{"id":51255,"date":"2021-12-19T08:03:16","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T12:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=51255"},"modified":"2021-12-19T08:07:05","modified_gmt":"2021-12-19T12:07:05","slug":"guest-post-an-introduction-to-dxing-the-mf-marine-bands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/guest-post-an-introduction-to-dxing-the-mf-marine-bands\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: An Introduction to DXing the MF Marine Bands"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Don Moore<\/a>\u2013author of\u00a0\u00a0Following Ghosts in Northern Peru<\/a>\u2013for the following guest post:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Monitoring the MF Marine Bands<\/b><\/h1>\n

By Don Moore<\/b><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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),\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s much less common today.<\/p>\n

The Equipment<\/b><\/h1>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The SDRplay RSPdx is one of many SDRs on the market that could be used to DX MF Marine stations.<\/p><\/div>\n

As always, the antenna may be more important than the receiver. The ultimate way to hear these stations is on a DXpedition with a long beverage antenna. But a lot can be heard on a random wire or even an inside loop if your location isn’t too noisy. I\u2019ve had good luck over the years using simple wire antennas and a small tunable ferrite loop while living in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Iowa in the USA.<\/p>\n

The final key to DXing these stations is persistence. The stations aren\u2019t high powered and propagation on these frequencies can be fickle. You might go days without hearing a trace of a station and then one day there it is, nice and clear. The need for persistence is one reason why I recommend using an SDR. For those of us in North America, some of the best DX is in the middle of the night and not many of us can stay up all night DXing every night. (I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m up to doing that even one night any more.) It makes more sense to set up the SDR to record at certain times during the night and then check the recordings the next day. You\u2019ll never have to worry about sleeping through a good opening that way!<\/p>\n

Hang Out on 2182 kHz<\/b><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>The most important frequency to remember for DXing MF marine stations is 2182 kHz.<\/p>\n

Decades ago this was assigned as an international distress, calling, and announcements frequency. Until a few years ago all stations were required to remain silent for three minutes at the top and bottom of the hour to monitor 2182 kHz for distress calls. Distress calls have moved to other modes and frequencies so you aren\u2019t likely to hear a sinking ship here anymore. Today 2182 kHz still gets some use as a calling frequency, where a ship and a shore station quickly arrange to have a conversation on another frequency. But the more common use now is for shore-based marine broadcasters to pre-announce marine information broadcasts they are about to transmit on other frequencies. The announcements, like the broadcasts to follow, are usually in both English and the station\u2019s national language. Which one comes first varies by station.<\/p>\n

For example, here\u2019s a recording made in Newfoundland at 2304 UTC on 10 November 2021 of an announcement on 2182 kHz of an upcoming marine broadcast by Finisterre, Coru\u00f1a, and Machichaco Radios in Spain:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Spain_2182_CorunaETC_10Nov2021_2304_NFLD.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

A lot of stations can be heard by just hanging out on 2182 kHz. The problem is that often several stations make broadcasts at about the same time so sometimes these pre-announcements pile up on top of one another. Separating them is part of the challenge. The most common times for this to happen are at roughly three to five minutes and thirty-three to thirty-five minutes after certain hours. That\u2019s a legacy of the old days when stations scheduled information broadcasts just after the three minutes of silence.<\/p>\n

This recording made in Newfoundland starts out with Las Palmas and Arrecife Radios from the Canary Islands which are then joined by Aasiaat Radio in Greenland and Valentia Radio in Ireland. There is at least one more station in the background that I can\u2019t make out.\u00a0 Recorded at 2233 UTC on 13 November 2021:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/MixedStns_2182_Various_13Nov2021_2233_NFLD.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Here Torshavn Radio from the Faroes Islands is immediately followed by Placentia Coast Guard Radio in Newfoundland. Recorded in Newfoundland at 2235 UTC on 12 November 2021:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Mixed_2182_Faroes_Placentia_12Nov2021_2235_NFLD.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Finding References<\/b><\/h1>\n

This article is meant to serve as an introduction to DXing the MF Marine Bands. I believe the main reason most DXers don\u2019t know about these stations is that there aren\u2019t many good authoritative references about what there is to hear. The information is out there, but it\u2019s scattered all over the Internet. I\u2019ve spent many hours doing Google searches to look for schedules. Sometimes the ones I find are several years old. That\u2019s not necessarily a problem. Unlike SWBC stations, marine stations almost never change their times and frequencies. But there has been a trend of networks consolidating and automating operations. Others have become more reliant on VHF or digital modes. Because of this some stations have gone off the air.<\/p>\n

For some time I\u2019ve wanted to seriously focus on DXing these stations and trying to confirm what is still on the air. Well, that\u2019s something good that has come out of the pandemic. During the past two winters I spent long periods at my parents\u2019 place in rural Pennsylvania DXing on 200 and 300 meter long beverage antennas. Then in November of 2021 I had the opportunity to DX for eight days with beverage antennas on coastal Newfoundland. Those aren\u2019t typical listening conditions for most DXers, but they have given me the chance to thoroughly examine what is on the air.<\/p>\n

To help other DXers also log these stations I\u2019ve created this webpage<\/strong> of links to resources I\u2019ve found, including my spreadsheet of schedules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sample from an MF Marine Schedules spreadsheet via https:\/\/www.donmooredxer.com\/DX\/Ute\/MaritimeMF.html<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

It will also include links to logs, audio recordings, SDR spectrum recordings and more.<\/p>\n

The Stations to DX<\/b><\/h1>\n

Following is a summary of what I think are most likely stations between 1600 and 3000 kHz to be heard from North America and Europe. For DXers in most of North America anything below 1710 kHz will probably be covered by interference by AM stations in the X-band. And everywhere there may be QRM from amateur radio operators between 1800 and 2000 kHz as they also use that band. But even if you have no chance to hear Spain on 1698, 1707, and 1677 kHz there\u2019s a good chance you can still hear them on 2182 kHz.<\/p>\n

Always allow a little variability with the listed times. After doing a pre-announcement on 2182 kHz stations have to switch the transmitter to their regular frequency. One day that might take thirty seconds and the next day two or three minutes. Some stations are fully automated and everything takes place right on schedule all the time. Others are still run by humans and are less predictable. Pre-announcements and the following broadcasts can sometimes start a few minutes late. One station, whose name I won\u2019t mention, is often up to four minutes late.<\/p>\n

Unless otherwise specified, all these stations make a short pre-announcement on 2182 kHz.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

North America<\/b><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bermuda<\/b> – Bermuda Harbour Radio has weather broadcasts on 2582 kHz at 0035, 0435, 0835, 1235, 1635, and 2035 UTC. These are easy to hear in North America. They sometimes ID as just Bermuda Radio.<\/p>\n

Greenland<\/b> – Aasiaat Radio has navigational warnings in English, Danish, and Greenlandic at 2135, 0035, 0335, 0635, 0935, and 1235 UTC. These are broadcast simultaneously over a network of ten regional transmitter sites. The pre-announcement on 2182 goes out over all ten transmitters, which can create an interesting echo effect. On a couple of occasions I\u2019ve heard pre-announcements that there was nothing to broadcast and then there weren\u2019t any broadcasts on the other frequencies.<\/p>\n