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Standards on 90.5 pirate out of Ipswich

raccoonradio

raccoonradio

Drove to Portsmouth NH area and back (I-95) and noticed a pirate on 90.5; had heard them before.
In Topsfield and Ipswich it came in really strong, started to fade nr Rt 113 exit in Newburyport, and
was gone just after NH border. To the south it goes down to Danvers/Beverly though it mixes with a legit
station at 90.5 in Scituate, WSMA (religious).

The only "ID" I heard was "This is 90.5 FM--from the shores of Ipswich". I don't think it's an LPFM.
Instrumental/elevator music (Theme From Exodus, etc.)--almost like the old WJIB though some of
it was kinda jazzy. Any fans of WZBC in that immediate area may be bummed out because at least
in Topsfield and Ipswich area it was obliterating them. We'll see if FCC gets a complaint. It may be
someone's hobby (no "commercials" certainly) and sounded good technically but I still believe they're
unlicensed. While the North Shore may be getting, or does have, some LPFMs (one of them will soon
be relaying WERS at 101.5) this one's prob a pirate, mateys.
 
I caught the 90.5 out of Ipswich while driving up 1A today. The signal was spotty throughout Hamilton and even in downtown Ipswich. I heard soft instrumentals I've never heard before, even on the venerable WJIB (former and current incarnations). I mean, "Don't You Make My Brown Eyes Blue" is a nice song and a one-time hit, but I guess I didn't believe it rose to the level of being immortalized the beautiful music genre. :)

Only one quick ID, "This is 90.5 FM". No mention of Ipswich.
 
There was a standards/easy listening pirate on 88.7 in Boxford for a while, they may have also spent some time on 89.3. Back when it was on 88.7, it could be heard as far away as 128/93 in Woburn!
 
Yes I had heard the Boxford one around the Essex-Manchester by the Sea-Ipswich area for awhile

And yes "soft instrumentals" might be the best description
 
I was in Ipswich sunday and tuned the pirate in. Not much talk, "It's a beautiful Sunday....". Reception, even in Ipswich, was spotty until I drove closer to the Rowley line.
 
While I understand that “pirate” only refers to the unlicensed operation of a station, I’m amused by the thought of a pirate playing standards or beautiful music.

Especially when you consider what the “legendary pirates” were (ala Radio Caroline)…

“101 Strings” or Ferrante and Teicher hardly seems like music to be enjoyed by rebels running a foul of the law…
 
choicevoicepro.com said:
While I understand that “pirate” only refers to the unlicensed operation of a station, I’m amused by the thought of a pirate playing standards or beautiful music.

Especially when you consider what the “legendary pirates” were (ala Radio Caroline)…

“101 Strings” or Ferrante and Teicher hardly seems like music to be enjoyed by rebels running a foul of the law…
Click to expand...

Pirates have always played what's not currently available on legitimate (mainly) commercial radio. Decades ago, commercial radio was loaded with stations playing "beautiful" instrumental music, but not anymore.

There's a pirate that goes on 89.3 occasionally in the west suburbs playing '50s and early '60s pop oldies, a lot of the same tunes that commercial oldies stations used to play 20 years ago, but most of which are seldom played on commercial radio anymore. I hear it on some Sunday nights around the Newton area. The host calls it "college radio" without identifying any actual college, and he sounds like his own college years are very long behind him.

Who'd have ever thought that in the New Millennium we'd have some pirate stations targeting (and even run by) senior citizens?
 
About 10 years ago there was a standards pirate at 96.5 in Rutland, VT, Radio Free Vermont. They even
ran PSAs and ads ("Airport Driving Range", a golf course nearby). "Vermont's hometown station". I have
some tapes of them. Big band type stuff

If it's the same people, they now streamcast AC at http://www.radiofreevermont.org/ But who knows.
Another site has a gateway page but nothing there and it mentions the name "Monty Butterfield". I think
that was the guy who had the orig RFV
 
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