Ramadan Oldham and Preston

En route to Blackpool by train, I heard 2 Radio Ramadan RSLs while west of the Pennines.

The first was Mahay Ramzan 87.7 from Oldham, which was heard at manchester Picadilly train station and some way north.

Then, near Preston, I heard Radio Ramadan Preston on 87.9

No RDS noted in either case.

KBFM Leeds returns

Leeds based Asian RSL KBFM heard this evening, on 87.7. The RDS appeared to be the station's phone number.

Another Asian station heard more weakly (near Leeds) on 87.9, thought to be Radio Milad FM from Bradford.

Leeds Asian extravaganza

First, welcome back to Leeds Asian pirate Vibe FM 94.7, who were heard testing this morning.

Also heard today was Asian RSL Big FM 87.7 from Leeds. No RDS noted

Another Asian RSL also noted weakly on 87.9 - possibly Radio Muharram from Bradford



On a less positive note, at the end of January I am being made redundant from my current job, so there will be far fewer reports of activity from the West Yorkshire area. Ah well, at least I won't have to drive 50 miles to work and back each day ...

Another Hajj RSL

Another Asian RSL, Hajj FM from Bradford, was heard this evening near Garforth on 87.9

Weak but listenable signal in Garforth, no RDS noted

Heard south down the A1 and onto the M18, as was Huddersfield's Radio Hajj 87.7

Leeds based RSL Akash FM 99.9 was heard as far south as Doncaster, but was experiencing 'splashover' from Kingston ILR KCFM on 99.8

Also this evening, Leeds pirate Fresh FM 95.6 had returned. Peoples FM 104.5 and Radio Frequency 88.1 also on-air, the latter being heard almost as far as Clowne!

Radio Hajj and Akash FM

Radio Hajj from Huddersfield was heard today on 87.7, from Garforth and onto the M1 (junction 47). An Asian RSL believed to be celebrating the Muslim Hajj.

RDS = RADIOHAJ

Still audible near Barnsley.


Also heard near junction 46, and south as far as junction 39, was Leeds RSL Akash Radio on 99.9

RDS = AKASH FM


On the pirate front, Peoples FM 104.5 and Radio Frequency 88.1 were heard from 4pm, but Fresh FM 95.6 was missing.

Akash-ing in Leeds

Akash FM are on-air again, with another RSL on 87.7 from Leeds.

Signal near Garforth is good enough to read RDS = AKASH FM

Clear frequency (for a change nowadays), means Akash FM can be heard weakly as far as near Rotherham on the M18 motorway.

Akash Radio profile on MySpace

More Ramadan RSL's

The Asian RSL audible near Leeds on 87.7, was tonight ID'd as Ramzan Radio from Leeds. Near junction 42 of the M1, signal was strong enough to read RDS = RAMZAN , although signal in east Leeds is very weak. This implies that Ramzan Radio from Leeds is from south Leeds, and either low powered or in a poor location - especially since, soon after junction 41, Ramadan Radio Sheffield was already competing for the frequency.

Also on-air in Leeds were the pirates Fresh FM 95.6 and Peoples FM 104.5

Also audible down the M1, from Leeds to the Woodall service station (not far from Clowne), was Radio Ramadan Bradford on 87.9 - although covering such a wide area, signal down the M1 was never strong enough for the RDS to be readable.

As for Radio Ramadan Sheffield ... near Barnsley on the M1, and also in Bolsover (near Clowne), the signal was strong enough for the RDS to be readable. Was also clearly audible in Whitwell. Appropriately, one of their jingles is "From the mountains of Mecca to the hills of Sheffield, this is Radio Ramadan" ... well, I don't know about the mountains of Mecca, but I suspect their TX may well be located on one of the hills of Sheffield!

Ramadan RSL

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is upon us, a number of Islamic radio stations have opened to celebrate Ramadan and promote Islam.

Radio Ramadan Sheffield on 87.7 is audible in Clowne, and as far as Doncaster on my way to work.
RDS = RAMADAN

Other Asian stations, presumably Ramadan-based, have been heard nearer Leeds on 87.7 and 87.9, but their locations have not yet been ID'd

Radio Sangam

Driving down the M1 this afternoon, I positively identified the "other station" on 87.9 (apart from Hum FM Leeds) as Radio Sangam from Kirklees.

Radio Sangam appears to be run by Communities Together, and can be heard live online via their website.

Appropriately, "Sangam" in Hindi means "understanding".

Strangely, the Radio Sangam RSL wasn't listed of Ofcom's current RSL's list.


Also this afternoon, an RDS display was noted for Hum FM 87.9 - it seemed to be the station's phone number. Down the M1, Hum FM and Sangam seemed to be competing with the frequency; I can verify Hum FM as being heard as far south as the Wooley Edge service station (by its adverts, which mentioned Leeds).


Vibe FM 94.7 was missing at 4pm, but Fresh FM 95.6 and Peoples FM 104.5 were still on-air.

Just a Miraj

Near Garforth, the Asian RSL Miraj FM from Bradford was heard on 87.9

Signal strong enough to read RSL = MIRAJ FM

Still heard on the A1 near Doncaster, and even heard occasionally on the M18 near Rotherham.

Asian Air Bradford RDS

Today, I was visiting Emley Moor for a RF Safety course.

En-route, I finally heard Bradford RSL Asian Air 87.7 with a strong enough to read their RDS:

ASIANAIR

While at Emley Moor, although I didn't log all the stations receivable - there were too many of them! - I did notice that BBC Radio Derby 95.5 was audible clearly, as was BBC Radio Cleveland on 95.0

Leeds RSL Leeds 11 FM 87.9 was audible clearly, as was Leeds pirate Peoples FM 104.5
No sign of Fresh FM 95.6 or Radio Frequency 88.1, however - raided?

Asian Air 87.7

Bradford RSL Asian Air is on-air on 87.7

Audible weakly in the Garforth area, and on the A1 as far south as Doncaster

No RDS noted to date

Could this be the Asian Air from Bradford, which was on-air as a pirate in the late 1980's / early 1990's ?

Akash FM Leeds do another RSL

Akash FM of Leeds are back on-air with another RSL, on 87.7

RDS = AKASH FM

Format is Asian programmes.

Signal still audible on the A1 as far as Doncaster, and can be heard on some parts of the M18 between junctions 1 and 2.

Radio Milaad Bradford

The Asian RSL on 87.7, audible near Leeds, has been positively identified as Radio Milaad from Bradford.

Also heard tonight near Leeds: Leeds RSL Hum FM 87.9, and Leeds pirates Fresh FM 95.6 and Peoples FM 104.5

Hum along to the music

The Asian station heard near Leeds is Hum FM 87.9 from Leeds.

RDS is what looks like a phone number.

Hum FM website

This morning, they were announcing as KBFM - maybe a relay of the KBFM Leeds web stream?
Then again, their website does mention that Hum FM is "a new project by an old name in the radio field". Hmm...

As for the much weaker Asian station on 87.7 - this hasn't yet been identified, but may well be Radio Milaad from Bradford. Heard nearly as far as Doncaster, then Redroad FM started to take over the frequency.

If Asian Paradise is half as nice

Asian Paradise Radio from Bradford are currently doing an RSL broadcast on 87.9.

Signal heard weakly in most of Garforth (near Leeds), and down the A1 as far as Darrington.

No RDS receivable

Asian Paradise Radio website

Is this the same Asian Paradise Radio that used to broadcast as a pirate, from the late 80's into the late 90's? Quite possible, the station's vibrant music and presentation are certainly reminiscent of the ex-pirate APR :-)

KBFM Leeds RDS

Leeds based Asian RSL KBFM 87.7 was today received with a strong enough signal to read the RDS.

RDS = 249-7899

Station phone number, perhaps?

KBFM back again

Leeds-based Asian RSL KBFM started an RSL today on 87.9.

Weak but listenable signal from Garforth to Darrington (going south on the A1).
No RDS noted.

The Vixen FM RSL on that 87.9 has now finished, so at least KBFM has a clear frequency :-)

Another Asian station was also noted in Garforth on 87.7, very weak, thought to be Hajj FM from Bradford.

Also noted today: Fresh FM 95.6 (Leeds)

Sabrang Radio Bradford

An Asian RSL on 87.9, believed to be Sabrang Radio of Bradford, was heard today and yesterday.

Signal weak but audible in Garforth, audible also some way south on the A1 (peaking on higher ground).

No RDS noted.

Akash FM Leeds

Akash FM are doing an RSL in Leeds, on 87.7 FM.

RDS = AKASH FM

Programmes heard are mostly in an Asian language (Hindi?).

No website can be found, but the station is thought to be connected with the satellite station Akash Radio.

According to Wikipedia, Akash means "Ether" in Sanskrit - so it is an appropriate name for a radio station!


On other matters, Sheffield Live 93.2 have started full programmes. Very obviously a community-based station, programme style (around 5pm at least) reminded me of the black FM pirates in Sheffield back in the late 90s :-)