Arctic DX: 50 Years of MW DX-ing. 2

The summer of 1974 was hot. And it brought change.

No one had systematically attempted MW DX-ing in the extreme north of Norway before; it was truly uncharted territory. However, Finnish DX-ers had ventured to northern Finland for several years with significant success. They discovered that stations from the western part of North America and Alaska were frequently received, unlike in the south where East Coast stations predominated.

Arvid Frøsland, a seasoned MW DX-er, chose to spend a few years up north as a teacher for various reasons. He convinced a young man, Ole Forr, to head north too, as a student. Arvid then asked me if I was interested in expanding my horizons as a DX-er by venturing into MW. Indeed, I was! At that point, I was nearly ready to abandon the hobby, but instead, I gathered my savings and purchased the finest communications receiver my limited budget could afford, the new Trio-Kenwood QR-666. Additionally, I attempted to set up a more appropriate antenna. However, with no knowledge of antenna design, I ended up stringing a 30-meter wire haphazardly across our garden. There was no coaxial cable, no grounding—just the antenna wire running through the window to the antenna input. I recall receiving the QR-666 sometime in August.

My first communications receiver (photo: Allegro Archiwum). Frequency readout accuracy was second to...anything!

And we started waiting for NA (North American) stations.

For those accustomed to my stories about KONG HQ, I must clarify that I wasn't there. My home was in Berlevåg, a quaint fishing village situated 35 kilometers to the northwest. At that time, visiting our house at Kongsfjord wasn't feasible. The reason? I was too young to drive, and there was no car in my family.

During the wait, I had ample opportunity to discover three Shortwave bands new to me: the tropical bands (60, 75, and 90 meters). I encountered numerous intriguing stations broadcasting from Africa, Asia, and Australia. Meanwhile, in southern Norway, enthusiasts were actively logging Latin American stations, yet only a few were detectable at my northern location..

We waited impatiently. September passed without any signals, and October was quiet until the 15th when I finally received a clear ID from KJNP in North Pole, Alaska on 1170 kHz - my first catch! After that, the stations began rolling in from Alaska, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Minnesota, Iowa and more. I didn't pick up a single Eastern Standard Time station that autumn. Many of these stations had never been heard in Norway before. It was tough competition with Arvid and Ole, who were located 175 km to my south-west. Notably, some dominant stations were from Greenland - AFRTS ran two stations out of Thule Air Force Base (1210 and 1425 kHz), and there was one elusive station on 1420 kHz from Søndre Strømfjord, which I managed to hear once. By season's end, I had 70 QSLs, a respectable tally for a beginner turned seasoned listener.

Throughout the autumn and winter, I also delved into Japan's MW stations. The QSL cards they offer were, and continue to be, unparalleled. It was, and remains, a delight to tune in, even for someone who does not comprehend the language.

After Christmas that year, or more precisely in early January 1975, I had my first opportunity to meet fellow DX-ers. Arvid hosted a brief DX-pedition at his home in Lakselv, where we, the younger enthusiasts, met the old ones—who were in their twenties, weren't they? A few months prior, an airport had been inaugurated in Berlevåg, and I flew to Lakselv on a Twin Otter operated by the regional airline Widerøe. The DX-pedition, dubbed LAX, was immensely enjoyable and definitely provided an additional surge of motivation.

In the autumn of 1975, I moved from Berlevåg to Vadsø to attend secondary school. I brought along my QR-666 radio, but it struggled with the strong signals from the nearby 20-kW NRK transmitter, which was broadcasting at 701 kHz. Occasionally, I managed to engage in DXing from home. More significantly, I was organizing a sequel to the DX-pedition in Lakselv, this time in Kongsfjord. Initially, we were five enthusiasts, traveling from as far as Oslo, ready to spend several days around New Year's Eve. However, we ended up being four, as the last person to join us encountered road closures but enjoyed the hospitality of my parents' warm home.

Arctic weather can be quite the adversary; indeed, it was ferocious. Our residence, a shelter to a family of seven since the early 1920s, lacked insulation and had leaky single-pane windows. The relentless winds, blowing at 20-25 m/s, coupled with temperatures plunging to -10 to -15 Celsius for days on end, resulted in a markedly low comfort level. Indoors, we often faced single-digit Celsius temperatures. The accompanying photo of Ole (right) and myself (and no, that's not Robert Plant) is not an overstatement. You can only imagine our trips to the outdoor toilet! Aptly, our DX-pedition was named WINDX. We had a power outage which was impossible to repair in the extreme weather conditions, so we retreated by bus to the welcoming warmth of my parents' home..

Me and Ole in sleeping bags. They provided a bit of warmth even in the daytime. (photo: Arvid Frøsland)

Precisely one year later, I repeated the same stunt with another DX-er, and experienced exactly the same. After our 1976/1977 adventure, it would be another 20 years before Kongsfjord would re-emerge as a site for a DX-pedition..

In 1977, I switched from the QR-666 to the Yaesu FRG-7, which offered a superior frequency readout and a preselector that was less susceptible to overload from the MW transmitter in Vadsø. However, the antenna options were limited, so the most successful DX receptions occurred during the occasional weekends, and Christmas holidays, at my home in Berlevåg..

At that time, I experienced my first valve set when I purchased a Redifon R50M from a radio enthusiast in Vadsø. It functioned properly, but it was quite a behemoth!

After finishing secondary school, I spent the autumn and winter of 1978-79 in Lillehammer, just north of Oslo, where I once again had the opportunity to join other DX-ers for a unique weekend DX-pedition. My Lillehammer den offered no amenities for DX-ing. Instead, I found myself falling deeply in love with red wine toddy and the tunes of Steely Dan. To this day, I remain a devoted fan—though not of the red wine toddy.

I submitted my final reception report of the 1970s on December 31st and received the most beautiful letterhead for my QSL collection as an award.