KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY 1st JANUARY 2016

 

** HAPPY 2016 FROM SCOTLAND **

 

HEY MAN, WHERE'S THE EUROS??

I guess this headline can have two meanings. As you will read shortly, I have some odd trouble with my main antenna. Very noisy and deaf.... I ask myself every time I try it.. where's the Euros? But that is work in progress..

But of course a tune around the night time MW band tonight will reveal a much quieter band. Where have all the Euros gone??

I was out and about at a great rock night on 31st December, so my Perseus was going to be the work horse for the night, recording the last of the QRO stations in Germany, France and of course the famous 208 falling silent.

I was a bit worried when I came into white roads and hail on the way back from town about 0100 or thereabouts. Hail = static and did I have a power dip or anything that would have stopped my recordings, or worse??

On checking however, all was fine, and recordings were all there, filling up a 500 gig drive with the MW band from about 1650 - 1011 GMT, recording everything from LW up to 1710 or thereabouts.

Included was the VOA Thailand station on 1575 at 1700!!!

I sure wish I had a 500 gig drive with that length of wideband recording from years ago, eg 1988 and all the Irish pirates on the air, and their historic mass closedown on 30th and 31st December 1988. .

 

So here I am making a few notes on the transmitters leaving the air on 31st December / 1st January....

 

GERMANY:

 

549

Deutschelandfunk (DLF) Germany.

Cut mid sentence of long German talks at 2245 and played the old DLF interval signals that used to be heard on 1268 before the English service started. Transmitter cut I think at 2252. Was more difficult to follow as I have strong local bible bashers in Ireland on 549, which will be really in the clear now.. (Pity they can't rent tx out to Caroline or something instead.)

 

756

DLF Germany

Cut mid sentence of long German talks at 2245 and played the old DLF interval signals that used to be heard on 1268 before the English service started. Transmitter cut 2252. BBC Radio Cumbria really in the clear now..

 

1269

DLF Germany - off air mid sentence of long German talks. 2252.... Spanish station heard after closure.

 

1422

DLF Germany - cut mid sentence of long German talks at 2245 and played the old DLF interval signals that used to be heard on 1268 before the English service started. Transmitter cut mid interval signal 2258. Not a clear channel. Stations heard after sign off. Arab chant 0600.

 

FRANCE:

 

164

Transmitter still on air

 

603

Transmitter stays on the air a few more days or something???

 

711

Transmitter switched off at 0008 GMT. Returned to the air by 0100, and heard on 1st..??????? Another BBC that can't bear to close up their transmitters???

 

864

Transmitter switched off at 0010 GMT. What cracking AM audio on this one during the earlier music programmes of France Bleu.. Loud arab chanting heard after sign off. (Riveting stuff)

 

1206

Transmitter fell silent mid sentence at 0012 GMT. Freq reasonably clear but for a distant unid, but heavy splatter from UK on 1215.

 

1377

Transmitter finally went off at 0015 GMT, 0115 Central European Time. UK Foreign language ILR thing on the frequency.

 

1494

Transmitters heard mixing with different programmes. One was dominant at 0007 GMT when it closed and the frequency was very clear, bar a weak distant unid..

 

1404 I am not so sure about, and 1242, 1278, 1557 were more difficult to determine exactly due to UK activity on the freq.

 

 

LUXEMBOURG:

1440 The mighty 208 cut after the Anthem, at 2259 GMT. Not a very clear channel. Middle East powerhouse on freq. But noted the pirate station Radio Paradise I think it was, playing an old 208 tape!!