“Vibe 105.3” is another (unLic) blowtorch.
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WJIB may debut // 101.3 Fri
- Thread starter raccoonradio
- Start date
One of the Pilot pages I follow on FB just posed a link about how the FCC is going to crack down on on abuse of a "guard" frequency (emergency freq with a clear channel above and below to assure no interference) on 121.5 Mhz. My response to the post was that nobody has to worry as long as the FCC uses the same vigor that they use to chase pirates.
Cripes we do everything but send an Uber down to Quincy to pick up a FCC person and drive them to the effn transmitter/studio location, and yet nothing gets done, and they are going to police airplanes that are a mobile object.
http://www.flyingmag.com/fcc-warns-pilots-not-to-mess-around-on-1215-mhz
Cripes we do everything but send an Uber down to Quincy to pick up a FCC person and drive them to the effn transmitter/studio location, and yet nothing gets done, and they are going to police airplanes that are a mobile object.
http://www.flyingmag.com/fcc-warns-pilots-not-to-mess-around-on-1215-mhz
I get your sarcasm on that second line. I know it's illegal, but once again, nothing is interfering with it. I'm basically stating what CTListener stated above. I've listened to the station, and it sounds like a legit urban formatted station, albeit with relatively lackluster imaging.
A regular on the radio forum RadioInsight, Rapking, has asked: "My Facebook Friends are complaining that they cant hear BIG CITY 101.3 ( WTF I’m hearing some Oldie Station ) . Is Big City 101.3 finally off the air ?" Here is my response:
Here’s the story and you can explain it to your friends. BIG CITY is not a legal radio station, it’s a pirate. What are its call letters? It has none because it’s on the air illegally. Yes it’s been on for maybe 8 years, and they probably make money (which they don’t report to the IRS) but they never bothered to get a license. Finally a LEGAL radio station has begun broadcasting on the 101.3 frequency and thus Big City must vacate.
WJIB AM 740 in Cambridge, owned by Bob Bittner, runs “easy as the breeze” music. It got the RIGHT to simulcast on an FM translator at 101.3, W267CE are its LEGAL call letters. The station fired up on August 4, 2017. Much of the area it was hoping to cover cannot hear it because of the ILLEGAL station known as Big City. Big City got several letters from the FCC saying they apparently are not properly licensed and they must sign off the air.
Maybe they can find another spot on the dial. No, wait, there really are none, and wherever they do go, they will be on illegally. Suppose you come home and find a strange man is in your living room, eating your food. “I’ll be driving your car, too,” he says. “I found your extra key.”
Does he have the right to be there? No, he’s there illegally and you have every right to evict him. Thus the situation with WJIB. Its listeners are trying to get the FCC to enforce the law. There may be fines, equipment seizures, or even imprisonment coming to the fine folks at Big City. As I understand it their morning DJ left the station and is now about to be heard on a LEGAL low power FM station in town.
Big City is in big trouble. If you’re hearing “oldies” instead of Big City that’s because a LEGAL station has moved in.
Here’s the story and you can explain it to your friends. BIG CITY is not a legal radio station, it’s a pirate. What are its call letters? It has none because it’s on the air illegally. Yes it’s been on for maybe 8 years, and they probably make money (which they don’t report to the IRS) but they never bothered to get a license. Finally a LEGAL radio station has begun broadcasting on the 101.3 frequency and thus Big City must vacate.
WJIB AM 740 in Cambridge, owned by Bob Bittner, runs “easy as the breeze” music. It got the RIGHT to simulcast on an FM translator at 101.3, W267CE are its LEGAL call letters. The station fired up on August 4, 2017. Much of the area it was hoping to cover cannot hear it because of the ILLEGAL station known as Big City. Big City got several letters from the FCC saying they apparently are not properly licensed and they must sign off the air.
Maybe they can find another spot on the dial. No, wait, there really are none, and wherever they do go, they will be on illegally. Suppose you come home and find a strange man is in your living room, eating your food. “I’ll be driving your car, too,” he says. “I found your extra key.”
Does he have the right to be there? No, he’s there illegally and you have every right to evict him. Thus the situation with WJIB. Its listeners are trying to get the FCC to enforce the law. There may be fines, equipment seizures, or even imprisonment coming to the fine folks at Big City. As I understand it their morning DJ left the station and is now about to be heard on a LEGAL low power FM station in town.
Big City is in big trouble. If you’re hearing “oldies” instead of Big City that’s because a LEGAL station has moved in.
(or maybe they do pay taxes, who knows)
Bob believe it or not Big City has been broadcasting on 101.3 since 2006 or so, and here we are 10+ years later and they are still going strong!
In order for an equipment seizure to take place they need Federal Marshall's, the FCC field staff cannot execute a seizure and neither can state or local police, it has to be done on the federal level.
The FCC can fine the pirate stations all they want but unfortunately they have no way to force them to pay up, so the pirates just keep broadcasting!
In order for an equipment seizure to take place they need Federal Marshall's, the FCC field staff cannot execute a seizure and neither can state or local police, it has to be done on the federal level.
The FCC can fine the pirate stations all they want but unfortunately they have no way to force them to pay up, so the pirates just keep broadcasting!
Rapking, all his friends, everyone involved with BIG CITY, and the owner of every business that advertises on BIG CITY should be arrested.
Arrest listeners and friends of listeners? Really? Where are you going to locate the concentration camps?
"Aiding and abetting" is a valid legal concept. Anyone involved should be prosecuted... they are all accessories to the crime.
I am not a lawyer, but I don't think someone who listens to a radio signal is "aiding and abetting" in any sense of the legal term. And calling for the arrest and prosecution of people who are merely friends of people who listen to such a signal is treading dangerously into McCarthy (Joe, not Charlie or Gene) territory, not to mention Hitler, which I won't because doing so subjects me to the snarky Godwin's Law. And Lord knows there's enough sophomoric snark to be found on this board!
Woman on twitter asked "What happened to Big City 101.3?All I hear is classical music." I explained...
Is the pirate Big City gone from 101.3? Last night in Danvers, Peabody, and Beverly WJIB's // on that freq came in a bit fuzzy but fairly interference free (at times maybe WVQM Augusta or WMRC's // may have been heard). Someone on the Friends and Lovers of WJIB Facebook group reported hearing the FM simulcast of WJIB clearly in Dorchester.
Big City may have finally decided to turn off permanently (from that frequency), or maybe they'll turn back on.
a) The FCC did give them warning letter(s) to discontinue operation. Did the feds follow up with a fine or a raid?
b) While the pirate affected WJIB //'s signal, the same applied to Big City--and W267CE may have had the advantage of beaming both horizontally and vertically. As said above, some Big City listeners were puzzled that an oldies or "classical"
station was being heard instead. They may live so close to Cambridge that this is all they hear now. With both stations on
and fighting it out, Big City may have decided to try another frequency instead (but where?)
It's been said 87.7's pirate station has been broadcasting from same building but the feds may not go after them because of being way down at 87.7, maybe no legal standing or significant interference.
--–Someone on that facebook group said they can get the pirate very faintly nr Blue Hill Ave, so maybe turned power way down? Someone else said they can finally get the legit station // WJIB in Copley Sq
Big City may have finally decided to turn off permanently (from that frequency), or maybe they'll turn back on.
a) The FCC did give them warning letter(s) to discontinue operation. Did the feds follow up with a fine or a raid?
b) While the pirate affected WJIB //'s signal, the same applied to Big City--and W267CE may have had the advantage of beaming both horizontally and vertically. As said above, some Big City listeners were puzzled that an oldies or "classical"
station was being heard instead. They may live so close to Cambridge that this is all they hear now. With both stations on
and fighting it out, Big City may have decided to try another frequency instead (but where?)
It's been said 87.7's pirate station has been broadcasting from same building but the feds may not go after them because of being way down at 87.7, maybe no legal standing or significant interference.
--–Someone on that facebook group said they can get the pirate very faintly nr Blue Hill Ave, so maybe turned power way down? Someone else said they can finally get the legit station // WJIB in Copley Sq
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Someone told me Big City moved to 100.5...which happens to be next to a pretty powerful rock station owned by CBS, soon to be Entercom/CBS. How long will this last? Also supposedly Boston area has pirates on either side of WEEI-FM (93.5, 93.9)
Post on instagram by Big City said they are still up and running and trying to resume programming but listeners can access them via an app. "We have heard the rumors"...
Wonder if pirate returned to 101.3 or someone else went on the freq--Dedham JIB on FM listener said they had trouble picking it up yesterday.He fundraises from listeners but she said "why are we paying for a station we can't hear?" (There's always 740)
The Milford translator could likely give WJIB's FM interference in Dedham.
Was thinking that--she had said:
>>no your pirate station is still transmitting I tried to listen to 101.3 yesterday in Dedham why pay for a station that your listeners can;t hear?????
One response:
>>>In Dedham it might be WMRC legal 101.3 from Milford--they are on a tall hill. Was it rap music you heard and lots of nightclub advertisements? That's the pirate's content.
another
>>>> It was likely 101.3. Yesterday's data points while driving: Hyde Park--Truman Highway southbound, signal just ok. Readville--Mostly or entirely 101.3 in Milford. Hyde Park Ave. northbound--fading in and out. Cleary Square--Much improved.
>>no your pirate station is still transmitting I tried to listen to 101.3 yesterday in Dedham why pay for a station that your listeners can;t hear?????
One response:
>>>In Dedham it might be WMRC legal 101.3 from Milford--they are on a tall hill. Was it rap music you heard and lots of nightclub advertisements? That's the pirate's content.
another
>>>> It was likely 101.3. Yesterday's data points while driving: Hyde Park--Truman Highway southbound, signal just ok. Readville--Mostly or entirely 101.3 in Milford. Hyde Park Ave. northbound--fading in and out. Cleary Square--Much improved.
nooooo!!!!!
The whole thing is insane; translator(s) here and there, legal distant FM from somewhere, pirate FM from ??? - and ALL ON THE SAME FREQUENCY.
I wish the FCC would just hit "Reset" and clear the FM band of all translators and LPFMs.
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