-dxpedition/

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Guest Post: An Introduction to DXing the MF Marine Bands

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Don Moore–author of  Following Ghosts in Northern Peru–for the following guest post:

Monitoring the MF Marine Bands

By Don Moore

For me, DXing has always been about the challenge of receiving difficult-to-hear radio stations, regardless of the type of station or frequency range. In my five decades in the radio hobby I’ve logged a lot of different kinds of stations – shortwave broadcast, medium wave, shortwave utility, longwave beacons, etc. But some of my favorite catches have been in the upper end of the medium frequency range.

Technically speaking, medium frequency (MF) is the range from 300 to 3000 kHz and includes the standard medium wave (AM) broadcast band. The upper end of the MF band, from 1600 to 3000 kHz (except for a small portion reserved for amateur radio),  has always been assigned to various types of utility uses including broadcasts and other voice communications from regional maritime stations. And while digital modes and satellites have done a lot to change the nature of communication with ships at sea, there is still a lot of good human-voice DX to be heard.

Several dozen stations, mostly in Europe and North America, broadcast regularly scheduled marine information broadcasts in the MF range. These broadcasts are usually between five to ten minutes in length and include weather forecasts, navigational warnings, and other notices to keep ships at sea safe. On occasion it’s possible to hear two-way voice communication here between ships and shore stations, although that’s much less common today.

The Equipment

Nothing special is needed to DX the marine MF band other than a receiver that covers the frequency range and can receive USB mode (which all these broadcasts are in). However, for reasons explained below, I highly recommend using an SDR to make spectrum recordings of the entire band to go through later. Continue reading →

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