[raccoonradio]

Clearly the FCC and Fed. marshalls acted stupidly. This station has been on since '07 or so and was issued a $17k fine and a cease and desist order by the FCC in '08. Since then they have remained on air, perhaps protected by the likes of former Boston Mayor Tom Menino. Owner Charles Clemons ran for mayor last year and used the station to promote his campaign. Now apparently there were complaints either about that, or interferece with Greater Media's WROR FM 105.7 (oddly, GM also owns "Hot 96.9", a hip hop station that probably lost listeners to the illegal Touch 106.1...go figure.)

[raccoonradio]

Howie Carr list ping

[Westbrook]

More JBT tactics on the people.

You know, if we don’t hang together, we will all hang separately.

I don’t care if the radio station was broadcasting “Kill the White People.” It’s their Constituitional right to do so, just as it’s our Constitutiona right to defend ourselves.

Away with Fedzilla!

[Gadsden1st]

Does the station own any cows?

[tumblindice]

Aaaarrrggghhh

[DUMBGRUNT]

issued a $17k fine and a cease and desist order

Only one thing to do here; hire cowboys to round them up and shoot them up!

Pay only $977,000. Such a deal!

[bigbob]

One person in Mass. ignores regulations issued by a federal agency and the governor criticizes the feds for enforcement actions.

Another person ignores regulations issued by a different federal agency in Nevada, feds send in armed troops to enforce their mandates, and the governor says what?

[DickBrannigan]

Check their website. Looks like heavily influence from the old Nation of Islam on their programming.

[grania]

It’s almost impossible to find radio stations anymore that aren’t controlled by major media corporations. I’m all for pirate radio, unless it can be established that it’s being used to promote criminal activity. The issue is federal and corporate control of almost every aspect of our lives.

[ladyjane]

Deval wouldn’t be very upset if the station was run by white people or conservatives.

[usconservative]

Local FM pirate radio is really stupid when one thinks about it. It's easy to find the signal.

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'....

[cva66snipe]

I've read through the thread and some things are being overlooked. Does FCC need a SWAT or even armed police? No. Should the FCC set standards of technical tolerances, assign frequency spectrum, ensure stations do not overlap? Yes. There is a lot at stake here beside a radio station. Does the equipment itself meet or exceed manufacturing standards? That is very important. Not only does the transmitting frequency and power need to be within limits but the internal RF generated inside the equipment must be safe. Why? Several good reasons. Rouge Radio Frequency depending on frequency and wattage can cause burns. The output frequency may be 106 MHZ but what are the internals?

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.