US Radio in Europe

The US Armed Forces Network (AFN) operates radio and television stations in Europe. But the Schinnen and Brunssum community is too small to warrant its own station.  So all there is is a retransmit station.  AFN has both AM and FM transmitters.

Unfortunately, for reasons I can't even begin to understand, AFN Europe transmits on European radio frequency standards instead of the American standards.

AM Radio:

American AM radio frequencies are in steps of 10 kHz (550, 560, 570, etc.) while the European AM radio steps at 9kHz (1143, 1152, 1161, 1170, etc.)  So it is rare that the two standards overlap.  The AFN AM freq in the Schinnen/Brunssum area is 1143.  If you are driving an American car or truck you will not be able to receive this broadcast clearly or at all.  I cannot tune in this station with my car's radio.

FM Radio:

Worldwide FM radio frequency standards are very variable. There are country and regional variations. The end result, as with AM radio, is that the radios in American cars do not tune in exactly to the broadcast frequencies of AFN. The AFN FM broadcast frequency in the Schinnen/Brunssum area is 89.2 but American radios can only tune in to 89.1 or 89.3 so you won't be able tune in exactly.  If you are very close to the transmitter you will be able to listen to it but otherwise not.

You can view the broadcast stations and frequencies at: AFN Stations

I cannot tune in either the AM or FM US Forces AFN radio stations in my car. I can tune in the Canadian Forces Network (CFN) station though. In the Brunssum area CFN FM broadcasts on 99.7 and 96.9 but my radio can only tune in to the 99.7 station.  At least the Canadians are sensible enough to broadcast on both North American and European frequencies. The CFN station is pretty good and other than missing American news I couldn't care less that I can't get the US radio.  CFN has a news show every thirty minutes (on the hour and half-hour) through much of the day.  Several time periods during the day they switch to French for the French speaking Canadians. At those times I usually switch to a Dutch or Belgian station since I can understand Dutch but not French.

The daily CFN schedule can be viewed at: CFN Radio Schedule

There are of course many Dutch, Belgian, and German stations in the area that offer every genre of music.  The Dutch and Belgian stations play a lot of American music.  One big word of caution; the Dutch and Belgians have no issue with using adult language on the air.  One of my favorite radio stations is Q-Radio from Belgium.  This is also the station played in the Schinnen commissary.  They play great music but Q-Radio also played such off-color songs as Lilly Allen's "F#%k You" song and the Cee-Lo Green song also titled "F#%K You" (but changed to "Forget You" in the states).  So if you have kids or the "F-word" offends you, you might want to skip most of the local language stations. (I still cannot believe no one has complained at the commissary yet.)

Satellite Radio:

Right now there is no Satellite Radio coverage in Europe, you can check yourself if your car is equipped with a satellite radio.  It is a big market so sooner or later it will come here.  I did a quick search and couldn't find anything yet.