RTL (Radio Luxembourg) Ends Longwave Service (234 kHz)

But these happened at the bottom of solar cycle 22 and 23 because the D layer was less ionized.

 

I should clarify that broadcast TV is anonymous ONLY if you watch it on a TV that is not connected to the internet. If you watch a "smart" TV and it's internet connected, it's reporting everything that you watch, what time you watch it, etc.

 

Dennis (KR3DX):

It's much, much , much worse than that!

You're forgetting cellphone voice stream monitoring (even when not making a call): "Hey, Google!" and "Siri", automatic home services that do the same: Alexa, TV voice remotes, etc., high-res traffic cams that most cities now use. It's pretty much everywhere, as is information you've voluntarily posted. Privacy is a difficult thing nowadays. Even those who head to Alaska for a little of it find monitoring happening there.

So - basically - we have to live with it, for all its benefits, and see how regulation/law/technology works out to a balance. Welcome to Century 21. No need to panic quite yet.

Brian - K6BRN

 

The Radio Canada International transmiiters went off the air in 2014.. for a variety of cost cutting and political reasons. What the funding agencies failed to recognise is that LW / SW AM broadcast is a valuable way of sharing your national story, culture & news over radio. It is a form of soft-power and global education. Canada is not on the radar in many places around the world and we lost a voice when RCI went off the air. No surprise to me that despite an intense and costly diplomatic push, Canada has lost its bid for a coveted seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2020, largely decided by African nations who opted for Norway and Ireland. AM is everywhere in Africa and folks there still use it to listen o the world. Technology advances and there are ever evolving message transmission methods, but if you shut down methods, people can't be surprised when the messages fail to land because nobody can hear it.

 

While living in Europe in the 40's and 50's, I listened to RTL as an alternative to the continuous propaganda (a la NPR) of Radio France. RTL can now be heard in Europe on FM, DAB, and satellite.

 

Rightly remembered! RTL is a breeze of fresh air when compared to biased RFI.

Oliver

 

Ihr Ignoranten, dass wahre Ende.

 

or, five Americans...

 

I thought this may have happened. I have listened to these broadcasts for years and have a radio in the kitchen and always used to listen to RTL. I remember turning the radio on on January 1st and silence. Sad indeed as I also used to listen in my car. In England, not surprisingly RTL or other French stations are not available on DAB! Sad indeed.

 

There are so many digital stations in the UK on air. I checked your postcode in the station list of DAB UK. So I found

Absolute Radio 8x times
BBS 13x times
BFBS
Capital 4x times
Heart 7x times
Jazz 2x times
Magic 5x times
Virgin 5x times

and much more, which is always present for you.

To some of these stations I listen to weekly. Especially BBC1 with the programme of Pete Tong and Radio 2 with Pick of the Pops.
What do you miss? A french longwave station? lol And in the UK the offer of different stations at medium wave is big too.
I cant see anything to miss.

 

The only thing I would miss would be the cricket! For many years, my wife and I would go to South West France on holiday every summer, driving down from Calais. It's a long drive and quite boring but BBC Radio 4 LW was receivable all the way down. Our trips usually corresponded with the Test Match season and I would break the boredom listening to the commentary.

Martin (G8FXC)

 

Question:
On the Utah SDR I almost aways hear “SLE” send over and over in CW at 221 kHz; never anything else.

Of course it is probably a beacon (?), but Does anyone have any insight into this signal?

 

Here's a fairly up-to-date list of beacons: https://www.dxinfocentre.com/ndb.htm

I don't see SLE, but HLE is listed at 220kHz. All beacons transmit tone modulated AM, not CW,, so maybe that's why it appears to be at 221kHz. It's also possible that the code generator has become corrupted and is sending an S instead of an H. I can't find any other plausible explaination.

 

salt lake emergency ? I see slow Cw H L E on 219k on Utah sdr

 

200 to 430 kHz: Used primarily for navigational beacons with Morse code IDs.

Long-Wave Radio Beacons
https://www.dxinfocentre.com/ndb.htm

Frequency (kHz): 220
Callsign: HLE
Geographic: USA, ID
City: Hailey
Power (Watts): 50 (low power)
Latitude: 43° 19’ 45” (N)
Longitude: -114° 14’ 33” (W)

Central Idaho, Blaine county, Wood River valley
Friedman Memorial Airport, for Sun Valley/Ketchum resort area.