I know at least in our region we get them everywhere. These guys aren't blowing off their listeners like the other radio stations. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And we talked a little bit about why this is a problem. "He convinced me to not stay on as Bond I'd be in danger of becoming part of the Establishment," Lazenby wrote on in an Instagram tribute after O'Rahilly's death in April 2020, noting that he had no regrets about taking that advice. 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. It takes a lot of time to process just one complaint and so it is distracting our agents of getting into the database and populating all the fields and calling the complainant. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: So let's say that either a broadcaster or a listener files a complaint, what happens then, what tools do you, your colleagues in the FCC, have to go about finding a station, shutting it down, bringing people to justice? With that said (and for reasons I dont fully understand) depending on where you live in the world, you will either find it very easy to locate piratesor extremely difficult. Enter Ronan O'Rahilly, who learned that the U.K. government's jurisdiction ended 3 miles (5 kilometers) off the coast, and that stations from other countries already were exploiting that loophole by putting transmitters on offshore ships, according to Moore. * Explains how to buy and use equipment to listen to pirate stations. He has taken, you know, money from under the table to allow the station to operate from the rooftop without the property owner's knowledge. Why? HowStuffWorks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Give me an address or an intersection in the town that you are picking it up on. Indeed, since pirates are operating at lower power, they get much more bang-for-the-watt out of SSB. So what is the state of pirate radio in the U.S. and how is the FCC taking it on? Sometimes we find stations that just access the rooftops without anybody knowing and put the transmitter kind of hidden in a wall somewhere or a crevice and the antenna on the roof and remain anonymous for months without anybody knowing that the station is there. 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. But with customs and border patrol seeing so much equipment coming in through the ports it's hard to identify. Its a simple technique, and although it takes some practice, will work on most any radio with a stable BFO (beat frequency oscillator). Set up your Raspberry Pi You'll need to get Raspbian, the Linux-based operating system for the Raspberry Pi. Yes, so it's kind of like a cascade of options --. This station was operated in Pennsauken, New Jersey, which is right across the river from Philadelphia, and it covered the entire Philadelphia area. VIEWS. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. 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. It's not. Even then, though, Radio Caroline wouldn't go away. Additionally, pirate broadcasters don't have to deal with all the legal complexities of setting up and running a streaming internet service, such as writing terms of service or meeting contractual obligations, he notes. MR. DOMBROWSKI: So some States have laws on the book that prohibit pirate radio operation, States like New Jersey and New York and Florida. The result was a border-blaster that covered a wide geographical area. Total Views 29,573 (Older Stats) ITEMS. Are we talking about U.S. marshals with machine guns kicking in doors, are we talking about politely knocking on a door and saying, hey, guys, your time is up, we found you, you know, what's the image that essentially you see when this goes down in your experience or is there kind of a spectrum of different cases, some are a little bit more intense than others? They use either the internet or a wireless source to get the signal back to the transmitter. MR. DOMBROWSKI: So you could cause like a catastrophe if we, you know, let this continue. While the magic of shortwave radio can transport a small signal vast distances, to hear pirates regularly and clearly, some precision is required. Well we did go to the courts, we got the warrant, and the U.S. That would be inappropriate, particularly given my employer, but is it hard for the average listener, particularly in a dense metro area, you're dialing your car radio or your home radio to even know the difference? MR. SWARZTRAUBER: -- and you always try to go with the least destructive one. This article originally appeared in the February 2014 issue of The Spectrum Monitor Magazine. And one of the reasons that they are causing harmful interference, in particular to the FAA operations, is because they are not tested, right. In 1967, Parliament enacted the Marine Broadcasting Offenses Act, which made offshore broadcasts from ships illegal, on the pretext that their broadcast interfered with marine weather radio and distress signals, as this contemporaneous New York Times account notes. I apologize to the listeners in advance if I make any horrible, corny jokes throughout the course of this podcast, but it would probably help to start with a definition, right. 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. So we get complaints from the FAA quite often, more than a few times a month in New York, and that the pilots are flying over the city and they are trying to communicate with air traffic control and all of a sudden they pick up a radio station. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: So, David, you are uniquely qualified to talk about this topic and to help listeners to understand just how qualified you are how did you get to this current position at the FCC. So that is a big concern for the broadcasters in those areas. Loggings are in real time and there are very fewif anyoff-topic posts. On Easter Sunday in 1964, the station went on the air, playing the Rolling Stones' single "It's All Over Now" as its first song. Having that exposure helped boost the careers of scores of British bands whose music eventually made it to America. What would that bill do differently? Just browse the pirate radio category: https://swling.com/blog/category/pirate-radio/. MR. DOMBROWSKI: So the complainant needs to tell us where they hear the station. Of course, the chaos of the radio spectrum was one of the reasons this agency was created in the first place, including our predecessor agency The Federal Radio Commission, but there are other issues that broadcasters in particular complain about. Given other responsibilities and obligations, however, the Commission's resources are stretched, and it seems that stopping pirate radio is not at the top of the priority list. But by the 1960s, the postwar baby boom filled the U.K. with millions of teenagers who were eager to hear the rock 'n' roll records that the BBC declined to play. 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. Friday March 17, 1989 5:00 am. There is a studio somewhere. A new, raw, grassroots kind of pirate radio exploded from 1992 onwards. "By playing nonstop current pop music in a situation where this had never before been available, Caroline had within months a larger audience than all the BBC stations combined," Moore explains. Now I know that finding pirates is reasonably achievable; at least, it is possible to know roughly where, and generally when, to find them. It's about $200,000 worth of equipment. And they also would be able to contact us and find out where the complaint is in the queue and, you know, what's going on with the complaint and have we investigated it yet. One of the FCC's top enforcement priorities is cracking down on pirates. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: All right. They are not considered an operator by investing in that. It will also help to have some sort of adjustable bandwidth filter (wide/narrow). Want to buy me a cup of coffee? MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Just because it's easy to buy it doesn't mean it's legal. And you have tools to escalate the situation. That was right when the internet really started exploding so he was able to get his message out. Though Channel Z was broadcasting in AM, as many do, its best to hunt pirates with an SSB-capable portable. * Shows you how to find pirate stations on your AM/FM, shortwave, and online radios. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes, so you have options. I am Evan Swarztrauber. We hope you understand, and are grateful for your support. If we can't get in touch with the property owner we try to use a locksmith and if we can't get the locksmith then the door comes breaking down and then we try to secure it before we leave. They lose advertisers because of it, they lose coverage area because of it, and it all comes down to dollars and cents. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: We only waited 15 minutes into the episode to get to the fun part so I hope you are listening. Most pirates transmit using SSB with modern ham radio equipment, others use AM utilizing vintage or homebrew equipment. "Private radio was prohibited and only the British Broadcasting Corporation, which was part of the political establishment, sent radio to the British people with the remit to be morally uplifting, informative and educational," Moore says. 1. And then he had, you know, he was on the internet. Director Richard Curtis' 2009 comedy-drama stars the late Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Count, a disc jockey for an unlicensed rock radio station that broadcast from a rusty, decrepit ship off the British coast in the mid-1960s, defying government authorities to spin the rock records that weren't allowed on the BBC at the time. Ive had great results in the past with an old Icom IC-735 and a 40-meter dipole antenna. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, very creative on that, wasn't it? Radio and electronics were my hobbies. For many of the people in those communities, who may not be able to afford a computer or a smartphone and a broadband connection, pirate radio is an affordable medium. 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? And did I mention the cool QSL cards? 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. Among the most popular queries made by readers is, How can I find and hear pirate radio stations? To help answer this question, Im writing this primer. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Sure. Created on. We have pirate radio there, too, not as bad as we did in New York. We do that with every pirate station. Tracking a Pirate Radio Station The Modern Rogue Discovering Secret "Numbers Stations" The Modern Rogue Detecting a Wire and Hidden Spy Cams The Most Notorious TV Hijack of All Time Rodney P -. Note:Even though it is illegal to broadcast on the shortwave bands without a license, and those who do so are subject to hefty fines, it is not illegal to listen or to send and receive QSL cards from such operators. Now if you go that menu there are several options of different radio services. Are people generally cooperative or are people just like I have no idea what you are talking, I have never seen anything, what is this, I don't want to deal with this? To have a radio station here helps to establish the station's operator as an important source of information and influence in the community.". But the FCC, Congress and the commercial broadcasting industry don't see the pirates as serving such a benign purpose. 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: Oh, that's probably why they are complaining, right? It helps to show that -- That's a deterrent in itself right there when you get media coverage. "He created Radio Caroline operating in that way and the station was at once called a 'pirate,'" Moore says. The most popular frequency is arguably 6,925 kHz, but I often log pirates on 6,935 and 6,950 kHz. Unlike major broadcasters, many pirates dont stick to AM as a preferred mode. The price of the equipment is $2,960.51. "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. 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. Marshal Service actually and that allows us to go in with the U.S. Pirate radio operators usually have day jobslike most of usthus only transmit while home from work. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Ten times as much, that's big, yes. Now when we talk about enforcement actions, you know, I'd like to kind of paint a picture for our listeners. So we have a team here in the Enforcement Bureau that does that, our Spectrum Enforcement Division. Bruce will host a new daily show for Bauer's station Greatest Hits Radio, taking his iconic PopMaster game with him. So sometimes the apartment owner, the building owner, or whatever, is totally in the dark about this, didn't know about. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Well there was a version of the bill that passed the House first and now there is a similar bill being considered by Senate. The original converted ferry sank in 1980, but the five DJs on board and the ship's canary, Wilson, named after British Prime Minister Harold Wilson all were rescued, according to O'Rahilly's New York Times obituary. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! 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. So I never left, I've been here for over 25 years. Whether youre a QSL collector, a content DXer, or the casual SWLer, I find theres something in pirate radio listening for everyone. 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:. 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 --. So hopefully that's enough for them to get the station taken down and maybe share some information about who the real operator is. And another thing, also, we would have to direct our attention annually to five markets that are most affected by pirates and we would do some step-up enforcement. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right. 3. If we get that information we have a vehicle, it's called a direction-finding vehicle and it has specialized equipment in it. We call them Notices of Apparent Liability where we will fine the operator. 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. It's eminently cheaper to purchase or build an unlicensed radio station than it is to set up a robust streaming channel online, especially if you're looking to cover a local area. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes, and it's also I assume illegal for these advertisers to be advertising on pirate stations, they just might not know that they are pirates. After that we just destroy it through an electronics recycler. So we typed up this -- They showed me a license and it was something typed up on the computer that said we're licensed by their statutes of the Moors people and so they felt that they have a right to operate. Coffee helps fuel the SWLing Post! Total Views 29,203 (Older Stats) ITEMS. Open up the transmitter Locate the seam on the transmitter's case and pry it open with a putty knife (if your transmitter is screwed shut, you'll need a screwdriver to open it). MR. DOMBROWSKI: And there is a lot of digital FM stations out there that are looking for programming so they could maybe work out at least an arrangement. Compared to big-gun broadcasters, pirates are much more elusive game as very few announce their broadcasts in advance, and theres no telling where a pirates transmitter is located: it could be in their home, on a boat, or a portable one dropped in a remote location and later retrieved. Though pirates can be located anywhere on the planet, and therefore can broadcast, hypothetically, anywhere on the radio dial, patterns are actually fairly predictable in order to draw a listening audience. Each issue also contains a CD of sound clips from various pirates, several articles about the state of pirate radio, and other relevant info. What's more, pirate radio stations gave us access to some of the most pivotal figures in UK music . After that when we don't get compliance from somebody he gets a warning letter and comes back on the air and then we do get the warrant with the U.S. marshals. 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. It had a 20-mile range. Carl McIntire, a fundamentalist preacher who briefly broadcast fire-and-brimstone sermons from a converted minesweeper off the coast of New Jersey, as this 2014 NJ.com article details. Winning a con. I am a Philadelphia native, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and I graduated Temple University and my first job was the FCC right out of college and interestingly --. 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. 10. 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 were able to prove that it wasn't a violation of the First Amendment rights and so that set the precedence for any future case for that argument. I mean if you are familiar with telecom you know it's an illegal radio station, but what do we mean by pirate radio. A lot of times the studio is not co-located with the transmitter. It was the strongest pirate station I have ever witnessed. "Caroline now has two stations, one playing album music and one playing the original pop music for which the station is remembered," Moore explains. Marshal Service and seize all of the equipment that is associated with the operation of a radio station, really anything physically connected to the transmitter. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes. We also get the other federal agencies involved, the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, where we can seek a warrant. It is illegal for companies to market equipment that hasn't gone through what we call a certification process, equipment authorization process, where they get a company to look at their transmitter to make sure it complies with our technical rules and doesn't have potential to cause interference to other radio services. Many of our links now function as affiliate links. But most of the current American pirates are based on dry land, broadcasting from clandestine antennas on rooftops in places such as Brooklyn. 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