[Cyber Liberty]

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.

[usconservative]

A few watts with a very high antenna (think short wire dipole on top of a building 20-40 stories tall) is going to get out pretty far. That same dipole 20-40 feet in the air probably a square mile or two. Given the range in the map in that story, either that antenna was pretty high up, or he was running more than a few watts.

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.