Month: January 2025

Finland

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Scandinavian Weekend Radio the 1st February 2025
Schedule
1602 kHz
5880 kHz/6170 kHz
11690 kHz/ 11720 kHz
Tarja Lunnas Show 06:00 UTC
Finnish Metal DJ Janne 15:00 UTC

Kari Kallio to nordx iog (2025-01-31)

Netherlands

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Vahon Hindustani Radio in The Hague on 1566 kHz has stopped broadcasting, and handed in its license. The power originally was 1 kW, but the last couple of years the site of the transmitter was moved to the studiobuilding in the centre of The Hague, and power was reduced to only a couple of watts.
RDI (former Agentschap Telecom) has announced that the frequency 1566 kHz is now available for LPAM (50 or 100 watts) in the province of South-Holland. Interested parties can apply for a license as from 13th February. However: first come, first serve.
More information on the website of RDI: https://www.rdi.nl/onderwerpen/radio-en-televisie/nieuws/2025/01/29/frequentie-1566-khz-beschikbaar-voor-laagvermogen-middengolfzenders

Piet van der Vooren (2025-01-29)

Armenia

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One of the two 350 kW TRAM transmitters, which used to broadcast Europe 1 on longwave from the Saarland in Germany, is back in service. It has been reinstalled at the Noratus station on Lake Sevan in Armenia. The transmitter has been modified by Broadcasting Center Europe to broadcast on medium wave.
This TRAM transmitter offers an efficiency close to 100%. Thanks to the modular system, broadcasting continues even when one or more modules fail: power is only reduced by 1 kW per defective module.
Modules with a power of 1 kW are grouped together in different cabinets per 50 kW. Modules can be replaced on the fly, without shutting down the transmitter.
The transmitter now broadcasts on 1377 kHz and replaces an old Soviet Borey RV 601 radio transmitter.
It is coupled to a KinStar low-profile directional antenna system, built by Kintronic Labs. It allows waves to be sent to azimuths -67, 127 and 247 degrees. (info Andrei Molokov, the page V contact “Радиорубка. Страницы истории Мощного Радио”).
In the evening, the transmitter broadcasts Trans World Radio programs to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.
(Translated from French with DeepL.com)

Radio Magazine FB group (2025-01-28)

New Zealand

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In late January 2025 RNZ will be retiring its aging AM radio transmitter site at Waingawa. The Waingawa site provides AM radio transmissions for the Wairarapa region on the 1071 AM frequency.
Listeners to RNZ National on the 1071 AM frequency will need to retune to either 101.5 FM or 567 AM to continue to listen to RNZ National.
There are also several alternative online listening options which are detailed below.
Whole story here

New Zealand Radio DX League FB group via Svenn Martinsen to DXing.info FB group (2025-01-28)

Canada

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CANADIAN RADIO NEWS
CKNW-980 was #1 in Vancouver in December with 12.1% share of hours tuned among everyone who was at least 12 years old. The upcoming move to 730 will significantly improve the signal into the City of Vancouver thanks to the lower frequency and relative closeness of the transmitter site.
All times Eastern Standard Time (EST).
560 ON Owen Sound CFOS — DXers are catching it while they still can, before the move to FM. Noted in Ashland OH on January 19th at 2350.      (Billy Paul)
600 BC Vancouver CKSP — Several possibilities exist for the station’s continued operation after what will be CKGO-980 (see below) signs off sometime in March. Both 980 and 600 are duplexed on the same transmitter site in the Cloverdale area of Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver. Corus owns both CKGO and CKNW and currently owns the Cloverdale transmitter site. The most likely scenario appears to be Corus selling the transmitter site to CKSP. They could also follow the precedent of Jim Pattison, who flipped CKBD-600 (ex-CHRX and CJOR) into CKPK-FM, but retained the AM transmitter site. It lay dormant from 2008 until 2014 when CISL-650 moved there, renting the site from Pattison. Similarly, CKSP could continue renting from Corus. A third option would be to move to Pattison’s transmitter site, duplexing with CISL. This would be a perfect fit since the site was designed for 600. But this would require cutting power to 10 kW and a huge reduction in signal, especially at night, in suburbs like Surrey where the station has a lot of listeners.
730 BC Vancouver CKGO — Swaps call letters with CKNW on February 24th to be branded as 730 CKNW. Other than the branding, there will be no changes in format.
980 BC New Westminster CKNW — Officially moves to 730 on February 24th and CKGO-980 will broadcast a continuous loop of announcements instructing listeners to change their dial to 730. Sometime in March, the 980 transmitter will sign off forever. It is very unlikely that anyone else will take over the frequency. The delay in moving to 730, when compared to CHED Edmonton (which moved from 630 to 880 in October), likely resulted from the time it took to negotiate an agreement with CKSP-600 who duplexes on the 980 transmitter site.

Jon Pearkins, Edmonton AB    jon@pearkins.com via WOR iog

Norfolk Island / Australia

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It seems that Norfolk Island are allowed to use 1566 KHz if they ever need to. The active ACMA license confirms that.
https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-09/5%20MF%20%26%20VHF%
20Radio%20by%20Area%20Served.pdf

Todd Emslie to ICDX-AM iog (2025-01-26)


I checked on another platform with Nick VK9DX who lives there. He told me it is still on the air but with a “very dirty” signal. He is talking to the tech who maintains the site. Apparently there are some local programs during their mornings but mainly relays Radio New Zealand Pacific for the rest of the 24 hours.

Richard Jary to ICDX-AM iog (2025-01-27)


Only certain roads within Norfolk Island are covered by Google Map Monkey. There is one section where the 1566 KHz VL2NI mast can be seen in the distance (March, 2023 photo). The VL2NI mast is near some satellite dishes and police station around New Cascade Road.
The 1566 KHz TX power output is quite low, effectively 0 as specified by ACMA. This explains why nobody is hearing 1566 KHz via the ionosphere. 
While looking around Norfolk Roads, some parts of the world are an absolute eyesore in comparison. Norfolk has escaped high rise real estate development.

Todd Emslie to ICDX-AM iog (2025-01-27)

Tanzania

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1377, Radio Free Africa, 0010-0050 UT, Jan 25, via Kiwi SDR remote at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; thanks very much to Zacharias Liangas (Greece) for his recent posting of this station; program of DJ taking on-air phone calls and playing pop African songs (Bongo Flava); language seemed to be in Kiswahili; one segment with phone ringing for a while and then recording with “try calling the number again”; confirmed was RFA via parallel to audio streaming at website http://www.radiofreeafrica.co.tz/about, but somewhat out of sync. My remote brief audio attached. I greatly enjoyed hearing a radio station from Tanzania again and enjoying their music!

Ron Howard to WOR iog (2025-01-25)