"‘The Ghost’ is Shaniko’s renegade radio station" - Pirate Radio in Shaniko via The Oregonian

[speer360]

‘The Ghost’ is Shaniko’s renegade radio station

Shaniko's Dead Format Music sells vinyl records, cassettes and 8-tracks, and has a little pirate radio station playing classic rock and country music.

www.oregonlive.com

The town also uses “The Ghost” as a kind of emergency system. The fire dispatch sends Cooper an alert whenever there’s a fire or a wreck on the highway, which he can broadcast to his neighbors.

“I don’t want to get real big. I don’t want to get in trouble,” he said, “but just big enough that people know I’m here and will listen while they’re in town.”

None of this is … exactly legal, and Cooper readily admits to not knowing all the rules around operating a radio station. As far as he’s concerned, Shaniko still has a bit of that wild west spirit.

“We’re in Shaniko. We are a bunch of hillbillies. Maybe it’s not a pirate radio station,” Cooper said, searching for the right word for his Old West, outlaw operation. “Maybe it’s … a renegade radio station.”

 

[Mikey Radio]

‘The Ghost’ is Shaniko’s renegade radio station

Shaniko's Dead Format Music sells vinyl records, cassettes and 8-tracks, and has a little pirate radio station playing classic rock and country music.

www.oregonlive.com

Great story and I enjoyed reading it, but if he's broadcasting illegally I'm not sure it's wise to do a newspaper article about it. That said, he lives in a ghost town in the middle of nowhere, so I'm not sure his stations' going to conflict or interfere with much and I'm quite certain the understaffed field offices most likely have much better fish (in much bigger cities) to fry.

 

[Red Plume]

I'm quite certain the understaffed field offices most likely have much better fish (in much bigger cities) to fry.

This seems like deja vu. The same publication featured an unlicensed station in 2009 that wasn't compliant in Oregon [1], and the FCC immediately visited [2] and issued a shut down order.

I don't think this is going to end well. Looking at Radio-Locator, it seems like this area could use a radio station [3].

[1] Stayton radio station owner Ken Cartwright and Jan Castillo will wed on-air and online
[2] https://transition.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-294572A1.html
[3] Radio Stations in Shaniko, Oregon.

 

[speer360]

This seems like deja vu. The same publication featured an unlicensed station in 2009 that wasn't compliant in Oregon [1], and the FCC immediately visited [2] and issued a shut down order.

I don't think this is going to end well. Looking at Radio-Locator, it seems like this area could use a radio station.

[1] Stayton radio station owner Ken Cartwright and Jan Castillo will wed on-air and online
[2] https://transition.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-294572A1.html

THANK YOU, I was trying to find this.

 

[speer360]

Great story and I enjoyed reading it, but if he's broadcasting illegally I'm not sure it's wise to do a newspaper article about it. That said, he lives in a ghost town in the middle of nowhere, so I'm not sure his stations' going to conflict or interfere with much and I'm quite certain the understaffed field offices most likely have much better fish (in much bigger cities) to fry.

I think he will regret this.

It is being picked up because Shaniko just reopened its only hotel and Shaniko days just happen.

Oregon ghost town will come to life this weekend for Shaniko Days

Shaniko prides itself on its ghost town status, although it still is an actual municipality with a city council and a population of 23 people.

www.hereisoregon.com

Ghost town of Shaniko reopens its only hotel

After 16 years of closure, the Shaniko Hotel, located in Oregon’s famous ghost town, has reopened, this time under the management of the town’s volunteer firefighters.

www.bendbulletin.com

 

[Red Plume]

The article alone seems to put them on shaky ground with LPFM eligibility [1]. The original article says that they're not running commercials, so reorganizing as LPFM might not be a huge stretch.

[1] Federal Register :: Request Access

 

[b-turner]

My best advice to him is to shut down, associate with a non-profit and file for a LPFM in a couple of months when the window opens. I doubt the FCC is making a trip out there just to see him but there is verified evidence he is operating at powers above part 15.

 

[speer360]

He applied for LPFM licensed

https://fccdata.org/?facid=787802