On shortwave the tropical bands are known as the bands to listen to local, regional and also some international radio stations. What does this have to do with medium wave, you will ask. Well, medium wave has the same function, but on a European scale. This can seem less interesting, but it isn't. As Europeans, we generally feel more related to the European cultures, of which we don't know always that much about. Also the reception possibilities are much more favorable, so you do not need any specialised equipment.

With this article I would like to point out to you what can be heard on medium wave. Many radio listener clubs tend to neglect this band. Hence this overview. I have not followed the classical overview per country, but per programme type. You will see that everyone will find his liking. With each programme type, it is impossible to name all stations -there are just too many of them-, so I limited myself to the most important, interesting, and easiest to receive stations. All mentioned stations are easy to receive in Western Europe (unless otherwise stated).

The majority of broadcasters on medium wave are local stations. The transmitter is usually situated in the middle of the target area, which generally covers part of the country. The programmes consist of music and local information/advertising. Transmitter power ranges from 1 Watt to 100 kiloWatt, depending on the size of the target area and the interference that can be expected from other stations.

Mainly in Spain and the UK network stations occupy the band. These stations all broadcast the same programmes, except for some local interruptions. Sometimes the same frequency is being used by different transmitters (eg. Absolute Radio on 1215 kHz).

Regional stations occur mainly in Spain. They cover a larger area of the country than local stations. Apart from Spain, this is a typically American type of station.

Due to the relative small size of the European countries, medium wave is ideal for international stations. Contrary to other continents, some high power transmitters suffice to guarantee a large coverage.

Finally, medium wave is also a favourite band for clandestine and pirate stations. The clandestine stations can be found mainly in the Middle East, the pirate stations are located especially in Holland, UK, Greece, and Serbia.

Several other stations can be found on medium wave (navigation beacons, utility stations), but we only cover the broadcast stations here.

Many listen to medium wave for information on current affairs. You can listen the whole day long to some broadcasters to keep up-to-date with the news. There is of course the renowned BBC World Service which can be heard in English on 648 kHz 24 hours per day.

Then there's something like Talkradio, a programme concept wherein current and less current affairs are discussed, but with direct participation from the listeners (usu. over the phone). These kind of programmes are known to be rather dull and these stations do not really enjoy a great success. Try Talkradio UK (1053-1089 kHz).

What other countries provide us with information? In Italy the RAI is interesting esp. at night. The programme Notturno Italiano gives news in German, French and English, alternated with long periods in Italian. The best frequencies are 846 and 900 kHz. In Spain almost all stations provide you with loads of news, although most stations do look like talkradio. It is impossible to give you the best frequencies. Just browse the band and you will encounter many of them. Germany also has some interesting stations: the Deutschlandfunk (1269 kHz) and Deutschlandradio Berlin (855-990 kHz) are national broadcasters. The regional broadcasters are also well represented. Some examples: MDR Info (esp. 531 kHz), Westdeutscher RF (720-774 kHz) and the Hessischer RF (594 kHz).

Finally I would like to give you a concise overview of information broadcasters of other European countries: Flanders (927 kHz), Wallonia (621 kHz), Holland (747 kHz), Austria (1476 kHz), Bosnia-Hercegovina (612 kHz), Croatia (1125-1134 kHz), Denmark (1062 kHz), Ireland (567 kHz), Slovenia (918 kHz) and Serbia (684 kHz).

News and information can be broadcasted locally but in other languages. Dutch Radio 747AM broadcasts in Turkish and Arabic for the immigrants in Holland. Most German broadcasters relay ARD International every evening, which broadcasts a.o. in Spanish, Italian and Greek. The North Americans in Western Europe can listen to the American Forces Network (873 kHz).

When talking about news and current affairs, you cannot forget the international broadcasters. Although you probably know most of them, I'm giving here an overview of those that can best be heard in Western Europe: We already mentioned the BBC. Radio Sweden (1179 kHz) has been there for years. This is also valid for the Voice of Russia that can be heard evenings in English, French and German on 1215-1323 kHz. Radio Tirana can be heard in several languages on 1458 kHz. Larger stations like the BBC and Deutsche Welle also use relay transmitters in the Mediterranean with programmes for the Middle East. Those transmitters are rarely heard over here.

If you are very much interested in sports, then medium wave is for you: BBC Radio 5 Live (693-909 kHz) informs you all day long on sport events. The BBC World Service also has some special sport programmes. If you're interested in the Spanish Primera Division, then you need to listen esp. in weekends to the Spanish broadcasters. Almost every station covers the games live. The general Spanish public believes stations exaggerate, but they really only broadcast what the listeners want to hear.

All on the American Super Bowl, the NBA or the Baseball games, can be heard on AFN (873 kHz).

Most other stations also give sport information, but only when it is relevant.

Maybe you have been lucky to hear a RSL-station from the UK. In the UK several football clubs own a very small MW transmitter (1 Watt) that they can use when their club plays. These stations can be found mainly on 1584 and 1602 kHz but because of their low power they are difficult to receive. Best chance is around midnight.

You would be surprised to see how many types of music can be found on medium wave. If you like oldies, you can tune in to several oldies stations from the UK (eg. 603 kHz).
Again it is impossible to give you a full overview of the music on medium wave. Here's a selection:
For pop and rock music, tune into Absolute Radio (1215 kHz). For Scottish folk music try BBC Radio Scotland (810 kHz) esp. evenings between 21.00 and 23.00utc. For Irish folk music try RTÉ Radio 1 (252 kHz). I was also looking for Welsh music, but BBC Radio Wales does not really broadcast this.
Jazz is also a frequenlty heard on medium wave. Classical music can be found everywhere, mainly on the Eastern European stations. You can also find beautiful local music, eg. on Radio Slovenia (918 kHz).
If you like Asian music, tune into Asian Sound Radio (963 kHz) and Sunrise Radio (1458 kHz).
As you can see, for music medium wave is the place to be.

Just as on shortwave, the inevitable religeous stations are well represented on medium wave. First of all there's Vatican Radio (1530 kHz) that can be heard in several languages. Via the Voice of Russia transmitters, you can regularly hear the German Universelles Leben (a.o. 05.45-06.00utc on 1386 kHz). Another German station is Evangeliums Rundfunk. This religeous station can be heard all day long on 1539 kHz. These are the main stations, but there are others.

We can also pick up stations from outside Europe. Algeria is a regular client. Tune to 891 and 981 kHz. A little bit further away lies Saoudi Arabia. When Radio Luxemburg has left 1440 kHz, you can listen to the Arab station. Pay attention, though, because Radio France International also uses this frequency from Moscow. You may be even more lucky on 1521 kHz, though, where Saudi Arabia has a powerful transmitter.
When propagation conditions are favourable, All India Radio Nagpur can be heard on 1566. Try just before sunset. You can also try to listen to stations from the American continent at night, but then we are talking about the pure DXing, and not programme listening. As far as medium wave dxing is concerned, I personally believe it is a lot harder to receive to a 1 kW station from ex-Yugoslavia than a 50 kiloWatt station from the USA. To me European medium wave DXing is a lot more exciting. And you do not need to stay up all night!

This overview clearly shows that medium wave is some kind of treasure. It is important to know that this treasure can hold quite a few surprises. When you're tuning to a frequency, please never assume it will be a certain station without having heard an identification. The best example is the British local stations. Several stations occupy one single frequency. It can happen that you are suddenly hearing an other station than you are used to on that frequency. Exactly that is so typical for medium wave. And exactly that makes medium wave so much more exciting than shortwave.

Logically you can listen to medium wave with each receiver equipped to receive that band. If you're only interested in the strong signals, any receiver will do. Especially the older receivers -from the time before FM- will perform excellent. If you also want to listen to weaker stations, then a receiver with digital readout -if possible with SSB- is preferred.
Generally the built-in ferrite antenna of most receivers suffices. However, it can be very interesting to buy of make a loop antenna. This is very handy to separate two stations broadcasting on the same frequency (but coming from a different direction). A nice example is Radio Vilnius and Südwestfunk on 666 kHz. A loop antenna allows you to choose nicely what stations you want to listen to. This can also be done with the built-in ferrite antenna, but you risk having to put the receiver in such way that the speaker is directed away from you. A longwire is not directional (unless it involves a long beverage antenna) and you'll mostly hear both stations at the same time.
But don't let this frighten you.. A normal receiver is more than enough to start with.

Shortwave books such as the WRTH have a bad reputation as far as medium wave information is concerned. There are far better lists available, or you can join a medium wave DX club.

My own Euro-African Medium Wave Guide is the best tool to listen to European stations. The list contains all stations from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and has two parts. The first part gives you all stations per frequency, with information on: stations name, exact location, power, broadcasting times, languages (with hours), relays, programme types, and other information. You can see in a wink of an eye what stations can be heard on a specific frequency. The second part lists the stations per country. The following information is given: country, station, frequencies, address + QSL-information. The publication also gives the geographical location of all transmitter sites and also lists the stations that are already broadcasting in DRM, the new broadcasting format.

You can consult and download the list free of charge on this web site. It can also be ordered as a printed version. Please contact me via e-mail for more information.

In the UK the Medium Wave Circle specialises in medium wave listening. Each member gets the MWC bulletin 10 times per year. It contains an abundance of information, loggings and special articles. Furthermore, each member has access to older articles and special publications at an extremely low price. For more information please visite their web site.

This DX club is very much wortwhile joining if you are interested in medium wave. The members are also always prepared to give you a hand or all sorts of explanation.

Should you have a question on medium wave, please feel free to mail me. But first of all listen to this wonderful broadcasting band. You will soon get fascinated by it.

Happy listening!

- Herman -