Sunday, April 10, 2011

That was the week that was

FIRST of all, let's go back one week and begin by congratulating Carlisle United, Johnstone's Paint Trophy Winners 2011! The Johnstone's Paint Trophy (Football League Trophy) Final took place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 3 April 2011, with a 1:30pm kick off. Peter Murphy, who only became a Father for the first time the previous Friday, scored a goal for Carlisle United twelve minutes into the match - This decisive goal eventually proved to be the winner. On their sixth appearance in the Football League Trophy Final, Carlisle United won for the second time at Wembley Stadium. Congratulations Blues!

REMAINING with the football theme, those of you following RFTFT at the beginning of this football season may recall a week-by-week publishing of the results from npower League One, the division of the Football League in which my team, Carlisle United, compete. I can only apologise for being so lazy as to not continue posting the results from the division here on RFTFT, maybe next season I can take up posting the results from the division and continue to do so until the season end, which will take us up to the Olympic summer of 2012.

TELEVISION has played a big part over the last week or so - First, the BBC Red Button service has played host to video from the BBC Radio 2 'In Concert' programmes, including a set at Abbey Road studios, London, from Taylor Swift. Taylor and her band played the following tracks:
The Story Of Us / Speak Now / Fearless / Fifteen / You Belong With Me / Enchanted / Love Story.
Also 'In Concert' on the Red Button were Rumer and Friends, which I believe has also been very popular.
Cumbria featured throughout the week on television: Channel 4 had an early evening show presented by Fern Britton (rumoured to be axed due to falling viewer figures), who included Alan Carr as a guest. Carr insulted Barrow - In - Furness on the programme, though I would expect neither Britton nor the studio audience in London would know where Barrow is, so Carr's 'joke' (like all of them) fell flat.
THE BBC relocated to Easegill Head, Wharton, Kirkby Stephen for a week, to broadcast the 2011 series of 'Lambing Live', presented by Adam Henson and Kate Humble from the Marston family farm. The first broadcast was Monday 4 April, through to Saturday 9 April. Not all went well, as some of the Tuesday live broadcast was lost, as the BBC and outside broadcast partners Arena and Hyper Active battled with the stormy weather which caused the satellite links to be lost. The rest of the week went very well, producing a wonderful, interesting and informative programme, which gained over two million viewers on Monday night.

BBC Radio 1 will be in Carlisle in May for the Radio 1 'Big Weekend'. To be precise, the event will be taking place at Carlisle Airport. Applications for tickets have now closed. Seven hundred and eighty thousand have applied for the forty thousand tickets which are available, so if you are among the applicants, I wish you luck.

Finally, let's look ahead to Monday 11 April and wish a Happy Birthday to British musician and vocalist Joss Stone, who celebrates her 24th Birthday. Here is a classic image of Joss to mark her Birthday:


That's all from RFTFT for now, take care and enjoy the sunshine! (Now I have said sunshine... cue... rain!)

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Short Wave DX: March 2011

I SPENT THE AFTERNOON of Monday 7 March 2011 listening to the Short Wave band of the Roberts R881. Here are the broadcasts I heard (Time in UTC; Frequencies in kHz):
  • 1352 UTC, 11735 kHz : Voice of Turkey English to Asia, music, male host with profile of Alexander Linokov.
  • 1420 UTC, 11750 kHz : Radio Farda Farsi/Persian language service, music, male host, email contact details.
  • 1444 UTC, 12150 kHz : Voice of America English to Asia via Iranawila, Sri Lanka (IBB transmitter). Female with 'VOA News Now' broadcast, followed by 'Border Crossings' music programme.
  • 1552 UTC, 13640 kHz : Radio Tirana English to America 'Sports Roundup' female host, music, close of broadcast.
  • 1623 UTC, 13845 kHz : WWCR-3 Nashville TN English to Europe, America 'GCN Radio Network' / 'University Network' broadcast.
  • 1704 UTC, 14670 kHz : CHU Canada Canadian Time Signal station.
  • 1721 UTC, 15000 kHz : WWV Fort Collins Colorado USA Time Signal station.
  • 1744 UTC, 15235 kHz : Channel Africa English to Africa via Meyerton, South Africa (Sentech transmitter). 'African Digest' programme.
  • 1803 UTC, 15365 kHz : Radio Canada International English to Africa via Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. 'The Link' programme. Also 1950 UTC, 15365 kHz : French to Africa, two females speaking from an outside location.
  • 2007 UTC, 15400 kHz : BBC World Service English to West Africa via Ascension Island. Libya is the top story on 'Newshour'.
  • 2032 UTC, 15520 kHz : WYFR Family Radio English via Ascension Island, to Africa? Male preacher reads passages from the Old Testament, The First Book of Moses, Genesis.
  • 2053 UTC, 15580 kHz : Voice of America English to Africa via Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (RNW transmitter). 'African Beat' music programme.
  • 2116 UTC, 15610 kHz : WEWN Birmingham AL English to Africa. EWTN - Catholic programmes.
Enjoy your week and avoid the Springtime snow...!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Wallpaper of the week, 6 March 2011

Information board giving details of the site of the Ribblehead Locomotive Depot and Brickworks
Ribblehead Viaduct
August 2010

Saturday, February 12, 2011

2011 ~ New Year DX Days

SATURDAY 29 January and Sunday 6 February 2011 were the days I tuned the Short Wave and Medium Wave bands of the Roberts R881. Here are a couple of lists of what I heard (Times in UTC / GMT; Frequencies in kHz) :

Saturday 29 January 2011 ~ Short Wave :
  • 1455 - 1510 UTC, 7585 kHz : Vatican Radio, Hindi /Tamil / Malayalam / English language block broadcast to Asia, via the Uzbekistan transmitter.
  • 1613 - 1630 UTC, 9475 kHz : Radio Australia, English to Asia & Australasia via Shepparton transmitter, Victoria, Australia.
  • 1650 - 1700 UTC, 9545 kHz : Deutsche Welle [German Wave], German language broadcast to South West Europe, via Nauen transmitter, 500 kW transmission.
  • 1911 - 1928 UTC, 9615 kHz : BBC World Service, English to West Africa via Skelton transmitting station, Cumbria, England; 'Focus on Africa' programme.
  • 1948 - 2000 UTC, 9840 kHz : WHRI [World Harvest Radio International], English to Africa & America, via Cypress Creek transmitter, South Carolina, USA.
  • 2053 - 2100 UTC, 11615 kHz : Family Radio (WYFR), English service via Ascension Island.

Sunday 6 February 2011 ~ Medium Wave :
  • 1320 - 1330 UTC, 585 kHz : BBC Radio Scotland, for South West Scotland, via Dumfries transmitter, 2 kW transmission.
  • 1428 - 1435 UTC, 603 kHz : BBC Radio Four, via Wrekenton transmitter, Newcastle Upon Tyne. 2 kW transmission. 'Gardeners' Question Time' programme.
  • 1454 - 1507 UTC, 648 kHz : BBC World Service, via Orford Ness transmitter, Suffolk, to Europe, 500 kW transmission.
  • 1525 - 1545 UTC, 675 kHz : Radio Maria Nederland & Vlaanderen, via Lopik transmitter, Holland. 120 kW transmission.
  • 1556 - 1615 UTC, 693 kHz : BBC Radio Five Live, via Stagshaw transmitter, Northumberland. 50 kW transmission. News followed by live football : Chelsea v Liverpool.
  • 1644 - 1652 UTC, 720 kHz : BBC Radio Four, via Lisnagarvey transmitter, Northern Ireland. 10 kW transmission. 'Poetry Please' programme.
  • 1706 - 1722 UTC, 756 kHz : BBC Radio Cumbria, via Carlisle transmitter, 1 kW transmission. Anne Hopper 'Music Box' programme.
  • 1805 - 1815 UTC, 756 kHz : Deutschlandfunk, via Ravensburg / Braunschweig transmitter, Germany. 100 - 200 kW transmission.
  • 1839 - 1850 UTC, 783 kHz : MDR [Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk] Info, via Leipzig transmitter on 783 kHz / 383 metres Medium Wave. 100 kW transmission.
  • 1900 - 1910 UTC, 792 kHz : France Info, via Limoges transmitter, France. 300 kW transmission.
  • 1918 - 1927 UTC, 801 kHz : Bayern Plus, via Munich transmitter, Germany.
Enjoy listening to your radio!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

We Love Ryanair Girls!

Just a sample of what is on offer in the annual Ryanair calendar.
Got your copy yet?

Saturday, January 1, 2011

New Year's Eve DX 2010

WELCOME to 2011, Happy New Year!

Let's begin with the results of listening to the Short Wave band on New Year's Eve, Friday 31 December 2010 ( All times in UTC / GMT; All frequencies in kiloHertz; All include an internet link) :

  • 2050 UTC, 6030 kHz, Radio Ukraine International, English to Europe, Female continues visit to a University complex (see Christmas Eve DX). Click HERE for programmes in the English language.
  • 2113 UTC, 6030 kHz, Radio Romania International, French to Europe, Female reporter with female guest. Click HERE for the broadcast schedule.
  • 2137 UTC, 6075 kHz, Deutsche Welle, German to Europe via Sines transmitter, Portugal, 250 kW. Report from Africa. Click HERE for DW World, the Deutsche Welle website.
  • 2205 UTC, 6100 kHz, International Radio Serbia, English to Europe via Bijelina (Jabanusa) transmitter, Bosnia Hercegovina, 250 kW. Female host speaks of visitors to Serbia. Click HERE for the International Radio Serbia English home page.
  • 2231 UTC, 6155 kHz, Radiostation Belarus, English to Europe, Female and male hosts, range of feature programmes. Click HERE for the Radiostation Belarus English home page.
  • 2304 UTC, 6175 kHz, China Radio International, Spanish service, male host with news from China and the Pacific. Click HERE for the China Radio International Spanish website.
  • 2327 UTC, 7220 kHz, Radio Romania International, English to Europe & Asia, male host with station ID, female host with 'The Cookery Show' (Cottage cheese pie). Click HERE for the Radio Romania International English website.
Enjoy your New Year celebrations!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas Eve DX 2010 and a Boxing Day Birthday

THE evening of Friday 24 December 2010 was spent listening to the Tropical and HF bands of my Short Wave radio, here are the broadcasts I heard, with links to the broadcasters webpages (Times in UTC/GMT; Frequencies in kHz):

THE Boxing Day Birthday is the 28th Birthday of Carlisle's finest, Miss Roxanne Pallett:

Happy Birthday Roxy, I hope you have had a great day!

Finally, The Ashes cricket series is under way. Give England a helping hand by voting 3-1 England on the ABC Grandstand Sport poll HERE. Show your support for England to win the Ashes in Australia!

That's the over... Enjoy Christmas and the New Year 2011!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Birthday Babes Christina and Vanessa

FIRST of all, a belated Happy Birthday to Vanessa Hudgens, pictured above, who celebrated her 22nd Birthday through the week. Here's hoping the Birthday celebrations took her mind off her recent separation from her boyfriend, Zac Efron. Keep smiling, Vanessa!

Birthday Babe for Today is Christina Aguilera, who became a true sex symbol with shots like this:
Happy Birthday to Christina Aguilera who celebrates her 30th Birthday today! Christina was in the UK last weekend to appear on popular ITV series 'The X Factor' , where she sang 'Beautiful' with eventual runner-up Rebecca Ferguson and to promote her new movie 'Burlesque', from where the image below was taken:I hope Vanessa enjoyed her Birthday and Christina has a great day!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Sunday, November 21, 2010

It's another celebrity birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to pop princess and Hannah Montana actress Miley Cyrus, pictured left, who celebrates her 18th Birthday this coming Tuesday, 23 November 2010. Have a great day Miley!

Medium Wave DX Log - November 2010

The following are a list of broadcasters I heard on Medium Wave recently. All frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and all broadcasts listed below include a link to their websites in the station name.

1458 kHz : BBC Radio Newcastle, Wrekenton transmitter, Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2kW.

1485 kHz : BBC Radio Merseyside, Wallasey transmitter, Merseyside, 2kW. The Billy Butler Show. (Website includes Radio Merseyside Past & Present)

1494 kHz : France Info, Clermont-Ferrand transmitter, 20kW (also heard on 1557 kHz, Nice transmitter, 300 kW).

1503 kHz : BBC Radio Stoke, Sideway transmitter, Staffordshire, 1kW.

1512 kHz : TCR, Country music broadcaster, Republic of Ireland.

1521 kHz : Gold, Reigate/Crawley (Duxhurst) transmitter, 640 watts.

1530 kHz : Pulse 2, Vicars Lot transmitter, Huddersfield, 740 watts.

1539 kHz : Evangeliums-Rundfunk, Mainflingen transmitter, Germany, 120-700 kW.

That's yer lot for November 2010 on the wireless!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Tropical Band DX, October 2010

TUNING the lowest frequencies of the Short Wave band, the Tropical band, produced the following results on the evening of Wednesday, 13 October, 2010 (Times in UTC, frequencies in kHz) :

  • 2110 - 2125 UTC, 3915 kHz : BBC World Service, English to East and South East Asia via Kranji, Singapore.
  • 2125 - 2135 UTC, 3955 kHz : KBS World Radio, English to Europe via Skelton, Cumbria, UK (VT Group transmitting station).
  • 2220 - 2235 UTC, 3985 kHz : Voice of Croatia, English to Europe and America. 'Croatia Today' with Chris Bushell (Website in Croatian).
  • 2245 - 2305 UTC, 4005 kHz : Vatican Radio, English to Europe (Website is Europe 1st Programme schedule).

Sunday, September 12, 2010

September Sunday Round-up, 12 Sept 2010

WELCOME to another RFTFT post. First, npower League 1, Saturday 11 September 2010:

Bournemouth 3 - Dagenham & Redbridge 0
Brighton 2 - MK Dons 0
Bristol Rovers 0 - Brentford 0
Charlton 1 - Notts County 0
Colchester 1 - Plymouth 1
Hartlepool 2 - Exeter 3
Leyton Orient 1 - Huddersfield 2
Peterborough 5 - Oldham 2
Rochdale 3 - Walsall 2
Sheffield Wednesday 0 - Carlisle United 1 (Curran)
Swindon 1 - Southampton 0
Yeovil 3 - Tranmere 1

Radio Round-up, August - September 2010

In a previous post (September 1st), I logged the Short Wave stations I heard Monday 30 August. I failed to include links to the websites on that post, so I shall post them here now :




Medium Wave logs, Tuesday 7 September 2010, times in UTC, frequencies in kiloHertz :
  • 1828 UTC, 1413 kHz : BBC Radio Gloucestershire via Bourton-on-the-water / Berkeley Heath transmitter. BBC Gloucestershire homepage
  • 1857 UTC, 1413 kHz : Premier Christian Radio via East London / West London transmitter. Premier Christian Radio page
  • 1921 UTC, 1422 kHz : Deutschlandfunk (DLF) via Heusweiler transmitter, Germany. DLF website
  • 1957 UTC, 1440 kHz : RTL Radio Luxembourg via Marnach transmitter, Luxembourg, relaying China Radio International German - French services. RTL homepage
  • 2022 UTC, 1458 kHz : Sunrise Radio via Brookman's Park transmitter, London. Sunrise Radio website
  • 2022 UTC, 1458 kHz : Gold [Capital Gold Manchester] via Ashton Moss transmitter, Manchester. Gold website
Weblog of the week : Abby's Blog

Abby on board Wild Eyes :
Earlier this year, Abby Sunderland attempted to sail around the world. Unfortunately, Abby was unsuccessful in her attempt, but she did use wireless and satellite technology to link to the internet during her sailing, when she kept a blog, which she has continued to update now she is home. Visit Soloround, Abby's blog on Blogspot (Blogger), by clicking here.

That's it for the time being, have a good week!