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Case example with numbers: The damage that pirate radio does in South Florida

C

callfm

Guest
After just over a week of co-channel interference to WMKL inflicted by a pirate radio station, the North Miami Beach Police Department promptly took a pirate radio station off of the air this morning. The location was found in about 30 minutes using a field strength meter. The transmitter (RVR) was hidden inside a fabricated box in an elevator service room on the rooftop of a 10 story condo building. The program audio was fed in via a cable modem run in from the outside. A high-end sound card produced a processed stereo signal complete with RDS ID. The box was completely screwed shut, had air vents covered with mesh painted grey and with fans on the inside. Power was stolen directly from a disconnect box. The antenna was a Dominator type antenna fed with about 12 feet of 1/2" coax.

Pictures and coverage map:
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/antenna1.jpg
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/antenna2.jpg
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/piraterack.jpg
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/stealingpower.jpg
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/insidethebox.jpg
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/insidethebox2.jpg
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/insidethebox3.jpg
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/freq.jpg
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/fwd.jpg
http://www.callfm.com/pirates/map.jpg

The FWD power was 946 watts (transmitting on WMKL's co-channel frequency of 91.9 MHz).

Doing the math:
946 watts FWD power: -0.24 dBk
Antenna gain: 3 dB (http://fmbroadcastantenna.com/dominator.html)
Line loss for 12 feet of 1/2 foam coax: 0.1 dB
ERP: 2.66 dBk
ERP: 1.85 kW
HAAT: 39 meters

Pirate station 60 dBu population: 837,793 persons (54 dBu population: 1.62 Million)
WMKL 60 dBu population: 265,422 persons (50kW)

Interference area population: 145,087 persons (or 55% of WMKL's 60 dBu population)

Harmless fun, right? Or is it "free" speech?
 
Yes, in this instance, pirate radio is wrong. The owner of this station should not have put it on the air. But you cannot say all "pirate radio" is bad and causes damage..there's numerous unlicensed stations that serve the community with legit programming and don't cause interference to licensed stations. For example...in Riverhead, NY (Long Island) 89.1Mhz is an open frequency. We had an engineering study done to see if we could fit a station on it with an ERP of .5Kw and we could. So if someone put up a "pirate radio station" on 89.1Mhz with say..250 watts ERP..that would in absolutely no way cause any interference or harm. Why would that be unacceptable or anything other than "harmless fun"?
 
Comment:

Comment: This transmitter site looks better engineered then half the LICENSED TX sites out there!

That's pretty pathetic if you think about it.
 
liradioprez said:
Yes, in this instance, pirate radio is wrong. The owner of this station should not have put it on the air. But you cannot say all "pirate radio" is bad and causes damage..there's numerous unlicensed stations that serve the community with legit programming and don't cause interference to licensed stations. For example...in Riverhead, NY (Long Island) 89.1Mhz is an open frequency. We had an engineering study done to see if we could fit a station on it with an ERP of .5Kw and we could. So if someone put up a "pirate radio station" on 89.1Mhz with say..250 watts ERP..that would in absolutely no way cause any interference or harm. Why would that be unacceptable or anything other than "harmless fun"?
Click to expand...

I never thought I'd say this, but you are 100% correct!

The reason there are so many pirates is DIRECTLY because of the FCC. They are a herd of morons! How long was it impossible to file for a noncom? TEN YEARS...and then their rules are SO subverted that 95% of the applications in last years one week window were from god squadders who should have NEVER BEEN QUALIFIED to be noncom licensees! I noticed that the FCC gave lip service to this by ONLY allowing each licensee to file for TEN STATIONS! GIVE ME A BREAK!!! The last LPFM window was almost ten years ago-and they have NEVER opened an LP-10 window! I did FM rulemakings back in 1999 that have yet to have a window opened for anyone to apply-and again the deck is SO STACKED AGAINST people like me that I'll probably be outbid by the likes of Randy Michaels AGAIN!

Do we really need the same religious music program simulcast on 500 noncommerical stations (98% of them with main studio waivers and 100% run out of California) and over 1000 translators? In upstate NY when I was last there my radio kept stopping on stations over and over and it was the SAME god squadder! Is THIS what any of you think that local noncommerical radio should be? If you ask me, it's many of the pirates that provide alternative and local programming. The FCC has made it IMPOSSIBLE for a local group to establish and run a local station. Look at what the FCC did a few years ago in Walpole, MA, where they granted a new god squadder station (proposed to be run out of California with a main studio waiver) over a ten watter's power increase. The ten watter was locally owned by the high school for over 30 years! Why? Because the god squadder proposed more power and covered more people! I see piracy as almost an act of civil disobediance.
 
AMEN BROTHER ( No pun intended) So true.In the auctions big money got the best channels.Heck,years ago i lost a good channel because a white owned broadcaster added a black female(his secretary) on the app to show diversity.NO WAY i would have won in a hearing.Then LPFM was suppose to be 1KW,the NAB killed that down to 100 watts ERP and 10 watts.They should have at least gave them 250watts like translators. i can see why they;re pirates.Quite a few LPFM's could easily go 250 watts and more with no interference.
 
Oh and one more thing. There's no wayy the FCC will grant a license to us to broadcast on 89.1Mhz. The only way people like us could possibly have a radio station is with a pirate. They make it so difficult for smaller companies/organizations to gain control of the airwaves, yet they give thousands of licenses to unqualified religious groups. And people wonder why pirates go on the air :mad:
 
"...and then their rules are SO subverted that 95% of the applications in last years one week window were from god squadders who should have NEVER BEEN QUALIFIED to be noncom licensees! I noticed that the FCC gave lip service to this by ONLY allowing each licensee to file for TEN STATIONS!" And once Pastor "Earl" has his ten, sister Wanda, brother Wyatt and the whole congregation steps up to become licensees.

"Do we really need the same religious music program simulcast on 500 noncommerical stations?" HELL NO!

"Is THIS what any of you think that local noncommerical radio should be?" HELL NO!

And what can we do about it? Complain to the FCC about "not in the public interest"? Then YOU are accused of hating God, beating your wife and shooting small animals. The God Squatters will not go out of business because they squeeze the cash out of their followers.

liradioprez said it best "They make it so difficult for smaller companies/organizations to gain control of the airwaves, yet they give thousands of licenses to unqualified religious groups. And people wonder why pirates go on the air"
 
i have to agree on the bible-bangers
just look at WGNR 97.9 50,000 watt bible banger so why dose my area need several more bible bangers on air?? WE DON'T!!!
the LPFM's near me Muncie/New Castle Indiana BOTH bible bangers
got several translators all over the band here ALL BIBLE BANGERS.

I look at just like i look at domain name squatting. and should be done away with. I personally thing translators should be BANNED.
and if you want to listen to bible bangers get a shortwave radio cause thats all thats been for years now. and now there taking over the AM/FM

makes me want to go pirate.. :mad: :mad:
 
Wow, I didn't know there were so many radio professionals who were fed up with the FCC and Bible bangers...There's gotta be something we can do to reform the FCC...this is America afterall..lol ;)
 
I still have a problem with the idea that the local (in the state of Florida) Police can shut down a station and confiscate equipment without the FCC's involvement.
The FCC is supposed to have authority over radio transmission, as "interstate commerce". What is there to stop the locals from shutting down a perfectly legal Ham station, or some other licensed station, due to a neighbor's complaint? Or, shut down a commercial broadcaster in some small town, because the mayor or Police Chief didn't like something they said or did? I think I read that it "only applies to un-licensed stations", but who knows how long that limitation will last.

As an aside, though, what kind of programming were they running? Was it the kind of stuff that would deserve a real license? Would it have served the community, if there were a way to get on the air legally?
 
Re: Case example with numbers: The damage that pirate radio does in South Florid

If my memory serves me, they used to include a Federal Marshal in the raid. I'm not aware of any local communications laws other than ordinances against antennas (which a ham can claim federal preemption.
 
speakerman said:
I'm not aware of any local communications laws other than ordinances against antennas (which a ham can claim federal preemption.
Click to expand...

What are you referring to? There's a law against antennas in Florida???
 
Re: Case example with numbers: The damage that pirate radio does in South Florid

Some of local yokels push ordinances through the city council to limit an owner from putting up antennas. The cell site folks run into trouble all of the time when they try to put up new antennas an towers ("not in my neighborhood"). It is all under the guise of "beautification" of the community. They think antennas are eyesores. They often try to paint a broad brush until they get challenged.
 
Wow, that pirate had more coverage than the licensed station! Putting formats aside, it's sad that a pirate can steal so many listeners from a licensed station. I'm guessing that the pirate was run unattended with a computer and transmitter at the site. If it had a good format, it could steal a lot of advertising dollars in its market. Almost 2 kW ERP! That's almost a Class A station. Did they bust the owner of the pirate or just seize the equipment? I'd hate to see such a good transmitter go to waste. The FCC could test its output, and if it's clean, sell it to a licensed station for cheap. The power stolen (about 2000 watts for the TX and the computer) would be about $150 a month, I wonder how come no one noticed that.
 
Nick said:
Wow, that pirate had more coverage than the licensed station! Putting formats aside, it's sad that a pirate can steal so many listeners from a licensed station. I'm guessing that the pirate was run unattended with a computer and transmitter at the site. If it had a good format, it could steal a lot of advertising dollars in its market. Almost 2 kW ERP! That's almost a Class A station. Did they bust the owner of the pirate or just seize the equipment? I'd hate to see such a good transmitter go to waste. The FCC could test its output, and if it's clean, sell it to a licensed station for cheap. The power stolen (about 2000 watts for the TX and the computer) would be about $150 a month, I wonder how come no one noticed that.
Click to expand...

i think the stuff just got seized, the station owner could have been anywhere. however it had a cable modem with it with that modem could find the owner that way. (ip addies)
 
You would think that since the owner of the pirate had so much money, he would have a better STL. A microwave link would work better than a cable modem, and would be more undetectable, and in the long run, cheaper than a bill for a cable modem. He's got a strong signal in a major market, that could unfortunately pull in a lot of tax free advertising revenue. This is the fastest the FCC has shut down a pirate. If he ran this pirate in Newark, NJ, he would be on the air for years and have a stronger signal than my favorite low power TV station in New York City.
 
Can't agree. A microwave is eminently findable... and requires an antenna pretty much pointed at the source. A feed on the internet can be spoofed to the degree it's close to impossible to find. Those with the resources to find it quickly tend to be security agencies who aren't likely to share with the FCC.
 
littlejohn said:
Can't agree. A microwave is eminently findable... and requires an antenna pretty much pointed at the source. A feed on the internet can be spoofed to the degree it's close to impossible to find. Those with the resources to find it quickly tend to be security agencies who aren't likely to share with the FCC.
Click to expand...

well the cable modem should also trace back to a owner.
1st the modem is assigned a ip adress from the cable comp isp.
the cable comp isnt going to just give free internet. so there is a bill that someone is paying.
the cable comp could tell you exactly who the owner of the cable modem is.
 
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