{"id":5255,"date":"2013-01-04T07:35:14","date_gmt":"2013-01-04T11:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=5255"},"modified":"2013-01-04T07:38:25","modified_gmt":"2013-01-04T11:38:25","slug":"fm-pirate-jamming-people-out-of-their-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/01\/fm-pirate-jamming-people-out-of-their-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"FM pirate jamming people out of their cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"keychain-keyless\"(Source: SunSentinel<\/a>)<\/p>\n

It was a mystery no one could solve \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n

For months, dozens of people could not use their keyless entry systems to unlock or start their cars whenever they parked near the Hollywood Police Department. Once the cars were towed to the dealers, the problem miraculously disappeared.<\/p>\n

Police have since cracked the case.<\/p>\n

Turns out the problem wasn’t with the cars, the batteries or even user error, but an illegal pirate radio station that was jamming the signal from keyless entry systems of several makes of cars, including Lexus and Toyota. The man behind the bootleg operation likely had no idea it would lock people out of their cars, police say.<\/p>\n

Lynn Jacobson, who lives on Van Buren Street a mile west of police headquarters, was frustrated for months trying to get into her car.<\/p>\n

“It was happening every day,” Jacobson said. “We were getting desperate. It got to where every time I went out to the car I’d say, ‘Please let it open.'”<\/p>\n

Detectives are still searching for the man who set up the bootleg station on the roof of the eight-story Regents bank building at 450 Park Road, a block north of police headquarters. The station was broadcasting Caribbean music around the clock through 104.7 FM, police say.<\/p>\n

If found, the man could be arrested on felony charges and face a fine of at least $10,000 from the Federal Communications Commission. [Continue reading…<\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that it’s not just pirate stations that unintentionally jam keyless entry. I know an AM broadcaster on 1290 kHz<\/a> that blocks keyless entry on many GM cars for a one mile radius around their tower. Doesn’t seem to bother Toyota, though. Guess they prefer FM pirates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Source: SunSentinel) It was a mystery no one could solve \u2014 until now. For months, dozens of people could not use their keyless entry systems to unlock or start their cars whenever they parked near the Hollywood Police Department. Once the cars were towed to the dealers, the problem miraculously disappeared. Police have since cracked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,297],"tags":[1584,1583,4092],"class_list":["post-5255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-pirate-radio","tag-fm","tag-fm-pirates","tag-pirate-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-1mL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56326,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/04\/radio-waves-new-buzzer-remembering-virginia-norwood-more-am-in-cars-and-portland-church-pirate\/","url_meta":{"origin":5255,"position":0},"title":"Radio Waves: New Buzzer, Remembering Virginia Norwood, More AM in Cars, and Portland Church Pirate","author":"Thomas","date":"April 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0Enjoy! Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Paul, Frank Howell, NT, and Dan Finegan for the following tips: Russia\u2019s New Mystery\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sony-ICF-7600A-Dial-Field.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sony-ICF-7600A-Dial-Field.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sony-ICF-7600A-Dial-Field.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sony-ICF-7600A-Dial-Field.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sony-ICF-7600A-Dial-Field.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23536,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/in-sweden-ambulances-testing-system-to-jam-car-radios\/","url_meta":{"origin":5255,"position":1},"title":"In Sweden, Ambulances testing system to jam car radios","author":"Thomas","date":"January 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: BBC News via Richard Langley) Ambulances in Stockholm are testing a system that interrupts in-car audio systems to warn drivers that they need to get through. The solution was developed by students at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in the city. It broadcasts a voice warning, while a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Ambulance.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Ambulance.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Ambulance.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Ambulance.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4450,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/pirate-radio-recordings-x-fm\/","url_meta":{"origin":5255,"position":2},"title":"Pirate Radio Recordings: X-FM","author":"Thomas","date":"September 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Listening conditions Saturday night were \u00a0pretty good--we had clear skies and \u00a0though propagation wasn't excellent, I did manage to record a full broadcast (over 3 hours) of X-FM. X-FM typically features a wide variety of music spanning trance\/electronica to varieties of rock\/metal. This broadcast was no exception--hear for yourself: PLEASE\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pirate Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Pirate Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/pirate-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/RadioListening-300x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5861,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/pirate-radio-recordings-x-fm-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5255,"position":3},"title":"Pirate Radio Recordings: X-FM","author":"Thomas","date":"March 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"For your listening pleasure: three hours of the pirate radio station X-FM. This broadcast was recorded this morning, starting around 2:00 UTC, on 6,950 kHz AM. X-FM can even be received in C-Quam stereo--something I have yet to try. This is a 10 year anniversary broadcast of X-FM and has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pirate Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Pirate Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/pirate-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\"Turn up the radio, I hear Stereophonics!\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/RadioListeningFamily-300x221.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7405,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/southgate-arc-notes-ofcoms-approach-to-fm-pirate-enforcement\/","url_meta":{"origin":5255,"position":4},"title":"Southgate ARC notes Ofcom’s approach to FM pirate enforcement","author":"Thomas","date":"September 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Southgate ARC news) \"The UK communications regulator Ofcom have published information about tackling pirate radio Although Ofcom have occasionally raided pirate stations operating in the 88-108 MHz band, such enforcement actions have been few and far between. After the 2008\/9 financial year, Ofcom stopped publishing their Prosecution\/Formal Warning Statistics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"City_of_London","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/City_of_London-295x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20800,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/the-hidden-den-of-pirate-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":5255,"position":5},"title":"The “Hidden Den” of Pirate Radio","author":"Thomas","date":"August 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Martin Kraft, who writes: Where's the hidden den of pirate radio? The Caribbean? The South China Sea? Nope, according to RadioWorld, it's the New York City metro area: http:\/\/www.radioworld.com\/article\/nybsa-76-pirates-stations-in-new-york-northern-nj\/279213 NYSBA: 76 Pirate Stations in New York, Northern N.J. A number of pirate stations are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NYC-NewYork-Brooklyn-Map","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/NYC-NewYork-Brooklyn-Map.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/NYC-NewYork-Brooklyn-Map.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/NYC-NewYork-Brooklyn-Map.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/NYC-NewYork-Brooklyn-Map.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5255\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}