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NY State Passes Anti-Pirate Radio Bill

Pirates were the first men to get their ears pierced..... Do you know how much it cost centuries ago? A Buckanear. Who said vaudeville is dead? (I think I just proved that) Seriously I thought the fcc was going to allow low power stations for citizens (10 watts ?) but I guess they killed that bill? Don't they have a low power (less than a watt) station allowed now? If that station was in a high population area like NYC on a tall building....even that station might be heard by thousands of people.
 
New Jersey and Florida have laws that make pirate radio a felony, yet pirates still infest the dial all over the state. I don't think anyone has been criminally charged for running a pirate station.
 
What the bills/laws in NJ, Florida & NY are designed to do is have local law enforcement work in concert with the FCC and federal law enforcement in order to physically shut down the illegal operations. Without local police involvement, the federal marshals have a tough time enforcing the law and confiscating equipment.
 
pjc1961 said:
What the bills/laws in NJ, Florida & NY are designed to do is have local law enforcement work in concert with the FCC and federal law enforcement in order to physically shut down the illegal operations. Without local police involvement, the federal marshals have a tough time enforcing the law and confiscating equipment.
Click to expand...

With all the police layoffs going on, especially in NJ, the last thing the cops have time to worry about is an illegal radio station.
 
ansky212 said:
pjc1961 said:
What the bills/laws in NJ, Florida & NY are designed to do is have local law enforcement work in concert with the FCC and federal law enforcement in order to physically shut down the illegal operations. Without local police involvement, the federal marshals have a tough time enforcing the law and confiscating equipment.
Click to expand...

With all the police layoffs going on, especially in NJ, the last thing the cops have time to worry about is an illegal radio station.
Click to expand...
The benefit to a local police department for trying to shut down a pirate station is low. The cops most likely won't see any revenue from the fines (if the pirate even pays it at all). It doesn't sound as good as arresting a burglar or drug dealer. Police would rather write parking tickets than track down pirate stations.
 
State Broadcasters came together and pushed the bill through. That's not happened before. Why would anyone underestimate powerful broadcasters to influence local authorities to enforce a law they worked so hard to pass?
 
Because it hasn't been enforced in NJ and FL

You're wrong on both counts. Broward County Florida shut down a Haitian pirate last week. Essex County shut down a Jamaican pirate last December.
 
Go to Newark tonight and count how many pirate stations you hear. That will tell you how well this law is enforced.
 
The pirates aren't even all Caribbean now. There are a couple dance pirates in NJ in Trenton and Elizabeth.
 
Problem is, the pirates are like ants. You kill 1, and 10 more appear. Same in Florida.

I was in the Bronx on Sunday and could not get over the number of pirates.

Off the top of my head I had 89.3, 94.1, 94.5, 94.9, 95.3, 101.5, 102.3, 104.1, 104.7 all on.

The 95.3 is REALLY close to Yankee stadium in the Bronx. My Insignia HD could not lock onto WPLJ's HD from inside the stadium.

94.9 is REALLLLLLY WIIIIDE and was splattering all over WFME 94.7, and WRKI 95.1 both which were listenable where I was sitting. 89.3 and 104.7 both were running spanish programming, both only had right channel of audio, and they weren't a simulcast!
 
Another problem is, most pirates really aren't hurting anything in the scope of things.

Give me one good example of a pirate station actually stealing any revenue from a commercial station.

Give me one good example of a plane falling out of the sky because of communication interference.

Give me one good example of any real, tangible harm being done by a pirate station.

Granted, it IS illegal, and anyone who does it is breaking the law, but still, I can't think of any situation real or imagined that has resulted in a major issue due to some guy broadcasting illegally.

I think this bill is just another knee-jerk case of making more laws instead of just enforcing the existing ones.
 
nocomradio said:
Another problem is, most pirates really aren't hurting anything in the scope of things.
...
Give me one good example of any real, tangible harm being done by a pirate station.
Click to expand...

Well, I do think NECRAT quoted one on the message above:

Necrat said:
The 95.3 is REALLY close to Yankee stadium in the Bronx. My Insignia HD could not lock onto WPLJ's HD from inside the stadium.

94.9 is REALLLLLLY WIIIIDE and was splattering all over WFME 94.7,...
Click to expand...

I don't get too bent out of shape over most pirates either, but I draw the line when they show up first-adjacent to a licensed signal within the theoretically-protected coverage area of that licensed station.
 
Nobody has the HD radios and the world did not end. Those may not be the best examples of pirate stations hurting legitimate stations since the legit stations probably didn't suffer.

87.9 in Newark was overmodulated and splattered on to Pulse 87, directly affecting their listeners in New Jersey. They had a good signal without the pirate on the air. The pirate has been on nearly 15 years.
Hot 87.7 in Boston is powerful, covers 25 miles, and runs a lot of commercials, directly competing with Jam'n 94.5. Its Facebook page has 8000 fans, so it might be pulling in a decent cume.
96.7 in Verona (I think it's from there) wipes out K-Love, which would have a great signal in northern NJ
Streetz 106.5 in Newark competes with Hot 97 and Power 105 and splatters on to Lite FM because it's overmodulated
106.3 in the Bronx wiped out the translator north of 100th street in Manhattan
 
Heck, I can think of three stations here in VA that are over modulating so badly you can't hear anything but them on adjacent channels. Nothing has been done about that for the 5 years two of them have been on. The other has been at least 10 years of this. The first two are around 45 miles from my location and still have this problem. I guess because they are large and legal enough, the law doesn't apply to them.

I think going after the legit stations once in a while wouldn't hurt, before the finger pointing aims at the pirates. Its really hard to be taken seriously as a government enforcement agency when your enforcement is so selective.

I am not familiar with the NYC pirate issue, but if it truly is as bad as it sounds, then maybe something does need to be done. Chances are though, as has always been the case, they will shut down only to reappear some months or weeks later on another frequency. I can't believe it is that widespread though, because the FCC has to be listening and the legit stations have to be complaining, and I see no record of any NOUO's or NAL's concentrated in NYC.
 
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