Since 2006, when I restarted BCL activities, I obtained 147 confirmations of reception. It’s a good figure, considering – on one hand – the slow fading of stations on shortwaves, and – on the other – the totally different meaning that nowadays a reception report has. It’s no longer a technical thing. International broadcasters today can count on automated monitoring networks to check how their signal is getting into the intended coverage area, so they don’t need support from listeners about reception quality. In the case of local stations, probably feedback would be appreciated, but we’re talking Countries in difficult economic situation, and this not always allows answers (let alone the fact that QSLing duties are usually undertaken by personnel on a volontary basis). So, when it happens to score a confirmation, it’s often a p.r. thing (and, in fact, stations have started to behave absurdly, by sending blank QSL cards in answer to reports!).
Anyways, reasoning on my confirmation list I felt that some gaps had to be filled. Or, at least, I had to try. What pushed me has been the fact that, if you check some of the blogs linked on the right side of the screen (I refer mainly to Maresme DX, Pàgina de QSLs, and Short-wave DXing), you’ll notice some interesting feedbacks in the last months. So, it can be said confirmations are decreasing in global terms, but the unexpected result can be obtained, more than previously. This led to the launch of operation “QSL Fury”, which started former week-end, by recording broadcasts that I wanted to be the object of reports, and ended last sunday, with the sending of QSL requests. As guidelines, I tried to bring the confirmation game to another level, with direct reports to relay stations for International broadcasters (I’ve seen really genuine answers from some of them), or attempts to QSL traditionally “hard answering” entities. Plus, I included in the list “local” stations (meaning Europe transmitting sites), that I always considered “easy prowls”, that could be received (and QSLd) every day. Nothing guarantees they’ll be still there in six months, so it was time to fire them a report!
In detail, my outgoing list incluedd:

- WRMI / Radio Miami International (being completely out of their coverage area – Caribbeans and Latin America – they’re a rare catch here. You would expect a report from Europe to be answered, but nothing heard for a previous one, so time to try again!);

- Radio Ethiopia (on 9705 kHz);

- Africa n° 1 (economical situation of the station, which was bought by a Lybian fund, seems bad, however they’re still on the air from Gabon – as the clip below witnesses – so why not trying!);

- Radio Thailand (believe it, or not, it’s probably the only Asian external service that I still miss);

- Radio Netherlands Worldwide (for the Madagascar relay station in Talata-Volondry);

- Algerian Radio (on 7495 kHz);

- Radiodiffusion Télévision Tunisienne (on 7345 kHz);

- Radio Christian Voice (in Lusaka, Zambia, seeming more hard to get confirmed than others CVC branches in Chile and Australia);

- Adventist World Radio (for Moosbrunn and Meyerton relays);

- Bible Voice (for a broadcast from Werachtal and a Radio Dardasha transmission);

- Family Radio (Kazakhstan and Skelton relays: an opportunity to see if the station badly suffered – economically and in terms of personnel – from the Harold Camping turmoil);

- NHK Radio Japan, both on 6 and 9 MHz (I have it QSLd, but not for a direct transmission from Japan);

- Radio 700 (an interesting experience, from Germany, of a “local” use of shortwaves);

- Zimbabwe Community Radio (clandestine stations are not easy to QSL, but reception on 4895 kHz – coming from Meyerton and aimed to Zimbabwe, where the Mugabe government keeps a tight rein on airwaves – was fine: check for yourself the clip);

- Vatican Radio (on 3,9 and 4 MHz – I have a previous confirmation from them, but it’s on 7 MHz, and I think every available QSL for low frequencies has to be obtained: in not many years there are good chances white noise will rule that spectrum portion);

- Voice of Croatia (heard them a lot of times on MW, but superficially neglected them on 3985 kHz).

“QSL Fury” included, further than usual reports via mail and post, alternative strategies, like linking on stations’ Facebook public profiles YouTube clips witnessing their reception at my QTH. It has to be considered that an engineer working in one of these stations has read, in years, thousands of reception reports (and we never think about how hard such a task can reveal), so trying to appear interesting and original could grant a “bullseye”. Now, time to sit and patiently check if something will grow from the seeds of last week-end.

73 de Chris