For additional information and path maps, consult https://nationaleclipse.com/maps/main/2026-total-solar-eclipse-maps.html
A reminder that there will be a rare Solar Eclipse visible over part of Western Europe, including the UK, tomorrow late afternoon/evening, which could have some interesting effects on propagation on MW/LW and the lower SW bands.
The total eclipse starts in the Arctic around 1700 UTC, passing through part of Greenland and Iceland, but the main area of totality will be in Spain where it ends just after 1830 UTC over the Balearic Islands. Map and more details in August Communication - pages 5 and 6 and also in the attached page in case your printed copy has not arrived yet.
Here in the UK the partial eclipse will peak around 1810 UTC (1910 BST) with between 90 and 95% totality. But DX could be possible in the half hour or so before and after this peak.
Some possible MW stations to try for:
Spain: 540 (Barcelona), 666 (Barcelona), 783 (Barcelona), 873 (Zaragoza & Santiago de la Compostela), 990 (Bilbao), 999 (Madrid), 1026 (Oviedo), 1044 Valladolid), 1081 (La Coruña), 1179 (Valencia), 1287 (Burgos).
Portugal (630 Miranda do Douro & 666 Bragança)
Algeria (LW 252, 531, 576, 891, 981, 1422)
Morocco LW 171.
531 kHz could be an interesting channel with initially the Faroes and then Algeria potentially being enhanced.
Listeners in the south of England could also try for BBC Radio Scotland on 810 kHz
It may help to check the bands the day before (i.e today!) or the day after to enable you to make a comparison during the eclipse. And if you have an SDR, you could to record sections of the band during the eclipse
I noticed when DXing during previous solar eclipses in 1999 and 2015 (in the far north of Scotland) the effects on propagation were quite short-lived, but those eclipses occurred during the daytime whereas this one is happening towards the onset of sunset when DX signals start to fade in under normal conditions.
Good luck, and do let us know what you hear!
(Dave Kenny/BDXC)
