The Offshore Radio Museum website commemorates many of those pirates. Now this is not just a focus of the FCC, Congress is also interested in this. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. Liverpool vs Wolves will kick-off on Wednesday, March 1 at 8pm. Pirate radio stations are a crucial part of British music culture. MR. DOMBROWSKI: That's not going to be my cell phone is it? Our agents are pretty smart on the tricks. They came and seized all of my equipment. They are very low power and the range of them are very small. Keep in mind that pirates are relatively low-power broadcasters. We Owe It All to Radio: The Inside Story of CES, Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Pictures, Special Offer on Antivirus Software From HowStuffWorks and TotalAV Security, Radio Caroline: The True Story of the Ship That Rocked. So over the last ten years people get online and purchase a transmitter and get it delivered to their door and so that makes, you know, everybody a hobbiest now and to have an interest to start a pirate radio station because it's so available. "I spoke with a pastor of a church in the community which had a station and the antenna was taken down by the FCC," Goren says. That was particularly true on the other side of the Atlantic, where the U.K. allowed only state-controlled radio from the 1920s through the mid-1960s. So they thought that was a way for them to avoid detection by hopping from building to building and frequency to frequency. Euro pirates typically broadcast in the 48 meter band (6,200 6,450 kHz), but the HF Underground notes that you will also hear Euro pirates on the 75 meter band between 3,900-4,000 kHz, on the 19 meter band (15,000-15,100 kHz and 15,700-15,900 kHz), and even on the 13 meter band (21,000-25,000 kHz). Note: This podcast was recorded on June 21st. 40. r/HamRadio. 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. David, thanks so much for joining. And so he brought this argument up when we tried to get his station off the air by using the court proceedings and he fought that we were violating his First Amendment rights. That would allow us to increase the fine to $100,000. I was still a teenager. All you need is a location to host the antenna and access to electricity unless you've got batteries, then just the location.". Want to know why the usually run them out at sea. The U.S. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: So don't bother looking for it. Click here to donate via PayPal. Indeed, since pirates are operating at lower power, they get much more bang-for-the-watt out of SSB. 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. 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. This book makes it easier for you to locate and tune in pirate stationsand tells you all about the unlicensed broadcasters who play David to broadcasting conglomerates Goliath. * Explains how to buy and use equipment to listen to pirate stations. Now you usually get one of your top, you know, first or second choice. Has that happened? Addeddate 2022-03-13 23:21:58 . Some of those, you know, if you tune your dial and find some spaces where there is some dead air, well those are intentionally put there in order so that stations don't cause interference to each other. A lot of times you can tell by the audio quality. "The government decided that radio was too influential as a means of mass communication to be in private hands," Peter Moore explains in an email. KQLZ Pirate Radio stormed the Southern California airwaves in 1989, and. 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. And so, yes, we may -- We have a warrant for the property. Everyone should agree that pirate radio stations - by any definition - are completely illegal. They could stream. Ive also been encouraged by pirates to hone my weak-signal DXing using exalted carrier reception (ECR)zero-beating an AM signal in SSBin an attempt to hear weak AM pirate stations. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, well just in the FM band particularly, if we just let everybody operate where they want it just creates chaos, and that's always been our argument that it creates chaos it the spectrum. Thanks to e-commerce, it's also easier than ever for a would-be pirate to find the necessary equipment and have it delivered to his or her door, as FCC enforcement official David Dombrowski described in this 2019 podcast. Since FM radio is broadcast as a mono signal, with a left-minus-right signal sent alongside, they can make a two-channel stereo station by recreating the stereo pilot carrier and then adding in. "These transmissions can interfere with licensed radio signals including broadcasters' sharing of vital public safety information with their communities," FCC chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And it's important to clarify that FCC enforcement agents are not law enforcement agents, but I was struck by how some of the work that goes into identifying and shutting down a station is like good old-fashioned police work, like knocking on doors saying, hey, have you seen anything weird, have you seen people carrying around transmitters or antennas. Additionally, youll find contact information for QSL requests and mail-drop addresses as well. So somebody that hasn't invested a lot of money in equipment and the single processing to make it sound richer you could tell if you have an ear to it, our agents can do that. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. Many of our links now function as affiliate links. Created on. Finding Shortwave Stations and Broadcasts. 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. And so these transmitters that they are purchasing and pirate stations are using do not go through the equipment process, the equipment authorization process, and that is a problem. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Probably just workload is another challenge in addition to folks moving the antennas around or taking them down during the day or only operating on weeknights and weekends, as you have said, which forces agents to work overtime. I received this QSL from the amazing Radio Ronin Shortwave shortly before he received the knock from the FCC and stopped transmitting. Google Maps is a web mapping service developed by Google. They just twist the dial. I decoded this Wolverine Radio SSTV QSL on the SSTV iOS App. Shortwave DX Blog - A blog with loggings and information relating to shortwave pirate radio in Europe. Violators faced two years of imprisonment and fines. Airchecks from unauthorized broadcast radio stations throughout the years. "He created Radio Caroline operating in that way and the station was at once called a 'pirate,'" Moore says. March 13 2022 . Pirate radio operators usually have day jobslike most of usthus only transmit while home from work. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: No. And then he had, you know, he was on the internet. So what is the state of pirate radio in the U.S. and how is the FCC taking it on? We also get the other federal agencies involved, the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, where we can seek a warrant. 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. If you live in North Americaparticularly on the east coastor in Europe, youre in luck: these are the hottest geographic locations for shortwave pirate radio activity. Well I want to, you know, just emphasize the importance of this issue. Now if you go that menu there are several options of different radio services. So I never left, I've been here for over 25 years. Our agents will contact you. MR. DOMBROWSKI: It's kind of sad to see, but --. 2 talking about this. More areas, more just the urban areas. Total Views 29,573 (Older Stats) ITEMS. They can be highly entertaining or thought-provoking, and thus are, themselves, a unique art form. The bulk of the pirate radio broadcasters I log transmit just below the 40-meter amateur radio band: anywhere from 6,850 kHz to 6,970 kHz and typically on a frequency spaced at 5 kHz. So you couldn't be blamed for assuming that it depicts a long-vanished phenomenon, like Nehru jackets with iridescent scarves and psychedelic-patterned paper mini dresses. He was going around the country and stirring the pot and getting a lot of people excited about microbroadcasting, so that's really where it started to really proliferate. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right. But they also encroach on those legitimate stations that made significant investments and secured the necessary regulatory approvals to obtain a license. Do you hear it on the weekends or is only a station that operates during the weekends? You have somebody that puts a station on the air and then what that person does is he leases air time for his station for other DJs and they come in and so he is getting a kickback from the DJs and he is getting advertising revenue. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Welcome to "More Than 7 Dirty Words," the official FCC podcast. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, we don't have a rule in the books that prohibits that from happening. 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. Andrew Yoder, author and publisher of the 2012 Pirate Radio Annual, defines pirate radio as: [A]ny unlicensed hobby broadcast operation that is using more power than the legal limit.. They also have potential to cause interference to the adjacent channel stations, you know, up above their frequency and below their frequency. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! Its a simple technique, and although it takes some practice, will work on most any radio with a stable BFO (beat frequency oscillator). Other times though you might have reason to suspect that they are in on it, they are getting a kickback. 16 days ago. Let's say they are listening, they think something is suspicious they get a tip, they see something weird in their building, what can they do to help you and the FCC tackle this problem? 14 July 2020. I mean are there tell-tale signs or are some of these stations so sophisticated that it's really hard for the average person to distinguish? It's something we have been doing as long as the equipment has been available we've always had pirate radio operators. Indeed, since pirates are operating at lower power, they get much more bang-for-the-watt out of SSB. Some pirates have even shown in in the SWBC bands, including 49, 31 and 25 meters. Addeddate 2022-03-13 23:21:58 . Marshals went in with us and we seized the equipment. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: They could stream it just like this podcast we're doing. When do you hear the station? 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. So what is the state of pirate radio in the U.S. and how is the FCC taking it on? Now some folks might be asking themselves this is all great, I totally agree that pirate radio is bad, and I think that you should absolutely go after it, but what about the First Amendment? I mean you got to give it to Congress for the bill naming that they do. The FRW is an email-only newsletter devoted to the hobby of pirate radio listening, and is distributed free to those who contribute. Radio Caroline because so influential that, pretty soon, other ships were broadcasting rock off the coast as well. Having that exposure helped boost the careers of scores of British bands whose music eventually made it to America. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, well, you know, they operate in the AM band so it sounds really distorted when you are trying to listen to FM radio on an AM radio. Pirate cards are among the most unusual of QSL cards, that often incorporate obscure or vintage imageryhumor, horror, or other graphic oddityor cast the pirate in a unique character representation. And then they said to me well here is ten jobs that you potentially could have which one is your top choice? 1. Collection Info. Additionally, we always try to include links to other retail options if they are available, as we support and freely advertise independent ham radio retailers. So we have a lot of those stations operating, so it's big revenue for them. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. So we have had the most success in getting stations off the air when the district attorney is involved, because the U.S. Attorney's Office when we do the in rem seizures, they have a lot of case work and very high profile cases so there is a little reluctance sometimes because of the case precedence for the U.S. attorneys to take on our cases. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, there was a case back in the 1990s, late 1990s. But with customs and border patrol seeing so much equipment coming in through the ports it's hard to identify. Answer (1 of 14): Why I am qualified to answer this question. Marshal Service actually and that allows us to go in with the U.S. Where the "modern" history of pirate radio seems to begin, though, is in the 1960s when pirate radio operators would get on the air to spread their music to a wider audience. Give us a little of your background. So we try to shut down, you know, that equipment coming in to the purchasers. And that is where we ask for the public's help. Some pirates have even shown in in the SWBC bands, including 49, 31 and 25 meters. It helps to show that -- That's a deterrent in itself right there when you get media coverage. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Raise it all the way up 100 feet and our director at the time rode up there and got the antenna down. We have pirate radio there, too, not as bad as we did in New York. I know at least in our region we get them everywhere. It could be harmful if we let a pirate radio station operate because sometimes they cause interference to other services, like aeronautical communications. It is portable, but can also be used as a permanent FM radio station. They use either the internet or a wireless source to get the signal back to the transmitter. MR. DOMBROWSKI: The majority of the people do not give us truthful information and so our agents have to be trained to do interviews to know when people are telling the truth or not and it may just require keep asking the right questions and keeping after it. MR. DOMBROWSKI: So you could cause like a catastrophe if we, you know, let this continue. ( Disclaimer) Transcript: MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Welcome to "More Than 7 Dirty Words," the official FCC podcast. Has it gotten worse, has it gotten better? What can the average person do? He was out of Berkeley, California, and his station was called Radio Free Berkeley. If you've been binge-watching movies lately, you may have come across "Pirate Radio." "To enforce the law and protect American radio listeners and lawful businesses, the Federal Communications Commission has made a concerted effort in recent years to step up our enforcement efforts against pirate radio stations.".
