Free Radio Forum: Re: Big L frequency

19 minute recording of the Radio London test transmission on 277 metres, 1079 kHz, using the standby RCA BCA10J 10kw transmitter on December 5 1966 I mentioned on the previous thread.

Starts with the last few minutes of Paul Kaye on 266 metres announcing that they would be changing frequency and inviting comments on reception to be sent to Curzon Street. This was to try and improve reception after dark and reduce the heterodyne whistle.

Just after the Temptations record ends on 266 you can hear presumably Caroline in the background. You can also hear the interference from Poland on 1079 underneath the carrier when it comes on. Strong Radio London signal on both channels.

https://www.mixcloud.com/wmbr/radio-london-dec-66-test-on-277-paul-kay/

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There are no empty channels on MW, it just appears that way during daylight hours. After dark any off frequency transmission will be accompanied by the dreaded heterodyne.

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I've been reading this thread with interest as I had never heard before that the legendary Radio London had ever even changed frequency at all. It was always just given as being 266 Metres. I guess that they were all only very small changes and as all radio's back then were rotary manual tuning so people would just twiddle the control slightly to optimise reception regardless. Being 'off channel' only mattered if there was a background station to beat with and produce the dreaded horrible heterodyne note. Family members I have who remember listening to them were all close to the Essex coast so the signal was so strong they would have probably not noticed any het in the background, even at night.
The only other offshore station around Britain I have read about that used an Off channel frequency much later was the short lived Radio Mi Amigo from their own ship after they parted ways with Radio Caroline around 1979 and operated off the Dutch coast before running aground ?
With Medium wave now being around 80% empty (where I am In in N Essex)you could operate off channel on loads of frequencies if you wanted to but there is little point and few receivers would be able to tune into you exactly with only fixed channel jumps apart from communications receivers. I've still got one old school manual rotary tuning radio that is in full working order - a Grundig Yacht Boy 1100 made around 1977. Happy days.