Big City Radio at 101.3

[HHH]

Can someone tell me about "Big City Radio", an urban pirate that I heard on 101.3?

Where do they broadcast from?

I was on Commonwealth Ave in Back Bay and they were coming in pretty good. Some woman doing a talk show taking calls on-air.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Can someone tell me about "Big City Radio", an urban pirate that I heard on 101.3?

Where do they broadcast from?

I was on Commonwealth Ave in Back Bay and they were coming in pretty good. Some woman doing a talk show taking calls on-air.

It's somewhere in the Boston inner city. It's the most powerful Boston pirate signal. It can be heard beyond Route 128. It's a mono signal with very heavy audio compression and a bass-heavy EQ.

 

[Mickey37]

This is one of a couple of websites about the site I found -http://www.connectcarib.com/flash/cc1.swf
A couple of their DJ's also have MySpace pages, if you searrch for Big City 101.3

I tuned them in on Storrow Drive, and kept the signal til the Wilmington/Tewksbury/Andover line on 93 north, just about at route 125.

Mono signal. This was between 6:30 and 7:05, and it was funk/reggae music I was listening to. I really liked it, I haven't heard that sort of sound on the radio since New York City.

The signal is mono, which might be why it comes in so well over such a distance. I hope they legitimize themselves at some point. There's a market for this type of what appears to be full-service urban radio. It'd be great if they could become licensed.

I know, the FCC will charge them an arm and a leg for a license, and how can a community-based station afford that, etc. I know the arguments. But the rules are as they are. Why should other stations be forced to play by a set of rules, and pirates aren't?

 

[Eli Polonsky]

There's a market for this type of what appears to be full-service urban radio. It'd be great if they could become licensed.

I know, the FCC will charge them an arm and a leg for a license, and how can a community-based station afford that, etc. I know the arguments. But the rules are as they are. Why should other stations be forced to play by a set of rules, and pirates aren't?

It would be great if the programming could be aired on a legitimate station, but I don't think that "Big City 101.3" could become legitimized under current regulations, and it's not a matter of whether they can afford the cost of a license. They wouldn't be able to get one because there are no legitimate frequencies available.

Unless any upcoming changes in LPFM regulations allow it, there is no space on the dial whatsoever in metro Boston considered available for any new legitimate signals. WFNX did run a 10 watt translator on 101.3 for a few years (which covered quite a bit of ground because it was up on the Hancock tower), but I doubt they would allow any new station on the frequency, certainly not a full power one. For one, WFNX would object to a new station on their second adjacent.

If changes in LPFM regulations do allow "Big City" to get a legitimate signal on any frequency, they would have to stop running advertisments, and they are running a lot of them. LPFM's must be non-commercial.

 

[jlehmann]

It's located on Blue Hill Ave., right near Franklin Park.

 

[WBIMDJ]

This signal is a monster..I've heard it all the way as south as Hingham and Weymouth and as far west as Natick and as far North as Stoneham and Burlington clearly! They are running some serious watts for a pirate...

 

[Mickey37]

Tuned in again tonight (Friday) for a few minutes on my way home. Music is great, full of energy. I wonder how long til the station gets shut off?

 

[jlehmann]

I wonder how long til the station gets shut off?

Probably not until Massachusetts has the same law as Florida, allowing law enforcement to go in, arrest the people, and seize the equipment. Seems like the only time that happened here was when the 103.1 in Brockton was bothering air traffic control frequencies. The FCC has already paid them a visit, but it obviously did nothing.

 

[rapking]

College and Pirate stations , are the only good music stations, in Boston .

 

[ciao99]

Can someone tell me about "Big City Radio", an urban pirate that I heard on 101.3?

Where do they broadcast from?

I was on Commonwealth Ave in Back Bay and they were coming in pretty good. Some woman doing a talk show taking calls on-air.

Big City has developed quite a following, particularly in the Caribbean community. Here's a pic from the Caribbean Carnival:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53425681@N00/1236359064/

 

[raccoonradio]

Signal is reaching into Beverly as well. Also when I was in N. Reading recently I was getting a
Spanish pirate at 99.9 (Lawrence?) and when in Tewksbury, another foreign pirate at 91.7.
While WMWM _was_ doing Spanish language stuff at the time, I highly doubt I was picking up
WMWM that strongly in Tewks.!

 

[HHH]

Just looked at Ciao's link to the Big City 101.3 picture.

Holy smoke! Talk about balls. They even list a phone number on the banner to call to advertise on the station!

Gotta hand it to them, they got guts.

 

[Mickey37]

Plug Pulled?

I hadn't tuned them in for a few days, and when I tried to this (Friday) morning, I heard the sounds of silence, and I'm not talkin' about a Simon and Garfunkel song. If government could ALWAYS move so quickly....

 

[Signpost]

I was

...I heard the sounds of silence.

I was driving through Roxbury/JP last weekend, scanning the dial for pirates - heard NOTHING - except 101.3 with a lot of static - sounded like they'd cut their power. But at 98.9, 106.1, 89.3, nothing. Scanning the entire dial revealed nothing but licensed stations except a feeble 101.3. What happened ?

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I was driving through Roxbury/JP last weekend, scanning the dial for pirates - heard NOTHING - except 101.3 with a lot of static - sounded like they'd cut their power. But at 98.9, 106.1, 89.3, nothing. Scanning the entire dial revealed nothing but licensed stations except a feeble 101.3. What happened ?

I heard all those pirates as strong as usual last weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, plus 88.5, 91.3, 102.1, 102.9, 105.3 and occasionally 107.1. (89.3 wasn't always on). I wasn't even in the Boston neighborhoods, I was driving around Somerville, Cambridge, Back Bay, Allston/Brighton, Brookline, Newton... and I heard them in all those areas. 101.3 and 102.9 were especially strong in all those areas.

I haven't checked today, but I was also hearing them all as usual this Tuesday and Wednesday here in Somerville in the car. Have you checked your antenna connection lately?

Or, perhaps your car stereo has an intermittent circuit that loses FM sensitivity in the cold weather. Could be a cold solder joint or something...

 

[ciao99]

I was driving through Roxbury/JP last weekend, scanning the dial for pirates - heard NOTHING - except 101.3 with a lot of static - sounded like they'd cut their power. But at 98.9, 106.1, 89.3, nothing. Scanning the entire dial revealed nothing but licensed stations except a feeble 101.3. What happened ?

I heard all those pirates as strong as usual last weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, plus 88.5, 91.3, 102.1, 102.9, 105.3 and occasionally 107.1. (89.3 wasn't always on). I wasn't even in the Boston neighborhoods, I was driving around Somerville, Cambridge, Back Bay, Allston/Brighton, Brookline, Newton... and I heard them in all those areas. 101.3 and 102.9 were especially strong in all those areas.

I haven't checked today, but I was also hearing them all as usual this Tuesday and Wednesday here in Somerville in the car. Have you checked your antenna connection lately?

Or, perhaps your car stereo has an intermittent circuit that loses FM sensitivity in the cold weather. Could be a cold solder joint or something...

I agree Eli, the pirates still come in strong. Plus I think there's a new one: 100.3. I heard haitian creole programming in the JP area on 100.3 today.

 

[Mickey37]

Plug NOT pulled, apparently.

101.3 was back on Friday night.