{"id":59884,"date":"2024-06-02T06:01:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T10:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=59884"},"modified":"2024-06-02T09:39:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-02T13:39:49","slug":"the-giant-antennas-of-shanghai-coast-radio-station-xsg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/the-giant-antennas-of-shanghai-coast-radio-station-xsg\/","title":{"rendered":"The Giant Antennas of Shanghai Coast Radio Station (XSG)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Michael (BD4AAQ)<\/a> who shares the following guest post:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>Shanghai Coast Radio Station (XSG):<\/h1>\n

Those Giant Antennas!<\/b><\/em><\/h1>\n

The 17th of May is the World Telecommunication Day. It is also the open day of Shanghai Coast Radio Station. On this day, a group of amateur radio operators were invited to visit the transmission facility, a huge antenna farm, of the radio station, located on Chongming Island of Shanghai, the third largest island in China.<\/p>\n

Google Satellite Photo<\/h2>\n

The transmission site of Shanghai Coast Radio Station is as shown below in the map of Chongming Island. Other sites of the station include a central control\/receive station in Zhangjiang, a receive station on Hengsha Island and some VHF base stations in a number of other locations. All these locations in Shanghai, linked via cable and microwave connection, form Shanghai Coast Radio Station, also known by its callsign as XSG.<\/p>\n

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

(Google map of transmitter location for Shanghai Coast Radio Station. Note the antenna farm on the left.)<\/i><\/p>\n

Presentation by Station Officials<\/b><\/h2>\n

Fifteen or so local hams were cordially invited to have a tour of the station. The radio enthusiasts were greeted by station representatives, including Mr Wan, Mr Wang, Mr Zhou and Mr Niu (BH4BFS), who also gave them an overview of the coast radio station\u2019s history and development.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

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

Antenna Farm<\/b><\/h2>\n

Mr Wang then showed the visitors around the antenna farm. Many of us, myself included, saw and were deeply impressed with these huge antennas for the first time! Indeed, many professional radio facilities and operators of similar coast radio stations work quietly around the globe and around the clock to provide for distress, navigational, business and personal communications needs of ships!<\/p>\n

\"10\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"9\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"8\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"7\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"6\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"5\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"4\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"3\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

[Click on images to enlarge.]<\/em><\/p>\n

The antennas cover a wide range of frequencies, from MF, HF, to VHF and UHF. Many of them are, however, shortwave (HF) antennas.<\/p>\n

Transmitter Room<\/b><\/h2>\n

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

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

(I placed a Tecsun PL-330 radio near the transmitter at 12380.1 kHz (weather fax). The signal strength, in dbu, is 96. Given the margin of error of the receiver\u2019s display, that\u2019s probably as high as it could go.)<\/i><\/p>\n

Shanghai Coast Radio Station (XSG) operates on a wide range of frequencies. Its HF frequencies include 4207.5, 4209.5, 4215.5, 4369, 6312, 6326, 6501, 8414.5, 8425.5, 8770, 8806, 12577, 12637.5, 13176, 13188, 16804.5, 16898.5 and 17407 kHz. Of particular note is that they have kept a CW frequency of 8665 kHz for general broadcast of information on a 24 hour basis.<\/p>\n

The station\u2019s VHF phone service covers 25 nautical miles of the coast. Its MF NAVTEX covers 250 nautical miles of the coast. And its HF phone and weather fax and HF NAVTEX extend to 1,000 nautical miles.<\/p>\n

History and Current Status<\/b><\/h2>\n

Founded in 1905, Shanghai Coast Radio Station has been around 119 years. The XSG callsign has since remained in use.<\/p>\n

China has in place DSC watch and NAVTEX broadcast in coast stations (including XSG) in accordance with GMDSS requirements. Among services provided by XSG are Radio Telephony (RT), Narrow Band Direct Printing (NBDP), \u201cVoice of the East China Sea Coast\u201d (voice broadcast on 161.600 MHz and 8806 kHz) and marine radio weather fax. The station is without a doubt one of the largest coast radio stations in the Asia Pacific region and plays an essential role in the region’s marine safety and communications.<\/p>\n

QSL Cards<\/b><\/h2>\n

Shanghai Coast Radio Station issues QSL cards in Chinese and English, traditionally in paper form and nowadays electronically.<\/p>\n

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

(This is an electronic QSL card issued to a Shanghai listener, who received their signal over the radio. Examples of QSL cards in English can be found online.)<\/i><\/p>\n

Show Room<\/b><\/h2>\n
\"14\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"22\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"21\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"20\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"19\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"18\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"17\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"16\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"15\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

[Click on images to enlarge.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Ham Station<\/b><\/h2>\n

Mr Niu of Shanghai Coast Radio Station, one of the tour\u2019s organisers, is a ham himself with callsign BH4BFS. According to him, there are intentions to start a ham radio station within the establishment, possibly incorporating the letters XSG. However, there is much work to be done to make it happen. An amateur radio station with overlapping callsigns with a professional one would be really charming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael (BD4AAQ) who shares the following guest post: Shanghai Coast Radio Station (XSG): Those Giant Antennas! The 17th of May is the World Telecommunication Day. It is also the open day of Shanghai Coast Radio Station. On this day, a group of amateur radio operators were invited to visit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,3194,545,960,433,3,1936,288,43,9589],"tags":[4342,4681,3969,4013,9182,10538,543,10539],"class_list":["post-59884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-guest-posts","category-ham-radio","category-international-broadcasting","category-mediumwave","category-news","category-photos","category-radio-history","category-shortwave-radio","category-utility","tag-guest-posts","tag-maritime-broadcasts","tag-maritime-radio","tag-maritime-shortwave","tag-michael-ye-bd4aaq","tag-shanghai-coast-radio-station-xsg","tag-transmitter-site","tag-xsg-transmitter-site"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-fzS","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61989,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/revised-xsg-special-world-radio-day-event-and-qsl-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":59884,"position":0},"title":"Revised: XSG Special World Radio Day Event and QSL Card","author":"Thomas","date":"February 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post contributor Michael (BD4AAQ) and Xusheng Niu (BH4BFS), who share the following revised announcement: 120 Years of XSG: World Radio Day Commemoration Revised Notice from Shanghai Coast Radio Station (XSG) Dear SWLers and Amateur Radio Enthusiasts, In celebration of World Radio Day and the 120th anniversary of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61836,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/120-years-of-xsg-special-world-radio-day-event-and-qsl-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":59884,"position":1},"title":"120 Years of XSG: Special World Radio Day Event and QSL Card","author":"Thomas","date":"January 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Michael (BD4AAQ), who shares the following announcement: Notice from Shanghai Coast Radio Station (XSG) on Hosting the Global Amateur Radio Communication Event Dear Amateur Radio Enthusiasts, To celebrate World Radio Day and foster communication and interaction with amateur radio operators worldwide, Shanghai Coast Radio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-2.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-2.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-2.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-2.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/XSG-2.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61138,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/seanet-2024-rekindling-ham-radio-fellowship-in-sri-lanka\/","url_meta":{"origin":59884,"position":2},"title":"SEANET 2024: Rekindling Ham Radio Fellowship in Sri Lanka","author":"Thomas","date":"November 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael (BD4AAQ), who shares the following guest post: Tidbits of SEANET (South East Asia Amateur Radio Network) by Michael (BD4AAQ) On 3rd October 2024, the 48th SEANET Convention was finally convened in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The SEANET convention, a gathering of a group of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/6-Three-Person-Photo.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/6-Three-Person-Photo.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/6-Three-Person-Photo.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/6-Three-Person-Photo.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/6-Three-Person-Photo.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26961,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/guest-post-night-of-nights-july-12-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":59884,"position":3},"title":"Guest Post: \u201cNight of Nights\u201d July 12, 2017","author":"Thomas","date":"July 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Brian Smith (W9IND), who shares the following guest post: \u201cNight of Nights\u201d 2017 by Brian D. Smith, W9IND \u201cNight of Nights XVIII\u201d \u2013 radio\u2019s answer to \u201cNight of the Living Dead\u201d \u2013 will again unfold on July 12 (July 13 UTC) with the return\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Night-Of-Nights.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Night-Of-Nights.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Night-Of-Nights.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Night-Of-Nights.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33959,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/atlas-obscura-features-kph-maritime-radio-receiving-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":59884,"position":4},"title":"Atlas Obscura features KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station","author":"Thomas","date":"September 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Atlas Obscura via Eric McFadden) One of the most stunning sights of the Bay Area is the historic KPH Radio Station, also known as Marine Coast Station KPH. To reach the station, you must first pass through a clerestory tunnel of cypress trees near the Point Reyes National Seashore.[...]\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1024px-Cypress_Tree_Avenue_at_KPH_Point_Reyes-1024x635.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1024px-Cypress_Tree_Avenue_at_KPH_Point_Reyes-1024x635.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1024px-Cypress_Tree_Avenue_at_KPH_Point_Reyes-1024x635.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60965,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/soldersmoke-monitoring-maritime-radio-messages-with-yadd\/","url_meta":{"origin":59884,"position":5},"title":"SolderSmoke: Monitoring Maritime Radio Messages with YADD","author":"Thomas","date":"October 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor, Bill Meara who shares\u00a0the following article from the excellent SolderSmoke Podcast blog: Monitoring Maritime Radio Messages with YADD This is really cool and very easy.\u00a0 Easy nerd thrills. On Friday, Steve VE7SL,\u00a0put up a blog post\u00a0on how we can relive the glories of our youth by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/YADD.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/YADD.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/YADD.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/YADD.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59884"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59898,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59884\/revisions\/59898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}