My AM Archive: April 2013

 ONE week after Easter 2013, I spent an evening listening to the Medium Wave band. This post recounts what was heard on that occasion.

The previous post in this thread, My AM Archive: October 2012, 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.

April 2013 : Medium Wave

• [Sunday] 7 April [2013]: 1833 UTC: 549 kHz: [Tentative] Spirit Radio  Music, speech, male host, pop music, possibly chart countdown.
  Fair reception.
  Logged to 1845 UTC.
• 7 April: 1855 UTC: 585 kHz: BBC Scotland  "Enjoy your piping!" [Bagpipe music]
  Excellent to good reception; 2 kW via Dumfries.
  Close of [Bagpipe music] programme. ID.
  1900 UTC news: Grand National 2013 winning jockey injured day after National at Hexham racecourse - In hospital. Bombing in Iraq by Nato. Chancellor defends benefit system after life sentence of Mick Philpott. Dutch tourist dies after accident in Perthshire. Youth crime commissioner resigns. Scotland campaign to remain in UK receives cash boost.
  Sports news: Football, tennis, curling.
  Weather: Cloud, rain, clear, frost, freezing.
  Programme: Profile of Hank Williams. Died on 1 January 1953.
  2013 marked the 60th anniversary of the death; Williams died in his car in Alabama.
  Speech by Bruce Springsteen, music: 'Lost Highway'.
  Music: 'I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive'.
  Contribution by Neil Young.
  Logged to 1915 UTC.
• 7 April: 1920 UTC: 603 kHz: BBC Radio Four  Speech programme with the history of 'The Third Programme', which became BBC Radio Three.
  Excellent to good reception; 2 kW via Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Wrekenton) [Pictured below].
  'Feedback' discussing BBC Radio 3 - 'Live in Concert' The interval and what to do.
  Logged to 1930.

• 7 April: 1957 UTC: 621 kHz: RTBF International  Speech regarding football with break at 20 UTC; Speech continues in new hour, male speech.
  Excellent to good reception; 300 kW Brussels.
  French / Flemish language. Music. 'Viva Sports' Bernard De Wie / Dominique Decourwie on broadcast from Belgium. Music: Bruno Mars 'Locked Out Of Heaven'. 'Viva Musique' on Viva Cité. Male host.
  Transmitter site is Wavre, Belgium.
  ID: 'Viva Cité'. Music: Michael Jackson 'Human Nature'.
  Logged to 2020 UTC.
  
• 7 April: 2058 UTC: 639 kHz: Czech Radio 2  Lead-up to the top of the hour; ID for Czech Radio 2.
  Good to fair reception; Czech language; 1500 kW via Prague, TCH (Czech Republic).
  Logged to 2112 UTC.
• 7 April: 2116 UTC: 639 kHz: RNE 1  Speech by a male and a female in the Spanish language.
  Fair reception; Up to 300 kW.
  Music from The Equals 'Baby Come Back'. Time signal for 2130 UTC, continued speech in Spanish.
  Logged to 2138 UTC.

Sunday 28 April 2013: Information update:
549 kHz: Spirit Radio, Radio Centre, Kilarney Road, Bray, Co Wicklow, Ireland.

                Telephone: +353 (1) 272 4760

                Text: +353 87 888 9292
                Email: info @ spiritradio .ie

That concludes this post.
Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower!

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My AM Archive: November 2009

 YOU are most welcome to 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: August 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.

November 2009 : Medium Wave

• [Saturday] 14 November [2009]: 1700 UTC: 603 kHz: BBC Radio Four  '1989: Day by Day' hosted by John Tusa, closes. BBC News at 5pm: Heavy storms in the South of England, the Port of Dover was closed at lunchtime. Good to fair reception, 2 kW via Wrekenton, Newcastle upon Tyne. Logged to 1710 UTC.
• 14 November: 1717 UTC: 603 kHz: France Info  French language speaking male, three-tone tune, speech. Good to fair reception, 300 kW via Lyon, F (France). Speech by male includes interviews with male on telephone regarding restaurants and food. Short music break, speech. ID at 1724 UTC, female reporting live from OB, including speech by male. Reporting live from sporting event. Logged to 1727 UTC.
• 14 November: 1750 UTC: 612 kHz: RNE 1  Vitoria, E (Spain) 10 kW. Fair to poor reception. Male and female, both in Spanish language, report from sporting event. Music. Logged to 1758 UTC.

RTBF (Belgium) QSL card, November 2009.

• 14 November: 1915 UTC: 621 kHz: RTBF 1  Music: Robbie Williams 'Bodies', female host, sport update, male at sports event on telephone. Wavre, Belgium (BEL) 300 kW. Female reads football scores, reports from males in football grounds. Excellent to good reception. Logged to 1926 UTC.
• 14 November: 1940 UTC: 630 kHz: NRK Euuropakanalen  Vigra, NOR (Norway) 100 kW. Male speech followed by music. Male host with music programme. Excellent to good reception. Logged to 1946 UTC.
• 14 November: 1950 UTC: 630 kHz: Voice of Russia  Male speech in the German language, music. Fair to poor reception. Logged to 20 UTC.
• 14 November: 20:08 UTC: 639 kHz: RNE 1  E (Spain) up to 300 kW. Excellent to fair reception. Male commentary of Spanish football. Logged to 20:16 UTC.
• 14 November: 2024 UTC: 639 kHz: Czech Radio 2  Prague, TCH (Czech Republic) 1500 kW. Male speech: good, clear speech. Music. Male speech continues after music: Interview. Excellent to good reception. Music: Instrumental version of Lionel Richie 'Say You, Say Me'. Logged to 2030 UTC.
• 14 November: 2048 UTC: 648 kHz: BBC World Service  Good to fair reception, 500 kW via Orford Ness, Suffolk. Drama or a play with discussion by the author. Logged to 2058 UTC.

RNE 1 verification letter, November 2009.

• 14 November: 2103 UTC: 657 kHz: "I believe I may hear RNE 5 via Madrid, but propagation makes channel use impossible."
• 14 November: 2109 UTC: 666 kHz: Sudwestrundfunk (SWR)  Rohrdorf, D (Germany) 150 kW. German language speech lead by male, with comments from male and female. Male making speech to audience with applause and laughter. Good reception. Logged to 2115 UTC.
• 14 November: 2122 UTC: 675 kHz: Radio Maria  Male speaking in the Dutch language. Excellent to good reception, Lopik, HOL [Holland] 120 kW. Male speaking continues. Logged to 2130 UTC.

Contact details [correct at the time] for the above broadcasters:

France Info:
Jean-Gerard Robichez, Directeur-adjoint de France Info, 116 Avenue du Président Kennedy, 75220 Paris cedex 16

RNE Radio Nacional

Plaza de Simón Bolivar 13, 01003 Vitoria - Gasteiz

RTBFi

Reyerslaan 52, bus BRR016, 1044 Brussels

NRK

N-0340 Oslo, Bj. Bjørnsons Plass 1

Český rozhlas 2

Vinohradská 12, 120 99 Prague 2, Czech Republic

Sudwestrundfunk

Hans-Bredowstrabe, D-76530 Baden-Baden

Radio Maria Nederland & Vlaanderen

Postbus 5045, 5201 GA 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH Nederland

Reporting From The Fox Tower bears no responsibility for the use of the above contact details, which may no longer respond.

Thank you for reading this post on Reporting From The Fox Tower!

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My AM Archive: Summer 2006

 

REPORTING From The Fox Tower's AM Archive is a continuous thread of logs of Medium Wave broadcasts, heard years gone by.

The previous post in this thread, My AM Archive: Spring 2006, 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.

This post remembers Summer 2006: The months of June and August 2006.

June 2006 : Medium Wave

• 25 June [2006]: 0807 UTC: 1413 kHz: Fresh Radio  Poor reception via Skipton 100 watts / Richmond 40 watts / 'Ripon' 3 watts, all North Yorkshire ('Ripon' - Pateley Bridge).
  Music : David Bowie 'Space Oddity'.  Creedence Clearwater Revival 'Bad Moon Rising'.
  [See the Fresh Radio logo of the time at the head of this post]
• 25 June: 0841 UTC: 1458 kHz: BBC Radio Newcastle  Good to fair reception via Wrekenton, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, 2 kW.  Dave Porter is the host, listener in South Shields. Music.
• 25 June: 0902 UTC: 1485 kHz: BBC Radio Four  Poor reception via Carlisle, 1 kW.  Speech.
• 25 June: 0926 UTC: 1557 kHz: BBC Radio Lancashire  Poor reception via Oxcliffe, Lancaster, 250 watts.  Music: Petula Clark.

August 2006 : Medium Wave

• 8 August: 1932 UTC: 567 kHz: RTE Radio One  Excellent to good reception via Tullamore, Ireland, 500 kW.  English Domestic Service.
• 8 August: 1948 UTC: 585 kHz: BBC Radio Scotland  Excellent to good reception via Dumfries, 2 kW.  Football : CIS Insurance Cup : Dundee v Partick Thistle - Goal - Dundee 1 - Thistle 3.

• 8 August: 2004 UTC: 603 kHz: BBC Radio Four  Excellent to good reception via Wrekenton, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, 2 kW.  Speech.
  [The Google Street View image, above, is the Wrekenton transmission site.]
• 8 August: 2019 UTC: 621 kHz: RTBF 1  Belgium  Excellent to good reception via Wavre, Belgium, 300 kW.  Recorded report by male.
• 8 August: 2035 - 2042 UTC: 639 kHz: Czech Radio 2  1500 kW, Excellent to good reception.  Czech language [presumed] via Prague, Czech Republic.  Male speech.
• 8 August: 2045 - 2050 UTC: 639 kHz: RNE 1  Spain  Excellent to good reception.  Spanish language. Male speech, music.
• 8 August: 2054 UTC: 648 kHz: BBC World Service  Excellent to good reception via Orford Ness, Suffolk, 500 kW.  English to Europe.
  Interview with Andrew Strauss, England Cricket Captain, as England beat Pakistan at Headingley. Colombo: Sri Lanka beat South Africa by one wicket. Athletics, football.
  2100 UTC : 'World Briefing'  Lebanon-Israel conflict. Chad & Sudan diplomatic ties.
• 8 August: 2117 - 2130 UTC: 666 kHz: BBC Radio York  500 watts, Excellent to fair reception.  'The Late Show for Yorkshire...'  500 watts via Fulford.

Notes: The BBC Radio Newcastle post, 25 June, features a link to the blog of Dave Porter, the presenter on air at the time.

Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower!

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Springtime Sunday...?

WELCOME along to the latest update here on RFTFT, on what is quite a warm, almost humid Sunday lunchtime, in mid May. Saying that, the previous day and the night before that gave us some of the heaviest rain seen since, well, last summer! Thoughts are with those in West Cumbria who are coping with flooded roads this weekend! The weather forecast shows a brighter outlook for the next few days, so let's hope the forecast is correct!

I have been neglecting my radio listening over winter and early 2013, but did spend a couple of weekend evenings in March and April listening to short wave and medium wave respectively, so here are the broadcasts I heard:

Saturday 16 March 2013 - Short wave (Tropical bands):

• 2200 UTC (GMT), 3415 kHz : Shannon Volmet, Ireland. Female voice with weather reports: wind and visibility reports.(Based at Shannon airport, I believe).
• 2235 UTC, 3905 kHz : Radio Alice, Netherlands. Music: The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go. Iggy Pop - Lust For Life. ID: "On short wave, this is Radio Alice from the Netherlands". AC/DC - Whole Lotta Rosie. ID. Van Halen - Jump. Good quality.

Sunday 7 April 2013 - Medium wave:

• 1830 UTC, 549 kHz : Spirit Radio, Ireland. Male voice with chart countdown. Fair quality.
• 1855 UTC, 585 kHz : BBC Scotland via Dumfries. Oh dear. Bagpipes. Male voice - "Enjoy your piping!". 1900 UTC news: Grand National winning jockey Ryan Mania injured at Hexham racecourse. Other stories: NATO in Iraq. Mick Philpott. Perthshire accident. Youth Crime Commissioner resigns. Scottish independence campaign. Sport: Football, tennis, curling. Weather report. Country music programme highlighting the sixtieth anniversary of the passing of Hank Williams.
• 1920 UTC, 603 kHz : BBC Radio 4 via Wrekenton, Newcastle - upon - Tyne. 'Feedback': Historical look at The Third Programme, which became BBC Radio 3. Also discussing BBC Radio 3 'Live in Concert' and their handling of the concert interval.
• 1955 UTC, 621 kHz : RTBF International, Belgium. 'Viva Sports' to 2000 UTC - football. 'Viva Musique' on 'Viva Cite'' - Music: Bruno Mars - Locked Out Of Heaven. ID. Michael Jackson - Human Nature.French language.
• 2100 UTC, 639 kHz : Czech Radio 2, Prague, Czech Republic. Top of the hour ID, Female voice. Czech language.
• 2115 UTC, 639 kHz : RNE 1, Spain. Male and female voices, Spanish language. Music: The Equals - Baby Come Back.

And that concludes the logs for March and April. I haven't tuned the bands yet in May, hopefully very soon!

I shall conclude with a picture, you could call it 'wallpaper of the week' if you like, a feature I should get back to posting here on the blog on a weekly basis, but this picture ties in with the previous post below.

Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Britney Jean Spears.