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FCC Warns Touch 106.1

raccoonradio

raccoonradio

(Picture the FCC as a policeman:) "...License and registration, please"

http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-269895A1.html

Sid from WRKO found the above link and posted it on boston-radio-interest. He said the station was
monitored on Jan. 11 and the enforcement bureau sent them the notice on the 25th;

"UNLICENSED OPERATION OF THIS RADIO STATION MUST BE DISCONTINUED
IMMEDIATELY. You have ten (10) days from the date of this notice to respond with any
evidence that you have authority to operate granted by the FCC."

A search on the Globe site found that their article on Touch FM appeared on Jan 20, but
Sid had said that the FCC had monitored the station 9 days before the article appeared.
 
Looks the FCC just slapped the pirate on 102.9FM. This was in today's Daily Digest...

GARY TOUSSAINT. Issued a monetary forfeiture in the amount of $10,000
to Gary Toussaint for operating an unlicensed radio transmitter on the
frequency 102.9 MHz in Mattapan, MA. Action by: Regional Director,
Northeast Region, Enforcement Bureau. Adopted: 02/07/2007 by Forfeiture
Order. (DA No. 07-559). EB
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-559A1.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-559A1.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-559A1.txt
Click to expand...

It'll be interesting to see what effect, if any, this has on the other pirates around Boston. My instinct is that it will have no effect, and there will be a pirate (either Gary or someone else) on 102.9 within a week.
 
That's what I'm hearing--warnings but maybe no fines/shutdown--though if they went on air VERY close
to a legit station in town they'd be shut down quickly (causing interference/complaint from station).
But note that Radio Free Allston was at the same freq Touch is, and they did get shut down...whether or
not the signal would affect 105.7, the 106.1 from the Cape, or 106.7 is unsure, but they DID get shut down
eventually
 
webcastboy said:
It'll be interesting to see what effect, if any, this has on the other pirates around Boston. My instinct is that it will have no effect, and there will be a pirate (either Gary or someone else) on 102.9 within a week.
Click to expand...

Who says that 102.9 will even go off the air at all? They haven't when getting fined in the past. They're still on the air right now as I type this.
 
I think you mean to ask how much power Gary Toussaint IS putting out on 102.9? I'd guess several hundred watts, but thats just a complete guess.
 
Choice 102.9 claims to have a 100 mile reach...I was picking them up in Revere at one point, and even
into Lynn.

by the way, the FCC does accept payments of its $10,000 fines on the installment plan. maybe they can
sell some (ILLEGAL) advertising to make that money...
Banner ad soliciting illegal advertising on an illegal station
http://choice1029.com/images/ad_banner.gif

>>Choice FM was commissioned WCFM in 2004. Originally, the call sign letters stood for Caribe FM. When the radio changed its name to Choice FM in June of 2005, the acronym was changed to stand for The people choice.

Commissioned by who? Not the FCC. Oh, and those calls DO legally belong to 91.9 in Williamstown/
Williams College.

>>WCFM broadcasts at 2000 radiated watts from its studios in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Our broadcast radius extends into the Boston metro area for approximately 100 miles from the studio, and contains almost 100,000 potential listeners. Although the exact number of listeners can never be determined.

>>WCFM broadcasts 24 hrs. a day, seven days a week. Unlike most low power stations, WCFM is on the air on major holidays.

Unless you're at flea power, sir, you shouldn't be on the air at all.
 
"The People Choice™"

I didn't know you could trademark bad grammar. :D

Whatever happened to the days when the FCC raided stations just plain ol' shut them down? This guy is (supposedly) covering a lot of territory, has a website and is even seeking advertisers. Crazy.
 
Raids happen on occasion, even around here. Radio Free Brattleboro for example. And here's a story about a Haitian music pirate down in Florida that was raided/owner arrested (now out on bail)

http://freepress.net/news/20635

Note that the pirate was on 106.1 and the station that complained of interference was on 107.1...The 102.9 here is 0.4 MHz away from WKLB and WODS--a lot closer...
 
I'd love to know which is more important to the FCC.....shutting down a "pirate radio station" or collecting the fine for illegal operation???

And if it's the latter choice....in whose wallet does the money eventually end up in?

argytunes (who apologizes in advance for the awkward grammatical sentence at the end!) :p
 
Along with Touch 106.1 , there are pirates at 102.9 FM, 96.5 FM,99.7 FM,and 105.3 FM in the Dorchester area at night.If the FCC fined them all might reduce the bugdet deficit.
 
2000 watts my ass. Unless he's paying for an expensive multi-bay antenna rig, a transmitter that could deliver enough TPO to make 2kW ERP would run several thousand dollars at least. And that's used. Something new would probably be more like $15k to $30k. I highly doubt a pirate can afford to put out that kind of oomph.

http://www.bswusa.com/searchresult.asp?searchType=category&subcat=rfequip-tx

More likely he's running something on the order of 100 watts. Maybe 200. Possibly only 25-50. They're not common, but you CAN get transmitters on eBay that'll do that for a few hundred to a low few thousand bucks. If he's got any decent height, like being on top of a hill, then 100 watts on 102.9 would reach pretty far; the frequency is fairly "clear" thanks to 102.5 and 103.3.

Remember, height is ALWAYS king. That's why WFNX's old 101.3 translator could be picked up in Wellesley, despite a null to the west/northwest and only 7 watts ERP....it was because it was 7 watts from the top of the Hancock Tower. And also because 101.3 was a pretty "clear" freq, too.
 
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