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. These pirate stations pose a host of problems for public safety, including interference with emergency alerts and air traffic control. Has it gotten worse, has it gotten better? We have a call center, it's 888-CALL-FCC where we have staff there during business hours to take your complaint. Multiply the answer from #1 by the fraction of wavelength of your antenna's design (most antennas are 1/2 (.5) or 1/4 (.25) wave; the popular Comet is a 5/8 (.625) wave antenna). MR. SWARZTRAUBER: It's not working properly and that's why it's going into air traffic control. We do that with every pirate station. I know out on the West Coast in California we have more significant numbers than other areas, so that probably would be one of the five markets identified, maybe the L.A. area would probably be another market that we would look at. Find this podcast in the iTunes store or Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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. They don't know how to reach us? Radio Caroline. And it was good media coverage, too. 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. While this reality is not surprising, we . MR. DOMBROWSKI: That's not going to be my cell phone is it? MR. DOMBROWSKI: No, it doesn't have -- It's not marked with pizza delivery guy either. Coffee helps fuel the SWLing Post! MR. DOMBROWSKI: It's not, you know, and we didn't talk about, there are other legal ways to go about it. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Well that's what I went up with. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. Before we talk about where to hunt pirates, however, we need to talk about the necessary equipmenti.e., your radio and antenna. And that's it, we will catch you next time. I know at least in our region we get them everywhere. Jason Scott Archivist. So when we license stations, you know, I used to work in the FM branch so I am very knowledgeable about the process, but there is a whole legal and engineering study that has to be done before you get a license and it takes resources to do that, financial resources. And when KIWI went silent, that was it. So --. 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. 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. They can call their State Broadcast Association to get our contact information. So sometimes the apartment owner, the building owner, or whatever, is totally in the dark about this, didn't know about. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Got you. Now all those things have one thing in common. 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. So just keep in mind next time you read some nice hipster article about how great pirate radio is in your community, that there are serious issues at play and what the FCC is doing is really important and that's why it's so great to have you on here to share your perspective and some of your history working on this and we really just want to thank you for your service. So a transmitter that complies with the Part 15 requirements has a very small operating range, about 100 feet. So we have a lot of those stations operating, so it's big revenue for them. A lot of times you can tell by the audio quality. And those rules dictate a lot of restrictions and cover your wireless transmitters that we use every day, remote controls for you car, your headset, bluetooth sets. So how do you escalate the situation, you know, what tools do you have to say, okay, we're not getting cooperation let's take this up a notch? "He was waiting several months to come back on the air (and therefore was only willing to speak off the record to me). For his new show, Bruce promises "me and my musings and all the great . "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. Not just Aussie and NZ pirates, but stations in places like The Phillipinesmaybe Japan, South Korea, or Thailand. They came and seized all of my equipment. 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. So we eventually went to the courts and fought. And as a bonus, Radio Caroline still exists though, ironically, it's gone legal. They were also changing frequency. So if they don't meet the Part 15 requirements they need a license. Even as many legacy international broadcasters are abandoning the shortwave bands, shortwave remains active and vibrant in another quadrant: namely, on shortwave pirate radio. One of the first pirate radio operators we know of was Ronan O'Rahilly. ( Disclaimer) Transcript: MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Welcome to "More Than 7 Dirty Words," the official FCC podcast. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes, in those dense urban areas because the FM band is already pretty clogged up with legitimate stations that might be one of the reasons that people throw up their hands and say, well, I guess I'm just do an illegal station because I am frustrated by the legal process for getting a station, but that is not a justification in any sense of the word. Wolves are looking to climb up the table (Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) This will be the fourth time this year the two . Meanwhile, the Ross Revenge was repaired and converted into a floating museum for tourists. The U.S. 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. It had a 20-mile range. 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? Revealing the. 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 --. Created on. Well, I can't say exactly what it is, but, yes, they're --. If you live outside of North America and Europe, that doesnt mean there arent pirate radio stations to be found. More areas, more just the urban areas. MR. DOMBROWSKI: It's kind of sad to see, but --. 16 days ago. Total Views 29,573 (Older Stats) ITEMS. Tribute to Pirate Radio, KQLZ 100.3 FM Los Angeles. 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. And they come -- I've worked with them when they have bulletproof vests on and automatic weapons. I mean stream --. Pirate stations want listeners to discover them, so they broadcast in various watering holes.. Collection Info. While the magic of shortwave radio can transport a small signal vast distances, to hear pirates regularly and clearly, some precision is required. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Ten times as much, that's big, yes. Answer (1 of 14): Why I am qualified to answer this question. 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. Now that maybe gets us down to the building, you know, where it might be operating. 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. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: That's some great local cooperation right there. They also have potential to cause interference to the adjacent channel stations, you know, up above their frequency and below their frequency. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right. Across the country FCC officials are working to identify and take action against illegal unlicensed radio operators using frequencies allocated for legitimate radio operators that are causing interference and other issues. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, everyone's dream job. . But merely the act of purchasing this equipment is illegal and partly that's because it comes from overseas and it's not been tested by the FCC, correct? Last updated: December 2022 So I have -- In terms of population I manage 20 States in the Northeast area of the United States. Now this is not just a focus of the FCC, Congress is also interested in this. Pirate radio broadcasting on shortwave radio in North America is mostly done in a frequency range just below the 40 meter amateur radio band, from about 6815 kHz to 6970 kHz. Click here to donate via PayPal. VIEWS. Unlike the rock 'n' roll hipsters of 1960s British pirate radio, who aimed at a mass audience, most of Brooklyn's unlicensed broadcasters seem to be immigrants and members of ethnic and religious minorities trying to reach their own groups and neighborhoods. 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. Though Channel Z was broadcasting in AM, as many do, its best to hunt pirates with an SSB-capable portable. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, we don't have a rule in the books that prohibits that from happening. Many of our links now function as affiliate links. If you live in a geographic hotbed of pirate activity (again, eastern/central North America and Europe) you might find a portable radio ample for hearing a number of pirates. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Right, he's no the public face of it. Dont believe me? 1. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Pirate radio. Where are you hearing this interference problem? 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. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, there was a case back in the 1990s, late 1990s. 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. Chasing pirates has also increased my technical know-how. The government authorities in charge of the surveillance of the radio-electric spectrum can use the PROWATCH instruments to detect and locate the pirate and irregular broadcast stations of radio and TV. It would identify what are the legitimate stations and also identify what stations we sanctioned so they could better get an understanding, you know, is this a legitimate station I am hearing or not. 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. Additionally, you can always tune a remote receiver, via the Internet on the Global Tuners website, or via the University of Twentes SDR in the Netherlands. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And we talked a little bit about why this is a problem. He got the craft back and kept at pirate radio for nearly another quarter century. The history of pirate radio stations is inextricably linked with the development of countless genres, including hip-hop, garage, punk, and grime. Our agents will contact you. 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. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes. Finding Shortwave Stations and Broadcasts. 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. But the easiest way to file a complaint is go online. "One is cost. 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 do let stations operate with low power transmitters but they have to comply with the technical requirements of Part 15 of our rules. So what is pirate radio? I mean you got to give it to Congress for the bill naming that they do. Now you usually get one of your top, you know, first or second choice. 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. Total . Our agency was delegated by Congress to allocate frequencies and allocate it in the public interest and it's a resource. PIRATE RADIO Once you remove the idea of pirate radio from its mythology, you. A few of them broadcast from ships, such as Rev. It will also help to have some sort of adjustable bandwidth filter (wide/narrow). As a self-proclaimed content DXer, what interests me in pirate radio is that the listener never knows what to expect, but you can guarantee that the content will be different from that of the major broadcasters. 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. To determine the wavelength of your signal in inches, divide 11811 by your transmitter's frequency in megahertz (MHz). Pirates broadcast a wide variety of content, but are usually motivated by sharing their messageor favorite musicon the air. Select a station from the list and it will play on the tuner. We hope you understand, and are grateful for your support. I was hired into an engineering training program down in Norfolk, Virginia, where we got classroom orientation on all the different radio services and the bureaus and offices for the FCC. 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. Some stations think that it's best to flood the FCC with complaints. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: And we're talking about air traffic control? It's about $200,000 worth of equipment. MR. SWARZTRAUBER: Oh, that's probably why they are complaining, right? 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. Please leave us a review because it will help others find this show. To track pirates, youll need a radio with both AM and SSB modes. Radio 510 International - European relay station broadcasting every weekend on short-wave to all of Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East on 13840 kHz. To the contrary, though, more than a half-century later, pirate radio is still a thing. Stations such as Weekend Rush, Kool FM, Pulse and Innocence wanted to represent the streets and promote local scenes.. It could be harmful if we let a pirate radio station operate because sometimes they cause interference to other services, like aeronautical communications. MR. DOMBROWSKI: There is a variety of pirate radio stations out there. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Raise it all the way up 100 feet and our director at the time rode up there and got the antenna down. The Radio Informer - The latest info on the world of radio including:world,shortwave . My most recent logging of a Euro pirate from North America was Radio Borderhunter on 15,500 kHz; his signal was quite amazing. Note: This podcast was recorded on June 21st. Enter ZIP code or city, state as well. Ive had great results in the past with an old Icom IC-735 and a 40-meter dipole antenna. So hopefully that's enough for them to get the station taken down and maybe share some information about who the real operator is. comment. What's more, pirate radio stations gave us access to some of the most pivotal figures in UK music . 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 --. MR. DOMBROWSKI: Yes, just 20. 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. So we try to shut down, you know, that equipment coming in to the purchasers. To some of the most pivotal figures in UK music stations operating, so it gone. And Innocence wanted to represent the streets and promote local scenes as many,. Equipmenti.E., your radio and antenna of your top, you know, first or second choice,. 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