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The Free Radio
Network presents:
PIRATE RADIO EXPLOSION
By Pat Murphy
Never in recent history have there been so many unlicensed or pirate broadcasters
on the H.F. bands as there are now. Its a fact supported by checking the logs of
veteran pirate DX'ers who send those logs to the ACE, NASWA, Pirate Pages and of
course the Pirates Den. During the late 1980's one could spend months waiting for
a pirate broadcast and never hear anything,except static. You need only tune into
6955khz in AM or SSB on any weekend day or night and you can hear any number of different
pirate radio broadcasts. As a shortwave listener who has spent a lot of time chasing
pirate broadcasts for over a decade, I can tell you, it has been a pleasant surprise
in the last year to hear so many new and innovative broadcasters take to the airwaves.
On can't help but wonder, WHY?
The real question is: "what the heck is going on???"
There are several factors responsible for this explosion of unlicensed and pirate
radio transmissions in the past year. First and foremost is the Federal Government
downsizing within the Commerce Department. The F.C.C. falls under the jurisdiction
of the Department of Commerce and has not only had staff and budget cuts, but has
had its priorities redirected by Congress. The Telecommunications Bill of 1996 has
Washington bureaucrats scrambling to deal with the onslaught of technologies at much
higher frequencies than the antiquated H.F. bands. F.C.C. Field offices closed down
all over the country in June of this year and complaints of interference are being
handled by a toll free number that is answered in the Laurel, Maryland monitoring
station. But don't expect a speedy dispatch of Federal Agents to a plea of "Help"
from interference. The F.C.C. has adopted the policy of "The blame for interference
on the person receiving the interference." The F.C.C. bulletin CIB-10 goes on
to state that most interference "is caused by the design or construction of
the Consumer Electronic product and not by the radio operator, or is a technical
problem, not a law enforcement problem." CIB-10 then invites consumers to file
a complaint, with the manufacturer, not the F.C.C. In fact, during a recent call
to the FCC Gettysburg, PA. office, we were greeted by a recording that gave menu
options, of which included, "interference to phones or home appliances."
After punching the appropriate button we were told that "interference calls
should be directed to the manufacturer" and that the FCC was not going to pursue
these complaints any further. This is all adding additional pressure to the regulatory
body plus there is a plan in front of Congress that would move the office of the
F.C.C. to the Executive Branch (under the White House) and reduce the staff to 250
people. Keep in mind this plan has not been acted upon but is still being considered
and if it were to be implemented, would be an additional factor that would encourage
the Free Radio enthusiast to practice their on air craft.
Another and significant fact is the innovative technology of pirate broadcasters
in developing new and smaller portable transmitters. Over the past year we had a
virtual "gold rush" to the airwaves as a direct result of this kind of
technology. Developed by veteran pirate broadcaster the "Radio Animal",
is a 10-watt, AM, Crystal Controlled "Grenade" transmitter. "Animal"
told me in a recent interview that "the grenade transmitter has been the product
of a long process over a lot of years of pirate broadcasting. I wanted a transmitter
that was small, portable and solid state. Pirates were using technology from the
50's and 60's, stuff they'd find used at hamfests. I wanted to use modern technology
for the high tech receivers that listeners are using." The Radio Animal had
his detractors when he first tried this new type of transmitter. He said; "What's
so funny is that when I developed the 10-watt Grenade, people told me that no one
would hear it." Its interesting to note that in the most recent "Pirate
Radio Directory 8th Edition" (Tiare publications) out of the top 5 stations
with the most heard transmissions, 4 of them use Animals Grenade 10-watt transmitter.
Animal told me, "I just wanted to contribute to the pirate scene to make it
better." There is no question he has accomplished his goal and revolutionized
pirate radio.
Paul Art of "Voice of the Rock" said, "you can haul this unit, which
weighs next to nothing out on a raft, to an Island with some batteries and a tape
recorder and be heard for thousands of miles and be virtually unreachable by F.C.C
Agents, who aren't going to hunt for an Island to find the operator." Not to
mention the fact, that by the time the F.C.C. could dispatch someone, the transmissions
would have been long over and done with, and the pirate broadcaster leaving no trace.
Stations using the "Grenade" are reporting that DX'ers are hearing them
all across North America and are being heard in England, Germany and Scotland. In
recent reports to WREC Radio Free East Coast, P.J. Spanks says, "I've received
reception reports from England and Scotland using the 10-watt Grenade." Sparx
also points out that the "Audio circuitry is fabulous, and its hard to send
a bad signal." Radio Free Speech's, Bill 0. Rights got reports from Canada,
USA, Germany and Scotland for a May broadcast with the same unit. In fact, the only
transmitter that Rights has used over the past year has been the "Grenade"
transmitter. Pirate Pete at WRV, the Radio Virus says, "the Grenade makes it
possible to have 5 or 6 different transmitter locations because all I have to do
is hike into the woods, hook up the antenna and a battery pack and we're On the Air."
NAPRS, the North American Pirate Relay Service has had similar success with their
"Grenade" as has Animals own station, WKND, when he did a marathon from
the woods with the signal being heard all over North America. In interviewing the
station operators, its obvious they are more than happy with the results of this
little power house transmitter that allows them mobility and some degree of anonymity
by being away from homes, buildings and people. Hams have long known they can reach
long distances using the low power QRP transmitters using CW, but thousands of miles
using 10-watts in the AM mode is unheard of in these modern times of 5OOkw shortwave
transmitters. Since doing a "Pirate Broadcast" is illegal, it appears the
pirates have employed this new technology to go mobile with their activities and
in the true pirate spirit, taken advantage of a financial and dis-organizational
problem with their real or imagined oppressors. This has made listening to pirates
not only easier for the DX'er but the selection of stations formats far more diverse.
Here is the set up of Radio Free Speech. Station Manager Bill 0. Rights calls this
his "station in a suitcase" Transmitter, tape recorder for pre-recorded
shows, power cords, power supply, plug in crystals and H.F. Dipole with Coax all
rolled up into on little package. Rights says, "I've set up on the tops of mountains
in National Parks where we threw up the dipole in a tree and would do a broadcast
and be gone, all in 35-minutes." "It takes maybe 10-minutes to set it up
and two minutes to take down. I love it." Pirate Pete at WRV agrees, "Its
allowed us a pirate operators to be a lot harder to locate. In fact, I've got numerous
sites for my set up. Now you see us, Now you don't."
So at least two significant factors that have contributed to the explosion of pirate
broadcasts on the H.F. bands in the last year, have been the compact technology of
transmitters, like the "Grenade" and the FCC Downsizing and reduction of
staff. It has made the past year one of the most active and fascinating for those
of us who spend our weekends searching the airwaves for what used to be elusive signals
that we affectionately call "Pirate" radio broadcasts. So all you people
who have said, "I can never hear a pirate when I tune into, now is the time
to try again. If you can't hear one now, you need a new radio, antenna or both. Only
time will tell where this trend takes us, but one thing is for sure, this is an interesting
and exciting time for DX'ers chasing pirate signals. Good DX to you!
Pat Murphy - Deep in the Dismal Swamps of Virginia
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