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Why is there "no" pirate radio in Chicago?

T

Tom Wells

For such a big city, why does Chicago seem to have no FM pirates?
Well, there must be some, but I've never heard any. Is the band just too full?
Does the high antenna/flat topography and FM "capture" for "real" signals mean that any low antena/low power signal has no chance?
Does the current crop of choices do such a good job that no group or faction feels the need to put their "whatever" format on the radio?
Are Chicagoans more law abiding, or are there just NO people with the inclination that is seen in other regions?

There was a weak signal in 87.7 with full-time old radio crime show dramas, but I could never get it in the car to hunt for it.
It was only audible on the fringe antenna/rotor/Sansui combo.
Once "channel 6" audio grabbed that frequency, no more.

I did my pirate thing on shortwave 19 years ago, and in all this time, I've never heard any here on FM.
So, what the difference here?
Not enough people in the general population who care enough to do it?
 
Same Story Down here in Dallas.
Used to be one on 87.7 but They Got a license for Chan 6
There was a Rock Pirate on 99.9 in McKinney But I don't think they exist anymore either.
Seems like only Real Big Cities like NY have a sizable number of Pirates.
 
I haven't come across any either. The last time I remember a pirate radio station was one out of East Chicago. That one used to broadcast on 87.9, but I don't know if that one either just went off voluntarily, or got busted by the FCC. It was off the air just before WLFM-LP went on the air. The last one I remember out of Chicago operated on 104.7 about 3 or 4 years ago, playing uncensored rap, along with interfering with part of WCFL's signal.
 
Nsubuga said:
I don't know about that. They're all over South Florida.
Click to expand...

You're right. And, I've even heard a couple when traveling through a small city like Hartford, CT. So, it's not the size of city. Perhaps it's a regional thing. Most of the cities with lots of pirate radio seem to be along the East Coast. You are hard pressed to hear many pirates in any big midwestern or western city. Even LA doesn't have many - certainly nothing like the situation around New York.

I've done dial scans from my work sites near downtown Chicago and on the SW side - no pirates have been audible in either area. So perhaps its a regional thing. That's my best shot at trying to explain this.
 
I want to say it was about 5 years ago now, not exactly sure on that. There was a pirate that was broadcasting
from 63rd and Kedzie on the southwest side, at 100.7. The FCC knocked them off the air before they licensed the 2 watt
100.7 translator on The Sears Tower(yes, SEARS TOWER ;D).

The station was not shy, it was very vulgar and even was running spots for clothing stores on 63rd st. I believe they
were the same people who got kicked of 104.7. This station was very strong and was audible well into the Blue Island
area. When you got to the corner of 62nd place and Kedzie, they completely blocked out the dial from WUSN to WTMX,
on a car radio.

The local alderman at the time tried for months to get the FCC to get the station off, because it was VERY vulgar!
Suddenly the station was off, and not soon very long after the translator was on. I wonder if the FCC really cared
about the alderman, the vulgarity or the illegal station. It was there for quite a while and not to hard to pinpoint
where it was coming from with a car radio.

Did they shut it down because it was illegal or because Cavalry wanted their translator?????

I was glad when it got shut down because I was able to listen to WRXQ in Coal City again. That didn't last long though.
 
I can think of at least 4 pirates that used to broadcast on 87.9:

Waukegan - late 90's, Spanish in stereo with advertising, strong signal
Elgin - late 90's, militia programming, never heard it but likely was audio from RBN Republic Broadcasting Network
Chicago (Northwest side) - early 2000's, Czech language in stereo with advertising
Near North Suburbs (Niles?) - 2004, modern spoken word recordings/dramas (not Old Time shows)


Around Chicago and NW Indiana there are several that are on the air now on both AM and FM. Some claim that they are broadcasting with 'Part 15' wattage but the signals go out farther that that.

I think the reason why Chicago has less than New York or south Florida is that the similar programming is already available on legal stations.
 
The field office for the midwest is in Chicago. Running a pirate station would be like "hey FCC! listen to my station!"

"oooh no you don't" (raid)
 
Tom Wells said:
I did my pirate thing on shortwave 19 years ago, and in all this time, I've never heard any here on FM.
Click to expand...

I used to DX shorwave pirates in those days a lot. Perhaps I logged your station. 7415 khz and 6925 kHz were popular frequencies for shortwave pirates in those days.

I remember hearing a German speaking pirate from the Chicago area calling themselves Das Glauckenspiel with German music and many mentions of German establishments in the Lincoln and Lawrence Avenue area.

One of my all time favourite shorwave pirate has to be The Crystal Ship.

As for the FM pirates, the Czech speaking one on 87.9 used to broadcast from a transmitter near Harlem, just south of Irving Park. Their signal used to get around quite well.
 
As a Chicagoan, I will point out instances of things in "Chicago" that are not in Chicago.
The FCC "Chicago" field office is in Park Ridge, Illinois.
And yes, they are very "convenient", should there be any need for enforcement actions.
 
There are at least 5-6 pirates within 2 miles of the "Boston" (Quincy) field office.
So the proximity doesn't mean much to the enforcement actions, unfortunatley.

Hartford, CT has four pirates (101.5, 102.5, 103.3, and 107.5)
Springfield, MA (A city of 160,000) has two (100.1, 101.5)
It must definatley be a east coast thing, although I have seen several NOUOs get issued for pirates in Detroit.
 
Look like Chicago need to join the rest of America . Chicago need local ownership . Chicago need more local airstaff. Chicago need more local radio jobs. Chicago need alot of Pirate radio staions ! BECAUSE PIRATE RADIO STATIONS RULES !!!!!!!!
 
I ran a station on 90.5 FM in La Grange called "91X" 24/7/365 for 2 years from June 1997 - May 1999. My format was ahead of its time. I was targeting my peers which mainly listened to B96, Q101, etc in those days. I figured, why not play the music of both of those stations as one? Sort of like the original concept of Jack FM or Nine FM playing everything. Again - years ahead of these stations coming into existence.

I was a junior in high school and our high school radio station WLTL was full of student politics and other non-sense. It was only on for about 8 hours a day even thought they could operate 24/7 if they wanted. I had enough. Through money I saved mowing lawns the prior summer I ventured online (this was 1997) and found a guy in Tampa that sold FM transmitters online. I ordered a transmitter that put out 250 watts stereo PLL, climbed my parents 1890s era tall Victorian house and attached a Omni-Directional antenna to the chimney and was on the air from the basement. The station covered from the west side of Chicago near Midway airport to the east, well into Stone Park to the North, into Westmont to the west and into the forest preserves between Willow Springs and Orland Park to the south. Sometimes I heard it loud and clear into Orland Park.

I ran a real clean, professional operation. I started out with stuff from Radio Shack but eventually got good equipment used and gifted to me. I had 3 CD players, 2 mini disc players/recorders, 2 Technics 1200s, tape deck, a couple of Shure broadcast mics and a computer with MP3s running Winamp to automate when I was at school and overnight (another thing ahead of its time!) I had to rip and create MP3s myself in those days. This was 2 years before Napster. Finding some MP3s online was possible, but I mostly bought CD singles and ripped stuff from friends.

I setup a phone line and email and the calls poured in after a few months. I had a regular morning show and evening shows. Before WLIT played Christmas music 24/7 it wasn't really on the air. I played it for 48 hours on Christmas Eve and Day. For Halloween I played a continuous loop of sound effect tapes on Halloween night. I did April Fool's day stunts such as flipping to all 70s music and having different friends come in that weren't usually on to do shows. I even did remotes from area summer festivals.

I enjoyed privileges such as walking into White Hen at 2 am during the summer while on the air late and hearing my station on over the ceiling speakers and being known by the overnight clerk. he threw me a free 6 pack of beer now and then while I was 16-17 years old. Good times I had, I miss those days.

So yes, Chicago has had some pirates. I was one of them.

Enjoy some photos of it through the years here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2646114&id=1913989&l=e860624a64
 
Very impressive setup! I'd be afraid to try something like that today... the FCC seems to be making war on unlicensed broadcasters-- especially on FM. Even AM operators who are trying to stay within the rules are getting whacked. When I was in high school we ran a Knight Wireless Broadcaster on 640 with about an 80 foot long antenna hanging out the math room window from the second floor. It was only on the air in the morning before school. It went a couple hundred feet with a good signal. That was OK until the principal contacted the FCC and asked about it, resulting in a summons to his office and shutting down the station. You have to wonder how many electrical engineers and radio people got their start operating a low power station...
 
i remember just a little over 10 years ago. some dudes poped up on 99.1(i think it was) in hammond,in.

IIRC, they got busted big time. not only unlicensed broadcasting but a string of thefts from as far away as muncie,in
 
1964 I had a Knight Kit Part 15 transmitter. Ran it out of my parents house--about 300ft of bell wire wrapped all around the house.
Studio was 2 turntables a knight kit 4 input mixer a webcor tape recorder & a $8 microphone on a stand. Even used a teletype sound effect when I read the news right out of the newspaper. Played Rock & Roll records. Got out about a half mile in every direction. Had lots of fun & never even thought about the FCC. Transmitted on 930AM which was clear around Chicago in those days.
 
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