G4NSJ – Long Wave Broadcast Radio

G4NSJ HOME PAGE

I’m working on this page 17/4/23

Long wave frequencies are fascinating. Unfortunately, interference from today’s electronic devices have wreaked havoc with long wave reception. However, I now have something which has brought long wave back to life – the Mini-Whip Active Antenna.  The results are unbelievable! With little or no noise wiping out the band, it’s well worth tuning tuning around.

Listed below are a few long wave stations I’ve heard or I’m hoping to hear using the Mini-Whip Active Antenna.

Station

Location

Frequency kHz

Power kW

Notes

Antena Satelor
Romania
153
200
Timing service
France
162
1000
Medi 1
Morocco
171
1600
Rikistuvarpid 1/2
Iceland
189
300
BBC Radio 4
U.K.
198
500
Closed down
Algerienne Chaine 3
Algeria
198
2000
Polskie Radio
Poland
225
1000
Radio Luxembourg
Luxembourg
234
1500
Danmarks Radio
Denmark
243
50
Limited transmissions
Algerienne Chaine 3
Algeria
252
750
RTE Radio 1
Ireland
252
150
Closed down 14/4/23

RTE Radio 1 close down 14/4/23:

Yet another AM station has closed down but, this time, it’s a long wave station. More here about medium and long wave stations closing.

Long wave propagation:

Long waves propagate along the Earth’s surface, known as ground or surface wave propagation. At these low frequency (LF) and very low frequency (VLF) bands, diffraction allows radio waves to bend over hills and other obstacles, and travel beyond the horizon, following the contour of the Earth. As the frequency gets lower, the attenuation with distance decreases. Low frequency to extremely low frequency ground waves can be used to communicate worldwide. VLF to ELF (extremely low frequency) waves can penetrate significant distances through water and earth, and these frequencies are used for mine communication and military communication with submerged submarines.