Bulgaria DX

The first Bulgarian website dedicated to DX-ing!

FM DX-ing in Bulgaria

ALBANIA

Constant Reception

Albania

FM radios from Albania are generally very difficult to receive outside of this country, due to the high mountains surrounding it and the relatively low power of its transmitters.  Although the distance from most of the high mountains of western Bulgaria to the transmitters of eastern Albania is less than 250 kilometers, up to this moment (July 2009) only one radio station from Albania has been received in Bulgaria.

On November 8th, 2008 not far from Selimica hut on Vitosha mountain (Around 15 kilometers to the southwest of the capital Sofia) was received the first Albanian FM-signal in Bulgaria— Radio Marija on 90,0 MHz from Kukës  northeastern Albania. The signal was constant, but quality depended on tropo. Unfortunately, the reception of this radio did not last long—around 8 months— because in July 2009 the Bulgarian National Radio launched a transmitter in the town of Trn broadcasting its second programme (Hristo Botev) on 90,0 MHz. This signal « covered » the Albanian one and thus made impossible the reception of this first and last radio from Albania in Bulgaria.

 

Bulgarian regions where FM-reception from Albania is possible.

The region of Kukës and its lake in the north of Albania seen from a plane. The high mountains that weaken the low-power signals coming from this country are clearly visible.