Month: November 2020

United Kingdom

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Two more MW closures today.
1015 UTC Lewsey Farm 828kHz (Smooth Radio Herts Beds Bucks South) 
1207 UTC Kempston 792kHz (Smooth Radio Herts Beds Bucks North) 
These transmitters started in 1971 as Chiltern Radio South and Chiltern Radio Ouse Valley respectively. 
Later Super Gold hosted from the South studio in Dunstable then Gold then Smooth Radio. 
Permanent closure from today. 
James Robinson (2020-11-02)

United States

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KDKA Pittsburgh Celebrates a Century of Broadcasting.
KDKA Pittsburgh [nowaday 1020 kHz] began regular broadcasting 100 years ago today when the station began an election night broadcast at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 1920, from a tiny shack atop one of the Westinghouse Electric buildings in East Pittsburgh.
Four men manned that first broadcast: Engineer William Thomas; telephone line operator John Frazier; R.S. McClelland, a standby; and Leo Rosenberg, radio’s first announcer.
The election returns of the Harding-Cox presidential race were relayed to about 1,000 listeners who learned through this incredible new medium who the next president of the United States would be. (Spoiler Alert: Warren Harding beat James Cox.)
Steve Millam in MWDX – The National Radio Club fb group (2020-11-02)

Netherlands

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Although, as you wrote in the news, 109 LPAM stations have a license of this list https://www.radio-tv-nederland.nl/am/am.html , only about 50% are really on-air on a regular base, e.g. 12/7 or 24/7. Many stations are still under construction, some have their license for YEARS and not one second even online. Some stations are only 2 hours on-air on Saturday (11~13 hrs) like Neverland AM from Venlo on 1035 kHz. At least all stations with a green dot in the right column are NOT on-air since they have a license.
We have also SW LPSW stations, here is the list 
https://radio-tv-nederland.nl/am/kg.html . You will hear them because they use 1 kW! Because the licenses are expensive, I think many stations will stop at the end of the year, also some professional parties have a much better DAB+ coverage now.

About my station Album AM at 846 & 1251 kHz. I use only one PWM transmitter and inverted-L antenna, 1251 kHz is ALWAYS off-air because I obtained it as an exclusive for Holland frequency. It is not so good as 846 kHz (lower frequency) so the coverage is less and especially when it is dark it is a bad frequency because of a strong station (25 kW) from Hungary, 846 kHz has interference with Radio North (3 kW) from Ireland. I use it as spare, when somebody occupies my 846 kHz legally (distance 50~60 max. power 50 W pep, 60+ km max. power 100 W pep) and has an exceptional good antenna, I will switch to 1251 kHz when I experience strong interference halfway so I am happy with my exclusive for Holland 1251 kHz!
René, Album AM (2020-10-31)