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How to shut down a pirate station (or at least, reduce their power)

N

nd2023

Banned
First, find out where the transmitter is. Drive around till you find the place where the signal is strongest. Or look through the FCC enforcement actions to find the address of the pirate if they've been issued a NAL.
Look around for something that looks like an FM antenna. Those are usually one straight metal rod pointing vertically. They probably won't look like a TV antenna.
Put aluminum foil around a kite and fly it into their antenna. Make sure the kite touches the antenna directly.

The effective radiated power should be down by a lot because the SWR would have suddenly increased. If no one notices for a long time, the transmitter might fail.
Who will the owner/"engineer" of the pirate station complain to?
 
Actually, it's far easier than that. Just notify BMI, ASCAP and SESAC of their existence. They'll be so buried in bills for public performances of licensed music that they'll have no choice but to shut down. The music licensing outfits take no prisoners.
 
The kite method won't work if the station keeps it's antenna in an attic (if they are in an older house where there's no metal involved above the gutters, they can still get out).
 
I like the direct approach. Cut the house power, lob in a tear gas bomb followed by a concussion grenade and a tatical assault team beating the door down. They do that for suspected drug dealers, why not suspected pirates?
 
dumber than a box of hair said:
Actually, it's far easier than that. Just notify BMI, ASCAP and SESAC of their existence. They'll be so buried in bills for public performances of licensed music that they'll have no choice but to shut down. The music licensing outfits take no prisoners.
Click to expand...
If the pirate doesn't play their music, they won't have to pay the bills.
 
Nick said:
dumber than a box of hair said:
Actually, it's far easier than that. Just notify BMI, ASCAP and SESAC of their existence. They'll be so buried in bills for public performances of licensed music that they'll have no choice but to shut down. The music licensing outfits take no prisoners.
Click to expand...
If the pirate doesn't play their music, they won't have to pay the bills.
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter. The licensing outfits will still require logging, to determine whether or not licensed music has been played on the air, and if the station refuses to log or falsifies the log they'll be hauled into court. As I stated above, these people take no prisoners.
 
The music licensing outfits take no prisoners. Reminds me of a story. Decades ago, in Gloucester, a restaurant-turned-disco, Ra-Joes, was visited by the BMI, ASCAP people who demanded rights fees...the owner could not grasp the concept, refused to pay and, now, is long gone.
 
A single nail through the antenna feedline will shut down the transmitter,
once and for all, so I hear...

A more interesting idea: what if someone were to start airing
heavy metal bagpipe music (that would really annoy the Touch people!),
and put it on the channel that Touch is using illegally. They seem to
have no problems with supporting illegal pirates! Nobody they could then complain to,
seeing as they are already criminals themselves. Poetic justice? ;D ;D
 
WLYNgm said:
A single nail through the antenna feedline will shut down the transmitter,
once and for all, so I hear...

A more interesting idea: what if someone were to start airing
heavy metal bagpipe music (that would really annoy the Touch people!),
and put it on the channel that Touch is using illegally. They seem to
have no problems with supporting illegal pirates! Nobody they could then complain to,
seeing as they are already criminals themselves. Poetic justice? ;D ;D
Click to expand...

Sure, if you're game for the electric bill.
 
Quote from: dumber than a box of hair on Today at 06:28:56 am
Actually, it's far easier than that. Just notify BMI, ASCAP and SESAC of their existence. They'll be so buried in bills for public performances of licensed music that they'll have no choice but to shut down. The music licensing outfits take no prisoners.
If the pirate doesn't play their music, they won't have to pay the bills
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but that is a practical impossibility. All three of these groups have aggressively made sure that anyone performs professionally, they're "represented" whether they want it or not. And there are reciprocation deals with many foreign countries/labels as well. The legal precedent is also weighted against the station that claims they're not broadcasting licensed music; the assumption is that you are and thus you are subject to the directives of the US Copyright Office, as enforced by the music labels.

The problem is that most of these pirates aren't really big enough to justify the kind of serious licensing fees that a label would want to "go after". Sure they'll send letters and maybe even make a nasty phone call or two...but that's about it. They know there's more money to be made by aggregating illegal file sharers at colleges and suing them en masse...not by threatening some dinky little 100 watt (or even 1000 watt) pirate station for $500 worth of music fees.
 
WLYNgm said:
A single nail through the antenna feedline will shut down the transmitter,
once and for all, so I hear...

A more interesting idea: what if someone were to start airing
heavy metal bagpipe music (that would really annoy the Touch people!),
and put it on the channel that Touch is using illegally. They seem to
have no problems with supporting illegal pirates! Nobody they could then complain to,
seeing as they are already criminals themselves. Poetic justice? ;D ;D
Click to expand...
That's a great idea. Hey Touch 106.1, stop! It's hammer time!
You would get a nasty RF burn if you touch the nail if it's greater than 100 watts, which is very likely given the signal range.

If you get your hands on a transmitter higher and more powerful than WTCH, go ahead and jam them.
 
>>heavy metal bagpipe music

Dropkick Murphys non stop on 106.3 (to jam the 106.1 signal). I'm shipping up to Boston, way-oh....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKyLgRzOTsY

(OK, so maybe those are accordions and not bagpipes. Red Sox radio has a promotional deal--
when Papelbon comes into the game--remember his dance?--they play that song and
mention a car dealership)
 
Over the years I have watched just how aggressive ASCAP and BMI can be. They
regularly hit small Mom and Pop convenience stores and Doughnut shops and nail them
if they have a couple of ceiling speakers. The only thing they will tolerate is a single
speaker radio for the employees to listen to.

Many of the stations I have worked for received calls from several small businesses
wanting to know why they can't play the station anymore.....asking if this is real

They have also gone after small non profits such as community theater groups and High Schools performing musicals like Oklahoma and Sound of Music etc.
This stops the performances cold as the licensing fees were out of reach.

ASCAP and BMI seem to be just slightly lees ruthless than the IRS, maybe its drop a dime time, they don't care how small a company is they want their money and
lots of it these days....just ask Bob Bittner... which reminds me to sit down and write a check to WJIB before I forget again.
 
Alot of these are runned out of parents basements. Call the parents.
 
RAPKING said:
Pirate should go to jail forever !!!!!!! Touch-FM breaks the Rules !!!!!!
Click to expand...

Well RAPKING I am glad to see that you have finnally seen the light!!! ;D :p
 
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