Friday, October 23, 2020

My AM Archive: Winter 2005-2006

 

Letter of verification from Magic 1170, for broadcast heard 5 December 2005.

WELCOME to Winter 2005-2006 for this selection of Medium Wave memories, as heard by myself at the time and noted in my logbook. An element of this hobby is to contact the broadcasters heard, relay to them what was heard, with technical and programme details. Thank you to the many broadcasters who responded; Some of the items sent through the post feature in this blog, including the letter from Magic 1170, featured above.

The previous post in this thread, My AM Archive: October 2005, 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.

December 2005 : Medium Wave
  • 5 December [2005]: 1927 UTC: 1170 kHz: Magic 1170  Fair reception via Stockton, Teesside, 320 watts. Music: Mike & The Mechanics 'The Living Years'. Queen 'Thank God It's Christmas'. Host: Richard Allen 'Mellow Magic'. Music: Van Morrison. Christina Aguilera.
  • 5 December: 2009 UTC: 1179 kHz: Radio Sweden  Excellent reception via Solvesborg, Sweden, 600 kW. English to Europe, 254 metres. 'Blood Diamonds'. 'Spectrum of the Arts'. Bill Schiller.
  • 5 December: 2052 UTC: 1197 kHz: Virgin Radio  Poor reception. Music: Dire Straits 'Walk of Life'.
  • 5 December: 2105 UTC: 1206 kHz: France Info  Excellent-good-fair reception via Bordeaux, France, 300 kW. Male and female speech.
February 2006 : Medium Wave
  • 28 February [2006]: 1932 UTC: 1206 kHz: France Info  Good to fair reception via Bordeaux, France. Male and female hosts, news headlines: Baghdad. Sport: European football: Arsenal, Barcelona.
  • 28 February: 1950 UTC: 1215 kHz: Virgin Radio  Excellent to good reception. Music: K T Tunstall 'Another Place To Fall'. Ben Jones. 'Phone call: Natasha in Norwich, request for Rowan: Soul Asylum 'Runaway Train'. Ad break: Diet Coke, Neil Diamond LP.
Virgin Radio QSL card, 2004 onwards.
  • 28 February: 2200 UTC: 1269 kHz: DLF  Deutschlandfunk  Excellent reception via Aarpsdorf / Neumunster, Germany, 300 kW.  Male host, news from New York. News from German Parliament. News: Baghdad, President Bush, Iraq, Ankara, President Putin, Iran, Afghanistan.
That concludes the logs for Winter 2005-2006 (December 2005; February 2006).
This blog was created in October 2005 and, I'm pleased to say, the archives of this blog do include posts of radio receptions in a much more basic format.
The previous post in this thread brought memories of Medium Wave broadcasts from October 2005. From Monday, November 7, 2005, the post One Man & His Wireless covered the above mentioned Medium Wave broadcasts, along with Short Wave broadcasts, heard November 6, 2005. That post can be read here.
From Monday, December 19, 2005, From the Radio to the Web covered the broadcasts featured in today's post, though the original post also included a "Tentative reception of a broadcast from Ain - Salah, Algeria" heard on 1161 kHz and a Short Wave log of Adventist World Radio, heard Saturday 10 December 2005. That post can be read here.

Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower!

📻

Sunday, October 18, 2020

My AM Archive: October 2005

 I'M sat here on an October Sunday afternoon, bringing back memories of Medium Wave broadcasts heard on an October Sunday morning, 2005.
The previous post in this thread, My AM Archive: Summer 2005, 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.

October 2005 : Medium Wave
  • 30 October [2005]: 0734 UTC: 1053 kHz: TalkSport  Excellent-good-fair reception  'Fisherman's Blues' Phone-in regarding fishing.
  • 30 October: 0749 UTC: 1062 kHz: Denmark Radio P3  Excellent-good-fair reception via Kalundborg, Denmark, 250 kW. Coastal waters and shipping forecast: 'Kirkwall... Aberdeen... Bridlington... Malin Head... Shetland... Humber'. Music. Male speech (Danish). 0800 UTC news, sport.
  • 30 October: 0832 UTC: 1071 kHz: TalkSport  Good to fair reception via Wrekenton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1 kW. Mike Parry.
  • 30 October: 0918 UTC: 1152 kHz: Magic 1152  Fair to poor reception via Greenside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1.8 kW.  Music: Dusty Springfield 'Son of A Preacher Man'. Tel: 0845 113 2222.
  • 30 October: 1000 UTC: 693 kHz: BBC Radio Five Live  Excellent reception.  BBC Radio Five Live is live at Warwick Road, Carlisle. Julian Worricker 'Five Live Report' Live from Carlisle Rugby Union FC. Local residents David Atkin and Joanne Griffith talk of flooding in Warwick Road, Carlisle, January 2005.
That concludes the logs for October 2005, representing autumn of that year.

Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower.

📻

Saturday, October 10, 2020

My AM Archive: Summer 2005

 SUMMER 2005 brings us memories of Medium Wave broadcasts from the dates of Tuesday 14 June and Thursday 18 August 2005.
The previous post in this thread, My AM Archive: April 2005, 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.

June 2005 : Medium Wave
  • 14 June [2005]: 1412 UTC: 837 kHz: BBC Radio Cumbria  Excellent to good reception via Barrow in Furness, 1 kW. The Tony James Show.
  • 14 June: 1430 UTC: 855 kHz: BBC Radio Lancashire  Good reception via Preston, 1 kW. News headlines: Michael Jackson proved innocent, Tony Blair meets Jacques Chirac in Paris. News from Burnley. Graham Liver. Music: Robert Palmer 'Addicted To Love'. Pink Floyd, Live 8.
Letter from BBC Radio Lancashire, verifying reception: 14 June 2005, 1430 UTC, 855 kHz.

  • 14 June: 1524 UTC: 882 kHz: BBC Radio Wales  Excellent to good reception  'Good Evening Wales'  Weather with Derek: Lleyn Peninsular: rain with sunny breaks. Outlook. Travel: A55 Anglesey, Wrexham; Northern Rail Wales. Felicity Adams and Phil Payne. News.
  • 14 June: 1614 UTC: 909 kHz: BBC Radio Five Live  Excellent to good reception. Peter Allen and Jane Garvey 'Drivetime'. Lottery news.
  • 14 June: 1741 UTC: 936 kHz: Fresh Radio  Excellent reception via Hawes, 1 kW 'Drivetime' Entertainment guide sponsored by Black Swan Ravenstonedale. Travel news with Johnstone's of Kirkby Stephen. Music: Bruce Hornsby & The Range. Jeremy Gartland.
  • 14 June: 1846 UTC: 999 kHz: Magic 999  Excellent to good reception via Longton (Preston-Blackpool) 800 watts  'Red Rose Magic 9-99' Music: Bob Marley.
  • 14 June: 1933 UTC: 1008 kHz: Radio 10 Gold  Good-fair-poor reception via Flevoland, Holland, 400 kW.  Music: George Benson, male host, ID.
August 2005 : Medium Wave
  • 18 August: 1951 UTC: 1008 kHz: Radio 10 Gold  Fair reception via Flevoland, Holland. Music: The Animals 'House of The Rising Sun', Counting Crowes 'Big Yellow Taxi'. ID, news, Dutch.
Google view of where the Flevoland mast stood.
  • 18 August: 2051 UTC: 1053 kHz: TalkSport  Excellent to good reception  'Evening Kick Off' comes to a close. News followed by the James Whale show: New show 'Whale on Sunday' starting this coming Sunday at noon. Telephone: 08704 202020. Text: 81089.

T
hat concludes the logs for Tuesday 14 June and Thursday 18 August 2005.

In the intervening fifteen years between the above days of reception and the posting of these logs, there are some differences to report.
Fresh Radio, after changing hands three times, would come under the ownership of UKRD in January 2012. UKRD promptly ceased transmission at 6pm on the same day they took ownership.  Move forward to October 2013 and a successful application for a Community Radio license saw Dales Radio go on air on 936 kHz, from the same transmission site in Hawes.
Magic 999, under the ownership of Bauer Media, would become Rock FM 2 (as a 'sister' to Rock FM in Preston), though is now part of the Greatest Hits Radio network.
Radio 10 Gold would rename as Radio 10 and move to FM transmission. The Flevoland sites would be demolished in early 2019, as shown by the footprint in the above left image.

Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower.

Sunday, October 4, 2020

My AM Archive: April 2005

APRIL 10, 2005 was the 100th day of the year 2005 in the Gregorian calendar.
I spent that day - A Sunday - Listening to Medium Wave and here are the results of what was heard that day.
The previous post in this thread, My AM Archive: Winter 2004-2005, 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 2005 : Medium Wave
  • 10 April [2005]: 0948 UTC: 603 kHz: BBC Radio Four Good-fair-good reception. 2 kW via Wrekenton, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Omnibus edition of 'The Archers'. Emma gives birth.
  • 10 April: 1010 UTC: 648 kHz: BBC World Service Poor to barely audible reception. Transmission site: Orford Ness, Suffolk, 500 kW. Male and female voices.
  • 10 April: 1027 UTC: 666 kHz: BBC Radio York Good to fair reception via Fulford, York, 0.5 kW. Man on telephone from Australia! Websites for Scarborough and Scarborough Beach, Perth, South West Australia. James Watt (host), Tel: 0845 300 3000, Text: 07786 203000, email address.
  • 10 April: 1249 UTC: 675 kHz: Arrow Classic Rock Excellent-good-fair reception via Lopik, Holland, 120 kW. Music: Roxy Music 'Virginia Plain' ID, news: Monaco Royalty. Hilversum, Amsterdam Arena (sport). Music: Santana ft Rob Thomas 'Smooth', Lynard Skynard 'Sweet Home Alabama'.
  • 10 April: 1321 UTC: 693 kHz: BBC Radio Five Live Excellent reception 'Sport on Five' Masters Golf, Tiger Woods in the lead. Interview with Martin O'Neil, Manager of Celtic Football Club. Masters Golf update. Football: Tottenham Hotspur - Newcastle United.
BBC Radio 4 artwork for new schedule
announcement, April 1998.
  • 10 April: 1356 UTC: 720 kHz: BBC Radio Four Fair-good-fair reception. News at 1400 UTC (3pm BST): Michael Howard (Conservative), Tony Blair (Labour) and Charles Kennedy (Liberal Democrat) on the General Election campaign trail. MG Rover closure.
  • 10 April: 1428 UTC: 756 kHz: BBC Radio Cumbria Excellent to good reception via Carlisle, 1 kW. Rugby League: Whitehaven 20 - Halifax 6.
  • 10 April: 1623 UTC: 810 kHz: BBC Radio Scotland Fair reception 'Cover Stories' programme. Trailer for 'Be Bop to Hip Hop'. Trailers for Wednesday. ID 'Values Added' programme: Pope John Paul funeral; Marriage of Charles Prince of Wales to Camilla Parker-Bowles.
  • 10 April: 1644 UTC: 837 kHz: BBC Radio Cumbria Good to fair reception via Barrow in Furness, 1 kW. Anne Hopper 'Music Box'.
Time has moved on in the fifteen and a half years between that day and this; Transmitter closures over a recent period means it is most likely you would now not hear BBC World Service and BBC Radio York on the above frequencies. If you now tune to 648 kHz, a former frequency of the BBC World Service, you will hear Radio Caroline, broadcasting its albums stream on a Community Radio license.

Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower.