As promised, I’ve attached the final report from our fantastic cruise to the North Atlantic Ocean, including Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Holland, Ireland and now disembarking in Halifax tomorrow. I was most impressed with how well the little XHData D808 performed, both on MW and on SW. LW, it was a little deaf, but passable. FM reception (and the AIR band) was also more than adequate. Our noise was not much of an issue, despite being on a large cruise ship, with just a short length of random antenna wire slung across our balcony. As always, any errors are mine alone, and I always welcome corrections/comments. I had forgotten how well SW signals propagate to Europe in abundance, compared to the paucity of signals to the west coast of NAm. Also fun were the huge numbers of pirates in Europe on SW…fun! So, please do yourself a favour and pack a small portable along your next trip/holiday. My radio interests were again reinvigorated! 73, Walt Salmaniw
189 ICELAND Gufuskalar 300 kW RUV, Aug 5 2236 - Fair to good signal. While sitting at the back of the ship, shivering!!! Learned my lesson. Despite layers and layers of blankets, I was still chilled to the bone. I had started too early. Subsequently, I listened later, and from my balcony, which provided some protection from the bitterly cold winds!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 570 GREENLAND Nuuk 5 kW KNR Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa, Aug 5 2200 - Heard at good level, // to stronger 720. Nuuk is much further north, and lower power compared to 720. The latter is well heard everywhere we sailed in Greenland. Not so for the others. For some reason, I have 590 as // to 570 and stronger, but it's 650 which is listed as the 3rd Greenlandic. Hmm. I suspect that 590 was in fact VOCM St John's. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 684 SPAIN Sevilla 200 kW RNE, Aug 6 0006 - Weak with Spanish talk, but strong at 01:02 recheck. A powerhouse into the Greenland Sea. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 710 CANADA Clarenville 10 kW CKVO, Aug 6 0105 - Good reception with oldies music and VOCM ID. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 720 GREENLAND Simiutaq 10 kW KNR Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa, Aug 6 0009 - Very strong, but with transmitter problems, that lasted several days, with intermittent cutting out, making speech choppy. 720 was very well heard throughout our time in Greenland, and far, far stronger than the other 2 transmitters on 570 and 650 which were only heard locally. No wonder they're so well heard in Eastern North America. Interesting Greenlandic language. Can't be confused with anything else!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 747 CANARY ISLANDS LasPalmas 25 kW RNE, Aug 6 0010 - Weak music, but fair to good with Spanish talk on recheck at 00:37. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 792 SPAIN 5 transmitters of 10 and 25 kW RNE Radio Nacional, Aug 6 0110 - Oldies English music (Cupid), then Spanish talk at good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 882 UNITED KINGDOM Washford 100 kW BBC Radio Wales, Aug 6 0017 - English talk, poor to fair level. BBCWS listed at this time. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 954 SPAIN Madrid 50 kW Onda Cero, Aug 6 0112 - Fair reception in Spanish. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 981 ALGERIA Ouled Fayet 300 or 100 kW Chaine 2, Aug 6 0021 - Some chop heard, with Arabic music and presumed Arabic speaker. Presumed logging. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1044 SPAIN 2 sites of 10 and 50 kW SER, Aug 6 0112 - Good reception with music, and // to 1080. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1053 UNITED KINGDOM Droitwich 500 kW TalkSPORT, Aug 6 0024 - Fair level with English sporting stuff. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1125 SPAIN 5 sites 10 and 12 kW RNE Radio 5, Aug 6 0028 - Good reception in Spanish. This one gets out well!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1152 SPAIN RNE, Aug 6 2359 - 5 time pips at the TOH, presumed Spain with multiple locations. Poor to fair. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1179 SPAIN OR CANARY IS SER, Aug 6 0030 - Either Spain SER or Canary Is SER transmitter (50 or 10 kW, and 25 kW for Tenerife) music at 0032, and Spanish talk at 01:14. Fair level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1215 UNITED KINGDOM Multiple sites up to 200 kW Absolute Radio, Aug 6 0032 - Surprisingly only weakly heard here in Greenland. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1290 UNKNOWN unid, Aug 6 0035 - Poor to fair signal with Latin music. Curious to know who this might be!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1296 SPAIN Valencia 50 kW COPE, Aug 6 0037 - Strong signal into the east coast of Greenland!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1305 SPAIN 4 transmitters of 10 and 25 kW RNE Radio 5, Aug 6 0037 - Spanish talk at fair level, but strong when rechecked at 00:41. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1413 SPAIN 3 transmitters of 10, 12, and 25 kW RNE Radio 5, Aug 6 0116 - Presumed log, with very strong English vocal. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1431 DJIBOUTI 600 kW Voice of America, Aug 6 0049 - Weak talk in French. VOA is very widely heard throughout my North Atlantic journey, and often very strong in the late afternoon/early evening. Signals are impressive at times!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 1458 UNID unid, Aug 6 0120 - Very strong pop music. Not sure whether this was Actualitati or Lyca Radio. In any case, a strong signal. This particular night, I was a bit on the cold side sitting on the veranda!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 7310 ROMANIA Galbeni 300 kW/300 deg RRI, Aug 5 2222 - Good reception in English to W Europe with discussion of Jewish culture in Romania. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam East coast of Greenland) 531 FAROE ISLANDS Akraberg 10 kW Kringvarp Foroya, Aug 12 2100 - Good reception from the North Atlantic, north of the Faroe Islands. This station was well heard throughout the North Atlantic from Iceland, to Norway. Punches way above it's power. Good to very good at 06:04 recheck. Plays a lot of music, including US Southern C&W when first picked up here. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 549 ?IRELAND Spirit Radio, Aug 12 2153 - At first assumed to be Jil FM, but not // to 531. Excellent level with music. Possibly Ireland?. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 558 SPAIN 50 or 25 kW 3 transmitters RNE, Aug 12 2109 - Very good reception. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 639 CZECH REPUBLIC Praha 750 kW CRo Dvojka, Aug 12 2113 - Fighting it out with RNE, both strong. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 648 UNID unid, Aug 12 2113 - Strong station with music. Could be just about anyone! Likely RNE, though. I see Caroline listed. That would be nice, or Slovenia!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 657 ITALY Pisa 100 kW RAI Radio 1, Aug 12 2113 - 2 cochannels, with the Italian dominating, cochannel with someone playing music at weaker level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 693 UNITED KINGDOM Droitwich 150kW BBC Radio 5 Live, Aug 12 2215 - Excellent reception, and again at 06:02 recheck. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 702 UNID unid, Aug 12 2215 - Arab sounding station, so good be Saudi, or Algeria, Egypt, or Iran, too!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 720 UNITED KINGDOM Lisnagarvey 10 kW BBC Radio 4, Aug 12 2115 - Weak English talk, with cochannel music. Latter likely Canary Islands?. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 738 SPAIN Barcelona 600 kW RNE, Aug 12 2115 - Good reception with Spanish talk. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 765 UNITED KINGDOM Chelmsford 0.5 kW BBC Essex, Aug 12 2118 - Presumed logging at good level with English music. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 810 SCOTLAND Westerglen or Burghead 100 kW BBC Radio Scotland, Aug 12 2118 - Another winner in the power department. Very well heard throughout the north Atlantic as far as Greenland and Norway. Usually very strong, and at times the only other station besides 531 Faroes heard during the day. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 828 RUSSIA Sankt-Peterburg 10 kW Radiogazeta Slovo, Aug 12 2120 - Good level in Russian. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 864 SPAIN Socuellamos 5 kW RNE, Aug 12 2120 - Fair to good, // to very strong 855. Mostly I've neglected to mention the many Spanish stations heard here. Otherwise I'd be at the keyboard all day long!!!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 900 ITALY Milano 50 kW RAI Radio 1, Aug 12 2120 - Strong Italian talk. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 918 UNID unid, Aug 12 2124 - Not sure who this might be playing western pop music, 'I'll be watching you'....Fair level. ?A Nigerian? Could have been on 917, I suppose, as latter well heard in PEI at times. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 945 UNID unid, Aug 12 2120 - An interesting channel, for sure. I'm hearing 2 cochannels. One might be in English, and the other with music. Who???. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 963 UNITED KINGDOM 0.95 kW North East London Sunrise Radio, Aug 12 2125 - Indian music at good level, with chop. // 972 (1 kW London) at fair level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1062 ITALY 3 transmitters of 6, 20 and 60 kW RAI Radio 1, Aug 12 2130 - Excellent level in Italian. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1071 UNITED KINGDOM 1 kW 2 sites TalkSPORT, Aug 12 2130 - Good reception // to 1053. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1116 UNITED KINGDOM 1 or 0.5 kW BBC Radio Derby or BBC Radio Guernsey, Aug 12 2130 - Not sure which I'm hearing. English at fair level under stronger Spaniard. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1134 SPAIN 3 sites 5 or 10 kW COPE, Aug 12 2130 - Noteworthy only because of the echos heard! // to 1143. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1197 UNITED KINGDOM Multiple sites between 0.25 and 1.1 kW Absolute Radio, Aug 12 2135 - A low power outlet for Absolute at fair to good level. // excellent (of course) 1215. Still there at 05:59 recheck. // also to strong 1242 (despite low power as well). (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1323 UNITED KINGDOM Brighton 0.5 kW Smooth Radio, Aug 12 2139 - Fair to good reception with multiple ads. // 1332 stronger (Peterborough 0.6 kW). (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1359 UNITED KINGDOM unid, Aug 12 2137 - Weakly in English with, 'Number 1 album in 28 countries'. So, is it Smooth Radio (2 senders with 0.2 and 0.28 kW), Free Radio 80s (0.27 kW), or BBC Radio Solent (0.85 kW)? I'm unable to quickly check references, due to wind on the balcony, no power for the laptop, and it's dark! Also very poor internet connectivity at sea!!!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1368 UNITED KINGDOM Douglas 20 kW Manx Radio, Aug 12 1368 - Presumed reception with music at fair to good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1413 MOLDOVA (TRANSDNISTER) Grigoriopol 500 kW Vesti FM, Aug 12 2140 - An interesting channel for sure! I'm hearing 3 stations, at least. Noone really dominates. There's a music station, then Russian talk (Vesti) and an English Speaker (several UK stations listed). SAH as well adds to the mix!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1431 ?DJIBOUTI Djibouti 600 or 300 kW VOA, Aug 12 2145 - I'm thinking most likely VOA, as it was widely heard in the North Atlantic both in English and in French. Weak at this time. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1440 SAUDI ARABIA Ras al-Khair 1600 kW SBC Radio Riyadh, Aug 12 2145 - Arabic talk weakly heard. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1449 UNITED KINGDOM unid unid, Aug 12 2145 - Interesting. I'm hearing 2 different English language stations here. I see some super low power stations listed (1 watt!), as well as BBC Asian Network (0.15kW) and BBC Radio 4 (2 kW). (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1476 UNID unid, Aug 12 2145 - No idea who this might be, as I only wrote, 'music at fair level'. Not much listed here on channel. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1485 UNITED KINGDOM 2 senders listed BBC, Aug 12 2148 - BBC ID at 21:48 with presumed weaker cochannel SER. 2 different BBC services listed: BBC Radio Merseyside (Wallasey 2 kW), and BBC Radio 4 (Carlisle with 0.79 kW). (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1548 KUWAIT Al-Kuwayt 300/600 kW Radio Sawa, Aug 12 2148 - Tentative on this one. Arabic speaker at fair/good level. With Sawa leaving a lot of channels, are they still on this channel?. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1557 UNITED KINGDOM 2 sites 0.76 and 0.5 kW Smooth Radio, Aug 12 2147 - Presumbly them with music at fair/good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1575 ITALY Genova 30 kW RAI Radio 1, Aug 12 2150 - 2 cochannels here, presumably the other SER. Italian talk, mostly dominating. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam North of Faroe Islands) 1611 NORWAY Bergen 0.20 kW Radio Northern Star, Aug 14 1512 - I know, I know. Cheating! But, while docked in Bergen, Norway all 3 channels of Radio Northern Star were well heard. Usually but not always in //. 1413 (with 700 watts) did carry a podcast from an American doctor (until 21:00, I think), before reverting to // programming to 1611 and 5895 SW (50 watts). I'm particularly impressed with the good modulation, and lovely frequent IDs and jingles. Good going!!!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Bergen Norway) 6070 GERMANY Rohrbach 10 kW Radio Channel 292, Aug 17 1230 - The winner in my view as far as strength and clarity. Widely heard at good level, even during the day while in Ireland, the English Channel, and the North Sea. ID for the Isle of Music program (this being 1:30 PM local time). (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Holland and English Channel) 6205 IRELAND Europirate Laser Hot Hits, Aug 17 1230 - Fair to good level in the English Channel, and not heard at all during 3 days in Ireland (Cork, Dublin, and Belfast). Generally, I was expecting a much better signal from them then what was heard. I was doubting the Irish transmitter site, as I heard no ground wave anywhere along the entire south, east and north side of Ireland. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Holland and English Channel) 6293 EUROPIRATE unid, Aug 25 1912 - While at sea between Bergen, Norway and our next stop, Rotterdam, there was an abundance of Europirates heard. This presumed Dutch pirate was particularly strong. Other frequencies heard on the popular European pirate band were: 6275, 6265, 6225, 6205, 6200, and 6320. Also 5780 and 5140 all heard about the same time. I miss the vibrancy of the pirate scene in western North America!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Holland and English Channel) 6295 UNID Europirate, Aug 18 1559 - While docked in Cork (Cobh =pronounced Cove) Ireland, there were an abundance of Europirates heard. 6295 was carrying an American religious program (with a Rev Hicks). No ID over the TOH. Good level. Gone when rechecked at 19:00. Also heard were 6285 (poor/fair), 6275 at good level (Quadzilla Radio), 6250, Dutch pirate on 6225 (very good) with Dutch talk and heard 'kHz' and 'radyo' at 19:11. This one ID'd as Technical Man Radio at 19:54, 'from the Netherlands'. Phone number given, even: 003 1612757280 several times. 'Bye, bye and see you' at 20:14. Focus Radio International on 5804.6 at fair level at 19:28. 5140 poor to fair at 19:33 (Charleston Radio International), 5860 Radio 319, good at 19:33. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Holland and English Channel) 15805 DENMARK Randers 200 watts World Music Radio, Aug 17 1127 - Fair to good reception with Latin music while we were cruising the English Channel. 5840 with 100 w was generally widely heard in the North Atlantic, as well. They don't ID very often, and when they do, they're generally very brief, and not at all like the lovely jingles heard from Radio Northern Star!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Holland and English Channel) 279 GREENLAND 50 to 2000 watts SI Simiutaq, Aug 26 2149 - Fair reception from 823 km NNW from our ship. Also heard on the 28th No other NDBs were heard. Clearly, many had closed down, and were abandoned, as the one in Qaqortaq where we spent the day (was on 265). (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Iceland and Greenland) 359 GREENLAND 50 to < 2000 watts NA Narsarsuaq, Aug 26 2143 - Weakly heard 187 km to the NW, across the Greenland ice cap. Population of only 158. Later heard strongly on the 27th and even the 28th. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Iceland and Greenland) 372 GREENLAND 50 to 2000 watts OZN Prins Christian Sund, Aug 25 1455 - By far the strongest NDB beacon in Greenland. Heard from west of Reykjavik all the way to the west coast of Greenland at good level. We sailed past the station at the east entrance to the sound. First heard about 400 km NE of the transmitter. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Iceland and Greenland) 377 GREENLAND < 50 watts DA Kulusuk, Aug 25 1455 - Another beacon heard west of Iceland, about 250 km to the SE. PilotNav lists a 40 km range. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Iceland and Greenland) 1431 DJIBOUTI Djibouti 600 kW VOA, Aug 22 2103 - While cruising just south of Iceland, heading to Reykjavik, 1431 was coming in very well with VOA French, with only a weak cochannel. As mentioned, this sender really puts out well all over the North Atlantic! English was also heard at other times on this channel from the VOA. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Iceland and Greenland) 6300 UNID Europirate Radio Batavia, Aug 22 2030 - Strongest Europirate heard as we sailed just south of Iceland with Oompa music. Other Europirates heard here were: 6285 KR1 at fair level, and changed to 6288 at 20:55. Good reception on latter. ID at 21:30, 'Enjoy this transmission from KL1 (or was it KLR?). 6205 Laser Hot HIts (good). Mentioned 'over here in the UK' at 22:33. 6370 (or 6369.7) poor/fair with talk, 6210 at fair/good level. 6267 strong at 22:12, but off suddenly at 22:24. 5780 Radio Harmony fair/good (and I received an eQSL after posting to HFUnderground! 5840 (non-pirate) WMR: good at 22:50. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Iceland and Greenland) 10000 HAWAII Kokelo Point Kaui 10 kW WWVH, Aug 23 0928 - No sign at all from WWV, only WWVH at good level at the SE corner of Iceland at Djupivogur. Surprising!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Iceland and Greenland) ALGERIA (NON) 5930, 2114-, Radio Algerienne Aug 26 Via France at excellent level with Quran recitation. This series of logs were from the west coast of southern Greenland. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) ANTARCTICA 15476, 1844-, LRA 36 Aug 27 I was very pleased to hear Antarctica from Greenland! Snippets of audio only, and by 19:04, just a weak het. This was heard in Qaqortaq, Greenland. I never hear them on the west coast! Are they really at 10 kW? I suspect much less!. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) ASCENSION ISLAND 15400, 1845-, BBC Aug 27 Very good reception in English with sports news. // noted 13660 (Woofferton 250 kW/165 deg) at good level, and 11810 (Woofferton 250 kW/158 deg) at fair to good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) BOTSWANA 5970, 2115-, VOA Aug 26 French programming with an English lesson at very good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) BOTSWANA 6195, 2115-, VOA Aug 26 English programming at very good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) BULGARIA 6055, 2115-, Overcomer Ministry Aug 26 English religious programming to E N America at good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) INDIA 9445, 2145-, AIR Aug 26 GOS in English with excellent reception discussing Bhutan, and it's message to humanity. Also heard the next day again at very good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) IRAN 6155, 2115-, VOIRI Aug 26 Arabic programming at good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) MALI 5995, 2115-, Radio Mali Aug 26 Good reception with French programming. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) NORTH AMERICA 6950, 2330-, Classic Pirate Radio Relay Service Aug 30 Good reception south of Newfoundland with Tangerine Radio ID at BOH. At 23:36, heard QSL information listed twice for classicpirateradiorelayserv...@gmail.com listed, then into marijuana themed program from the past. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) NORTH AMERICAN PIRATE 6880, 2330-, Mix Radio International Aug 30 The other pirate heard tonight at good level. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) THAILAND 9920, 1900-, Radio Thailand Aug 27 Fair reception into English news to Europe. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) USA 9265, 1905-, WINB Aug 27 Very strong DRM signal audible on my little XHData D808 portable. I'm sure there'd be no problem decoding the transmission. (Salmaniw,Zuiderdam Greenland) _ Hard-Core-DX mailing list Hard-Core-DX@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx http://www.hard-core-dx.com/ _______________________________________________ THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FREE. It may be copied, distributed and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License published by Michael Stutz at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/dsl.html
