1970s 49 Metre band pirates.

[Geordie]

Hi all, new to the forum, took me a while as the verification email had gone to my spam.

Anyway, as per my title, in the early 1970s my parents bought me a shortwave radio. IIRC it was a decent brand but the only short wave was the 49 metre band.

All the big government stations of the day but little unusual stuff, but I found on a Sunday morning I could receive the odd pirate near the bottom of the band just above 5.9 MHz.

I know one was Dutch, I received a QSL card from them, I forget the station but I remember the contact address was Dedemsvaart.

Another was something like Radio Solent. I think there were one or two others.

Anyone remember this?

[shuffy]

Hi Geordie and welcome along.

Solent rang a bell. Could it have been this?

https://dxarchive.com/shortwave_pirates ... story.html

I was starting to mess around with shortwave radios in the late 70s but was too young to know what I was doing. There's still quite a strong scene on 49m these days, and I'm convinced that in some ways it's probably more fulfilling than FM. I'd have a go myself if I had the space.

[Geordie]

Hi Geordie and welcome along.

Solent rang a bell. Could it have been this?

https://dxarchive.com/shortwave_pirates ... story.html

I was starting to mess around with shortwave radios in the late 70s but was too young to know what I was doing. There's still quite a strong scene on 49m these days, and I'm convinced that in some ways it's probably more fulfilling than FM. I'd have a go myself if I had the space.

Great article and radio Solent city I international does indeed ring a bell, this is all from half a century ago and I am pleased some of it is still stuck in my brain, although obviously I was thinking of the wrong end of the band.

I had to look up where the Solent was in an atlas. Different world.

My son bought me a Retekess 110 radio for Christmas and I am looking for interesting stuff to listen to. Amazing little radio.

I live right under the flight path for Newcastle airport and can listen to the pilots conversing with the airport.

[shuffy]

There are some really good small DSP radios around, the spec on yours looks great and you've also got SSB and UHF in addition to the regular stuff!
You've probably already seen but if you're interested in HF pirates there are a few sites with active communities of listeners such as
https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php
20 or 30 years ago, I had a Yaesu FRG100 receiver with a long wire around my roof and could pull in some of the Euro pirates on the 75m and 49m bands. Unfortunately in my location these days it's a non-starter with all the electrical mush across the spectrum, due to SMPS, lighting, broadband etc. Luckily we also have plenty of people running web SDRs all over the world - I use this one if I fancy listening to euro pirates on shortwave.
http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

[reverend]

My listening to short-wave pirates of old was in the early 1980s, but in the 49 metre band I remember hearing:

• Spectrum World Radio (I think on 6265 kHz)
• Britain Radio International
• Radio Krypton (I think on 7325 kHz)
• Radio Dublin (on 6910 kHz)
• Radio Apollo
• Radio Sovereign
• Radio Del Mare (from a boat in the North Sea)

I got QSL cards from most of them (many at the Wuppertal and Edenbridge postal addresses) which disappointingly I no longer possess.

[EFR]

P.O.Box 220342, D-5600 Wuppertal 22, West-Germany

Does anyone have better picture?

[yellowbeard]

Was the Dutch station FRS Holland? I remember them on 6250KHz back when I was getting zits and pubes. Might have been the early 80's though... You might find your QSL card on this site ifn it was them:
https://frsholland.nl/

[Geordie]

Been thinking and I am 99% certain it was Radio North Sea international, this came to me while walking my dogs, amazing what is in your brain after half a century of heavy drinking.
https://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/rni1.htm

There are some really good small DSP radios around, the spec on yours looks great and you've also got SSB and UHF in addition to the regular stuff!
You've probably already seen but if you're interested in HF pirates there are a few sites with active communities of listeners such as
https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php
20 or 30 years ago, I had a Yaesu FRG100 receiver with a long wire around my roof and could pull in some of the Euro pirates on the 75m and 49m bands. Unfortunately in my location these days it's a non-starter with all the electrical mush across the spectrum, due to SMPS, lighting, broadband etc. Luckily we also have plenty of people running web SDRs all over the world - I use this one if I fancy listening to euro pirates on shortwave.
http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

The Reketess was a present from my son for Christmas, so the price was right. So many options I am still finding my way around it.

Listened to some amateurs on the 40 and 20 metre band SSB but I live in a housing estate and the amount of noise (QRM?) is incredible. I have an old caravan in the middle of nowhere, I will string a long wire up next time I am up there.

Thanks for all the replies, it's a very niche topic on an already niche interest.

I have a vague memory of contracting a very low power, battery operated FM transmitter from a kit, using my only audio source ( my sister's record player), coverage was about half a mile from my mam's house.

[FMEnjoyer]

Hi Geordie, enjoy the forum why ay man I can say that cause my mum came from up Cleveland way in me blood, this has come quite the place for radio nostalgia, loved listening also on Sat and SUn morning between 6200-6400 often still active.. i threw a 8-9 m bit of wire up a tree in garden and ran it into my window worked well, that was good times. Sony ICF-7600GR which still works today, quality radio, good for AM/MW though easily beaten by a TEcsun PL310 on FM these days now the band is so noisy often with bad PSU's from neighbours.

I like how so many people were independently getting on with their radio listening hobby, there is a lot of stuff to it, cb,SWL, FM pirates, listening to odd stuff that appeared on Fm that should not be there, your neighbours wireless phone up at 108 or somewhere, cab break through though rare, planes with the right radio, never had a good one and even police in the 80s between 98 and 102.

I also loved listening MW at night, Radio Sweden 1179, 1062 Danish, 1512 Dutch, shared with Belgium I think and a Belgian station down the bottom of the dial 530 or so. That had a special feel to it.

Lots of interference here, though could be even worse but I do have a ham radio and a 20m long dipole for low down to listen when I fancy.

Being a Saturday I can touch the memory and feel a little inspiration to fling a wire up a tree, almost, but not quite, on here typing instead. Back then it all seemed quite exciting, SW pirate morning, fm pirates pm. Cannot recall station names, I think Lazer hot hits was one and always strong and usually 2-3 others on for an hour or 2.

[Geordie]

Hi FMEnjoyer, yes your interests sound similar to mine, I recall the police on a normal FM radio.

I was a member of the Medium wave DX club, depending on where the sun was on its cycle you could recieve stations from North America, CJON Newfoulndland and WINS New York were amongst many I could hear, had to get up at 4am. It was easier then as few European stations stayed on all night.

[FMEnjoyer]

Well many Euro are switched off for good now since many years, not sure about AM in USA though, if they are closing down or not.. being the peak of solar cycle means they may well be heard again. 4AM

[radionortheast]

Think there are some dutch stations on shortwave and pirates, the trouble is their quite low power can’t pick them up with a telescopic antenna, i’m guessing to pick them up over europe you have to use a long wire, with mw you have the bar antenna. Sw is also kind of big most people don’t know were to look, from what I saw in a video they use around 6mhz, I saw a video this gets some kind a signal over Europe. You do hear lots of international broadcasters, very strong signals else were, also hear jamming noises too, they talk in perfect english.