QSL Cards from Offshore Pirate Stations during the 60's

QSL Cards from Offshore Pirate Stations during the 60's.
Plus some other interesting signals from Space.

OFFSHORE QSL

PIRATE STATIONS

RADIO VERONICA
RADIO CAROLINE
RADIO LONDON
RADIO LONDON XMAS
RADIO 390
RADIO CAROLINE SOUTH
RADIO CAROLINE NORTH
RADIO CAROLINE N. / S.
RADIO ESSEX
RADIO SCOTLAND
RADIO CITY
RADIO ENGLAND
BRITAIN RADIO
RADIO NORTH SEA INT.
RADIO NORDZEE
R. NORDZEE INT.
RADIO NORDZEE

NOSTALGIA

RADIO NORD
RADIO NORD IS 50
RADIO SYD
RADIO 270

TELEVISION DX

SOVIET TEST
NRK NORWAY
RAI ITALY

SOUNDS FROM SPACE

VOSTOK 3
THE EAST IS RED

BACK TO HOBBY

My Offshore Radio QSL Card Collection

The list below is a collection of Pirate Radio QSL cards that I have received during the years from offshore stations. I was an offshore fanatic at the time and spent lots of time searching the MW band for new stations. I even tried to get a job as technician with Radio Caroline, but my dream was never realised. Maybe as well, as I rarely cope with rough seas! However, as a jingle creator I managed to get my somewhat primitive jingles played on a couple of offshore stations! The data listed with each QSL card is the actual date, time and SINPO for the reception report. Two of the cards I had to create myself and send on to the stations and was lucky enough to get them verified and sent back to me. One of these exclusive cards is from Radio Nordzee and the other is an early Radio Caroline card.

Free Radio Association Badge All clips are my own off the air recordings at home just north of Stockholm, Sweden. Only the 1974 RNI clip, was taped in Sachseln, central Switzerland where I lived from 1972 until 1978. The transmissions were all, except for the 1974 RNI clip, received on a TRIO 9R-59 and recorded on a Tandberg Model B43. The RNI clip was probably received on a Yaesu FR 101. The aerial was a originally a dipole for 40 m, but for most of the Radio London recordings I used a home made 1 meter square selective frame antenna to avoid interference. This antenna was so directive that I could phase out the local 150 kW Stockholm on 773 kHz, located some 20 km from my QTH, and receive Radio 390 on the same frequency! In Switzerland I used a 15 meter long wire in the attic of our apartment building.


RADIO VERONICA from 10th Aug. 1964 on 1562 kHz, 192 m. 2308-2359 GMT SINPO 4 4 4 3 3

RADIO CAROLINE from 11th August 1964 on 1520 kHz, 197.5 m. 0001-0116 GMT SINPO 4 4 4 3 4	Radio Caroline from 11th Aug. 1964 on 1520 kHz, 197.5 m. Two audio clips from the very beginning of July 1964, when she was steaming north from Harwich to Ramsey, off Isle of Man to become Caroline North.	ON THE MOVE CAPTAIN'S MESSAGE Station ID

RADIO LONDON (Big L) from 19th October 1965 on 1133 kHz, 266 m 1910-2002 GMT SINPO 5 3 4 4 4

RADIO LONDON XMAS CARD Radio London Radio London Christmas Card signed by Mark Roman	Personally signed Radio London Christmas Card from Mark Roman

RADIO 390 Radio 390 from 2nd November 1965 on 773 kHz, 388 m 2306-0002 GMT SINPO 4 4 4 3 4		LISTEN

RADIO SCOTLAND from 8th January 1966 on 1241 kHz, m 0000-0200 GMT SINPO 4 4 4 3 3	Radio Scotland from 8th January 1966 on (1241 kHz, my record) 1236.5 kHz, 242 m. According to the broadcast were they at that time anchored 4 miles off Dunbar, Scotland. The transmitter was an Ampliphase 10-20 kW with a half-wave inverted V dipole arial.	STATION ID NORTHERN LIGHTS

RADIO CAROLINE SOUTH FROM 16th November 1965 1300-1330 GMT on 1495 kHz, 199 m. 2306-0002 GMT SINPO 4 4 3 4 4		STATION ID

RADIO CAROLINE NORTH FROM 11th April 1966 1300-1330 GMT on 1520 kHz, 199 m. 0000-0000 GMT SINPO - - - - -		MURPH THE SURF

RADIO CAROLINE NORTH FROM 11th April 1966 1300-1330 GMT on 1169 kHz, 256 m and 1187 kHz, 253 m. 0000-0000 GMT SINPO - - - - -

RADIO CITY from 26th July 1966 on 1034 kHz, 290m 2223-2303 GMT SINPO 4 3 4 3 4		STATION ID ED MORENO JULY 1966

RADIO ENGLAND BRITAIN RADIO from 5th September 1966 on 1320/845 kHz, 227/355 m 2237-2321 UTC Radio England and Britain Radio on one ship. SINPO 5 5 4 4 4		MY OWN JINGLE JINGLE (1) J. WALKER JINGLE WALKER LEAVING BRITAIN RADIO

RADIO ESSEX from 1967 on 1349 kHz, 222 m on 1349 kHz, 222 m. 0000-0109 GMT SINPO 3 3 4 2 3		Vince Allen aircheck from October 1965

RADIO NORTH SEA INTERNATIONAL from 24th Sep. 1970 on 9940 kHz, 31 meter band. 0910-1003 GMT SINPO 4 4 4 3 4	Very special, one off QSL! It is from the close-down of the 31 m service on that day 1003 GMT.	CLOSEDOWN 9940 kHz

RADIO NORDZEE INTERNATIONAL from14th February 1971 on 6204 kHz in the 49 meter band. 1300-1500 GMT SINPO 4 3 4 3 3	This was the official start of the 49 m band service.

RADIO NORDZEE INTERNATIONAL Special QSL Card	Radio Nordzee from 24th March 1971 on 6205 kHz, 49 meter band

RADIO NORDZEE INTERNATIONAL NORTH SEA GOES DX from25th August 1974 on 6205 kHz in the 49 meter band. 0800-0957 GMT SINPO 4 4 4 3 4	Special QSL Card from 31st Aug. 1974 on 6205 kHz, 49 meter band. Location given as 52N 10' 2'', 4E 12' 4''. From yet another close-down of RNI.	Station ID

Nostalgia
RADIO NORD from 1961 to 1962 on 602 kHz in the MW band.	A photo from August 1965 of a Radio Nord QSL Card. Super reception from my Stockholm QTH, but for some reason I never managed to get their QSL card! I took this picture in 1965.	(The sound is not yet ready...) Lyssna! Jingle Station ID

RADIO NORD 50 years jubilee on 6060 kHz in the 49 m band.	A QSL card from the 50 years Anniversary on 8th March 2011 of the start of Radio Nord in 1961. Difficult reception on Short Wave 6060 kHz from my Biberstein (Switzerland) QTH I monitored the transmission on 8th March 2011 from the start in the morning until late at night the same day.

RADIO SYD 88.3 / 89.6 MHz on FM.	I heard Radio Syd a couple of times when travelling through Helsingborg in southern Sweden. Once I stayed overnight in a hotel i central Helsingborg and I hooked up a piece of wire to the Philips Philetta and could listen almost without noise. In the car I used a home made FM radio with a pulse-counting detector. This receiver was not the most sensitive construction I've seen, but it could be used to hear Radio Syd travelling south from Helsingborg along the west coast of Sweden.

RADIO 270 on 1117 kHz, 270 m on Medium Wave	Radio 270 could be heard frequently at my location in Stockholm, but its signal was mostly full of interference.

Television DX
TV Snapshots from my old QTH in Stockholm in the 60's
USSR on CH2 in Band I	A weak signal from USSR could often be seen in the summertime from across the Baltic Sea on Channel 2. This photo was taken on th 8th of June 1962.

RAI (Italy) in Summer 1964 on CH2 in Band I	A weak signal from Italy in the summertime by sporadic E on Channel 2.

NRK (Norway) 31st October 1964, 1400 UTC on CH7 in Band II	A steady signal from Norway on CH 7 in Band II on 31st October 1964. This reception is a bit of a mystery, as the signal was steady over a fairly long period that day.

Sounds From Space
VOSTOK 3 (USSR) 13st August 1962, afternoon on 20008 kHz	Received just by chance on (or about) 20008 kHz when Kosmonaut Nikolayev and his space capsule Vostok 3 passed over Scandinavia in the afternoon of the 13th August 1962. (Couldn't see him, though!)	NIKOLAYEV

CHINESE SATELLITE 9th May 1970, afternoon on 20.0 MHz	The first Chinese satellite playing a Chinese chart topper! Heard on short wave near 20.0 MHz for a few weeks in the beginning of May 1970, until it went more and more weird and finally died. This recording is from 9th May 1970 in the afternoon.	SPACE MUSIC BOX

© T. Isberg. All sounds, images and content of this page is the sole property of Terje Isberg and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without a written permission.