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FCC Dings pirate on 90.1 88.5 Boston, 102.7 Webster,

D

Deleted User

90.1 , FCC NOLU'd 2 people, same operation
The Boston Office received information that an unlicensed broadcast radio
station on 90.1 MHz was allegedly operating in Hyde Park, MA. On April 5,
2010, agents from this office confirmed by direction finding techniques
that radio signals on frequency 90.1 MHz were emanating from your studio
at 891 Hyde Park Ave., Boston, MA. The Commission's records show that no
license was issued for operation of a broadcast station on 90.1 MHz at
this location in Hyde Park, MA.

http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-297430A1.html

http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-297429A1.html



88.5
The Boston Office received information that an unlicensed broadcast radio
station on 88.5 MHz was allegedly operating in Roslindale, MA. On April 6,
2010, agents from this office confirmed by direction finding techniques
that radio signals on frequency 88.5 MHz were emanating from your studio
at 4258 Washington St., Roslindale, MA. The Commission's records show that
no license was issued for operation of a broadcast station on 88.5 MHz at
this location in Roslindale, MA.

http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-297428A1.html

102.7 WEBSTER MA
The Boston Office received information that an unlicensed broadcast radio
station on 102.7 MHz was allegedly operating in Webster, MA. On April 1,
2010, agents from this office confirmed by direction finding techniques
that radio signals on frequency 102.7 MHz were emanating from your
building at 190 High St., Webster, MA. The Commission's records show that
no license was issued for operation of a broadcast station on 102.7 MHz at
this location in Webster, MA.
 
How on earth does 87.7 stay on?! I really don't get it. They're running a full blown 24/7 radio station, cover at least a 20 mile radius, more in some directions. They accept advertising, do concerts and promotions and more. The FCC is a joke until they actually shut these guys down.

Too bad channel 6 in Providence didn't keep the DTV there...
 
MRBIboredop said:
88.5
Click to expand...

impossible to hear this over the 89.7/90.9 leapfrog mixing product, a good 5 miles away from WGBH transmit site

how would you come up with a figure for the strength of that?
i guess youd amp up a fm exciter until it overtook the mixing product in a reciever, and do a field strength reading on that, which could be quite a bit, -30dB IP3 attentuation on 98Kw mixing with 12Kw is still a lot of power, my recievers just hear WGBH and WBUR at the same time on 88.5
 
WNTIRadio said:
How on earth does 87.7 stay on?! I really don't get it. They're running a full blown 24/7 radio station, cover at least a 20 mile radius,
Click to expand...

only 20? listened to it the whole way back from a Tiverton RI xmas tree farm, save for the first 5 minutes checking WCBS for the lincoln tunnel traffic report
 
87.7 need a signal upgrade . HOT 87.7 should be heard in Bridgeport CT . PIRATE STATIONS RULES !!
 
87.7 has become one of the few stations worth listening to.
I am glad they didn't get busted in this lightweight action by the feds.
 
I'm surprised the recording industry doesn't go after these pirates if the FCC doesn't. Let's face it, if they can't bother to get a broadcast license, it's doubtful they are paying music licensing fees either. :)
 
aerie said:
I'm surprised the recording industry doesn't go after these pirates if the FCC doesn't. Let's face it, if they can't bother to get a broadcast license, it's doubtful they are paying music licensing fees either. :)
Click to expand...

It would be to their advantage to pay if it gets them "serviced" by the record companies! P=)
 
87.7 need a signal upgrade . HOT 87.7 should be heard in Bridgeport CT . PIRATE STATIONS RULES !!
Click to expand...

They could be heard ALL OVER THE GLOBE by LEGALLY STREAMING on the net. Otherwise, get some funds together and either a) buy a station. b) LMA/broker a station, I'm sure there are plenty who would do this to take the easy cash or c) find somewhere to apply for a license.

FM turning into CB isn't good for anyone. What's next, the channel 6 effect where there's 50 guys in Alabama yelling "Auuuuuuuuuuudddiioooooooo audioooo auuuudioooo" for hours on end?
 
Generally speaking, the FCC is a REACTIVE agency, not a PROACTIVE one, when it comes to the enforcement bureau. Now, anyone can make a complaint about a pirate, but the FCC has limited resources. So they generally respond to complaints from parties that have "standing". In other words, you have to be a station that is "receiving interference" as determined by contour overlap (or distance separations). Listeners to X station that can't hear it because of Y pirate would also have standing, but generally less than a station that can demonstrably show that they're receiving interference from a pirate.

That's why pirates on 88.5, 90.1 and 102.7 all got nailed: it's easy to prove that they're causing prohibited contour overlap with licensed stations.

With a pirate on 87.7, it's harder to do because there's fewer stations on adjacent frequencies, and most of them will be at least 2nd or 3rd adjacent...contour overlap rules mean a pirate would have to be physically close to one of the licensed stations; that's relatively unlikely since the two main 88.1 stations in the area are WMBR (Cambridge) and WCHC (Worcester). Similarly, with pirates on the expanded AM band it's hard to prove interference because the nearest non-TIS AM station in the expanded band (1610 to 1700) is way down in New Jersey.

On a related note, 87.7 is an "ideal" pirate frequency not just because you're somewhat-less likely to be busted, but also precisely because there's so few signals on that frequency now. Even a fairly low-wattage signal will go a long, long distance if there's nothing else on the channel to compete with; especially if you've got a little height on your transmitting antenna. Doesn't take much; a pole on the roof of a house on a decent hill will work pretty well. So don't assume that 87.7 has a lot of watts; it's almost certainly less than 1000, and probably only 100 or so. That's all it takes. (plus transmitters bigger than that are prohibitively expensive; to the point where the ROI for an unlicensed, could-be-shut-down-at-any-moment operation just doesn't work anymore)

Mind you, I don't condone pirate radio in the slightest. I'm just commenting on the politics and the engineering.
 
I wish everything were like the FCC deals with pirates. Sure 87.7 isn't interfering with anyone, but it's the principle behind it. I wish I could walk into Best Buy and leave with a few free items each time, and only get told to stop (the first time) if someone complains about it.
 
WNTIRadio said:
I wish everything were like the FCC deals with pirates. Sure 87.7 isn't interfering with anyone, but it's the principle behind it. I wish I could walk into Best Buy and leave with a few free items each time, and only get told to stop (the first time) if someone complains about it.
Click to expand...
A better analogy would be like I wish I could ride the T for free and only get told to stop if someone complains about it.

Hot 87.7 may not be interfering with anyone, but it's taking away advertising revenue from licensed stations. And it has a 30 mile coverage. They boasted about having 5000 watts.
 
Info. I have says the Commission will shut down the Boston Pirates ASAP. Just waiting for help from Federal Agents.
 
And it has a 30 mile coverage. They boasted about having 5000 watts.
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Several of the Pru stations boasted about having 50,000 watts. None of them do; they're all around 22kW or so...it's just that their Class of license authorizes them for 50kW at X height, or the equivalent. Anyways, a station can claim anything they want...doesn't make it true. I could see a pirate running a 3-bay, v-pol, full-wave-spaced antenna. That would give them substantial gain (on the order of about 3) so I could believe that a pirate might have 3000 watts ERP. But even that's a stretch; it assumes a pirate has 25-30ft of tower space to mount the antenna array on, and assumes they can afford a 1000 watt transmitter (which ain't cheap...even on eBay or a kit you're looking at $5000+ dollars, probably more like $9000).

More likely your average pirate is running a 100 to 500 watt transmitter into a single-bay, vertically-polarized antenna (gain of just under 1). That will get you a solid 10-20 miles (and possibly out to 30 miles, especially for cars) on a reasonably "clear" frequency if you have some decent height (again, like a house on top of a hill). On the other hand, even 1000 watts won't do squat if you're on a "crowded" frequency. For example, WZBC 90.3FM (1000w ERP) used to have surprisingly good "fringe" coverage down on the South Shore, but that all disappeared when WSMA 90.5 was fired up a few years ago. Similarly, WFNX's old 101.3 translator on top of the Hancock Tower skyscraper was cleanly receivable (in some places) all the way out in Wellesley (about 15 miles) and that was a whopping 7 watts ERP.

Ya just can't make accurate predictions on ERP based on a station's (alleged) broadcast range.
 
WNTIRadio said:
How on earth does 87.7 stay on?! I really don't get it. They're running a full blown 24/7 radio station, cover at least a 20 mile radius, more in some directions. They accept advertising, do concerts and promotions and more. The FCC is a joke until they actually shut these guys down.

Too bad channel 6 in Providence didn't keep the DTV there...
Click to expand...

Actually it is a good thing they did get off of it. DTV does not work on VHF channels that well at all. How does Touch dtay on?
 
Nick... Taking away advertisers? Wait a second. If your format sucks balls and The Pirate has a better format with more listeners... any advertiser would pick the Pirate. Who Cares! If it works... it's good for the advertiser and your local Pirate would can really use the money.
Listening to Boston Radio with few exceptions is just a joke. Oh well... Just remember to support your local Pirate... stop whining and enjoy the show. My new 87.7 station will be up and running soon here in The Great White North.
 
Nick said:
WNTIRadio said:
I wish everything were like the FCC deals with pirates. Sure 87.7 isn't interfering with anyone, but it's the principle behind it. I wish I could walk into Best Buy and leave with a few free items each time, and only get told to stop (the first time) if someone complains about it.
Click to expand...
A better analogy would be like I wish I could ride the T for free and only get told to stop if someone complains about it.

Hot 87.7 may not be interfering with anyone, but it's taking away advertising revenue from licensed stations. And it has a 30 mile coverage. They boasted about having 5000 watts.
Click to expand...

They don't take a dollar away from advertisers. Pirates take local advertising dollars and charge only a few dollars per spot. Their listeners are locals and so are the advertisers. The large groups don't want local money unless you want to advertise on all of their stations. This makes the cost restrictive and you are reaching and audience within a 50 mile radius. Not a good idea for a local pizza place.
 
WNTIRadio said:
FM turning into CB isn't good for anyone. What's next, the channel 6 effect where there's 50 guys in Alabama yelling "Auuuuuuuuuuudddiioooooooo audioooo auuuudioooo" for hours on end?
Click to expand...

HAHAHA!!! That was my laugh for the day!
 
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