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Pirate on 103.9?

B

Backdraft

Guest
For the past few weeks, I've noticed raggae music coming in on 103.9. It weakens the signal from WFAS 103.9 Westchester in the South Bergen, South Passaic & Essex County area. It comes in solid around the Garden State Parkway & S. Orange Ave. Is this a pirate?
 
Should've checked before posting. As of 2 pm today, the pirate station is either off the air or WFAS' signal is overpowering it in Northern Union County. May still be worth keeping an eye on it, though.
 
The Caribbean pirate on 103.9 in northern NJ has been intermittently on the air for over a year now. I have an aircheck of them from June 2009.
 
I heard them faintly in South Amboy / Sayreville around New Years 2010.
Identified as "Blaze 103.9 the Fireswitch", they were playing Caribbean & Hip Hop
 
There are multiple pirates on 103.9 around the region. The pirate you heard in Sayreville was most likely a pirate from Brooklyn with enough power to cross the Raritan Bay. They might also have a Caribbean format.
 
KyleAndMelissa22 said:
I heard them faintly in South Amboy / Sayreville around New Years 2010.
Identified as "Blaze 103.9 the Fireswitch", they were playing Caribbean & Hip Hop
Click to expand...

That's the pirate from Brooklyn. I can pick them up as far as Long Branch in addition with a handful of LEGAL stations from Long Island.
 
Raider57,nope thats my Sirius Starmate!(old transmitter) Lol!
Anyway,the pirates are all over 91.9,95.1,95.9,97.5,104.7 up here in Passaic,playing spanish music from the same place.Theres also a reggae pirate from East Orange on 99.9 or 103.9,on 97.5 you have a guy from Newark playing rap with low audio,during the day.
 
Pardon my naitivity, but I was reading on the boards that Pirates caught by the FCC received a fine. I believe I read that one fine was $10,000 for illegally broadcasting without a license. Being that Pirating appears to be problematic (to say the least), wouldn't the FCC confiscate the transmitting equipment along with assessing a fine and/or imprisonment? I'm not sure how it works, although I thought that would be what the FCC would do. Is it because there are so many pirating stations that it is not feasible to confiscate equipment? Again, I'm not sure how this whole pirating works.

Bob
 
Backdraft said:
Pardon my naitivity, but I was reading on the boards that Pirates caught by the FCC received a fine. I believe I read that one fine was $10,000 for illegally broadcasting without a license. Being that Pirating appears to be problematic (to say the least), wouldn't the FCC confiscate the transmitting equipment along with assessing a fine and/or imprisonment? I'm not sure how it works, although I thought that would be what the FCC would do. Is it because there are so many pirating stations that it is not feasible to confiscate equipment? Again, I'm not sure how this whole pirating works.

Bob
Click to expand...

If you're familiar with how the urban areas of Newark, East Orange, Irvington, Passaic, Paterson, and Brooklyn, hearing about what happens in those neighborhoods basically everyday on the news, would you as an FCC office would send your agent there to shut them down? You don't know if these operators are tied with gangs or a mob. That's why these pirates are on for years. I notice the FCC has no problem raiding pirates in safer, more suburban neighborhoods.
 
What the FCC does about pirates

1. Someone complains about a pirate
2. More people complain about the same pirate
3. After several months or years, the FCC drives a van around the area looking for the pirate station operating during regular business hours.
4. If found, they will locate the transmitter site.
5. If the neighborhood is safe that the lone unarmed FCC agent feels like he won't get shot, Knock knock. Who's there. FCC.
6. If no one responds, a letter is mailed. If someone responds, they ask to inspect the transmitter.
7. When they refuse inspection, they leave and a letter is mailed several months later. The letter is ignored.
8. People keep complaining about the pirate.
9. After several months, the FCC visits the station again and sends another letter.
10. It's still on the air and people keep complaining.
11. FCC sends a Notice of Apparent Liability
12. Pirate doesn't pay it
13. FCC sends a forfeiture order months later
14. They still don't pay it!
15. On a slow day at the FCC office (months after the forfeiture letter was sent), they ask the local police to help bust the pirate.
16. Months or years later, the local police respond and set up a time to bust the pirate.
17. Repeat steps 3-5
18. If the FCC is lucky and the pirate is broadcasting at the time of the scheduled bust, the pirate is busted and the equipment is confiscated.

If the pirate changes its location or even its frequency, back to step 1. If it goes off the air before getting busted, nothing happens to it. This is the government bureaucracy at its finest.
 
Nick said:
What the FCC does about pirates

1. Someone complains about a pirate
2. More people complain about the same pirate
3. After several months or years, the FCC drives a van around the area looking for the pirate station operating during regular business hours.
4. If found, they will locate the transmitter site.
5. If the neighborhood is safe that the lone unarmed FCC agent feels like he won't get shot, Knock knock. Who's there. FCC.
6. If no one responds, a letter is mailed. If someone responds, they ask to inspect the transmitter.
7. When they refuse inspection, they leave and a letter is mailed several months later. The letter is ignored.
8. People keep complaining about the pirate.
9. After several months, the FCC visits the station again and sends another letter.
10. It's still on the air and people keep complaining.
11. FCC sends a Notice of Apparent Liability
12. Pirate doesn't pay it
13. FCC sends a forfeiture order months later
14. They still don't pay it!
15. On a slow day at the FCC office (months after the forfeiture letter was sent), they ask the local police to help bust the pirate.
16. Months or years later, the local police respond and set up a time to bust the pirate.
17. Repeat steps 3-5
18. If the FCC is lucky and the pirate is broadcasting at the time of the scheduled bust, the pirate is busted and the equipment is confiscated.

If the pirate changes its location or even its frequency, back to step 1. If it goes off the air before getting busted, nothing happens to it. This is the government bureaucracy at its finest.
Click to expand...

LOL! Got'cha.
 
I don't think the FCC shut down the 102.9 pirate in South Carolina. From what I saw in the thread, seems like they shut down themselves when people complained to them. They want to broadcast legally some day.
 
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