ARC/SWB meeting at Kaneberg, Halmstad

This weekend the Arctic Radio Club and Shortwave Bulletin had its annual meeting at the Kaneberg cabin, close to Halmstad in southern Sweden. Before the hurricane Gudrun swept over the area bringing down most of the trees that used to carry the antennas there used to be a lot of DX-ing at these gatherings. This time a couple of shorter antennas were erected but due to some powerful electrical disturbances most listening had to be made on FM. Still it was a nice meeting and it was great to meet many of the wellknown ARC/SWB signatures in person.

ARC, the Arctic Radio Club, used to be somewhat of a secret circle and new members had to be recommended by a present member. This was mainly because there were a lot of fake loggings made by unscrupulous 'DX-ers' but today anyone who's interested can join the club. It may have kept a low profile over the years but long before the Internet it provided a very fast information service through its printed bulletin, MV-Eko (The MW Echo). This bulletin is still issued in printed form and with a deadline on Monday you will have the bulletin in your letterbox by Wednesday! Who could beat that - and who really needs the Internet? Actually, ARC has been running since 1960 and several of the original members are still active. Many of Sweden's most successful DX-ers are to be found as members of ARC and SWB and the MV-Eko has been full of exciting loggings due to this season's great propagation conditions. Also, members of the clubs are regularly providing information for the World Radio TV Handbook.

As we all know the number of stations on short wave and in the tropical bands is being drastically reduced every year but fortunately there are still lots of new finds to be made in the medium wave (AM broadcasting band). Still the SWB will continue to come out albeit less frequently. As for the MVE it will continue to be published as a printed bulletin for the time being. It is really an impressive work which is done by the editors of both bulletins and these publications are a must for the active DX-er.

Next year Arctic Radio Club will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary and we will get back to that. Below are the radio enthusiasts of ARC and SWB who attended the meeting.

April 15 "log" from Fredriksfors

Fredriksfors April 15

Why?
I (and Rolf Larsson) took our way to Fredriksfors this night.
I still wonder why? Very few times signals have propagated that bad...
Nothing until we went to sleep. Not much when we startet again at 01.45 UTC.
Only a few Canadian stations, the only one from USA I noticed was WEGP fading up at 05.
Some Cubans and Venezuelans, for short times with good strength. Not even the Colombian stations came through.
I´ ll check some recordings of eg. 1430, but I don´t think I´ll be
back with a "log" from this night.
Jan Edh

Pirate BBC Essex now on the air!

Today it's Good Friday. I wonder what Jesus would have said about choosing such a name for the day? I suspect his Friday felt like a quite long one….

Forty-five years ago today the BBC monopoly in the UK was challenged as Radio Caroline started broadcasting from a former Danish passenger ferry off the Essex coast. Since that day British broadcasting was changed forever and one "pirate" after another took to the airwaves. During the three years which the stations were on the air British listeners got accustomed to a continous diet of music 24 hours a day and the BBC had to follow suit by establishing its own pop channel, Radio One.
The m/v Caroline, previously Fredericia, home of Radio Caroline in 1964.

Forty-five years later BBC Radio Essex is celebrating the memory of the start of offshore radio by special broadcasts from the former lightship LV18. Many wellknown names from the golden days of offshore radio are participating. At the time of writing I am listening to good old "Cardboard Skues", Keith Skues, who in the 1960s could be heard on both Radio Caroline and Radio London (BigL).

If you want to enjoy some real radio nostalgia you can listen in to Pirate BBC Essex over the web. You may also be able to pick up the signal on MW 729, 765 or 1530 kHz although these frequencies are pretty crowded. The transmissions will continue until April 13. Incidentally, the LV18 is also featured as a broadcasting vessel in thed current film The Boat that Rocked the World.
Tune in and turn on!

CMLL Radio Victoria Cuba 1350 kHz

Addition to previous log:

West Indies
1350 4.4 0400 CMLL Radio Victoria, Cuba w. national anthem and station ID. Not previously reported here but thanks to Henrik Klemetz who solved the mystery we can now report the following. HK writes:

"Your "Victoria" is correct but when you consult the World Radio TV Handbook you don't get much help. It is indeed Radio Victoria but the call is not correct. While searching the web I found that the call according to http://www.upec.cu/baul/37.html is really CMLL since 2005. In the WRTH it is listed on 1040, 1050 and 1060 under its old call CMKT.

The station ID can be found on the web but is not easy to find as the station doesn't have a conventional website but can be found on http://www.tiempo21.cu/. The ID which has been uploaded, and which I enclose, is not completely in accordance with what you have recorded where you can hear a female voice in the middle and at the end of the ID. Besides at least one AM frequency has been changed (1040?) and the FM frequency does not sound as 94.5 but something different; I leave it at that.

Thus you have found a news item which once again shows why Jens Frost did not like the epithet "The DXer's Bible". He realized that the book contained too many errors. Listen to the old recording which I dug up last week. It's not on the web but the Fredriksfors team maybe can upload it?"

Unfortunately Blogger does not seem to allow the upload of soundfiles. But I will see what I can do. Meanwhile, JE received this by email:

Happy Easter all!

Loggings from the Radio Shack April 3-5

Back at the shack for a couple of days and there are still some NA stations coming through although nothing special. Loggings by RFK and JE.

Europe
1287 4.4 06.25 Army Talk, Catterick report on ”The Armed Forces Day” good signal. Q3. RFK
1287 3.4 2155 OID britt med non stop Cliff Richard. JE
1287 4.4 0630 Army Talk, Catterick dominerade helt på morgonen. JE
1332 4.4 0650 BBC Radio Wiltshire finnaly heard after trying for many years. Q2. RFK

North America
620 5.4 0030 CKCM Grand Falls NL commercials for Grand Falls companies, for instance ”National Mortgage Company”. Strong signal. Q4. RFK
750 4.4 0233 CBGY Bonavista Bay NL ont of the strongest CBC relays this night. Phone-in show, played Beach Boys. Q3. RFK
780 5.4 0220 CFDR Halifax NS "Classic Country". Q3. RFK
930 5.4 0220 CFBC Saint Johns NC playing "I want to hold your hand" by the Fab Four. Q3. RFK
1130 5.4 0220 WBBR New York NY with "Opinion Express". Q4. RFK
1200 4.4 0200 WKOX Framingham, MA bra med sina rumbor. Senare mer av CFGO. JE
1200 4.4 0235 WKOX Newton MA ”Rumba 1200” often stronger than CFGO. Another NA beneath. Q3. RFK
1210 4.4 0225 WPHT Philadelphia PA “The Big Talker” several IDs, splatter. Q2. RFK
1330 5.4 0205 WRCA Watertown MA stronger the night before. Q2. RFK
1440 5.4 0215 WRED Westbrook ME with sports. Q2-3. RFK
1390 4.4 0300 WPLM Plymouth, MA har ofta märkligt lätt att smita igenom WEGP. JE
1440 4.4 0220 WRED Westbrook, ME ”SportsRadio 14-40 AM”. JE
1470 4.4 0225 WLAM Kewiston, ME slogs mot Vibración (och förlorade) med oldies. Reklamer för ”Southern Portland area”. JE
1500 4.4 0245 WFED Washington DC ”Federal News Radio. Q3. RFK
1560 4.4 0220 WQEW New York NY “AM 15-60 Radio Disney”. Q3-4. RFK
1570 5.4 0215 CFAV Laval QC “Boomer Radio” vedry strong signal at times during the night. RFK
1580 4.4 0210 CKDO Oshawa ON with oldies, played “Aquarius/Let the sun shine in” by The Fifth Dimension. Q3. RFK
1650 4.4 0205 WHKT Portsmouth VA ”Radio Disney AM 16-50”. Q2-3. RFK
1650 5.4 0215 CJRS Montreal QC in French, competing with WHKT. RFK
1670 4.4 0212 CJEU Gatineau QC ”Radio Enfant” in French. Q2. RFK

West Indies
1600 4.4 0400 WLUZ Accion Radio, Bayamón ”Accion 1600”. Också Puerto Ricanen på 1480 gick ovanligt bra. JE
1620 4.4 0430 WDHP St Croix, USVI med BBC-program och inte ett spår av Rebelde. JE

Latin America
1370 4.4 0500 HJKX Radio Mundial, Bogotá med ”Radio Mundial de Bogotá en 13-70 AM”. JE

SHORT WAVE
4024.6 3.4 2155 Laser Hot Hits playing "If I were a boy"/Beyoncé. Q4. RFK
4965 3.4 2105 Christian Voice, Zambia with nice jingle ID. Q3. RFK
5005 3.4 2140 Radio a, Equatorial Guinea in Vernacular language. Q3-4. RFK
6220 3.4 2115 Mystery Radio with nonstop music, "Symphaty" etc. Q4. RFK

Recommended reading: And the world listened - the biography of Captain Leonard F. Plugge

Author: Keith Wallis
ISBN 978-1-903053-23-2
220 pages, hardbound/pocket
Publisher: Kelly Publicatins
http://www.kellybooks.net/
The name of Leonard F. Plugge may not be very well known amongst radio enthusiasts today. Yet he was a pioneer in the early days of European broadcasting, especially in the commercial use of this new medium. He effectively started as a DX-er (although this term was not yet invented in the 1920s). By using a simple crystal receiver he tuned in to several European stations and started publishing their schedules and details of their transmissions. What started off as a hobby evolved into a full time occupation and thus the IBC (the International Broadcasting Company) saw the light of day.

Plugge initiated the first commercial broadcast ever directed at a British audience from another country and this programme was a fashion show, transmitted by the station in the Eiffel Tower of Paris. This programme was sponsored by Selfridges in London. Later Plugge would travel around Europe in his car, equipped with state of the art receiving equipment which was most unusual in the 1920s and 30s. During one of these travels he met another radio enthusiast in the French village of Fécamp, Fernand Le Grand, who had established a local medium wave station for the area. The gentlemen connected instantly and from this a new station was born, Radio Normandie. A station which in the 1930s would become extremely popular with the British radio listening audience as the light programmes were seen as a very popular alternative to the output of the BBC. IBC also contracted a large number of European broadcasting stations for carrying their commercial programmes. Captain Plugge made several travels across Europe in order to check reception of the stations and he often broadcast directly from stations which he visited during his trips.

The book contains much of interest for others than radio buffs. The detailed reports about his travels across Europe give a very good picture of the meeting between different cultures in those early days. Plugge also visited Sweden during his travels and was then shown the radio stations in Stockholm and Malmö. He was a central figure of the jet set of the day and the book tells about many interesting anecdotes. Not to mention that those interested in vintage cars should find much of interest in this biography.
The book includes 165 illustrations and also contains detailed schedules of the IBC broadcasts over various European stations. It is a most interesting piece of work which tells of a hitherto little documented period in the history of European broadcasting. In addition, it is written in a very entertaining and inspiring way. The story of L F Plugge gives a fascinating insight into the life of a man who was active in many areas but who had a profound passion for radio. Eventually the IBC would concentrate on other things and at the last years of his life, Plugge lived under very limited economical circumstances as a contrast to all the lavish parties of bygone years. But he was indeed one of the true pioneers in broadcasting and this book is a welcome piece of radio history. Highly recommended.

About the author
Similar to L F Plugge, Keith Wallis is a man of many interests and talents. Soon in his 80s, he is after his retirement very busy writing books. One of his many interests is gemstones and he is a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. He has also written a book on the subject: Gemstones : understanding, identifying, buying. His interest of radio and Captain Plugge started by a very unexpected find.In the early 1950s Keith Wallis was working as a consulting engineer in a building behind the IBC at Portland Place in London. During this work he found a lot of lanternslides plus a manuscript of a journey by a car equipped with radio through Europe. He took the material home and for many years it was gathering dust in the attic. When many years later he heard a feature on Radio Normandy by the BBC, he got in touch with the programme producer to tell him of his material. This led to contacts with people who had been involved in the IBC and Radio Normandy and during one interview somebody asked him if he were writing a book. “Yes, why not” he thought – and the rest, as they say, is history. Several years of research lies behind this book and one of the big obstacles was finding a publisher willing to publish the book. Eventually, the small company Kelly Publications, which is focused on radio related material, dediced to release the book.

Keith Wallis isn’t really a radio aficionado as such although he has always been very interested in the history of musical theathre. He tells over the phone that he generally listen very little to radio, mainly because the output for a mature audience is very limited. Yes, nothing special for Great Britain, as we all know….

Broadcast band loggings by Jan Edh from March 17-18

Log 17-18/3 2009 from our Fredriksfors shack by Jan Edh:
Europa
1530 17.3 2148 Celtic Music Radio, Glasgow med skotsk folkmusik och
bröt av mot oldies/fotboll som övriga tre britter på kanelen körde. JE
Asien
1314 17.3 2100 DWXI Delta BS, Paranaque annonserade. Religiöst. Fadade
upp med hygglig styrka korta stunder. JE
1413 17.3 2100 JOIF Fukuoka ganska stadig och stark. Svaga japaner
också på 1287 och 1242. JE
NA
1190 17.3 2225 WLIB New York, NY med predikan. JE
1200 18.3 0424 WKOX Newton, MA med slogan och rumbor. Tack för tipset
HM! Ny effekt? JE
1240 17.3 2230 CKIM Baie Vert, NL med VOCM-annonsering. JE
1250 18.3 0440 WEAE Pittsburgh, PA med ”The Sports station”. JE
1250 18.3 0428 CJYE, Oakville, ON. Overnight (jfr 1320 som gick
bättre). JE
1270 18.3 0432 WXYT Detroit, MI annonserade som vanligt 97,1. JE
1320 18.3 0428 CJMR Missisuaga, ON ”You are listening to overnight, a
Christian family.... on CJYE 1250 and CJMR 1350”. JE
1330 18.3 0500 WRCA Watertown, MA ”A member of Beasley Broadcasting
Group, this is 13-30 WRCA Watertown, Boston”. JE
1440 18.3 0330 WHKZ Warren, OH med religiöst från WHKW. Spansktalande
störde. JE
1450 17.3 2220 AM Gold Bermuda ovanligt rent och fint. JE
1530 18.3 0500 WCKY Cicinnati, OH med religiöst // 1510 WWZN. JE
1550 18.3 0530 CBE Windsor, OH med CBC-program lade effektivt locket
på kanalen tillsammans med Rebelde. JE
1570 18.3 0515 CFAV Laval, QC med ”Boomer” och ”kanadensiskfranska”. JE
LA
1190 18.3 0421 HJCV R Cordillera, Bogota kämpade med WLIB om platsen. JE
1250 18.3 0415 HJCA Radio Capital, Bogota hade en hel del prat också i
programmet. JE
1350 18.3 0320 HCYP2 Teleradio Guayaqil ”en AM y Digital” dominerar nu.
En religiös spansktalande med predikan kom upp stundtals. JE
1360 18.3 0500 HJTL Oxigeno 1360 Cartagena lika snett som vanligt.
Störd av WDRC. JE
1400 18.3 0330 HJKM Em Mariana, Bogota spelade Boggie Woggie i
programmet Manana. JE
1430 18.3 0331 HJKU AM 14-30 Radio, Bogota (ex Em Kennedy) ligger
fortfarande snett (1430,061). JE
1460 18.3 0530 HJMW Nuevo Continente, Bogota med en smäktande jingle. JE