Tag Archives: Pirate Radio

Listen for Halloween pirate radio this weekend and Tuesday night

Halloween is typically the most active day of the year for shortwave pirates. Halloween falls on Tuesday, October 31st, however you should start listening for activity this weekend as the pirates emerge like The Great Pumpkin!

Here are three things you’ll want to do this weekend and on Halloween night:

1. Hobby Broadcasting Blog

Check out Andrew Yoder’s pirate radio blog ,the Hobby Broadcasting blog.

Andrew is the author of the Pirate Radio Annual and a guru on shortwave pirate radio. Andrew has already logged some Halloween stations this weekend.

2. HF Underground

hfunderground

Follow real-time pirate radio spots and loggings on the HF Underground discussion forum. Chris Smolinski at HFU typically posts post-Halloween pirate stats on the SWLing Post as well–always a fascinating overview.

3. Listen!

Crosley-Dial-BlackAndWhite

Listen for pirate radio stations today and throughout the weekend! Turn on your radio anytime today, but especially around twilight and tune between 6,920 – 6,980 kHz. Pirates broadcast on both AM and SSB; you’re bound to hear a few. If you’re brand new to pirate radio listening, you might read my pirate radio primer by clicking here. I will be listening until late in the evening.

Happy Halloween to all!

Speaking of pirates, don’t forget: the 2017 Global HF Pirate Radio Weekend is next weekend (Nov 3-5)!

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Alabama FM pirate fined $15,000

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(Source: WAFF)

A Guntersville man is being slapped with a $15,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission. They say he’s been operating an illegal radio station.

Some people in the neighborhood say they were aware of Michael Dudley’s radio operation. Others say they weren’t, but many people say it’s a pretty stiff penalty.

The FCC shut down the makeshift radio station running from Dudley’s home. In documents from the FCC, Dudley was confronted twice last year for sending music through the airwaves on 103.9 FM without a license. The first time was a warning. The second prompted the fine.[…]

Read the forfeiture order here.

Click here to watch WAFF video coverage.

Read the full article at WAFF online.

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Mark Your Calendars: Global HF Pirate Weekend, November 3-5, 2017

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(Source: Andrew Yoder)

Next Global HF Weekend: November 3-5, 2017

It’s still a couple weeks away, so be sure to mark the next Global HF Pirate Weekend on your calendar.

The idea behind the Global HF Weekends are to promote friendship through radio around the world. The hope is that listeners will be able to hear different stations and for broadcasters to reach distant locations. Anyone may participate. I’ve already heard from a few stations who plan to broadcast and I’ve been in contact with a number of listeners.

The last one, which occurred during the first weekend of April, resulted in some success with intercontinental broadcasting. Four North American pirates all operated around 0600 UTC between 6920 and 6950 kHz and were heard in New Zealand. A South American station ran 24/7 tests on 6930 kHz across Global HF Weekend and was reported in Germany, Maryland and Pennsylvania, and South America with only 10 watts. One Dutch station was logged in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Kentucky, New York, Maryland, and Virginia. Other stations were active specifically for the weekend, but just for a local or regional audience.

We’ll see how many stations show up during the next weekend. It seems unlikely that stations will be using 13 meters this time and much more likely that stations will be trying the 6900-kHz range and possibly 31 and 25 meters.

November 3-5, 2017
Maybe 15010-15090 kHz, probably 6200-6400 kHz and 6800-6990 kHz

Of course, these were general frequency ranges used by pirates during prior Global HF Pirate weekends. Some stations will surely operate on frequencies and times outside of these ranges. In fact, the way conditions have been lately, frequencies at or below 15 MHz seem like they will be more effective for intercontinental broadcasting. These will be updated on the Hobby Broadcasting (http://hobbybroadcasting.blogspot.com/) blog as it happens and also check the loggings on HF Underground (https://www.hfunderground.com/).

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648 kHz: Radio Caroline gets a permanent home on the MW broadcast band

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Radio Caroline circa 1960’s.

(Source: ARRL News via Eric McFadden, WD8RIF)

Radio Caroline, the latter-day incarnation of the famous shipboard pirate radio station that beamed rock music to the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, has obtained a license to operate permanently on 648 kHz at 1 kW ERP. A transmitter imported from Europe has been undergoing necessary modifications to suit the MW frequency, which falls between the 10-kHz-spaced AM Standard Broadcast Band frequencies in the US.[…]

Click here to read the full article on the ARRL website.

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Radio Caroline at 50 years

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Radio Caroline circa 1960’s.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, William Lee, who shares this item from ABC News:

Radio Caroline: Golden age of British pirate radio remembered, 50 years on

They were the pirates of the open seas — bringing rock and pop music to a new generation.

And the British government was furious.

Back in the 1960s, when pop and rock were taking over the music scene, British teenagers had to turn to pirate radio stations to hear bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Barred from broadcasting from land, stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio London had taken to the water, using rusty old ships moored in international waters to broadcast to millions of eager listeners across the UK.

The government wasn’t happy and 50 years ago, on August 14 1967, the Marine Offences Act made it illegal to support the ships or broadcast from them.[…]

William note that this story can be found on multiple news sources, but the ABC has more photos.

Other sources include:

Many thanks for the tips, William! Like many Post readers, I do love Radio Caroline!

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A TIVDIO T6-A Six Watt FM Transmitter (via Walmart!)

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My, how times have changed!

I remember when I was a kid, if you wanted an FM transmitter with more power than the allowed FCC Part 15 regulations (250uV/m or 48dBu at 3 meters), you had to build it or hack it yourself.

Those days are long gone. SWLing Post contributor, Bill, shares a link to this six watt FM transmitter available via Walmart of all places!

Of course, Walmart isn’t exactly selling this transmitters in stores–they’re simply handing the inventory and shipping for a third party retailer (AMI Ventures Inc. in this case).

And I’m picking on Walmart because the TIVDIO T6-A, along with other similar FM transmitters, have been available from retailers like Amazon and eBay for ages.

Still, I find it a little funny that you can essentially start your own community/neighborhood FM station by making a purchase at Walmart!

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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai questioned about pirate enforcement

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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

(Source: Tom Taylor Now newsletter)

FCC staff will be “cops on the beat” against pirates.

Chairman Ajit Pai had his stats ready for yesterday’s House Oversight Hearing – the FCC’s issued 39 NOUOs (Notice of Unlicensed Operation) this year, among other enforcement actions. Pai knew the question about the effect of closing of 11 field offices was coming from somewhere, and it was posed by Tampa-area Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis. Pai says as a Commissioner, “I had substantial disagreements with the original” plan of then-Chair Tom Wheeler. The compromise worked out with Congress included closing the Tampa field office – but Pai says the Commission’s doing its best to address the pirate problem that is “a problem all across the East coast.” That when he says the staff is determined to be “cops on the beat” against unlicensed operators. That seemed to satisfy Bilirakis. More from the hearing – there’s support for a new minority tax certificate plan. It would incentivize an owner to sell to a qualified minority by offering a tax break or deferral. And we haven’t mentioned the #1 complaint around telecom – doing something to choke off robocalls and “spoof calls.”

Check out the full Tom Taylor Now newsletter which also includes questions posed to Chairman Pai, about defining Net Neutrality.

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