how to find pirate radio stations

Ex-Beatle George Harrison was sufficiently appreciative of Radio Caroline's mission that he even wrote a sizable check in the early 1970s to help keep the ship in operation, according to Ray Clark's book "Radio Caroline: The True Story of the Ship That Rocked.". Do you hear it any other time, you know, at night time? All you need is a location to host the antenna and access to electricity unless you've got batteries, then just the location.". MR. SWARZTRAUBER: There is not a sign on the box that says illegal pirate radio transmitters. There is always a building manager they call the supra and he has a shop down in the basement and a lot of times we find the equipment down in his shop. MR. DOMBROWSKI: There is a variety of pirate radio stations out there. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! They are not advertising. What's more, pirate radio stations gave us access to some of the most pivotal figures in UK music . So I never left, I've been here for over 25 years. "Pirate radio continues to exist in the internet age for a variety of reasons," John Nathan Anderson, a broadcasting scholar and author who is working on a book about pirate radio, explains via email. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, this is the fun part, the (inaudible). Recycling is good. "He created Radio Caroline operating in that way and the station was at once called a 'pirate,'" Moore says. Over the past few years, Ive found that one of my favorite listening activities has become searching for unique pirate radio stations, and readers of my blog appear to have followed suit. I mean stream --. MR. DOMBROWSKI: And let them know. The BBC played catch-up launching Radio One and recruiting the same pirates for their roster. Radio GDay came on from Australia occasionally, but no one else. Thank you, too, for your support of these sites. Our agency was delegated by Congress to allocate frequencies and allocate it in the public interest and it's a resource. The British government, though, didn't appreciate what Radio Caroline and other pirate broadcasters were doing. In the U.S., pirate stations have popped up in recent years all over the country, from West Virginia to Washington state, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which plays a continual game of whack-a-mole in an effort to keep them off the airwaves used by licensed broadcasters. Right now it is $10,000 per day per occurrence. But just as the British government's stiff penalties didn't deter Radio Caroline, at least so far, the U.S. government's crackdown doesn't seem to have deterred the pirates. We take it all. Be careful to. This includes the FM, AM and shortwave radio bands. Do you hear it on the weekends or is only a station that operates during the weekends? I know at least in our region we get them everywhere. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Sure. comment. They can be highly entertaining or thought-provoking, and thus are, themselves, a unique art form. It's something we have been doing as long as the equipment has been available we've always had pirate radio operators. 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. There was a case that I worked back in Philly back in the day --. So I have -- In terms of population I manage 20 States in the Northeast area of the United States. The Offshore Radio Museum website commemorates many of those pirates. And then they said to me well here is ten jobs that you potentially could have which one is your top choice? 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. It has a radio receiver in it, it has a computer screen with a map, and it has a little compass rose that tells us what direction the signal is coming from. 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. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, there was a case back in the 1990s, late 1990s. If we are out there just gathering evidence for the first time our agents will go to the door, they will identify themselves with their badge. Well, I can't say exactly what it is, but, yes, they're --. 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. 2022-03-13 23:21:58 Storage_size 430.7 GB (in 25,393 files) Title Pirate Radio Airchecks. I mean they have a significant financial investment in their stations, they have gone through proper FCC process, and now they are competing for listeners with stations that did not go through that process, did not necessarily bear the same financial burden to get up and running, and they are not maybe just competing with listeners, as we have mentioned we've been competing with, they are competing with advertisers as well. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And that is obviously at the highest importance when we are talking about public safety. Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Well that's what I went up with. (Disclaimer). It could be computers, antennas, coaxial cables. 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. And then he had, you know, he was on the internet. In the United States, the term pirate radio implies the unlicensed broadcasting use of any part of the radio spectrum that is reserved for use by governmental, public or commercial licensees by the Federal Communications Commission. And audiences can get the station on inexpensive radio receivers there's no need to have a computer or a smartphone with 5G, or to pay a monthly subscription fee or worry about blowing through their data limits. 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? MR. SWARZTRAUBER: That's some great local cooperation right there. 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. 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. 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. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: So there are no doubt some good samaritans listening to this show that want nothing more than to help with the scourge of pirate radio. MR. DOMBROWSKI: So we have two ways to file a complaint. Some pirates simply key down their mike and begin talking, sharing their political or social views; others offer near-professional music productions, complete with listener feedback, and often acknowledge listener reports with QSLs (radio postcards). Marshal Service actually and that allows us to go in with the U.S. Speaking for myself, Im passionate about pirate radio listening because it combines my listening/technical skills, my appetite for highly unique content, and for building a collection of quirky QSL cards. So not only interference, but we also have issues of interference to other radio services. (Listen to one of Ronins broadcasts below.). And I have had to make this clarifying point on other podcasts that I have done at the FCC. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360 interactive panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and route planning . Unlike trying to locate China Radio International, Radio Australia, or the BBC World Service, hunting pirates requires a decent-quality radio and antenna. "Caroline now has two stations, one playing album music and one playing the original pop music for which the station is remembered," Moore explains. And an overall limit of $2 million. Having that exposure helped boost the careers of scores of British bands whose music eventually made it to America. That's part of it, right, and you rely on some cooperation in some instances to get it done. MR. DOMBROWSKI: No, not the public face, but he's all the behind the scenes guy. So when they say, oh, I don't need a license to operate I'm a Part 15 transmitter, well we have to do studies and measurements to see if that's true. Created on. 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. Ive hunted pirates with a range of such radios, among them the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, the Grundig G3, the Grundig G5, the Tecsun PL-600 and PL-660, and even the new Tecsun PL-880. It will also help to have some sort of adjustable bandwidth filter (wide/narrow). This metal-focused platform is available entirely online, so you can access the music from a lot of different locations, even though the station is based in San Francisco. 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.. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Hometown. Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Pirates are always active during holidays, too, most especially on Halloween (31st of October), which seems to be pirates favorite holiday. Pirate stations want listeners to discover them, so they broadcast in various watering holes.. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, we don't have a rule in the books that prohibits that from happening. There was an operator named Stephen Dunifer. 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. MR. DOMBROWSKI: And so they said well because we were here before it was colonized our federal laws don't apply to us. Airchecks from unauthorized broadcast radio stations throughout the years. The plot is based loosely on the saga of an actual former pirate station, Radio Caroline, that was founded by an offbeat Irish entrepreneur named Ronan O'Rahilly, the inspiration for the character portrayed by Bill Nighy. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, to lease some air time off these legitimate stations. In January, President Donald Trump signed into law the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (PIRATE) Act, which gives regulators the ability to hit pirate stations with fines of up to $2 million, according to this summary from Radio World. They also have potential to cause interference to the adjacent channel stations, you know, up above their frequency and below their frequency. Ragnar Daneskjold hosts an occasional podcast serving the shortwave pirate community; it includes pirate radio news, off-air recordings, and more. 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. Back when KIWI was on the air regularly in the 90s, I assumed that pirate radio would explode in Oceania and Asia. Shortwave DX Blog - A blog with loggings and information relating to shortwave pirate radio in Europe. We would also have to create a database for the public access. Indeed, since pirates are operating at lower power, they get much more bang-for-the-watt out of SSB. MR. DOMBROWSKI: We do make them aware that they are contributing to this illegal activity. They are not considered an operator by investing in that. I have four offices, it includes Chicago, it includes Boston, New York, and Columbia, Maryland. The frequency spectrum is a natural resource and so all of our decisions that we make when we allocate spectrum is for the public interest. I am Evan Swarztrauber. If you are given ten choices make sure the one you actually one is your eighth choice because that's going to be the one that you get. The U.S. has had its share of pirate broadcasters over the years as well. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: So don't bother looking for it. 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. I keep a copy handy as it helps me identify stations and better understand their format. So we have a lot of those stations operating, so it's big revenue for them. The Moody Blues are one example of this." 123. But with customs and border patrol seeing so much equipment coming in through the ports it's hard to identify. Total Views 29,203 (Older Stats) ITEMS. "In Haiti during the Duvalier regime, people depended on radio to get news from independent sources off the island. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, it may not start to cause interference as soon as you open up and out of the box and operate it, but over time with the heating up of the electronics inside it starts to malfunction and cause what we call spurius emissions where signals are operating outside your intended band and cause interference to other radio services. I started as a field agent doing inspections and doing pirate radio enforcement was one of my jobs and then I moved into a senior agent position and then eventually the District Director, which the manager of the Philadelphia office. MR. DOMBROWSKI: And so that's not practical for somebody that wants to operate a radio station to cover an entire community. In the U.S., pirate stations have popped up in recent years all over the country, from West Virginia to Washington state, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which plays a continual game of whack-a-mole in an effort to keep them off the airwaves used by licensed broadcasters. 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. MR. DOMBROWSKI: It is. In the quieter winter months, stations seem to pop out of the ether. Addeddate 2022-03-13 23:21:58 . Listening to pirate radio is perfectly legaland frequently an ear-opening experience. Pirate radio stations are a crucial part of British music culture. You might need that sensitivity and an outdoor antenna to pull these relatively low-powered signals from the ether. Yes, they come with weapons. So it's not the -- In terms of size wise for mileage it's the smallest region, but it's the most populated. And I am glad you mentioned call signs because that could be a potential suspicious signal is that pirate radio stations, because they are illegitimate by their very nature, are not doing typical radio station things like announcing their call sign at the top of the hour or doing, you know, certain regular scheduled activities, so that could be something that might mean you are listening to a pirate station. * Explains how to buy and use equipment to listen to pirate stations. But it worked out great, it was a great career in the media bureau. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Well they had their antenna up really high. 1. Indeed, this past November, I listened to the pirate Channel Z while sitting in my truck; I was only using a Tecsun PL-660 with the antenna extended out of my opened drivers-side window. 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? 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how to find pirate radio stations