WRNR-AM 740, Martinsburg, WV is what I would call to be a semi-local. They can be heard all day long, but the signal is not local quality and subject to co-channel interference mostly from WVCH and occasionally from CFZM on daytime skywave skip in the winter. Chief Engineer Rodney Rockwell, N8RAT sent this nice QSL letter for a reception report.

Metro Broadcast, Hong Kong on 1044 kHz was a relatively easy catch on the early morning hours in Seoul. When I heard them in 1991, they were an English language talk station. Now the station broadcasts in Chinese and other languages and the channel is called Metro Plus.

They sent the QSL letter seen below.

BBC Wales was heard on two frequencies when we lived in Southern Germany in the 1980’s. The outlet on 882 kHz using high-powered transmitters was naturally easily heard. 1125 kHz outlet located at Llandrindod Wells was more difficult. This transmitter served the Powys, Mid Wales which relayed the main BBC Wales service and BBC Radio. It also transmitted local programming. The main station in Cardiff responded with the two QSL letters and a coverage map for my reception reports.

The 882 kHz outlet can be easily heard under good conditions along the East Coast of North America, if you are far enough away from the side channel interference from WCBS etc.

In 1984 in Seoul, I managed to pick up two NHK domestic outlets on shortwave. NHK Kumamoto 6130 kHz (JKQ21) sent nice handwritten letter for a report of their transmission. NHK in Tokyo responded with a Radio Japan QSL card for a report of NHK Hiroshima 6175 kHz (JKG21). They put out fair signals into Seoul and were quite readable.

I am not sure but I believe these were links from the key stations to their subordinate stations.

Earlier this week, this verification of WQFG989 operated by the Hudson County Office of Emergency Management arrived in our mailbox. The station was mostly in the clear on 1710 kHz so it might be possible to hear it on the West Coast of North America, or at a high latitude listening post in Europe. Thank you to Coordinator Jim Woods for taking the time to type up and send this letter.

Northsound Radio put in a clear signal on 1035 kHz into Southern Germany on occasion. I decided to send them a report one time when they were especially strong. They responded with the QSL card and letter below.

Northsound Radio first signed on 1035 kHz in 1981. in 1995, the station split into two services, Northsound 1 and Northsound2. Northsound 1 broadcast on FM and Northsound 2 stayed on the MW band. Northsound 2 left the MW band in April 2018 and became a digital only station. Northsound 1 currently transmits on FM and as a digital station.

Swiss Radio International (SRI) was a fixture on the shortwave bands in its heyday. Who can forget their music box interval signal when they signed on? SRI was founded in 1935 and left shortwave in 2004. The Swiss international broadcast service continues on the internet using the moniker of SwissInfo.

Below is gallery of QSL cards collected from them over the years, including one from SwissInfo in 2003 (very bottom one in the gallery here). Beginning in the 1980’s they transmitted from various relay stations throughout the world in addition to their Switzerland sites.

HLKU was the very first South Korean station I heard. I remember sitting in a barber chair in Busan my first day in Korea in December 1975 and hearing the slogan MBC on the radio playing in the background.

Over the years during our visits and stay in Korea, they could be easily heard in Seoul. I also made sure to tune them in when we visited Busan. They replied to my reception reports with the QSL cards seen below.

HLKU ( Busan Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation or Busan MBC or 부산문화방송) first signed on the air on 15 April 1959. HLKU currently operates on 1161 using 20 kW. MBC Busan also operates a television station and two FM stations.

Scroll for two audio clips from 1990 and QSL cards received from HLKU.

Buddhist Broadcasting System
불교 방송국

The Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) has had a station on Jeju-do since 1973. It first came on the air in 1973 as HLDA on 1570 kHz. In 1979, it changed its frequency to 1566 kHz and a few months later changed its callsign to HLAZ.

HLAZ may be the most widely heard medium wave station from South Korea. They could be heard during the daytime all year round in Seoul, a distance of about 300 miles. They are a reliable signal on the West Coast of North America and in Europe in the winter.

I heard HLDA in 1976 when I lived in Daegu and sent a reception report. They responded with the QSL on the top of the gallery below. Subsequently, I sent two reception reports to them when I lived in Utah. According to Jack Lentz in a 1982 letter, my reception in Utah was the furthest east reception of HLAZ as of that time.

Also please take the time to listen to the audio clips to hear what they sound like in Seoul. And scroll down to see all the QSLs I received from them. At the very bottom is a photo of me standing near their transmitter site in Jeju-do

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) English Language outlet for the Maritimes signed on the air in 1948 on 1570 kHz. In 1955, CBI moved to 1140 kHz where it remains as of this writing. There are plans for CBI to vacate 1140 kHz to complete a move to FM. However, this has not happened because of issues regarding adequate coverage.

CBI occasionally dominates the channel here in Maryland, overpowering WRVA in Richmond VA. They replied to my reception report with the QSL card seen below.

I understand that CBK may have the largest groundwave coverage of any station in Canada. That is believable. I heard them with readable signals in Spokane and Utah all day long. And they have been heard even further by other listeners. At night they can be the channel dominant throughout much of North America.

They sent this nice QSL card for my reception report.

WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia first signed on the air on 13 December 1926. From 1933 to 2008, WWVA was the home to the Original Wheeling Radio Jamboree (formerly Jamboree USA), the second-longest running program in radio history. The station’s format was country music until 1997 when the station’s owners switched to talk radio. The Jamboree program continues on the low power FM station WVOV-LP 101.1 in Wheeling.

WWVA beams its signal mainly to the east and can be heard in a large area on the East Coast of North America. I decided to send them a reception report just after we moved to Maryland, and they responded with the QSL card and letter below.