We want them to be as descriptive as possible. Alan Roes Music Programmes on Shortwave, List of QRP General Coverage Amateur Radio Transceivers, List of VHF/UHF Multimode Amateur Radio Transceivers, How To Tune In Pirate Radio Broadcasts on Shortwave, https://swling.com/blog/category/pirate-radio/, LRA 36 (Arcangel San Gabriel, Antarctica) Test Broadcasts on March 1st and 4th, 2023, Radio Waves: AM Buzzkill, AM FEMA Push, AM Devitalization, and RFI-Blocking Chips, Bob Zanottis presentation to the Fairlawn Amateur Radio Club (Part 2), Radio Waves: The DLARC, NASA Citizen Science, PopShopRadio DRM to Europe, Hackers Disrupt Russian Radio, and Afghan Radio Closures, LRA 36 (Arcangel San Gabriel, Antarctica) Test Broadcast Today at 20:00 UTC. Do a little pirate radio hunting yourself. But the interesting thing about this was that it was operated by a group of people who considered themselves Moors, which are indigenous people of the United States who were here before the United States was colonized. ACTIVITY. Where the "modern" history of pirate radio seems to begin, though, is in the 1960s when pirate radio operators would get on the air to spread their music to a wider audience. So I never left, I've been here for over 25 years. It has become more common for pirates to transmit images using SSTV.A few have experimented with FM or digital modes like RTTY, PSK31 . We hope you understand, and are grateful for your support. Now I know that finding pirates is reasonably achievable; at least, it is possible to know roughly where, and generally when, to find them. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. And an overall limit of $2 million. Pirate radio stations are a crucial part of British music culture. Unlike major broadcasters, many pirates dont stick to AM as a preferred mode. We have a call center, it's 888-CALL-FCC where we have staff there during business hours to take your complaint. Radio GDay came on from Australia occasionally, but no one else. Powerful, uncertified transmitters manufactured in foreign countries easily slip through customs at U.S. ports. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: They could stream it just like this podcast we're doing. Interestingly, the antenna was so high up on the tower we had to bring a bucket truck in from a fire station and raise it --. And those parameters, you know, restrict your operation and the coverage of your station because we have a whole engineering study that needs to be done so you don't cause interference to other stations. I mean stream --. So those are some of the challenges that you all have to tackle in taking on this important enforcement function. And you have tools to escalate the situation. Jason Scott Archivist. Here's a 12-minute recording of Radio Caroline DJ Tony Blackburn's show in 1965, which includes both a breakfast cereal commercial and the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun" and "For Your Love" by the Yardbirds: Because the station had to fill so much airtime DJs had to come up with 2,500 tracks to play each week Radio Caroline helped foster what Moore calls "an explosion of new artists and bands who may have started recording conventional pop music, but who then expanded their musical abilities. And what the pirate radio operators do is they don't obtain a license, they don't go through this process, and they try to find vacant spectrum between these stations. The frequency spectrum is a natural resource and so all of our decisions that we make when we allocate spectrum is for the public interest. . MR. DOMBROWSKI: It is. MR. DOMBROWSKI: And let them know. We have had cases where we have gone in on in rem seizures and found drug paraphernalia inside the building and so that becomes now a law enforcement issue and they take care of that, they handle that situation. Yes, they come with weapons. As a self-proclaimed content DXer, what interests me in pirate radio is that the listener never knows what to expect, but you can guarantee that the content will be different from that of the major broadcasters. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, just 20. Shortwave DX Blog - A blog with loggings and information relating to shortwave pirate radio in Europe. And that's it, we will catch you next time. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: So what is the current state of pirate radio? They label the equipment as something else. And, of course, just finding the antenna is not the end of the story, because it's not like when you find the antenna the DJ is standing right next to the antenna being like, uh, you got me. "One reason I've found as to why people are still using pirate radio is that these communities have very strong cultural and historic connections to radio," Goren explains. Ive noticed increased pirate radio activity during the winter months, as well. The Moody Blues are one example of this." So what is pirate radio? Now one thing I want to talk about is Part 15. They also spent the regulatory fees that they have to, you know, spend I think yearly, and so they have an investment in their service and these unlicensed stations NP that. Keep in mind that pirates are relatively low-power broadcasters. "He was waiting several months to come back on the air (and therefore was only willing to speak off the record to me). A lot of times you can tell by the audio quality. Now that maybe gets us down to the building, you know, where it might be operating. Before we talk about where to hunt pirates, however, we need to talk about the necessary equipmenti.e., your radio and antenna. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right. Unlicensed radio broadcasters have been around practically since governments started trying to control and regulate the airwaves. I am Evan Swarztrauber. Last updated: December 2022 And he had some good backing, financial backing, by the ACLU who were fighting for him, and he was a microbroadcaster and he tried to encourage others to follow in his footsteps and protect our First Amendment rights, so he was --. The Pirates flagship radio station, SportsRadio 93.7 THE FAN, will air extended local pre-game and post-game coverage before and after every broadcast. And one of the reasons that they are causing harmful interference, in particular to the FAA operations, is because they are not tested, right. Pirate radio guru Andrew Yoder started his own pirate blog last year, and has already began populating it with regular updates, QSLs, and recordings. Collection Info. And that is where we ask for the public's help. So what is the state of pirate radio in the U.S. and how is the FCC taking it on? Radio Caroline. And so, yes, we may -- We have a warrant for the property. Again, they are not law enforcement, so we don't have weapons. That was right when the internet really started exploding so he was able to get his message out. If you click on "radio" you'll come to a page where you can input your address and your phone number and email and a description of like what, you know, what you are experiencing. They just twist the dial. "The government decided that radio was too influential as a means of mass communication to be in private hands," Peter Moore explains in an email. Thanks to e-commerce, it's also easier than ever for a would-be pirate to find the necessary equipment and have it delivered to his or her door, as FCC enforcement official David Dombrowski described in this 2019 podcast. Moreover, summer conditions in the North American 43 meter band are often much noisier, thus pirates know theyll be fighting static crashes to be heard during the summer months. And did I mention the cool QSL cards? This metal-focused platform is available entirely online, so you can access the music from a lot of different locations, even though the station is based in San Francisco. We do that with every pirate station. Answer (1 of 14): Why I am qualified to answer this question. MR. DOMBROWSKI: That's not going to be my cell phone is it? North American Pirate Radio Frequencies By far the most active ranges in North America are 43 meters (6800-7000 kHz), 46 meters (6200-6400 kHz) and 73 meters (4000-4200 kHz), with some activity in the 60 meter band (4700-5300 kHz) as well. We Owe It All to Radio: The Inside Story of CES, Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Pictures, Special Offer on Antivirus Software From HowStuffWorks and TotalAV Security, Radio Caroline: The True Story of the Ship That Rocked. The original 60s pirate station, playing fresh pop / rock music to Britain's young masses from a boat in the North Sea, floating in international waters four and a half miles off the Essex coastline. Now you usually get one of your top, you know, first or second choice. The Radio Informer - The latest info on the world of radio including:world,shortwave . And as a bonus, Radio Caroline still exists though, ironically, it's gone legal. Ive hunted pirates with a range of such radios, among them the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, the Grundig G3, the Grundig G5, the Tecsun PL-600 and PL-660, and even the new Tecsun PL-880. For his new show, Bruce promises "me and my musings and all the great . MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Just because it's easy to buy it doesn't mean it's legal. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right. North American Pirate Radio Frequencies By far the most active ranges in North America are 43 meters (6800-7000 kHz), 46 meters (6200-6400 kHz) and 73 meters (4000-4200 kHz), with some activity in the 60 meter band (4700-5300 kHz) as well. We do follow the bread crumbs to where it leads us and a lot of times we are able to identify the operators and where the studio is and have success in getting the station shut down. They use either the internet or a wireless source to get the signal back to the transmitter. If you just use an internet browser and search FCC complaint you will come to the link for filing a complaint. Let's say you don't get cooperation from a building owner, you don't get cooperation from the eventual studio, maybe it's in their apartment and they're not opening the door, obviously, because they don't want to get caught. Revealing the history of pirate radio from 1925 to today, author Andrew Yoder, pirate radio aficionado and long-time writer on radio, electronics, and audio subjects:. If you live in other parts of the world, pirate hunting can pose serious DX challenges. Well joining me to discuss this topic is David Dombrowski, Regional Director for Region One in the FCC Enforcement Bureau. Now when we talk about enforcement actions, you know, I'd like to kind of paint a picture for our listeners. That doesn't prohibit somebody from filing an anonymous complaint, we still take those. But most of the current American pirates are based on dry land, broadcasting from clandestine antennas on rooftops in places such as Brooklyn. We take it all. He then obtained another ship, a German trawler called the Ross Revenge, which continued to host the station until it ran aground along the British coast in 1991. I was still a teenager. They were also changing frequency. MR. DOMBROWSKI: It's kind of sad to see, but --. It would create chaos if we allowed them. In addition to this 2019 BBC documentary, Goren also has created the Pirate Radio Map, which documents pirate radio stations in Brooklyn and even includes brief samples from their broadcasts. Not just Aussie and NZ pirates, but stations in places like The Phillipinesmaybe Japan, South Korea, or Thailand. The HF Underground: http://www.hfunderground.com. And so it ranges from Maine down to Virginia and all the States east of Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota. No, not the Pirates of the Caribbean or East Africawe're talking about pirate radio. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right. An excellent and active pirate radio forum hosted by Chris Smolinski. April 8, 2015 - 10:43 am. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Well let that be a lesson to the youngsters listening. They also have potential to cause interference to the adjacent channel stations, you know, up above their frequency and below their frequency. MR. DOMBROWSKI: So we have two ways to file a complaint. Now stop your Googling right now because that is illegal, right? If you have information about a pirate radio station, you can notify the FCC by calling 888-CALLFCC or filing a complaint online at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, if it's imported. Now many listeners as you know have the experience of tuning their dial and there appear to be vacant channels you have said that one of the reasons for that is to guard against interference, but someone listening might say well why do we care, right. This means that by clicking on these links, a small percentage of the purchase price for goods you purchase from these sellers will help support our sites running costs. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And we talked a little bit about why this is a problem. Euro pirates typically broadcast in the 48 meter band (6,200 6,450 kHz), but the HF Underground notes that you will also hear Euro pirates on the 75 meter band between 3,900-4,000 kHz, on the 19 meter band (15,000-15,100 kHz and 15,700-15,900 kHz), and even on the 13 meter band (21,000-25,000 kHz). MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, well, you know, they operate in the AM band so it sounds really distorted when you are trying to listen to FM radio on an AM radio. So over the last ten years people get online and purchase a transmitter and get it delivered to their door and so that makes, you know, everybody a hobbiest now and to have an interest to start a pirate radio station because it's so available. Unlike trying to locate China Radio International, Radio Australia, or the BBC World Service, hunting pirates requires a decent-quality radio and antenna. I will put in the show notes a link to the FCC complaint page and the phone number if you would like to get involved. Weve now covered the who, what, where, when, and how of pirate huntingbut what about why? Though Channel Z was broadcasting in AM, as many do, its best to hunt pirates with an SSB-capable portable. And I am glad you mentioned call signs because that could be a potential suspicious signal is that pirate radio stations, because they are illegitimate by their very nature, are not doing typical radio station things like announcing their call sign at the top of the hour or doing, you know, certain regular scheduled activities, so that could be something that might mean you are listening to a pirate station. In the late 1980s, unlicensed operators tried broadcasting from a Honduran-flag freighter in the waters off Long Island, according to The New York Times. PIRATE RADIO Once you remove the idea of pirate radio from its mythology, you. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360 interactive panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and route planning . Some of those, you know, if you tune your dial and find some spaces where there is some dead air, well those are intentionally put there in order so that stations don't cause interference to each other. A lot of times the studio is not co-located with the transmitter. Give us a little of your background. I know at least in our region we get them everywhere. And while pirate radio stations can be found across the radio spectrum, especially on AM and FM in urban areas, in this primer Ill be focusing on those that inhabit the shortwaves. Radio plays such an important role when you talk about hurricanes striking or other natural disasters, people turn to their local broadcast, including radio for information, and to have that be interfered with is a public safety concern let alone the FAA issues which are very serious. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: So don't bother looking for it. It might be illegal in terms of IRS about the taxes that aren't be collected off the exchange of funds in the business that's going on behind doors. Most pirates transmit using SSB with modern ham radio equipment, others use AM utilizing vintage or homebrew equipment. Hobby Broadcasting Blog: http://hobbybroadcasting.blogspot.com/. Again, I turned to Andrew Yoder for insight about pirate radio activity in the rest of the world; his reply: Im always amazed at how few areas in the world have pirates that are connected to any scene. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: -- and you always try to go with the least destructive one. Here's a test shot without the line or antenna attached. So hopefully that's enough for them to get the station taken down and maybe share some information about who the real operator is. It will also help to have some sort of adjustable bandwidth filter (wide/narrow). 123. "These transmissions can interfere with licensed radio signals including broadcasters' sharing of vital public safety information with their communities," FCC chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. Collection Info. There is a reason that those devices operate in an unlicensed manner because they are not transmitting very far. There is always a building manager they call the supra and he has a shop down in the basement and a lot of times we find the equipment down in his shop. And they come -- I've worked with them when they have bulletproof vests on and automatic weapons. He anchored the ship in international waters in the North Sea, just off Frinton, Essex, and hired a crew of DJs to play music around the clock at the time, a revolutionary concept. While you can hear some on weekdays, your best bet is Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, local time. Across the country, FCC officials are working to identify and take action against unlicensed radio operators that illegally use the frequencies allocated for legitimate radio operators. Be specific. Speaking for myself, Im passionate about pirate radio listening because it combines my listening/technical skills, my appetite for highly unique content, and for building a collection of quirky QSL cards. Its a simple technique, and although it takes some practice, will work on most any radio with a stable BFO (beat frequency oscillator). Well media bureau was on there, they are the ones that license FM stations, and I kind of chose that as kind of my eighth choice. And they could also --. He's the station manager for today's legal, land-based version of Radio Caroline, which obtained a license to broadcast at 648 Khz on the AM band in 2017, but still strives to preserve the rebellious spirit of the original operation. Over the past few years, Ive found that one of my favorite listening activities has become searching for unique pirate radio stations, and readers of my blog appear to have followed suit. Its much better, of course, if you have a table-top receiver, software-defined radio, or ham radio transceiver with a general coverage receiver hooked up to a resonant outdoor antennaespecially if you live outside Europe and North America. You know, there was a glowing article in a certain New York publication that at least one FCC commissioner was irked by because it seemed to be kind of glorifying this underground practice and making it seem like some interesting thing, but you really got to keep in mind not just the radio stations that are interfered with, but emergency communications. The BBC played catch-up launching Radio One and recruiting the same pirates for their roster. And then he had, you know, he was on the internet. 40. r/HamRadio. These pirate stations pose a host of problems for public safety, including interference with emergency alerts and air traffic control. While the magic of shortwave radio can transport a small signal vast distances, to hear pirates regularly and clearly, some precision is required. MR. DOMBROWSKI: No, it doesn't have -- It's not marked with pizza delivery guy either. So the avenues of working with the district attorneys is a great way to get the injunctions, the court orders, for the pirate station to cease operating permanently. Ask your local radio club or search the Internet for local/regional pirate stations. It's not. This includes the FM, AM and shortwave radio bands. Everyone should agree that pirate radio stations - by any definition - are completely illegal. He was going around the country and stirring the pot and getting a lot of people excited about microbroadcasting, so that's really where it started to really proliferate. The FCC argued that we were here to regulate the airwaves. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: No. Now, of course, my favorite thing that I want to ask you is what are some fun examples, maybe not fun, but interesting examples of cases that you have closed where maybe the circumstances were a bit bizarre or interesting that might help a listener understand just how weird some of this stuff can get and just how interesting some of these operations can be. This book makes it easier for you to locate and tune in pirate stationsand tells you all about the unlicensed broadcasters who play David to broadcasting conglomerates Goliath. We do let stations operate with low power transmitters but they have to comply with the technical requirements of Part 15 of our rules. In the quieter winter months, stations seem to pop out of the ether. It could be computers, antennas, coaxial cables. Bruce will host a new daily show for Bauer's station Greatest Hits Radio, taking his iconic PopMaster game with him. They can be just talk radio stations, they could be religious broadcasters, or they could be full-fledged stations that have a staffing of 20 people that make commercials, that create the jingles for their station ID, and the ones that have more money and the money advertisers are the ones that are very hard to distinguish. The important thing here is that you invest in a receiver with a respectable degree of sensitivity and selectivity. * Explains how to buy and use equipment to listen to pirate stations. Launched just five months ago, Internet Archive's Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications has expanded to more than 61,000 items related to amateur radio, shortwave listening, and related communications. You know, is this a massive national problem, are there particular areas where it's a problem? Do we have a right under the first amendment to speak via a radio station even if it is unlicensed by the FCC and is there potentially a case that can kind of exemplify why pirate radio is not protected under the First Amendment? It would identify what are the legitimate stations and also identify what stations we sanctioned so they could better get an understanding, you know, is this a legitimate station I am hearing or not. But it worked out great, it was a great career in the media bureau. Marshal Service actually and that allows us to go in with the U.S. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. We also had a case in Queens, New York, where several pirate radio stations got involved together and they were using each other's equipment in order to change location to avoid detection. To determine the wavelength of your signal in inches, divide 11811 by your transmitter's frequency in megahertz (MHz). MR. SWARZTRAUBER: We only waited 15 minutes into the episode to get to the fun part so I hope you are listening. Click here to donate via PayPal. Some pirates have even shown in in the SWBC bands, including 49, 31 and 25 meters. I know out on the West Coast in California we have more significant numbers than other areas, so that probably would be one of the five markets identified, maybe the L.A. area would probably be another market that we would look at. As this 2009 article from the Independent, a British newspaper, details, O'Rahilly obtained a 63-ton (57-metric ton), Danish passenger ferry, the MV Frederica, and renamed it Caroline, after the daughter of the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Gimme Radio (for online listeners) Gimme Radio is one of the more modern American rock radio stations available today. As Yoder goes on to explain in his introduction of the 2012 Pirate Radio Annual, pirates are often confused with radio bootleggers (who conduct unlicensed two-way conversations), clandestine stations (usually political stations), and jammers (who intentionally try to block broadcasts). So we eventually went to the courts and fought. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Sure. Unauthorized stations are particularly prolific in the New York City area, where a 2016 study by the New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA) found that there actually were more pirates then on the FM band than legal licensed stations. Like me, you might just get hooked! So somebody that hasn't invested a lot of money in equipment and the single processing to make it sound richer you could tell if you have an ear to it, our agents can do that. They spent the fees to get the license. So sometimes the apartment owner, the building owner, or whatever, is totally in the dark about this, didn't know about. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! MR. SWARZTRAUBER: All right. More areas, more just the urban areas. He was out of Berkeley, California, and his station was called Radio Free Berkeley. Additionally, we always try to include links to other retail options if they are available, as we support and freely advertise independent ham radio retailers. Google Maps is a web mapping service developed by Google. Now all those things have one thing in common. So when we finally are able to pick up the signal in our car we then drive in the area in kind of a circle around the source and we plot lines, we call them lines of bearing on a map, and where they intersect is where this transmission source is originating. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And we're talking about air traffic control? Some stations think that it's best to flood the FCC with complaints. Click here to view a list of all sponsors. There was an operator named Stephen Dunifer. Listening to Other Stations: Click on the tuning arrows ( TUNE >) to listen to stations up and down the dial. (Click to enlarge). They lose advertisers because of it, they lose coverage area because of it, and it all comes down to dollars and cents. Back in the 1980s, before the Internet and its online bulletin boards, I thought finding pirates was truly a huntrandom and altogether unpredictable. Many of our links now function as affiliate links. Last updated: December 2022 They don't know how to reach us? . MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And obviously as a good citizen I have never to my knowledge listened to a pirate radio station. Radio and electronics were my hobbies. And I have had to make this clarifying point on other podcasts that I have done at the FCC. We are not trying to teach you to do something illegal, we are trying to prevent you from doing something illegal, so you can stop your Google search. 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