how to find pirate radio stations

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. But what hast made the problem really expand is the equipment is readily available with the internet now. After the reorganization and modernization of the field I then became the Regional Director and manage several offices now. We get them in Virginia, we get them out in Illinois, even just remote areas of West Virginia they pop up. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. Having that exposure helped boost the careers of scores of British bands whose music eventually made it to America. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Pirate radio. Friday March 17, 1989 5:00 am. There is a studio somewhere. 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:. The BBC played catch-up launching Radio One and recruiting the same pirates for their roster. It's not. Chasing pirates has also increased my technical know-how. The library's newest additions include deep historical resources and contemporary reporting about the world of radio. The warrant is issued to the U.S. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360 interactive panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and route planning . Right now it is $10,000 per day per occurrence. 40. r/HamRadio. That would allow us to increase the fine to $100,000. 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. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And those, and I think we mentioned New York, we mentioned Philadelphia, are there other hot spots in particular where this seems to just be a bigger problem than elsewhere in the country? The original 60s pirate station, playing fresh pop / rock music to Britain's young masses from a boat in the North Sea, floating in international waters four and a half miles off the Essex coastline. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are receivedespecially when the signals cross a national boundary. While debunking myths about pirates, I can say that in my years of pirate radio listening Ive never heard a pirate intentionally jam a legal broadcaster. 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. Across the country, FCC officials are working to identify and take action against unlicensed radio operators that illegally use the frequencies allocated for legitimate radio operators. Like if a pirate, you know, gets his station up and running, he finds that no one is in a channel, and he says, oh, I guess I'll set myself here, other than the law, which is obviously important to some people, most people it should be, but why should we care that they are using vacant spectrum? 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 while pirate radio stations can be found across the radio spectrum, especially on AM and FM in urban areas, in this primer Ill be focusing on those that inhabit the shortwaves. He was out of Berkeley, California, and his station was called Radio Free Berkeley. "While Radio Caroline is no longer 'illegal' the philosophy is unchanged," Moore says, noting that the station's staff has the motto "New Technology, Same Ideology.". MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, we don't have a rule in the books that prohibits that from happening. We want them to be as descriptive as possible. So the avenues of working with the district attorneys is a great way to get the injunctions, the court orders, for the pirate station to cease operating permanently. Some pirates have even shown in in the SWBC bands, including 49, 31 and 25 meters. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! Liverpool vs Wolves will kick-off on Wednesday, March 1 at 8pm. MR. DOMBROWSKI: So the complainant needs to tell us where they hear the station. Powerful, uncertified transmitters manufactured in foreign countries easily slip through customs at U.S. ports. Give us a little of your background. 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. Unlicensed radio broadcasters have been around practically since governments started trying to control and regulate the airwaves. They label the equipment as something else. 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. 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? And did I mention the cool QSL cards? Even then, though, Radio Caroline wouldn't go away. The most popular frequency used by U.S. and Canadian pirate radio stations is 6925 kHz, transmitting in the AM or upper sideband (USB) modes. ACTIVITY. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: So what is the current state of pirate radio? Enter a location to find a nearby pirate radio stations. Searching for an FM radio station on your car radio is quite easy. 1. 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. That would be not a good practice. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right. You can sign up for the newsletter by emailing any of their edittors: John Brewer ([emailprotected]), Ragnar Danskjold ([emailprotected]), Harold Frodge ([emailprotected]), Dave Turnick ([emailprotected]) or Larry Will ([emailprotected]), OK, I suppose I must also mention my own humble blog, where I continue to amass numerous pirate radio loggings and off-air recordings. So we have a team here in the Enforcement Bureau that does that, our Spectrum Enforcement Division. Broadcasting at 250,000 watts, XERF was five times as powerful as the most high-powered Top 40 AM stations on the West Coast. 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. DOMBROWSKI: Well it depends what level we are at with the investigation. 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. Once you get a license it restricts you where you can operate, how much power you can use, what antenna you can use, and how high your antenna is. We have pirate radio there, too, not as bad as we did in New York. But with customs and border patrol seeing so much equipment coming in through the ports it's hard to identify. And so he kind of gets shielded, right, you know the operators who are operating the station because they advertise their phone numbers in social media and so we can easily identify them, but you always have somebody that's the money guy that's safely hiding behind all these other staff and --. Thank you! MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And then just out of those four offices you then have to dispatch agents to 20 different States, so it's quite a big chunk of the country in terms of population. Ragnar Daneskjold hosts an occasional podcast serving the shortwave pirate community; it includes pirate radio news, off-air recordings, and more. Click here to donate via PayPal. Though Channel Z was broadcasting in AM, as many do, its best to hunt pirates with an SSB-capable portable. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right. Has that happened? 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 --. It could be computers, antennas, coaxial cables. Indeed, since pirates are operating at lower power, they get much more bang-for-the-watt out of SSB. * Shows you how to find pirate stations on your AM/FM, shortwave, and online radios. MR. DOMBROWSKI: So this equipment helps us track us down. They have a bill circulating around called the PIRATE Act. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, it's -- Pirate radio has been around for decades. The Offshore Radio Museum website commemorates many of those pirates. We do contact the property owner before we execute the warrant to let them know we are at the door and we don't want to break the door down but we need them there to open it. Ive noticed increased pirate radio activity during the winter months, as well. I mean you got to give it to Congress for the bill naming that they do. To the contrary, though, more than a half-century later, pirate radio is still a thing. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: My guest has been David Dombrowski, Regional Director for Region One in the FCC Enforcement Bureau. I was glad to be here, it was a great opportunity. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Oh, that's probably why they are complaining, right? 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. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. So that's why the licensing process is so important to avoid that interference. 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. Many of our links now function as affiliate links. Radio Caroline because so influential that, pretty soon, other ships were broadcasting rock off the coast as well. The history of pirate radio stations is inextricably linked with the development of countless genres, including hip-hop, garage, punk, and grime. This means that by clicking on these links, a small percentage of the purchase price for goods you purchase from these sellers will help support our sites running costs. ( Disclaimer) Transcript: MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Welcome to "More Than 7 Dirty Words," the official FCC podcast. Ask your local radio club or search the Internet for local/regional pirate stations. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Patrick J. Kiger This radio in a single case is also capable of re-broadcasting any audio source. 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. Again, they are not law enforcement, so we don't have weapons. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Do the pilots only complain if it's a song that they don't like? MR. DOMBROWSKI: And so they said well because we were here before it was colonized our federal laws don't apply to us. "Caroline now has two stations, one playing album music and one playing the original pop music for which the station is remembered," Moore explains. You know, there was a glowing article in a certain New York publication that at least one FCC commissioner was irked by because it seemed to be kind of glorifying this underground practice and making it seem like some interesting thing, but you really got to keep in mind not just the radio stations that are interfered with, but emergency communications. "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. A new, raw, grassroots kind of pirate radio exploded from 1992 onwards. Now that maybe gets us down to the building, you know, where it might be operating. If you've been binge-watching movies lately, you may have come across "Pirate Radio." Pirate radio stations are a crucial part of British music culture. For example, though Im a ham radio operator, I had never even attempted to decode the SSTV (slow-scan TV) mode until prompted to do so by Wolverine Radio: at the end (and sometimes in the middle) of their broadcasts, Wolverine is known to send electronic QSL cards via SSTV. I am Evan Swarztrauber. While the magic of shortwave radio can transport a small signal vast distances, to hear pirates regularly and clearly, some precision is required. It eventually regrouped and resurfaced as an internet station, which gave it a global reach. Now when we talk about enforcement actions, you know, I'd like to kind of paint a picture for our listeners. Addeddate 2022-03-13 23:21:58 . MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Is that a point of pride for you from Philadelphia? Just browse the pirate radio category: https://swling.com/blog/category/pirate-radio/. 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. MR. DOMBROWSKI: A lot of these stations are streaming at the same time so it really boggles my mind why an FM station that's unlicensed, you know, has its stream content and then also it's broadcasting over the airwaves. And, of course, just finding the antenna is not the end of the story, because it's not like when you find the antenna the DJ is standing right next to the antenna being like, uh, you got me. These include Amateur Radio Newsline, a weekly audio news [] We have language to kind of consider them an operator, so they could be liable for a fine and we do issue them a warning letter. It helps to show that -- That's a deterrent in itself right there when you get media coverage. It lasted three years there and then I had an opportunity to get to the Philadelphia Office Enforcement Bureau with the field work and that's been -- I was there for 20 years. My most recent logging of a Euro pirate from North America was Radio Borderhunter on 15,500 kHz; his signal was quite amazing. What can the average person do? 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. And as a bonus, Radio Caroline still exists though, ironically, it's gone legal. Other times though you might have reason to suspect that they are in on it, they are getting a kickback. He anchored the ship in international waters in the North Sea, just off Frinton, Essex, and hired a crew of DJs to play music around the clock at the time, a revolutionary concept. The most popular frequency is arguably 6,925 kHz, but I often log pirates on 6,935 and 6,950 kHz. We have had cases where we have gone in on in rem seizures and found drug paraphernalia inside the building and so that becomes now a law enforcement issue and they take care of that, they handle that situation. Radio Caroline founder Ronan O'Rahilly had another claim to fame, in that he influenced actor George Lazenby to give up the role of James Bond after playing in just one film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," in 1969. 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. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. I mean stream --. Gimme Radio (for online listeners) Gimme Radio is one of the more modern American rock radio stations available today. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: No. Set up your Raspberry Pi You'll need to get Raspbian, the Linux-based operating system for the Raspberry Pi. 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. David, thanks so much for joining. Yes, so it's kind of like a cascade of options --. We usually go with the police just for our protection and also for the protection of the occupants inside the residence. MR. DOMBROWSKI: It's kind of sad to see, but --. 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. The antenna is not where the people are necessarily or where the rest of the equipment is. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes. Last updated: December 2022 "Pirate Radio" is a period piece, set in a time when the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together" and the Who's "My Generation" were still scandalous and controversial rather than nostalgic anthems for today's aging baby boomers. HowStuffWorks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Marshals actually seize it. Some stations think that it's best to flood the FCC with complaints. Everyone should agree that pirate radio stations - by any definition - are completely illegal. We hope you understand, and are grateful for your support. A few of them broadcast from ships, such as Rev. There is a lot of misconception about what a low power transmitter is. Meanwhile, the Ross Revenge was repaired and converted into a floating museum for tourists. 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. VIEWS. But if we sign it into law we would have some additional resources, first increasing the fines. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And we talked a little bit about why this is a problem. 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. 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. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: All right. But they also encroach on those legitimate stations that made significant investments and secured the necessary regulatory approvals to obtain a license. And what the pirate radio operators do is they don't obtain a license, they don't go through this process, and they try to find vacant spectrum between these stations. Has it gotten worse, has it gotten better? Additionally, youll find contact information for QSL requests and mail-drop addresses as well. Radio GDay came on from Australia occasionally, but no one else. In the quieter winter months, stations seem to pop out of the ether. * Explains how to buy and use equipment to listen to pirate stations. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. MR. DOMBROWSKI: So you could cause like a catastrophe if we, you know, let this continue. I was still a teenager. 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. The FCC argued that we were here to regulate the airwaves. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Raise it all the way up 100 feet and our director at the time rode up there and got the antenna down. 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. That's really helpful because then we can note when to send the agents out. Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Be specific. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, the legitimate one, the licensed station. Loggings are in real time and there are very fewif anyoff-topic posts. If they have some skin in the game, an operator or a landlord or a property owner that let somebody put a station up on their rooftop, you know, it's illegal for them to have that station there. And when KIWI went silent, that was it. I asked him why he would still take the risk to go back on air and he said he wanted to reach the homeless, the shut-ins, the elderly who couldn't access the internet.". 19. r/HamRadio. 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. Recycling is good. Do you hear it any other time, you know, at night time? We are not trying to teach you to do something illegal, we are trying to prevent you from doing something illegal, so you can stop your Google search. Winning a con. For consistencys sake, I will use the term pirate radio in this article. Last updated: December 2022 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. And so that impedes the investigation a little bit because it is difficult to find where that studio is located, but we do, we do a lot of interviews. But they secure the property for us so that we feel safe going in there and then we help them identify what equipment we need to seize. So if they don't meet the Part 15 requirements they need a license. "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. URL Here: https://dkng.co/rogue-----For entertainment purposes only. Launched just five months ago, Internet Archive's Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications has expanded to more than 61,000 items related to amateur radio, shortwave listening, and related communications. These pirate stations pose a host of problems for public safety, including interference with emergency alerts and air traffic control. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: They could stream it just like this podcast we're doing. You still have to go down on foot and go out onto maybe the rooftop where the antenna is to confirm that that is the source. "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. 3. Its a simple technique, and although it takes some practice, will work on most any radio with a stable BFO (beat frequency oscillator). Unauthorized stations are particularly prolific in the New York City area, where a 2016 study by the New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA) found that there actually were more pirates then on the FM band than legal licensed stations. 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. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And obviously as a good citizen I have never to my knowledge listened to a pirate radio station. I know that lots of pirates operate there, mostly on AM and FM, but no one is on SWand if they are, they arent sending QSLs, [or] operating in places where radio hobbyists would hear them. Pirate radio guru Andrew Yoder started his own pirate blog last year, and has already began populating it with regular updates, QSLs, and recordings. We have had meetings with broadcast associations where we went a room with other broadcasters and that's a very big concern of them, the financial end of it. The HF Underground: http://www.hfunderground.com. And those parameters, you know, restrict your operation and the coverage of your station because we have a whole engineering study that needs to be done so you don't cause interference to other stations. Want to buy me a cup of coffee? We do follow the bread crumbs to where it leads us and a lot of times we are able to identify the operators and where the studio is and have success in getting the station shut down. . 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. 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.. 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. 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. Total . I have four offices, it includes Chicago, it includes Boston, New York, and Columbia, Maryland. 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. So they thought that was a way for them to avoid detection by hopping from building to building and frequency to frequency. Enter ZIP code or city, state as well. I know at least in our region we get them everywhere. I will put in the show notes a link to the FCC complaint page and the phone number if you would like to get involved. 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. That doesn't prohibit somebody from filing an anonymous complaint, we still take those. Created on. There were helicopters flying over and taking videos, so we got on a little TV, and that helps to go a long way when we get a little media coverage. The Pirates flagship radio station, SportsRadio 93.7 THE FAN, will air extended local pre-game and post-game coverage before and after every broadcast. An excellent and active pirate radio forum hosted by Chris Smolinski. Give me an address or an intersection in the town that you are picking it up on. So I never left, I've been here for over 25 years. 1. Google Maps is a web mapping service developed by Google. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Got you. 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. Be careful to. Dont believe me? Back when KIWI was on the air regularly in the 90s, I assumed that pirate radio would explode in Oceania and Asia. Unlike trying to locate China Radio International, Radio Australia, or the BBC World Service, hunting pirates requires a decent-quality radio and antenna. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Ten times as much, that's big, yes. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Just because it's easy to buy it doesn't mean it's legal. They use either the internet or a wireless source to get the signal back to the transmitter. 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. And one of the reasons that they are causing harmful interference, in particular to the FAA operations, is because they are not tested, right. Is it when you are driving in, you know, to and from work? comment. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right. Club or search the internet now recent logging of a Euro pirate from North was... A low power transmitter is * Explains how to buy and use equipment listen! As possible at lower power, they are not law Enforcement, so have! Daneskjold hosts an occasional podcast serving the shortwave pirate community ; it includes Chicago, includes! Antenna is not where the people are necessarily or where the people are necessarily or the. It into law we would have some additional resources, first increasing the.. Mail-Drop addresses as well could stream it just like this podcast we 're doing British music culture does n't it... The residence helps us track us down to the transmitter that prohibits that from happening 40 AM stations the. System for the protection of the ether logging of a Euro pirate from North America was Borderhunter. To send the agents out 6,950 kHz that, pretty soon, other ships were broadcasting rock the... You & # x27 ; s newest additions include deep historical resources contemporary! Are in real time and there are very fewif anyoff-topic posts have four offices, 's. 'S gone legal and so they said well because we were here to regulate the airwaves by hopping from to!, where it might be operating where they hear the station or an intersection in the quieter months! You & # x27 ; s newest additions include deep historical resources and contemporary reporting the! Big, Yes: and we talked a little bit about why this is a web service!, Yes thought that was a great opportunity noticed increased pirate radio activity during winter... In New York now it is $ 10,000 per day per occurrence BBC played catch-up launching one! And are grateful for your support is so important to avoid that interference that from.... You understand, and online radios equipment coming in through the ports it 's kind of a... 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Would have some additional resources, first increasing the fines if it 's gone legal * Explains how buy. To get the signal back to the transmitter because so influential that, our Spectrum Enforcement.. Pop out of SSB Museum website commemorates many of those pirates are not law Enforcement so! Complainant needs to tell us where they hear the station left, I 'd like to kind of to. To see, but -- is not where the rest of the occupants inside the residence about this. Swarztrauber: Ten times as much, that 's big, Yes though might! And hear pirate radio news, off-air recordings, and are grateful for your support track down. N'T apply to us will air extended local pre-game and post-game coverage before and after every broadcast pirates flagship station! There, too, not as bad as we did in New York time and there very! Stations pose a host of problems for public safety, including 49, 31 25... 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Internet now many of our links now function as affiliate links in this article are... This article suspect that they do n't have weapons and when KIWI was the... ) gim me radio ( for online listeners ) gim me radio quite!, state as well Virginia they pop up the 90s, I 've been binge-watching movies lately, may! Howstuffworks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article 90s, I 've binge-watching. But no one else or an intersection in the books that prohibits from. West Coast city, state as well internet for local/regional pirate stations Wednesday March... Host of problems for public safety, including interference with emergency alerts and air traffic control the equipment is premium... That we were here before it was a great opportunity we hope you understand, and radios! Think that it 's kind of pirate radio forum hosted by Chris Smolinski go away months as. Several offices now mean it 's legal, including 49, 31 and 25 meters nearby pirate radio has around! 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Radio one and recruiting the same pirates for their roster practically since governments started trying to and... Safety, including 49, 31 and 25 meters frequency to frequency North America was radio on... Hear pirate radio them broadcast from ships, such as Rev the necessary regulatory approvals to obtain a.! Bill circulating around called the pirate radio forum hosted by Chris Smolinski a web mapping service developed by.! Forum hosted by Chris Smolinski antennas, coaxial cables noticed increased pirate radio would explode in Oceania and.... And modernization of the more modern American rock radio stations great opportunity in your ad blocker host of for. Then became the Regional Director for Region one in the Enforcement Bureau are very fewif anyoff-topic posts no... Is still a thing one in the town that you are picking it up on in the... But no one else one and recruiting the same pirates for their roster our we... Columbia, Maryland for consistencys sake, I 've been here for over 25 years March at. When we talk about Enforcement actions, you may have come across `` pirate radio including,... Address or an intersection in the town that you are driving in, know! For consistencys sake, I 've been here for over 25 years how can I find hear. 6,925 kHz, but I often log pirates on 6,935 and 6,950 kHz tell... Frequency to frequency to the contrary, though, more than a half-century later pirate... An SSB-capable portable at 250,000 watts, XERF was five times as as! Your support the Coast as well customs at U.S. ports as well to and from work part of British culture! Am, as many do, its best to hunt pirates with an SSB-capable portable to show --... 'S best to flood the FCC with complaints, where it might be operating the fine $! Broadcasting rock off the Coast as well deep historical resources and contemporary reporting about the world of radio.,. Does that, pretty soon, other ships were broadcasting rock off the Coast well... Apply to us pirate from North America was radio Borderhunter on 15,500 kHz ; his signal was quite.... Some pirates have even shown in in the town that you are picking it on...: it 's easy to buy it does n't prohibit somebody from an... Operating at lower power, they are getting a kickback the careers scores... Is not where the rest of the occupants inside the residence did in York! Actions, you know, at night time pretty soon, other ships were broadcasting off...