Weird Stuff Heard on the Radio\TV.

[Route66Fan]

Based on a post in the "Can one of these drain your car's battery?" thread in the "Indirectly related to Broadcasting" section, What were some of the weirdest, most unexpected things you all have heard on the Radio\TV. I have heard a few times in the past couple of years, audio from my local MeTV affilate (KMBC-TV Ch. 9.2.) on the FM dial (Usually around 87 or 88Mhz - I think what it was I was actually picking up was some neighbors wireless headphone transmitter that they had hooked up to their TV.) on a Sony FM Tuner that I had a outdoor ChannelMaster TV\FM antenna, plus a couple of signal boosters hooked up to. Also, I've had some instances where an FM station's signal that I was listening to was overridden by somebody's car FM transmitter & due to being within the viewing area of a TV station, whose analog signal broadcasted on Ch. 6 (KMOS-TV in Sedalia\Warrensburg, MO.), I used to hear their audio on 87.7Mhz, prior to 2009 (I also remember one night, back around 2007-08, when KMOS-TV was off-the-air, hearing the audio portion of the tail-end of an episode of "The Tyra Banks Show", followed by some commercials, & then a male announcer saying something like "You're watching WOWT-TV, Omaha\Lincoln". I've seen this TV station coming in on both analog & digital TV, however, this was the first & I think only time I picked up the audio portion of their analog signal.). One other thing I remember was (About 12 years ago.) hearing the audio from a neighbors videogame console coming in on analog Ch. 3 (I assume that they were using a cheap RF modulator that had a leak.). Anyway, as I mentioned, what were some of the weirdest, most unexpected things you all have heard on the Radio\TV.

 

[almaniac27]

About a year ago I heard a translator relaying the audio from the local NBC affiliate. Normally the translator relays Air1, originating from the HD3 signal of an iheart CHR station, but I was hearing Saturday Night Live instead!

 

[Route66Fan]

About a year ago I heard a translator relaying the audio from the local NBC affiliate. Normally the translator relays Air1, originating from the HD3 signal of an iheart CHR station, but I was hearing Saturday Night Live instead!

That is weird. I wonder what caused that to happen.

 

[cyberdad]

I once had a cheap FM transmitter in my car for the purpose of playing tunes from my ipod. On a a few occasions, it would get blown out by a nearby driver with an apparently not-so-cheap modulator. Sometimes in traffic, if the driver was headed in the same direction as me, the effect could go on for miles.

 

[KeithE4]

Also, I've had some instances where an FM station's signal that I was listening to was overridden by somebody's car FM transmitter & due to being within the viewing area of a TV station, whose analog signal broadcasted on Ch. 6 (KMOS-TV in Sedalia\Warrensburg, MO.), I used to hear their audio on 87.7Mhz, prior to 2009 (I also remember one night, back around 2007-08, when KMOS-TV was off-the-air, hearing the audio portion of the tail-end of an episode of "The Tyra Banks Show", followed by some commercials, & then a male announcer saying something like "You're watching WOWT-TV, Omaha\Lincoln". I've seen this TV station coming in on both analog & digital TV, however, this was the first & I think only time I picked up the audio portion of their analog signal.).

The audio transmitter on Channel 6 in the analog days was 87.75 MHz, and could easily be heard on any FM radio tuned to 87.7 MHz, since the entire channel was within an FM radio's passband. I think there are some LPTVs still around that take advantage of this, airing an ID or something on the video carrier while using the audio as an FM station. I thought these were supposed to go away soon.

If you were in the coverage area of KMOS-TV and was hearing WOWT when they were off, there was probably some tropospheric ducting (more common on VHF-HI and UHF, but possible on all frequencies VHF and UHF), or you had a really good radio.

 

[gr8oldies]

The busy signal that was widely logged on 1340 for a very recent one. Otherwise a couple of weird pirates. One was a continuous loop of a guy promoting a supposed sex therapist who was "a graduate of a major university" (that narrows it down) promoting her book "You and Your Orgasm". The time came, I heard a brief male and female voice in the background then carrier cut. Also the Alex Jones pirate in East Tennessee on 87.7.

 

[crainbebo]

Numerous FM car modulators all over Ellensburg, at least during fall quarter. Some are just dead air. Some were even mono. I've had people running car transmitters on 104.3, 107.7, 106.3, 100.9 (blowing out KARY for a few blocks), 104.7 (blowing out much-stronger KKRV for a few blocks) and 93.1. Of course music if any was mostly the rap/hip-hop that most college freshmen cherish.

In Selah I could tune to 96.7 up in the higher neighborhoods with the Radio Shack DX-402 and hear Yakima Training Center weather forecasts. I've driven by exit 26 with the Elantra and nothing heard. I'm guessing 96.7 was bleedover from the air traffic frequency above 108 mhz!

There was a time back when I lived in Bothell, where 87.75 mhz actually had KONG-TV audio on it. (Cable 6, that is.) Guessing a neighbor's cable leak. Of course all digital now.

And then there's that lovely little pirate on 106.3 with non-stop Bible verses, right here in Ellensburg. Several miles of range, probably 50-100 watts. Only IDs are 'you're listening to Logos, the word of God.' Bible software. Who is running this, and why hasn't the FCC shut this down yet? There are no LPFMs licensed for 106.3 here. But that's not all...
They used to be on 107.9 with an even-stronger signal! 30+ miles of range from Ellensburg to Easton. And they were even heard on 106.9, albeit with about the same range as the current 106.3.

 

[KeithE4]

Numerous FM car modulators all over Ellensburg, at least during fall quarter. Some are just dead air. Some were even mono. I've had people running car transmitters on 104.3, 107.7, 106.3, 100.9 (blowing out KARY for a few blocks), 104.7 (blowing out much-stronger KKRV for a few blocks) and 93.1. Of course music if any was mostly the rap/hip-hop that most college freshmen cherish.

In Phoenix, there were a lot of car transmitters on 88.1 a few years ago (88.3 is a local religious station, and the lowest-used frequency in the metro). I was able to hear Howard Stern most of the way to work just from the number of satellite receivers connected to these transmitters in adjacent cars.

Now that I'm retired and not driving to work, I can't verify if they're still being used. With newer cars, I kinda doubt it.

 

[anotherguyTN]

Also the Alex Jones pirate in East Tennessee on 87.7.

There used to be a pirate station on 92.7 in the Lexington, TN area that carried the GCN network, which was loaded with Alex Jones and other conspiracy freaks in the early 2000's.

In Memphis WPGF-LP channel 6 operates as a franken FM rebroadcasting WHBQ AM 560, a sports talk station in Memphis. Both are owned by Dr. George Flinn, a legend in his own mind in Memphis broadcasting.

When I used an FM transmitter I usually used 87.7 or 87.9 except when I was in range of a TV station on channel 6, usually Memphis or Paducah, KY. I posted this on the thread about FM transmitters and battery drainage, but when I had one I used to pull a joke at times on listeners (If there were any) to the BBN translator on 88.3 in Dyersburg, TN where I would set my transmitter on the same frequency playing Christian rock.

 

[gar hi]

Back in the 80's when I was in Florida, I had my portable radio on the kitchen table tuned to a local Tampa AM station.

Suddenly, I heard another voice in the background slowly getting stronger until it completely took over.

It was a Spanish speaking male voice, so It had to be Cuba trying to mess with us.

After about a minute, the invading voice went away.

This was still during the cold war.

And it happened in the daytime too.

 

[gr8oldies]

Cuba had a ton of high powered transmitters in the 1980s, including one on 600 that relayed Radio Moscow. They were daily daytime stations in Sarasota.

 

[radioman148]

Cuba had a ton of high powered transmitters in the 1980s, including one on 600 that relayed Radio Moscow. They were daily daytime stations in Sarasota.

The Radio Moscow on 600 could be easily heard in the Midwest at night in the early 80s.

 

[Syfy]

Back in the 80's when I was in Florida, I had my portable radio on the kitchen table tuned to a local Tampa AM station.

Suddenly, I heard another voice in the background slowly getting stronger until it completely took over.

It was a Spanish speaking male voice, so It had to be Cuba trying to mess with us.

After about a minute, the invading voice went away.

This was still during the cold war.

And it happened in the daytime too.

Doesn’t Cuba have somebody who listens in to nationally syndicated US radio shows to determine if anything is bad said about cuba to block that from reaching cubas airwaves.

 

[Syfy]

Doesn’t Cuba have somebody who listens in to nationally syndicated US radio shows to determine if anything is bad said about cuba to block that from reaching cubas airwaves.

I could be wrong about that but I thought I had heard it somewhere.

 

[crainbebo]

Well for gosh sake's...tonight on the pirate 106.3 there was a website given. 'Logosradio.info.' The website doesn't work anymore, but here's an archive.org crawl from January of this year.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190103032549/http://logosradio.info/

Just a couple of webstream links. Somebody is running an FM transmitter and spewing out 128kbps Logosradio 24/7 here in Ellensburg on 106.3 mhz. And that somebody gets out for several miles. Another DXer who lives in Moses Lake and attends classes here in Ellensburg during the quarter had strong signal strength east of CWU on the Vantage Hwy. Still insane that this has not been reported. It has transmitted on one frequency or another for years.

 

[davideduardo]

Doesn’t Cuba have somebody who listens in to nationally syndicated US radio shows to determine if anything is bad said about cuba to block that from reaching cubas airwaves.

No.

They have no frequency agile AM transmitters, and never have.

They do have multiple transmitters on the frequencies of the significant Miami Spanish language stations and Radio Marti, programmed with regular formats which both serve local audiences across Cuba and block outside signals.

The blocking of other channels has to do with the time, nearly 60 years ago, when the US government bought time on clear channel stations in overnights to do Spanish anti-Castro programming.

At present, they have multiple local service signals on nearly every AM channel. And there are very few English speakers in Cuba who would understand or enjoy Rush and the like; remember, it's a Spanish speaking nation and one that was aligned with Russia for about three decades so there are many more Russian speakers there than English speaking Cubans. Cubans have been taught for the last 60 years that Americans and America are their enemies.

And Cuba is over 450 miles from east to west, and requires many many signals to cover the island with both local stations and the major national networks.

 

[ftballfan]

When I was attending GVSU, there was a pirate on 94.1 airing a wide mix of music. Around the same time, there was a Spanish religious pirate on 104.9 that covered a lot of the Grand Rapids area. It conveniently went off when two LPFMs came on with Spanish religious programming

 

[Syfy]

No.

They have no frequency agile AM transmitters, and never have.

They do have multiple transmitters on the frequencies of the significant Miami Spanish language stations and Radio Marti, programmed with regular formats which both serve local audiences across Cuba and block outside signals.

The blocking of other channels has to do with the time, nearly 60 years ago, when the US government bought time on clear channel stations in overnights to do Spanish anti-Castro programming.

At present, they have multiple local service signals on nearly every AM channel. And there are very few English speakers in Cuba who would understand or enjoy Rush and the like; remember, it's a Spanish speaking nation and one that was aligned with Russia for about three decades so there are many more Russian speakers there than English speaking Cubans. Cubans have been taught for the last 60 years that Americans and America are their enemies.

And Cuba is over 450 miles from east to west, and requires many many signals to cover the island with both local stations and the major national networks.

Oh ok thanks for the answer I have even heard them on coast to coast am talking pretty nasty about Cuba before and figured that if they blocked the am frequency of it that somebody might be able to stream the program via the internet in Cuba. It would be pretty hard to censor individuals from doing that.

 

[davideduardo]

Oh ok thanks for the answer I have even heard them on coast to coast am talking pretty nasty about Cuba before and figured that if they blocked the am frequency of it that somebody might be able to stream the program via the internet in Cuba. It would be pretty hard to censor individuals from doing that.

They have neighborhood committees that report listening to subversive broadcasts if discovered. Being reported can result in loss of privileges, such as food items, etc.

 

[gr8oldies]

Would that include the Spanish language PJB broadcasts on 800? I know religion isn't illegal in Cuba, but the government has to know the American evangelical movement that PJB represents elected and supports our current President.

They have neighborhood committees that report listening to subversive broadcasts if discovered. Being reported can result in loss of privileges, such as food items, etc.