My AM Archive: March 2009

 THE audio landscape of the Medium Wave band is undergoing sweeping changes here in the UK, as April 30, 2021, saw the closure of four transmitters on 828 kHz (Leeds), 999 kHz (Preston), 1152 kHz (Manchester) and 1161 kHz (Hull). Latterly broadcasting Greatest Hits and Magic, though formerly broadcasting some of the great nostalgic names of British radio: Radio Aire on 828 kHz; Red Rose Gold on 999 kHz and Piccadilly Radio on 1152 kHz.

The BBC are to close a number of Local / Regional radio transmitters over the course of May and June 2021, as detailed in this Facebook post from the British DX Club:

The BBC has now announced the dates in May and June that seventeen more of its medium wave transmitters will close....

Posted by BDXC - British DX Club on Friday, 23 April 2021

As these closures take place, at least enjoy the nostalgia brought by My AM Archive, a continual thread of posts of my Medium Wave logbooks, bringing them online for posterity, and for other like-minded radio listeners to enjoy.

Logs of Short Wave broadcasts are also on this blog, under the My DX Archive thread.

The previous post in this thread, My AM Archive: January 2009, can be found here.

Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz). Transmission power in watts or kiloWatts (kW). Logs transcribed from the original notes.

March 2009 : Medium Wave

• [Thursday] 12 March [2009]: 2050 UTC: 1458 kHz: Sunrise Radio  Excellent to good reception via Brookmans Park, London, 125 kW. Male broadcaster with Asian music, "Eight minutes to nine o'clock, thank you for all your messages". Logged to 2058 UTC.
• 12 March: 2122 UTC: 1485 kHz: SER  Spain. Excellent to good reception. 2 - 5 kW, transmission site not identified. Speech in Spanish language by male and female. Logged to 2128 UTC.
• 12 March: 2133 UTC: 1494 kHz: France Info  Excellent to good reception. Speech by female with jingles, music background. Transmission site: Clermont-Ferrand, France, 20 kW. Logged to 2140 UTC.
• 12 March: 2144 UTC: 1503 kHz: BBC Radio Stoke  Music: Marvin Gaye 'Sexual Healing', male host, six eggs in a basket puzzle, email from listener. Music, really strong signal, telephone number: 0845 303... Interference from a Spanish broadcast. 0845 303 9303 was the contact number. Male host talks of baby crying in restaurant. Music: Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield 'What Have I Done To Deserve This'. Female caller (Sheila) from Nottinghamshire / Lincolnshire talking about school days. Good reception. BBC ID. Music: The Korgis.
  22 UTC: ID 'This is BBC Radio Stoke'. News headlines: M5 motorway closed until 1am following road traffic accident. Man poisoned himself. Business loses trade; closes? Olympic Champion. Royal Hospital in Chelsea now accepts Ladies. Weather: Dry, cloudy, 12°C highest temperature. BBC Stoke text: 07786 201038.
  1 kW, Sideway, Staffordshire. Logged to 2210 UTC.

BBC Radio Stoke transmission map, c.1991.

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