Posted on 04/18/2014 9:36:32 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA) today sharply criticized federal agents for shutting down an unlicensed radio station in Grove Hall and said he tried to dissuade them from raiding the station that bills itself as the fabric of the black community.
Patrick, the state’s first African-American governor, said he had received advanced warning from the US attorney’s office that TOUCH 106.1 FM was going to be raided and urged the office not to proceed.
But federal agents disregarded him. They swept into the station Thursday and seized transmission equipment in what they called a strike against illegally operating radio stations.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
Now Skywave ..... that's where pirate radio really lives and you don't hear about pirate radio stations operating on Skywave getting busted.
6.925 USB, just sayin'....
Agreed.
One watt is not going to interfere with any strong commercial signals. But the FCC or some enterprising ham radio guy could post a website that shows coverage for local FM radio and the rule could be set that you can’t broadcast on anything other than an open frequency.
Those of us with 50mw FM car transmitters already know which ones those are.
These days you can’t get FM transmitter experience without going to work for one of the big Radio Conglomerates.
You can always do Ham, but Ham prohibits any form of general broadcasting. Another stupid rule IMHO.
Of course even if we allow this, RIAA and ASCAP are going to drop the hammer and demand all kinds of fees.
You can’t win.
It’s either big commercial or pirate. Either you bow to the FCC and ASCAP and RIAA or you go underground.
SWAT teams are apparently all the rage with government agencies. Should the FCC have a SWAT team?
Apparently not stupid, considering they got away with it for over seven years. The Grio brings rich rewards, if played well in a state with a black government. One can do a lot of damage when the local government is willing to turn a blind eye.
Hey, makes me wonder a bit about how swell things would be if we just let states and cities rule things, huh?
They probably already have a few.
Hey, what do you think? Thought just struck me. If we devolved all this to the states, how fair do you think a liberal-ruled state like MA would treat TEA Party people?
You'd be surprised how many of those guys working and maintaining the AM and FM Transmitters all have extensive Amateur Radio experience.
I know a fair number of them in the Chicago area - many of them are in the same radio clubs and get on the same local ragchew nets that I'm on just to kick back and relax.
BTW: You'll not find much in the way of amateur radio equipment that's CAPABLE of sending a non-stop signal for hours at a time. On the one hand the rule prohibiting "broadcasting" in the Amateur Radio bands is really kind of moot/stupid because the equipment manufactured for Amateur Radio can't do lengthy key-downs. That's not to say it cannot be made to do so, just that it'd be an awful lot of work and re-engineering.
Probably the same way the Crown treated Tea Party people in 1773.
It has always bothered me that the places where our country first sowed the seeds of Liberty are now the places where the libs are gleefully sowing the seeds of tyranny.
The FCC's powers are so limited now as it is, that they barely exist. You've got to be a real screw-up for the FCC to come after you much less "bust" you.
I sometimes wonder why I ever bothered to study and get my Amateur Radio license with all the idiots that come onto the HF bands using pirated/stolen equipment and acting like a bunch of grade-school children disrupting everyone elses' activities.
Like I said, they barely exist and barely have any enforcement capabilities now. As I type this I'm on an HF Net getting jammed by some asshole CB'er who'll never get caught.
To clarify what I meant when I said it was "stupid" ....
1. Low power FM signals are incredibly easy to track down with minimal to no direction finding equipment using a simple receiver with a signal strength meter and a way to attenuate the signal.
2. The limited reach of low-power FM signals doesn't exactly give one a signal heard outside of what, a few square miles?
3. No way to monetize it (make money) from one's broadcasts.
So that's what I meant by "stupid" irrespective of his not being "caught" for seven years. He wasn't "caught" because no one was listening and looking for him.
A-hole has his rig boosted up big, huh? Imagine dealing with that at a commercial radio station, big trucks blaring Channel 19 right next to your studio...
(I can't describe how PO'ed I'd get, back in the day.)
1) Nobody chased the signal. It could be sitting in one spot for years and nobody found it. Because: They. Weren’t. Looking. You’re right about that.
2) Depends on how much power. A hundred or two watts will give you citywide coverage, if it’s flat and your antenna is high. From the story, apparently this station could reach citywide.
3) They had a revenue stream. They are selling ads. I posted earlier in the thread a link I found on their webpage where companies could buy tax-free “corporate sponsorships.”
This had all the trappings of a real radio station, probably even a fine studio. They just lacked a license on the wall, worth tens of thousands of dollars. Because they are pirates. But they’ve been getting away with it for the last seven years because they meet somebody’s definition of “special.” Now that’s what’s stupid.
No, the A-hole is using a ham rig, likely purchased at a hamfest or estate sale, sold by an unscrupulous ham who wanted the money and didn't give a crap who he sold his rig to.
Imagine dealing with that at a commercial radio station, big trucks blaring Channel 19 right next to your studio...
If their signal got into your studio, it's your fault. Sure they can blast hundreds or thousands of watts out of CB mobiles these days but studio grade equipment and wiring properly installed should keep interference out.
Long before I ever got into ham radio, I worked at a drive-in theatre. When closing time came for the concession stand, we'd announce over the drive-in speakers that the concession stand was closing in 15 minutes.
The device that we made the announcement over eventually broke, so I'd pull my car next to the movie house, key up my over-powered, over-modulated CB and make the announcement from it. Funny, it sounded better "bleeding over" from my CB than the announcement device ever did.
Spent an entire summer working at that drive in, making that announcement night after night from my car's cb.
That was back in ....... 1979/1980. The good old days.
Second important thing is if the transmitter is built well enough to where bystanders other devices are not interfered with. I've seen a cheap security system using wireless technology make a motorized wheelchair go berserk. The person was off loading onto a lift and the chair tried to lunge forward.
Next is another important issue. If everyone picks a frequency band they want mayhem is the result. I used to work in a nursing home in maintenance. Not the janitor the person who handled power outages, fires, etc. I carried a handheld radio and there was a base unit plus about a half dozen more hand helds. A Taxi service unlicensed to be on the air and in the wrong frequency assignment made it to where we could not communicate. The Taxi Service was running 100 watts plus in the 154MHZ range with the cars using 25 watts. Our handhelds were about .5 - 1 watt. My boss reported the company finally. Taxis had their own spectrum and the owner had picked up a second hand system and decided to install it without seeking technical advice.
The Pirate station in question here if running a 100 watts would have covered a very wide area. The lower the frequency the further the signal carries. That is why in rural area the 155 & 159 MHZ spectrum is used a lot in rural area. That is why in the 140 MHZ HAM Radio operators with even handheld radios can hit repeaters. I know of a case where a 12 year old kid with a hand held HAM in between to high mountains at the lowest point still managed to hit a repeater and contact Park Rangers to report a classmate had drowned.
Nope it's not a good idea at all in dealing with radio frequencies for everyone be allowed to do their own thing. Many good rules are there for very good reasons. Thus one of the reasons FCC requires a license for some things including installing, repairing, and in some cases operation.
BTW: An FM broadcast antenna sitting on 106.3 if I remember the frequency right is actually quite small. Somewhere around 4 feet, four inches long for the radiator and same length for the other side of the dipole. Very easy to hide.
Me, if I'm doing pirate radio, I'm going skywave. Even there, a little power goes a long way. 100 Watts goes around the world under good conditions.
Then it was my fault. That was in the 1979-80 good times, so I guess I deserved it. Of course that wouldn't happen now, we lacked the technology back then. Those were, however, good old days. They're good because they're old. :^)
Both.
I had a CB when I drove a truck. It didn't run a linear but I did have the radio peaked out.
This was TX, long way between burghs, so they were amped up pretty high.
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