Tag Archives: Shortwave Pirates

Thanks to US shutdown, pirate radio activity reaches an all-time high

As frustrated as many are over the US government shutdown, it nonetheless offers one unique benefit to the shortwave radio community, and to pirate radio in particular––no FCC enforcement.

As we mentioned earlier, the FCC’s enforcement arm was shut down along with all other FCC activities that weren’t directly connected with “the protection of life or property.”

The result? Pirates––lots of pirates––on the air! The Jolly Roger flaps in the breeze…

Pirate radio activity since the shutdown has truly been at a record high, with pirates taking to the airwaves throughout the week, and especially on the weekends.

Case in point: this past weekend, the North American “pirate radio grounds” of 6,920-6,970 kHz were packed with pirate radio stations. There were even crowded band conditions; at one point I tweeted that there were no less than three pirates broadcasting simultaneously in just a small chunk of bandwidth on AM. Indeed, there may even have been a fourth that I couldn’t quite detect…An unusual occurrence, to say the least. And with pirate radio’s favorite holiday, Halloween (think War of the Worlds), fast approaching, there’s likely to be more such unusual activity.

In the meantime, check out a few of our recent pirate radio recordings.

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Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic

Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Casablanca

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Thursday night, I received word from Richard Blaine at Radio Casablanca:

“We plan to be on the air tonight on 6940 kHz AM, starting sometime around 2300 UTC, and running until the plane to Lisbon has departed.”

So at 23:00 Zulu, I started recording…

Though the noise level was particularly high on the lower HF bands, and Casablanca’s signal wasn’t quite as strong as previous nights, I could still enjoy Blaine’s nostalgic mix of WWII era music through the static. What a treat.

You can listen to the full recording via the embedded player above, or simply click here to download the MP3.

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With the FCC in shutdown, pirates hit the air

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I noted at least seven pirate radio loggings here in North America on Wednesday, October 1–the first day of the US government shutdown. This is a remarkable number of pirate loggings for a weekday night.

I then saw a message from Ragnar Daneskjold, pointing to the FCC’s printed plan for an “Orderly Shutdown Due to Lapse of Congressional Appropriations” and this quote, in particular:

“FCC activities other than those immediately necessary for the protection of life or property will cease.”

So I’m sure, as one SWLing Post reader pointed out, pirates will “play while the (FCC) cat is away.”

During the US government shutdown, expect extra pirate activity weekday nights between 6920-6970 kHz.

Click here to read other items related to the US government shutdown.

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Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Borderhunter

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"Woah! Timmy, is that Europe calling???"

“Whoa! Timmy, is that Europe calling?”

You’ll typically find North American radio pirates here on the SWLing Post, but on occasion, I do manage to pull in a station or two from Europe. Last night was one of those rare occasions, and I have Ragnar at Pirates Week to thank for the tip.

I tuned in Europirate Radio Borderhunter on 15,500 kHz AM, starting around 21:50 UTC. For an AM signal out of Europe, I was most impressed with Radio Borderhunter‘s strong signal.

I recorded about forty minutes of the pirate’s broadcast before propagation shifted. He then moved down to 6,210 kHz in the 48 meter band, a prime Europirate hangout, to continue his show.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

By the way, check out Ragnar’s latest podcast on Pirates Week!

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Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic

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The Citadel of the Time Lords on Gallifrey (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Last night, I recorded pirate station, Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic.

RGI appeared on 6,935 kHz USB and started their broadcast with a set of audio sweeps (which looked rather distinctive on my SDR’s waterfall), followed by tones and then straight into the Dr. Who theme.

What followed was a free-form set of spacy electronic music; from ambient to trance. You’ll hear their station ID in Morse code.

Click here to download an MP3 of the full broadcast, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

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Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Casablanca

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Confession time: one of my favorite pirate radio stations is Radio Casablanca.

Why?

For one thing the format is WWII-era music. When I hear Radio Casablanca, I close my eyes and imagine what it must have been like to hear the great bands of the era over the shortwaves…

Radio nostalgia at its best.

The signal strength is always sufficient to be heard in relatively good fidelity here in my radio room, but not so strong as to detract from the perceived distance. I believe the recording you’ll hear below could very well mimic broadcasts over shortwave, heard across borders during WWII as well as listened to on classic console radios in people’s living rooms and front parlors.

When my buddy Mark Coady posted that he was listening to Radio Casablanca Tuesday night on 6940 kHz AM, I immediately rushed outside to hook up my antenna, and started rolling. I didn’t want to miss even one more minute (I came across Mark’s post about twenty minutes into the broadcast). Though regional storms produced some static pops and crashes, overall fidelity is decent. You will hear the filter and side-band sync being adjusted at times as I attempted to eliminate adjacent noises–which, in the end, are all a part of the listening experience.

Click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Either way, prepare to go (or at least, send your ears) back in time…

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