Just Sharing This European FM Radio in S.Wales

[Markjose]

Here is an intresting scenario, I was picking up HRT radio in S.Wales and Megahits too also various Italian and Algerian stations today.....

Could this be down to the thunderstorms seen today?

 

[deeptho]

Here is an intresting scenario, I was picking up HRT radio in S.Wales and Megahits too also various Italian and Algerian stations today.....

Could this be down to the thunderstorms seen today?

It is a common phenomenon, called "sporadic E".

 

[ozumo]

Here is an intresting scenario, I was picking up HRT radio in S.Wales and Megahits too also various Italian and Algerian stations today.....

Could this be down to the thunderstorms seen today?

The FM band was busy today



PS please upload photos to the forum rather than linking to a 3rd party

 

[jeallen01]

FWIW, from a search, HRT Radio, in various guises, seems come from various towns/cities in Croatia.

 

[Adam792]

I’m surprised you didn’t hear some of the Italian stuff that completely swamped the whole FM band a little bit before that pretty much everything other than the very strongest local stations got wiped out at one point.

 

[Markjose]

yup got some italian also and algerian too, it was indeed an exciting drive.

 

[jeallen01]

I’m surprised you didn’t hear some of the Italian stuff that completely swamped the whole FM band a little bit before that pretty much everything other than the very strongest local stations got wiped out at one point.

yup got some italian also and algerian too, it was indeed an exciting drive.
It's "that time of the year" - something similar has historically occurred every July/August, and probably still also does for Band I TV (I think that some countries still use Band I ??)!

 

[astra19]

I believe Moldova is one of the few countries still using Band I

 

[jeallen01]

I believe Moldova is one of the few countries still using Band I

Possibly cost-driven - Moldova is small, under-deleveloped and relatively poor, and so HD tv would be a low priority and would mean they'd need new transmitters, and more of them, because of the reduced transmission coverage - The Russian "protection force" in Transnistria wouldn't help either!

Some of those factors would likely affect other countries still using Band I tv, especially the large and sparsely populated ones - that said, many of those are now using Sat DTH tv as well.

 

[Adam792]

Moldovan band I TV has been switched off at some point in the last year.

The only remaining stuff is in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, and in parts of Russia and the Caucasus. Received by DXers in central and Eastern Europe but more difficult here in the west!

 

[jeallen01]

Moldovan band I TV has been switched off at some point in the last year.

The only remaining stuff is in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, and in parts of Russia and the Caucasus. Received by DXers in central and Eastern Europe but more difficult here in the west!

That "figures" - Most of Moldova wants to become part of "Western Europe", but anything under, shall we call it, "Russian influence" is likely to be "way behind" the West for a number of reasons that are probably best not discussed here to avoid "politics" (etc.!) becoming involved!

 

[7mdish]

Back to FM reception, I got many eastern Europe stations around 60-70 MHz during recent sporadic E phases.
Not sure which countries, but it was surely eastern languages.

 

[deeptho]

Thirty to fourty years ago I receeived stations in band 1 from Greece (ERT), Macedonia (Skopje), Spain, Italy, Sweden and'
some eastern European stuff. On FM, I received radio Tunis. All of this from Belgium and between 2000 and 3000km
away. Daytime reception was usually better and spring and summer were the best times of year.

TV reception was fun as Band I only has 3 channels, and all of them had local stations (2 from Belgium and one from
the Netherlands). So what you received varied and usually there was lots of interference.

Reception antenna for band 1 was a (large) dipole in the attic made from some wire and roughly oriented to produce
a weak signal for local channels. FM reception was just using a portable transistor radio. No antennas needed, although a directional antenna was sometimes useful to tune out "local interference" (=official broadcasts). Also, most signals came in below 100Mhz.

Local TV was really boring at the time, with the best programs actually on air during strikes (about the only time ever that movies
were shown on TV). Radio was better, as the FM pirate stations had just become active.

And at the time it was always possible to listen to analogue car phones, the police, fire services and ship to shore traffic (all unencrypted).

But hey: now I can receive thousands of satellite channels. Not bad.

 

[7mdish]

I forgot to mention that my latest 60-70 MHz FM reception was made using a 6 meters band vertical antenna (50 MHz) used in my radio amateur station and my Icom general coverage receiver.
No interferences here, because no other broadcast are provided in this band here in Italy.
I just mentioned in another discussion (not remember which one) my greatest experience in TV reception. It was not in band 1 (yes it was easy in the past), but in , around 200 MHZ!
It was a hot day in summer of 1984 or 1983... (not sure, probably 84). I was playing with a portable TV set and an indoor antenna (no external antennas), and suddenly I got a strong signal from Spain. It was TVE 1. I'm in Italy, so a big distance in this band. Obviously the signal was fading up and down, but it was a big DX in a unique, strong sporadic E situation for me. I never seen such signals in that band anymore.

 

[jeallen01]

It would be interesting to hear from Members on the S. coast of the UK because they generally get most of the sporadic-E problems.