A question about pirate radio.

[LA_Guy]

Some see pirate radio as breaking the FCC rules. Others see the FCC rules as not only antiquated and mostly politically motivated (ie: the IBOC decision, which runs completely counter of the FCC's mission for existiing-to keep stations from interfering with each other), but SEVERELY slanted towards big business and the god squadders (which in my opinion they are!).

These people tend to see pirate broadcasting as a form of Waldenesque Civil Disobedience-the laws are wrong, so don't obey them.

Also, many here have to admit that many pirate broadcasters serve the 'public interest, convenience, and necessity' a lot better then their commercial counterparts.

Unfortunately, many pirate broadcasters are not technically inclined. They pick frequencies that harm licensed stations. They overmodulate. They are technically inferior.

Now to my question (hypothetically of course, I have no plans to actually do this-and I live in L.A. now anyway): Should an engineer help a pirate station technically? Assuming that pirates are here to stay (and it sure seems like they are!) is is beneficial to the public at large for pirate stations to be engineered so they 'hurt' the radio spectrum as little as possible?

As an example I give you the FM pirate that set up shop last year on 97.1 (hot 97?) hurting the licensed signal of 96.9. If he had moved one channel away to 97.3, and was running a reasonable output power, commercial equipment and proper modulation, he would have affected NOBODY!

Should we accept the pirates as part of life and then try to control them to minimize their impact to interfere with other stations? Is this a better thing then the helter skelter we have now?

As another example I give you 88.5, 89.3, 94.9, 96.3, 97.5, 99.9, 101.3, 102.1, 102.9, 103.7, 105.3 and 106.1. ANY of these freqiencies can be used in the Boston area without interfering with anyone-many of them have pending applications on them for translators (don't get me started about THAT scourge of the airwaves!). Yes I know that some will complain that pirates on these frequencies would make reception of distant stations on them difficult, but then again the distant stations have no right to expect coverage in Boston anyway. Yes I know that one group of stations is affected with their EAS reception by 99.9, but again my reply would be to install a Barix!

Let's talk about this-I think that the Civil Disobediance angle is quite valid (especially in eastern Massachusetts!).

 

[jlehmann]

As an example I give you the FM pirate that set up shop last year on 97.1 (hot 97?) hurting the licensed signal of 96.9. If he had moved one channel away to 97.3, and was running a reasonable output power, commercial equipment and proper modulation, he would have affected NOBODY!

Actually I don't think it ever came on the air on 97.1, that was just their online only version. When it first came on, it was on 97.5, first adjacent to WKAF, only a couple miles away. Now it's on 87.7.

 

[LA_Guy]

Yes. And on 87.7 they interfere with nobody.

One more thing. On my list of frequencies, 97.5 was a typo. It should have been 97.3.

 

[Don Juan]

Should an engineer help a pirate station technically? Assuming that pirates are here to stay (and it sure seems like they are!) is is beneficial to the public at large for pirate stations to be engineered so they 'hurt' the radio spectrum as little as possible?

Would you be Al Capones bookeeper? Would you be a driver for a bank robber?

Should we accept the pirates as part of life and then try to control them to minimize their impact to interfere with other stations? Is this a better thing then the helter skelter we have now?

We should not be helping people to break the law. We should not reward people (personally or institutionally) by rewarding people breaking the rules that everyone else abides by.

If a peice of spectrum is available, then anyone/everyone should have a chance to compete for it. Just because someone baisically bullied their way and grabbed it when others have been playing by the rules.

Yes. And on 87.7 they interfere with nobody.

But who says they get 87.7? If the signal is available, it should be up for competition, and someone should be chosen to operate on it.

Heck, if 87.7 is available, why can't *I* have it? Just because they muscled in on it? Kinda reminds me of people who come to a concert and traipse over everyone who waited is orderly all day to stake out a spot at a rock concert...and then a bunch of people come at the last minute and push their way to the front and grab what others have been orderly waiting for.

It also concerns me that pirates think that their cause is more important than anyone else's cause. That their reason for broadcasting trumps anyone else's reason for operating on that frequency.

Would we let someone set up a house on a median strip simply because they would interfere with nobody? Do we let them set up house on a media strip simply because they grabbed the land first?

Do we let people move into a house you own because you might not be using it at the time?

 

[Tom Wells]

Viewpoint is everything. Inasmuch the FCC abrogated responsibility for MW band management about 1973, when the
invasion of cheap lamp dimmers began, culminating now with iboc, it is hard to imagine they have any moral standing left to
dictate standards or regulate anything. A whole new agency specific to RF management is in order, with the FCC subservient to
that body, which would be the domain of engineers, NOT politicians and wonks.

Any pro-bono services to a pirate are good for the spectrum, but one must personally decide if a particular pirate deserves help
or deserves tattling. That is the first decision of an engineer. If the pirate seems to be operating in essentially good practice,
and you're not offended by their "vision" or mission, then help. I would NOT help increase power and would recommend ways for them to
decrease power if I were in this situation.
But if they're plain awful, excessively offensive, jam licensed stations, they need a warning from you just as Uncle Charlie would send.
No one should help people break laws. When it's clear those laws are irrelevant, we find this quandary.
Until a few years ago it was illlegal to run a motor vehicle engine in many states with no driver "in attendance".
Sounds good, until we invented remote keyless car starters. Shouldn't they be illegal to import, manufacture,install, and even repair?
Did we drop those laws? Are we just not enforcing them? If I feel it should still be illegal should I help somebody repair such a system?


Should members of the Society of Broadcast Engineers even work on ibiquity's iboc system? You want more tough questions?

 

[LA_Guy]

You make a good point, Tom. Now, how about the states that have passed laws making pirate broadcasting a felony? Radio has always been considered an interstate service, thus regulated by the federal government. What right do states such as Florida and New Jersey have to insert themselves into federally regulated areas? What's next? Massachusetts deciding that there will be no minimum wage? Alabama raising the voting age to 21 and also requiring that people pass a literacy test? Vermont issuing their own money? We are on a VERY slippery slope by allowing states to regulate ANY broadcasting, even pirates! Yet the FCC and the feds remain mum about this-even while people go to jail for it in Florida. How can this be allowed to happen?

 

[radiorama1]

Some see pirate radio as breaking the FCC rules. Others see the FCC rules as not only antiquated and mostly politically motivated (ie: the IBOC decision, which runs completely counter of the FCC's mission for existiing-to keep stations from interfering with each other), but SEVERELY slanted towards big business and the god squadders (which in my opinion they are!).

These people tend to see pirate broadcasting as a form of Waldenesque Civil Disobedience-the laws are wrong, so don't obey them.

Also, many here have to admit that many pirate broadcasters serve the 'public interest, convenience, and necessity' a lot better then their commercial counterparts.

Unfortunately, many pirate broadcasters are not technically inclined. They pick frequencies that harm licensed stations. They overmodulate. They are technically inferior.

Now to my question (hypothetically of course, I have no plans to actually do this-and I live in L.A. now anyway): Should an engineer help a pirate station technically? Assuming that pirates are here to stay (and it sure seems like they are!) is is beneficial to the public at large for pirate stations to be engineered so they 'hurt' the radio spectrum as little as possible?

As an example I give you the FM pirate that set up shop last year on 97.1 (hot 97?) hurting the licensed signal of 96.9. If he had moved one channel away to 97.3, and was running a reasonable output power, commercial equipment and proper modulation, he would have affected NOBODY!

Should we accept the pirates as part of life and then try to control them to minimize their impact to interfere with other stations? Is this a better thing then the helter skelter we have now?

As another example I give you 88.5, 89.3, 94.9, 96.3, 97.5, 99.9, 101.3, 102.1, 102.9, 103.7, 105.3 and 106.1. ANY of these freqiencies can be used in the Boston area without interfering with anyone-many of them have pending applications on them for translators (don't get me started about THAT scourge of the airwaves!). Yes I know that some will complain that pirates on these frequencies would make reception of distant stations on them difficult, but then again the distant stations have no right to expect coverage in Boston anyway. Yes I know that one group of stations is affected with their EAS reception by 99.9, but again my reply would be to install a Barix!

Let's talk about this-I think that the Civil Disobediance angle is quite valid (especially in eastern Massachusetts!).

What you're proposing sounds a lot like what the Democrats are saying about the illegal aliens:

Well, they're here to stay... and there's nothing we can do about it... so why not just give them all drivers licenses and full health coverage?

 

[raccoonradio]

>>he would have affected NOBODY!

The powerful WJFD New Bedford is on 97.3

Also if there aren't many free frequencies around it hurts those who use FM re-transmitters for
mp3 players or satellite radio

 

[raccoonradio]

Here is the 50,000 watt "nobody" at 97.3...

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WJFD&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

 

[nd2023]

The FCC should open up channel 6's spectrum to pirates...and THEN engineers can help the pirates broadcast cleanly.
If a pirate station were to ask me to help set up their equipment, I would set it up well and choose a nice open frequency. Then I would try to make the SWR of the antenna as high as possible so that the transmitter fails.
I built my own 1 watt pirate station when I was a teenager out of stuff I bought at Wal Mart, and that helped me learn a lot about broadcast engineering.

If I were the engineer of a licensed 96.9 and a pirate sets up shop on 97.1 (with a completely different format that doesn't compete with 96.9 or any sister stations) and kills my coverage area, I would first complain to the FCC. I know nothing will happen.
Then I'd message the owner of the pirate and ask him to shut it down. If he doesn't, then I would ask him to change the frequency, and offer to fix the transmitter/antenna for the new frequency. Preferably on the frequency of another pirate station that doesn't interfere with anyone. It would be bad practice to change his frequency to interfere with a licensed station that competes with mine.
Then, the next time they ask for help, I will work on the antenna. I'd accidentally keep the feedline connector loose between the transmitter and antenna so that the SWR goes high. Then I would increase the power to the maximum it puts out, and wait a few hours for the transmitter to burn out.

 

[Prais]

The FCC should open up channel 6's spectrum to pirates...and THEN engineers can help the pirates broadcast cleanly.

Until then..help them and YOU would be an accessory to breaking the FEDERAL law.

 

[MickeyD]

The FCC should open up channel 6's spectrum to pirates...and THEN engineers can help the pirates broadcast cleanly.

Until then..help them and YOU would be an accessory to breaking the FEDERAL law.

Yes it is much better to possibly have someone injured or possibly exposed to excessive radiation. It's friggen radio not nuclear explosives!

 

[Prais]

Excessive radiation?? A pirate wouldn't be broadcasting a thousand watts, would they? If that's whats going on and they are that stupid, they deserve to fry anyway. That's why there are laws.

 

[WNTIRadio]

The FCC is a paper tiger... you can call your local field office all you want and they will eventually get to it. To move the process along, I would recommend calling your two US Senators... it worked for me when I needed to get a Brooklyn pirate on 91.9 off... they were running about 1.5kw off a 350' apartment rooftop. Some heat from an elected official to the top of the FCC food chain may help get them off.

The bottom line, they're breaking the law. It's one thing to be a teenager experimenting with a 1 watt transmitter for a couple hours a week on an empty frequency... it's another to be running 1kw, on 24/7, selling spots etc. and not paying taxes as well. If a pirate radio station is okay, then I should be able to drive without a license, live wherever I want (squatters rights) and tap into my local cable system for some free TV.

My $.02

 

[Prais]

WNTI said....If a pirate radio station is okay, then I should be able to drive without a license, live wherever I want (squatters rights) and tap into my local cable system for some free TV.

Exactly - but even MORE serious, this is not just some local or state offense - it IS a FEDERAL OFFENSE.

 

[CTListener]

>>he would have affected NOBODY!

The powerful WJFD New Bedford is on 97.3

Also if there aren't many free frequencies around it hurts those who use FM re-transmitters for
mp3 players or satellite radio

Frequencies for FM modulators are hardly what the FCC wants to safeguard. The FCC, acting on complaints by college radio stations and low-power Jesus peddlers, neutered satellite radio's FM transmitters several years ago. (Truth be told, XM and Sirius had produced over-powered, out-of-spec radios after bamboozling the government testers by providing them with flea-powered, in-spec models. It took the low-power FM complaints to wake the FCC up to what sat-radio had pulled.) Current models don't transmit a signal strong enough to make it to an outside-mounted FM antenna; users must actually connect the satellite radio to the FM antenna. I've got a pre-neutering, over-powered XM model; it can be heard across a good-sized parking lot.

 

[raccoonradio]

I spent $20 for the Sure Connect for my XM and it works fine and mine works on any FM freq not just 88.1-88.7
(many mini-FM transmitters only give you those frequencies). I know what you mean about college stations
complaining; I can remember driving on I-91 just north of Springfield and Opie and Anthony came in pretty well all of a sudden, from a surrounding car--too much power on the mini-FM. Hence a newspaper article a few yrs ago talking about listeners to NPR or a college station suddenly getting Howard Stern from a passing vehicle

Also there's a place in Beverly, an intersection, where Howard Stern's
Sirius channel comes in very well from an apartment nearby but at best they do a fairly short distance. Not like what a pirate does signal-wise.

If they work correctly they will send the signal (of mp3, sat radio, etc.) to your car stereo and not much
further

The Jesus peddlers as you say are often (I'd hope) FCC licensed low power FMs or slightly more powerful
(like the 90.5 down in Scituate). Many simply rebroadcast operations from 3,000 miles away, etc.-not exactly local.

 

[fccman]

Anyone know how many pirates are in the US.

 

[Deleted User]

I worked too hard to get my First Class ticket, to have some pirate throw me under the bus when the FCC comes a knocking.

I'm not going to risk having it pulled.

 

[Uncle Kaimbridge]

Also there's a place in Beverly, an intersection, where Howard Stern's
Sirius channel comes in very well from an apartment nearby but at best they do a fairly short distance. Not like what a pirate does signal-wise.

Hmmm, you mean by the auto body shops on Park St.?

(A fellow Beverlyite P=)