FCC to get tough on property owners over pirate stations.

[davideduardo]

The modern Pirates aren't interested in 100W and all the paperwork, they just do what they want to, at least until they get shut down.

Perhaps I should mention how the station I consulted and programmed in Buenos Aires dealt with pirates:

Metro Buenos Aires is about 20 million, so it's a bit bigger than New York City. It is immense in geography, extending way out from the River Plate inland. It takes 50 kw to 100 kw on AM to cover well. And where there appears to be an open channel, someone on an apartment building will build a pirate. Dozens, maybe hundreds.

The station I was with had a truck with direction finding gear. If a pirate was reported on adjacent channels to us, the truck would go out and find the pirate. The "inspectors" were big guys and wore one of those belts an electric company repairman uses... lots of tools, and some were large.

Pirates were told to get out of the way of the station's signal. If they were not gone the next day, the tools were used on the antenna and the cables. The more that was done, the fewer pirates came near us... apparently they communicated with each other.

 

[radiocph]

Pirates were told to get out of the way of the station's signal. If they were not gone the next day, the tools were used on the antenna and the cables.

The tools weren't used directly on the pirates?

 

[davideduardo]

The tools weren't used directly on the pirates?

Only later if they did not go silent or find a different place on the dial. In that case, the antenna was dissected and the coax cut into little bitsy pieces.

 

[davideduardo]

And, I would be the first to agree that handing out FM translator licenses to the owners who neglected their AM stations and the medium-wave spectrum they were on, made about as much sense as giving a new car to customers who never changed the oil in their old, now inoperable one.

But in most cases, the AM operators that got translators were doing the best they could with their stations... most of which were likely not making money. AM's real issue is the shrinking of effective coverage due to the increases in man-made noise in the last couple of decades. That has made AM listening in homes and offices nearly impossible, and that is no fault of the owner.

 

[kenglish]

David, I guess the polar-opposite of what happened in Buenos Aires and what we're talking about here....
A friend and mentor, Jim Lawhon of HCJB built a shortwave antenna for Radio Kahuzi, at their old studio location in the Democratic Republic of Congo, back in 2001. In 2015, they noticed some issues with the transmitter, and went next door to the vacant lot where the antenna was located. In the midst of the antenna poles, someone was building a pretty big house. They could have used your "Big guys with tool belts" about then 😉 .
They have since moved to another city, but their biggest problem is still unreliable electric power.

 

[davideduardo]

David, I guess the polar-opposite of what happened in Buenos Aires and what we're talking about here....
A friend and mentor, Jim Lawhon of HCJB built a shortwave antenna for Radio Kahuzi, at their old studio location in the Democratic Republic of Congo, back in 2001. In 2015, they noticed some issues with the transmitter, and went next door to the vacant lot where the antenna was located. In the midst of the antenna poles, someone was building a pretty big house. They could have used your "Big guys with tool belts" about then 😉 .
They have since moved to another city, but their biggest problem is still unreliable electric power.

The HCJB folks in the Congo should have done what they did in Pifo outside of Quito, Ecuador: build their own power plant.

I'd make the then-arduous drive to the site a couple of times a year to chat with the engineers and learn useful stuff. Good folks!

 

[kenglish]

I don't blame any individual owners for the noise problems, but I feel that the industry, as a whole, should have made a concerted effort to keep the spectrum clean. The lack of FCC enforcement on RFI matters should have been foremost on their minds when talking to the politicians. More stringent rules on digital devices and noisy powered devices could have helped immensely. LED lights are a good example today.
Remember when they defined Class-A and Class-B standards?
The thinking was, "How many residential areas will ever have computers? Those monsters will only be at NASA, or in major industrial businesses!"
I'd love to see a ban on cheap, non-filtered switch-mode power supplies begun immediately. In a few years, when the existing junk ones have all burned up, maybe the noise floor will go down.

 

[kenglish]

The HCJB folks in the Congo should have done what they did in Pifo outside of Quito, Ecuador: build their own power plant.

I'd make the then-arduous drive to the site a couple of times a year to chat with the engineers and learn useful stuff. Good folks!

They are in small neighborhoods, so a hydro plant is probably out of the question. I think, now that their studio rebuild is finished, their next campaign may be to go solar-powered ( they have two FM's and about a 2KW shortwave to power).
BTW, if you ever get to SLC, maybe I can get you a tour of Farnsworth Peak. The scenery is beautiful at 9200 feet, and the 17 mile drive from the gate is very exciting.

 

[davideduardo]

I don't blame any individual owners for the noise problems, but I feel that the industry, as a whole, should have made a concerted effort to keep the spectrum clean. The lack of FCC enforcement on RFI matters should have been foremost on their minds when talking to the politicians. More stringent rules on digital devices and noisy powered devices could have helped immensely.

AM noise began with the popularization of florescent lamps in the 70's and then by the later part of that decade we had electronic calculators and then by the early 80's all kinds of computers making noise, plus power companies not keeping lines clean, TV sets radiating all kinds of trash and... well, we know the outcome. It's 50 years too late to fix that.

 

[davideduardo]

They are in small neighborhoods, so a hydro plant is probably out of the question. I think, now that their studio rebuild is finished, their next campaign may be to go solar-powered ( they have two FM's and about a 2KW shortwave to power).
BTW, if you ever get to SLC, maybe I can get you a tour of Farnsworth Peak. The scenery is beautiful at 9200 feet, and the 17 mile drive from the gate is very exciting.

I had my fill of that kind of drive: I moved one of my FMs up the side of the mountain that forms the west side of Quito. It was a zig-zag set of crisscross lanes with 320° foldbacks at each side to make it up from the 10,000 foot base to about the 13,000 foot level. Not a night project. If I wanted to do maintenance, I'd have to go up before sunset (6 PM every day of the year) and take a sleeping bad and blankets, as the temperatures were around freezing just a dozen or so miles south of the Equator. The view was astounding, though. On a good morning, more than a dozen snow-capped peaks were visible.

The site was generously shared by HCJB's TV facility. The FM, with 250 watts into a 4-bay vertical only beam tilt antenna covered the market magnificently.

 

[Kelly A]

Pirates were told to get out of the way of the station's signal. If they were not gone the next day, the tools were used on the antenna and the cables. The more that was done, the fewer pirates came near us... apparently they communicated with each other.

My favorite tools for taking down a pirate: Staple gun, two sewing needles, small hammer, fence wire cutters.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

I was pretty good at hunting pirates and part 15ers myself. It was sort of an adventure.
And, I shared the knowledge that the FCC gave me. One was in Indianapolis. I helped him get a license for 6,000 watts on the very same frequency he had been using in Indy. Another guy was using part 15 in the Indianapolis suburbs. I got him an LPFM license. Both stations have been on the air licensed for many years.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

It's much safer for the FCC to send a letter to a landlord than to raid someone's home right now. Covid 19 is very real.

 

[kenglish]

AM noise began with the popularization of florescent lamps in the 70's and then by the later part of that decade we had electronic calculators and then by the early 80's all kinds of computers making noise, plus power companies not keeping lines clean, TV sets radiating all kinds of trash and... well, we know the outcome. It's 50 years too late to fix that.

Just for fun, go to one of those home improvement stores (like Lowe's), and ask the clerk what the difference is between a Class-A and Class-B fluorescent ballast. They'll tell you "one is cheaper...that's the one you want". I know the FCC notified the industry years ago, about posting an explanation in the store.
Also, call the toll-free number for your power company, and ask about TV and radio interference mitigation 🙄 .

 

[kenglish]

It's much safer for the FCC to send a letter to a landlord than to raid someone's home right now. Covid 19 is very real.

There was an article recently, from Wales, where people all lost broadband at 7:00 every morning. The provider tried everything. Finally, inspectors went out and did some direction-finding.
They found the problem was RFI from an "old" TV set in someone's home. The entire transaction took place through the open window of the house, due to COVID restrictions.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

My first legal station after the FCC closed my pirate station was WMRS in a resort town near Lafayette, Indiana. Kevin Page was my brother in law.

This story makes me very sad!

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

Back in the 1980's the FCC was very open to the people. You could walk in to the Chairman's office and tell him your problem. He would send you back down the elevator with an aid who'd take you to the right people.

 

[TheBigA]

Back in the 1980's the FCC was very open to the people. You could walk in to the Chairman's office and tell him your problem. He would send you back down the elevator with an aid who'd take you to the right people.

That was in the old building on M street. Things are a bit more formal now. More lawyers, fewer engineers.

 

[kenglish]

I spent a whole day wandering around 1919 "M" Street, back in the mid 70's. Took the test for my 1st Phone w/Ship Radar Endorsement, and pawed thru those cabinets of records cards. I can still smell the cardboard!
I got a hero's welcome when I got back to the Avionics shop at Pax River, with my certificate.

 

[davideduardo]

I spent a whole day wandering around 1919 "M" Street, back in the mid 70's. Took the test for my 1st Phone w/Ship Radar Endorsement, and pawed thru those cabinets of records cards. I can still smell the cardboard!
I got a hero's welcome when I got back to the Avionics shop at Pax River, with my certificate.

I went there in '69 to get my 1st Ticket. I was treated very nicely by the examination lady, but she told me I could not take both the 2nd Class and the 1st Class at the same time. I said I had come all the way from Ecuador to sit for the exam, and she graciously granted an exception and said, "If you ace the 2nd, you get to do the 1st". I did, and she even got someone to fill in my license and gave it to me on the spot.

Later that year, when working for Art Kellar, I did lots of research in the public files to look for opportunities to file in Roanoke, Chesapeake and several other metros. The staff was gracious and helpful. And, of course, Broadcasting Magazine was located nearby, also a fun visit for a radio geek who has been in the business for 60 years but, with an exception at while condemned to labor at KHJ, never actually worked a day in his career!