Channel Z Pirate on 6925-6950 and 2 other frequencys

[Mid West Clubber]

Is anyone else hearing this? Its a mix of Classic Alternative,, Mainly New Wave and Synth POP 80s Techno and Rock.... Very weak signal but audible at 7:30 PM in Indiana.... Awesome Music though...

 

[radioman148]

I'm not getting it here, but I'll keep trying.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Visit the FRN vines.. i cant find a website for it.. but its on Live 365,,, and a few months ago people on the FRN vines where getting QSLs... I wonder where this station is????????

It may be off air or propogating over you... I usually get Liquid radio DANCE MUSIC on 6925, and WMPR Dance Music on 6950,,, or sometimes Arabic on both or either frequencys.

 

[radioman148]

Visit the FRN vines.. i cant find a website for it.. but its on Live 365,,, and a few months ago people on the FRN vines where getting QSLs... I wonder where this station is????????

It may be off air or propogating over you... I usually get Liquid radio DANCE MUSIC on 6925, and WMPR Dance Music on 6950,,, or sometimes Arabic on both or either frequencys.

What kind of transmitters & antennas do these pirates run? I'm guessing some kind of dipole for the antenna.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

I know of one that uses like a 64 foot long Jesus Cross, with wires around it using 10 watts... I cant tell you what station cause its a friend of mine, I dont want him in trouble.... He only broadcast for like an hour or two once a month or 2 months anyway,, so its not like a 24/7 thing.....

Otherwise,, the other Shortwave Pirates Ive heard..... Comander Bunny, talking in a Bunny Voice,,, Kracker Radio with Comdey talk over instrumental music., and WMPR DANCE MUSIC... I have no clue as to the origins of any of these stations, so good luck finding out. Since the US doesnt really use short or Long wave, I dont see the problem as long as they are far away from neighbors and not putting noise into their electronics.

 

[radioman148]

>>I know of one that uses like a 64 foot long Jesus Cross, with wires around it using 10 watts... I cant tell you what station cause its a friend of mine, I dont want him in trouble>>

Does he get good propagation with that setup?

 

[stormy01]

What kind of transmitters & antennas do these pirates run? I'm guessing some kind of dipole for the antenna.

I have read over the years that the pirates use older (tube or transistor) 40 meter band "ham" (amateur) transceivers retuned for the 6800-7000 kHz range, and then put up a dipole cut for that frequency range and strung between trees. Usually, a transmitter designed for a certain band or frequency range will not perform as well out of band so their power output is usually considerably less than in-band, though 20-50 watts can propagate rather nicely around 7 MHz at night (though 100 watts would have been better) Most of these pirates I doubt have the technical knowledge to "mod" a software-driven transceiver for out of band operations... (unless they as a pirate also happen to also be a ham, they risk losing their amateur radio license if and when caught by the FCC)

 

[radioman148]

What kind of transmitters & antennas do these pirates run? I'm guessing some kind of dipole for the antenna.

I have read over the years that the pirates use older (tube or transistor) 40 meter band "ham" (amateur) transceivers retuned for the 6800-7000 kHz range, and then put up a dipole cut for that frequency range and strung between trees. Usually, a transmitter designed for a certain band or frequency range will not perform as well out of band so their power output is usually considerably less than in-band, though 20-50 watts can propagate rather nicely around 7 MHz at night (though 100 watts would have been better) Most of these pirates I doubt have the technical knowledge to "mod" a software-driven transceiver for out of band operations... (unless they as a pirate also happen to also be a ham, they risk losing their amateur radio license if and when caught by the FCC)

Isn't it dangerous for the transceivers (finals) to transmit that long--say a couple of hours?

 

[stormy01]

Isn't it dangerous for the transceivers (finals) to transmit that long--say a couple of hours?

Yes, amateur transceivers typically have a duty cycle ranging from 15% to 45%, typical (of full power, meaning that the transmitter is on 15 to 45% of the total time of a contact) http://p1k.arrl.org/~ehare/rfi/vdsl/vdsl-tia.htm So to stay "keyed up", literally, they shorted (or jumpered) the PTT switch on the microphone and there is quite a risk of overheating the transceiver and a possible fire.

So if the pirates are using modified amateur equipment, they either reduce power to the Power Amplifier to avoid overheating it or they may have built "homebrew" equipment and better have decent filtering for harmonics and spurious radiation... and better make sure their antenna VSWR is low too...

 

[radioman148]

Isn't it dangerous for the transceivers (finals) to transmit that long--say a couple of hours?

Yes, amateur transceivers typically have a duty cycle ranging from 15% to 45%, typical (of full power, meaning that the transmitter is on 15 to 45% of the total time of a contact) http://p1k.arrl.org/~ehare/rfi/vdsl/vdsl-tia.htm So to stay "keyed up", literally, they shorted (or jumpered) the PTT switch on the microphone and there is quite a risk of overheating the transceiver and a possible fire.

So if the pirates are using modified amateur equipment, they either reduce power to the Power Amplifier to avoid overheating it or they may have built "homebrew" equipment and better have decent filtering for harmonics and spurious radiation... and better make sure their antenna VSWR is low too...

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[radioman148]

Stormy--

Would the use of an antenna tuner be enough to keep the radio safe for long transmissions or does a high SWR have to be corrected at the antenna? I'm gonna guess that with a higher SWR and a tuner in place you're keeping the radio cooler, but losing signal in the antenna. Am I right?

 

[stormy01]

Stormy--
Would the use of an antenna tuner be enough to keep the radio safe for long transmissions or does a high SWR have to be corrected at the antenna? I'm gonna guess that with a higher SWR and a tuner in place you're keeping the radio cooler, but losing signal in the antenna. Am I right?

The Antenna Tuner by itself is not enough to keep the radio from potentially overheating if the duty cycle of the transmitter is exceeded, though a lower SWR would help prevent a further reduction in the duty cycle. The duty cycle for a typical AM transceiver could also be increased somewhat by reducing transmit power and/or modulation percentages - the gain to be realized would need to found by experimentation. Your results may vary.

It is best to correct the high SWR at the antenna, especially if it's measured at higher than a 2:1 ratio, that's if we're talking about SW frequencies. Making sure the antenna is resonant or nearly resonant at the transmitting frequency needs to be considered before using an ATU. Using an ATU may result in a low SWR - consider it a success if you're below 1.5:1. The antenna tuner does reduce the reflected power back to the transmitter (which does in turn keep the PA cooler) and redirects that power back to the feedline and antenna, but how much power to each depends on the SWR of each. A well designed antenna and feedline may already have a low SWR, making an ATU unnecessary. I would invest in, or borrow an SWR meter and determine if the SWR is at an acceptable level before purchasing an ATU.

 

[radioman148]

Stormy--
Would the use of an antenna tuner be enough to keep the radio safe for long transmissions or does a high SWR have to be corrected at the antenna? I'm gonna guess that with a higher SWR and a tuner in place you're keeping the radio cooler, but losing signal in the antenna. Am I right?

The Antenna Tuner by itself is not enough to keep the radio from potentially overheating if the duty cycle of the transmitter is exceeded, though a lower SWR would help prevent a further reduction in the duty cycle. The duty cycle for a typical AM transceiver could also be increased somewhat by reducing transmit power and/or modulation percentages - the gain to be realized would need to found by experimentation. Your results may vary.

It is best to correct the high SWR at the antenna, especially if it's measured at higher than a 2:1 ratio, that's if we're talking about SW frequencies. Making sure the antenna is resonant or nearly resonant at the transmitting frequency needs to be considered before using an ATU. Using an ATU may result in a low SWR - consider it a success if you're below 1.5:1. The antenna tuner does reduce the reflected power back to the transmitter (which does in turn keep the PA cooler) and redirects that power back to the feedline and antenna, but how much power to each depends on the SWR of each. A well designed antenna and feedline may already have a low SWR, making an ATU unnecessary. I would invest in, or borrow an SWR meter and determine if the SWR is at an acceptable level before purchasing an ATU.

Thanks!

 

[stormy01]

Y'all know this site has info on "alternative broadcasters" a/k/a pirates from time to time:

http://www.worldofradio.com > LATEST DX LISTENING DIGEST

or go directly to: http://www.w4uvh.net/dxlatest.txt

search within the page for, or scroll to: NORTH AMERICA. Pirate logs

 

[radioman148]

Thanks for the info.