FCC to get tough on property owners over pirate stations.

[kenglish]

Enforcement Bureau Warns Property Managers That Tolerate Pirate Radio

The FCC's Enforcement Bureau announced it has begun targeting property owners and managers that knowingly tolerate pirate broadcasting on their properties, exercising the Commission's new authority under the recently enacted PIRATE Act.

www.fcc.gov

Looks like they even have a new letterhead, and not so much "legalise".

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

I really doubt that many landlords are aware of an unlicensed radio station operating on their property.
I'd also bet that most of these pirates are disabled people or minorities who don't stand a chance in Hell of getting a license from the FCC.

 

[frankberry]

I really doubt that many landlords are aware of an unlicensed radio station operating on their property.
I'd also bet that most of these pirates are disabled people or minorities who don't stand a chance in Hell of getting a license from the FCC.

It will be difficult to impossible to prove that the property owners "know" that there is a pirate operating on their property.

 

[davideduardo]

It will be difficult to impossible to prove that the property owners "know" that there is a pirate operating on their property.

I would imagine that the receipt of an FCC Notice of Violation by a landlord would immediately result in an evection notice for the tennant. I think that is likely the objective: make it hard on the violator of FCC rules however possible.

 

[davideduardo]

I really doubt that many landlords are aware of an unlicensed radio station operating on their property.
I'd also bet that most of these pirates are disabled people or minorities who don't stand a chance in Hell of getting a license from the FCC.

The main reason why any group or person can't get a license from the FCC in the markets where pirates are prevalent is that there are no frequencies available for any purpose.

Being a minority or disabled is not a disadvantage if a channel is available.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

The FCC clogged up the FM dial giving away all the frequencies to owners who already had licensed channels. And, how is someone on SSI or welfare ever going to have a chance to own a legal station?

 

[kenglish]

The new FCC letter actually states that the landlord has now been made aware of the fact that there is an illegal operation on their property, and that puts the problem in their lap.

As for the operators' motives, maybe some members in the area could monitor, and tell us what format they are broadcasting.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

Once upon a time the FCC had a different agenda. If you were a pirate, they steered you towards compliance. They wanted you to get a license. It was forty years ago. I think the government was more human back then.
I don't like the way this wind is blowing.

 

[davideduardo]

Once upon a time the FCC had a different agenda. If you were a pirate, they steered you towards compliance. They wanted you to get a license. It was forty years ago. I think the government was more human back then.
I don't like the way this wind is blowing.

I have no recollection of that policy. In fact, it was back in that era that the "a pirate operator is excluded from ever having a legitimate license" administrative procedure was introduced.

Pirates were considered about the same as other minor criminal offenders.

Do you have specific incidents that differ from this perspective?

 

[kenglish]

I think everyone was more human back then. When I was a kid, with my 100 mW AM station in my basement, the Atlanta Field Office welcomed my questions, and I sometimes even called and chatted with the engineer-on-duty at the Powder Springs monitoring station on weekends.

Trouble is, nowadays most pirates are not just kids who need guidance, but people who dare the authorities to make them play by rules.

 

[davideduardo]

The FCC clogged up the FM dial giving away all the frequencies to owners who already had licensed channels. And, how is someone on SSI or welfare ever going to have a chance to own a legal station?

It used to be that an applicant for a new license had to prove the financial ability to operate for a year, including financial statements and/or bank guarantees.

If you are going to build a radio station with type accepted equipment and operate it, you need to have financial backing. No different from opening a convenience store or an auto repair shop: you need operating capital for the start-up and for the initial period while the business grows.

A destitute individual can not provide "service" to a community under any definition of "service".

 

[davideduardo]

Trouble is, nowadays most pirates are not just kids who need guidance, but people who dare the authorities to make them play by rules.

My favorite stories are (and forgive me if you have heard them before):

A pirate in Miami was right next to Power 96, with a similar format. They would go to clubs and demand advertising, saying that if they did not buy spots, they'd send people on busy nights to start fights and get them closed by the police.

On final approach on American Airlines from LAX to MIA, the plane suddenly powered up and swerved off towards South Dade. We came around for another try, and the pilot said they had to do an emergency abort as an illegal radio station in Kreyol was overriding the contact with the tower; all flights had to change to an alternate channel.

I have zero sympathy for pirates, and consider them in the same category as drug dealers and pimps.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

David, those are examples of pirates who deserve to be busted and banned from holding a license. There's always 2 sides of a debate. Thanks!

 

[davideduardo]

David, those are examples of pirates who deserve to be busted and banned from holding a license. There's always 2 sides of a debate. Thanks!

Yeah, like "there is nobody on the road so I can go 110 miles an hour".

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

Lom

I think everyone was more human back then. When I was a kid, with my 100 mW AM station in my basement, the Atlanta Field Office welcomed my questions, and I sometimes even called and chatted with the engineer-on-duty at the Powder Springs monitoring station on weekends.

Trouble is, nowadays most pirates are not just kids who need guidance, but people who dare the authorities to make them play by rules.

Long ago, the FCC agent was dealing with some whiz-kid pirating from his bedroom at Dad's house. Today the field inspector finds his job potentially dangerous as he finds a middle aged man who may have a political mission.

 

[frankberry]

Long ago, the kid was running 100 milliwatts from a homebrew AM transmitter.
Today, many of the unlicensed operators are running hundreds or thousands of watts from poorly designed, foreign-made FM transmitters that spew RF garbage up and down the spectrum.

 

[Mediafrog+]

It used to be that an applicant for a new license had to prove the financial ability to operate for a year, including financial statements and/or bank guarantees.

I recall reading station applications in Broadcasting Magazine in the 1970s and 80s in which the estimated overall construction cost was stated, along with projected first year operating cost. When did that practice stop?

In fact, it was back in that era that the "a pirate operator is excluded from ever having a legitimate license" administrative procedure was introduced.

Pirates were considered about the same as other minor criminal offenders.

Do you have specific incidents that differ from this perspective?

One individual that comes to mind is Allan Weiner, who operated a pirate station, Radio Newyork International, on a ship off the east coast in the 1980's. He later was licensed to operate WBCQ on shortwave, and also owns an AM and FM in Maine. Bizarre story of his doings from Wikipedia: Radio Newyork International - Wikipedia

Don't know if the fact that his pirate station operated from international waters made a legal difference in this particular case.

 

[kenglish]

'Today the field inspector finds his job potentially dangerous as he finds a middle aged man who may have a political mission."
That's why I think the FCC people need to be armed 😉 . Instead, they have to wait until they get a Court Order and a federal SWAT team.

 

[davideduardo]

Lom

Long ago, the FCC agent was dealing with some whiz-kid pirating from his bedroom at Dad's house. Today the field inspector finds his job potentially dangerous as he finds a middle aged man who may have a political mission.

Or someone with little understanding of the language, customs and laws of the United States.

 

[davideduardo]

I recall reading station applications in Broadcasting Magazine in the 1970s and 80s in which the estimated overall construction cost was stated, along with projected first year operating cost. When did that practice stop?

One individual that comes to mind is Allan Weiner, who operated a pirate station, Radio Newyork International, on a ship off the east coast in the 1980's. He later was licensed to operate WBCQ on shortwave, and also owns an AM and FM in Maine. Bizarre story of his doings from Wikipedia: Radio Newyork International - Wikipedia

Don't know if the fact that his pirate station operated from international waters made a legal difference in this particular case.

The very brief operation of the ship-based pirate was not illegal under US law. The term "pirate" is applied to shipborn operations that are in international waters, essentially unregulated.

I did not ever dig deeply enough to find out why the ship was boarded in international waters by the US Government, unless it had mistakenly anchored in US territory.