Halloween is typically the most active day of the year for shortwave pirates…so, here are three things you’ll want to do this Halloween:
- Listen for pirate radio stations this weekend! Turn on your radio anytime this weekend, but especially around twilight and tune between 6,800 – 6,990 kHz. Pirates broadcast on both AM and SSB; you’re bound to hear a few. For a comprehensive primer on pirate radio listening, check out this post.
- Note what pirate stations are being logged–in real time–on the HF Underground pirate radio forum. This is a very active community of pirate radio listeners; I often check the latest loggings to discover frequencies where stations have surfaced. Click here to view the HF Underground pirate radio forum. Posting to the forum requires registration and approval by the moderator (so do this in advance!).
- Check out Andrew Yoder’s pirate radio blog with its deceptively simple title, the Hobby Broadcasting blog. Andrew is the author of the Pirate Radio Annual and a guru on shortwave pirate radio. He’s already logged a few mid-week, pre-Halloween pirates. Bookmark his site while you’re at it!
Happy Halloween to all!
Hello Mr. Yoder,
I have been listening to pirate radio for a short while and have found “the hunt ” to be very exciting. I am new to this and am struggling with where to look and what time. So far I have heard the crystal ship, radio free whatever “both of these I was at other hams homes I didn’t find them” and I found the Mighty KBC all by myself! I am currently reading your book and I am finding the history of pirate radio interesting and amazing. I was wondering if you have information that would help me quickly know where to look for pirates and what are good times to search as well as days. I keep searching the net but the info I am getting is old and way out of date, I guess I am not real good at finding new data!
In your book you mention radios to use I have a county comm GP-5/SSB, a grundig sat 750, grundig G-2 Reporter, ICOM 718, and a few other radios but the 750 is my favorite to use for hunting those stations. I am planning on goind to winter fest next year a friend of mine goes every year Jef KB3GTY so he has talked me into getting a membership and coming down. Sounds like fun. Just want to also let you know your book is being very helpful with helping me understand the history of pirate radio! Pleae let me know if you have any thing that will help me surf faster as I try to scan the airwaves. Thanks for your time, have a great day!
Rodney KB3IBB