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Quarterly Pirate radio report

DJKraze

DJKraze

(Since monthly seems pointless now)

I was driving up 91 north today and figured on checking to see who's left after all the notices the FCC has issued and almost nothing...

101.5 might have been there, but I tuned in kinda late so I'm not sure, but I know they got a notice, so maybe they are gone. 102.5 has been gone for a while, but I still checked on it, nada.
103.3 I have heard them recently, but not on this occasion, and this was as I was passing the Convention center (BTW: ConnectiCon starts next Friday, but I have to miss out on this one, various issues).

and since I was passing the con center, I tried 87.9 which I remember last year seemed to be Animal Planet audio via comcast source (due to the ads during programming). When I last mentioned this one there were comments saying it was catv leakage, but animal planet is not on CATV channel 6 (I think WTIC-TV is) and it wasn't 87.7 but 87.9. Anyhow the signal is still there and was strong enough to reach about 3/4 of a mile, but it was a dead carrier. Still don't know what that one is about.

On my way back I traveled to New Bri-ain (oops! I showed my native side by not using the T in the name). The old days of pirates on FM and lone gone now, nothing on any of the previous frequencies 87.9, 90.1, 90.9, 92.9, 105.3 or 107.5, but on AM it's another story, 1620 is very strong when traveling on North Street, but not so much elsewhere, I'm not sure what the regs say for AM, but this might actually be part 15. A similar station is on 1640, but I don't know if that one is licensed or not as I never seem to hear the call and I think there is supposed to be a legit broadcaster on that freq.

I hjaven't heard otherwise but I think there is a massively strong AM pirate on 1120, they seem to use a call sign and have commercials and everything, but when I look them up as "WPRX" on the FCC database, I get nothing! ;)
 
DJKraze said:
I hjaven't heard otherwise but I think there is a massively strong AM pirate on 1120, they seem to use a call sign and have commercials and everything, but when I look them up as "WPRX" on the FCC database, I get nothing! ;)
Click to expand...

However, a pirate is a station without authorization to operate. 1120 "DWPRX" (That is their current entry in the database) is authorized to operate under the FCC rules. (See: BLSTA-20101008AAX, extension request filed by BELSTA-20110408ABV). You could be really nit-picky and say they never were a pirate because they had previous authorization to do so, but I have to disagree with that statement. If you don't have authorization to broadcast, weither you did or not in the past, and you're broadcasting, you're a pirate.

But 1120 is not a pirate.
 
This is why I put the wink. Although I did try to find the temporary authorization (the FCC Database does list "DWPRX") and all the documentation I found actually suggests that temporary authorization wasn't granted, and would not be. I'm sure I was just looking in the wrong place. Not that I need to see the documents, I will look them up as a curiosity.
 
106.5 in Bridgeport is still on. Its transmitter is so bad you hear a mix of WEBE 108 and the pirate on 105.1
 
The 106.5 is just off of 95, operating at really high power. If you are driving on 95, the strength of signal is strong enough to cause all sorts of issues.
 
Yes. What is with 106.5 ??? 1 Love Radio. (??)


They go on forever and nobody bothers them ?



Where is the antenna ?? I don't live in Bridgeport but go through the place often and 106.5 seems strong all over the city.


Of recent I hear what sounds like classical on 1700 AM in Bridgeport. It never has any ID. It could be legal. (not very strong)
 
Nick said:
106.5 in Bridgeport is still on. Its transmitter is so bad you hear a mix of WEBE 108 and the pirate on 105.1
Click to expand...

Pulling it in during Delilah's show must be pure hell! :p
 
The 1700 in BPT is a Part 15 legal operation, run by an old friend, Saul Nowitz. He used to drive everyone nuts at WVOF about 25 years ago. ;)

Joe Pelham specializes in setting-up legal Part 15 stations, and he set that one up.

Too bad Ed B doesn't still work for WEBE. He'd have had that pirate nailed by now! Back in the late 80's, he helped WFIF track our infamous pirate! In 2008 or 9, he also got a translator repaired that was suddenly retransmitting WEBE, instead of its assigned station!

The owners of WEBE made a BIG mistake to lose him!

His new employers are fortunate to have him! :)
 
I'm back from staffing at ConnectiCon 2011 and have an addendum of sorts to my initial post...

On Thursday after helping load trucks for the convention, I headed up to the Convention center and tried 87.9 again and this time it was a Star Trek movie being run on SyFy. So, someone might have known what was taking place in the area and was welcoming all us nerds (ok, maybe not, but one can hope). The only other times I had chance to tune in was Sat. night when I went home for sleep it was running Saturday Night live, and one other time I heard what I think might have been cake boss. Also note, although the signal does come in for about a 1/2 mile to a mile as you pass CTCon, it does not come in when in the Convention Center Garage.

Thursday night after finishing up at CTCon I did some family Taxi duties and ended up in New Britain again, where I tuned around to all the former frequencies from the various stations I've heard in downtown previously and found that 105.3 is back again and with much stronger signal, though on Thursday they had a very prominent tone in the background, which I haven't heard since then.

A side note, on Friday morning as I was heading up 91 on my way back to CTCon, I turned my radio on just as I got off the route 9 off-ramp in Rocky Hill and I heard a little smattering of Party FM with it's signal mixing with the NB pirate and at one point both were mixing with a 3rd station calling itsself "KIWA" (as one word, not spelled out), looks like it was to be a pretty good potential day for some skip, but I had other priorities that day.
 
I'm getting a strong mono signal in New Britain's south end with that 105.3 station. As for I-91 and CT Route 9, the interchange is in Cromwell, just to nit pick. :p
 
Re: 96.7 pirate from NJ

Apparently, they have given up fighting K-Love. I see it as an answer to PRAYER! :D

"The pirate station that has been interfering with KLOVE's New York area station (WKLV/Port Chester) since it took over the station in May, has moved it's frequency to 99.9..." - http://hisair.net/news1.htm
 
Re: 96.7 pirate from NJ

WPHA said:
Apparently, they have given up fighting K-Love. I see it as an answer to PRAYER! :D

"The pirate station that has been interfering with KLOVE's New York area station (WKLV/Port Chester) since it took over the station in May, has moved it's frequency to 99.9..." - http://hisair.net/news1.htm
Click to expand...

Actually the pirate on 96.7 in NJ is still on the air. It occasionally goes off during the day but is always back on at night. The pirate on 99.9 is completely different and has been on the air for many years.
 
I had completely forgotten about this one, but as I was heading from Wethersfield back to Newington this afternoon, I passed Stop & Shop and checked 107.5 and sure enough, the unid station playing classic rock was there again. Also, speaking of 107.5, I was in Springfield yesterday, and I noticed there is something running spanish religious programming with horrific audio, I need to check if this one is legal or not still, but if it is, radio safe words escape my desciption of the audio quality on that one.
 
DJKraze said:
Also, speaking of 107.5, I was in Springfield yesterday, and I noticed there is something running spanish religious programming with horrific audio, I need to check if this one is legal or not still, but if it is, radio safe words escape my desciption of the audio quality on that one.
Click to expand...

There's supposed to be a legal LPFM station licensed to Springfield running Spanish Religion on 107.9 FM. Its calls are WLHZ-LP and its licensed to La Hora Ministerio.
 
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