Pirate Radio

SouthCrackalack · July 2005

I really didnt know too much about this until I saw a little thing about it on an old Shigger Fragger or something..but anyone here ever tried it? Its such a dope concept and shit..and I am sure there is a ton of them out there playing dope shit(of many genres). Anyone?

gravelheadwrap · July 2005

Ive got a friend down in Miami who does it. Ive played on his show from here in Iowa before over the Miami airwaves.

Ive heard of crazy stories of dudes in the UK who do this shit and have like back up plans in case the police come after finding where their signal is coming from. Dudes talking about cementing up the main entrance to an old warehouse and doing the same with the windows so there is enough time to pack everything up and get out of there out of their secret entrance/escape.

kenny · July 2005

yo gravel man, did you git that other Harold Danko ?

gravelheadwrap · July 2005

yo gravel man, did you git that other Harold Danko ?

yeah, i did! its very cool, saw another one of his at a record fair this past weekend in Chicago, but I didnt pick up.. dont know if that was a good move or not as I dont have a whole lot of knowledge on the dude and records in general like a lot of the people here haha.

was it you that sent me that baghat link? i decided to pick that one up too a long with some other things.

SouthCrackalack · July 2005

Ive heard of crazy stories of dudes in the UK who do this shit and have like back up plans in case the police come after finding where their signal is coming from. Dudes talking about cementing up the main entrance to an old warehouse and doing the same with the windows so there is enough time to pack everything up and get out of there out of their secret entrance/escape.

Grafwritah · July 2005

I really didnt know too much about this until I saw a little thing about it on an old Shigger Fragger or something..but anyone here ever tried it? Its such a dope concept and shit..and I am sure there is a ton of them out there playing dope shit(of many genres). Anyone?

That's old technology, it's played out. It doesn't even make sense anymore with the advent of the Internet.

Okem · July 2005

The pirate stations over here ran things for a long time (as far as getting to here good black music) and still do. Tho things have change a lot. We now have 1xtra which is a bbc funded black station which kinda creams off the best of the talent from the pirates, but at the same time gives them national and international coverage.

But as for secret escapes and shit, it sounds a bit james bond and all, but its all true. The DTI, will regularly try to stop the pirates from broadcasting, and take all their equipment away, even put them in jail. So the pirates have to have a few tricks of their own.
That said, they themselves are not averse to taking down another stations rig, because they're operating in the same area, but that shit can get dangerous.

a short list of the pirate stations in London, not to mention the rest of the Uk.

Bashment
Bashment, R&B, Hip Hop, Garage

Shine
Garage, House

Rude FM
Drum & Bass

House FM
House

Sweet FM
R&B, Bashment, Hip Hop

Select UK
Garage, House, Drum & Bass

Station FM
Reggae, Ragga, Soca

Whoa FM
Hip Hop, Bashment, R&B

Y2K
Garage, R&B, Bashment, Hip Hop

Lightning
Ragga, Reggae, Bashment, R&B

Genesis
Ragga, Bashment, Reggae

Passion
Garage, Funky House

Powerjam
Reggae, Ragga, Bashment, R&B

Dejavu
Garage, R&B, Bashment, Hip Hop

Freeze
Garage, R&B, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass

Klimaxx
Reggae, Ragga, R&B, Bashment

Fresh
Garage

Vibes FM
Reggae, Bashment

Touch FM
Garage

Blues FM
Reggae, Ragga

Flames FM
Reggae, R&B

Kool FM
Drum & Bass, Oldskool

Latino FM
Spanish

Origin
Drum & Bass, Hardcore

Roots FM
Ragga

OnTop FM
Grime, Sublow, Eski, MCs

Upfront
House

Surprise FM
Soca

Heat FM
Garage, R&B, Bashment, Hip Hop

Ice Kold
R&B, Hip Hop

Echoes FM
House, Garage

SLR
Reggae, Soul, R&B

Bassline
Reggae, Ragga, R&B, Hip Hop, Bashment

Mystic
Garage, Hip Hop, Bashment, R&B

Revive FM
Reggae, Revival

Real
R&B

Hav It FM
Bashment, Ragga

9nine3
Garage, House, R&B, Bashment

Galaxy
Reggae

Vybe
Garage, Drum & Bass, Breaks, Oldskool

Edge
Drum & Bass, Hip Hop, Garage

Millennium Supreme
Reggae, Soul

Rinse
Garage, Dubstep, Breaks

Naija
Nigerian

Renegade
Drum & Bass, Garage

Unique
Reggae, Bashment, R&B

Eruption
Hardcore, Oldskool, Jungle

Xtreme
Garage, R&B, Bashment, Hip Hop

Beat FM
Reggae

Chillin
House, Garage, Oldskool, Drum & Bass

Wax
Drum & Bass

Juice
R&B, Hip Hop, Bashment

Funk FM
House

WBLS
African

N Power
Soca

Kasaba FM
Gospel

Silk FM
Reggae, Garage, Hip Hop, R&B, Gospel

Rude Awakening
Drum & Bass, Breakbeat, Oldskool

Sub Jam
Garage, Drum & Bass

Itch FM
Hip Hop, Rap

there are more but you get the idea.

SouthCrackalack · July 2005

I really didnt know too much about this until I saw a little thing about it on an old Shigger Fragger or something..but anyone here ever tried it? Its such a dope concept and shit..and I am sure there is a ton of them out there playing dope shit(of many genres). Anyone?

That's old technology, it's played out. It doesn't even make sense anymore with the advent of the Internet.

well I can see what you are saying..but just the thought of people driving around listening to your (illegal) radio station is great. I always wanted to try it, but I am entirely too lazy and unmotivated. Now I have to say I am interested in doing a little weekly mix internet show..just to add to the thousands/millions...but it could be a fun thing to do on the side. Anyone with a show have any pointers on how to get that popping off? Like what software and shit..I have asked before here I believe but cant remember any answers.

SouthCrackalack · July 2005

another thing I hate is when rappers shout out names of deceased rappers and leave out Big L

street_muzik · July 2005

I had a show on Free Radio Santa Cruz the first couple of years, maybe '94, can't remember. I was also involved with Life Radio from Oakland. It was the first Black run pirate radio station in the "community". I had listeners because Santa Cruz is small enough, but most "pirate" shows don't go out more than a mile or two.

It was all good back then but I agree with the above statement that it's played and filleted. I still support though, just not trying to hear the radio.

SouthCrackalack · July 2005

I had a show on Free Radio Santa Cruz the first couple of years, maybe '94, can't remember. I was also involved with Life Radio from Oakland. It was the first Black run pirate radio station in the "community". I had listeners because Santa Cruz is small enough, but most "pirate" shows don't go out more than a mile or two.

It was all good back then but I agree with the above statement that it's played and filleted. I still support though, just not trying to hear the radio. [/quote}

I thought the more dough/bigger antenna the farther out the signal could reach..or would that involve an antenna too big to hide?

street_muzik · July 2005

I thought the more dough/bigger antenna the farther out the signal could reach..or would that involve an antenna too big to hide?

You can do that, but it's harder to hide, and if it causes interference to other stations, you'll piss off their listeners and the stations themselves. That's when the calls to the FCC are made.

johmbolaya · July 2005

I met someone on a local board, and had known of my local radio experience. They wanted to know if I wanted to do a show and I said sure. So I did Lights Out, the title of which was inspired by the Blue Thumb compilation album put together by Voco. I had fun with it, and while I had no idea who listened, I simply wanted to play music that I wanted to share with people.

I did have the option to buy the equipment and antenna, which was literally held together by a clothes pin, but what made me very iffy about it was on what was going to be my 20th show, and the equipment started to smoke on me. It would be a few days before the equipment was fixed, but I went back and did what would be my last show. I never made contact with the people again, and perhaps it was meant to be.

I hadn't been on the air in a good six or seven years, and being a pirate DJ for about five months fulfilled my desire to be on the air and play records for people, even if that audience was unknown.

The funny thing is, I could play anything and everything, a pirate station doesn't care about the FCC, and yet the people who ran the station got upset when I played Schlong's "It Sucks To Be Fucked By Jesus". I guess the idea was "play whatever you want, but not something that would bring attention to the station". Or literally "Freedom Of Speech...Just Watch What You Say".

Despite the technology that exists today with the internet, there is still something special about putting something in the air, and having someone being able to catch the frequency on a clear night and hearing something that might inspire them. Or at least move them to want to hear more. One of the slogans of my old show was that I wanted to bring dignity back to local radio. It was my egotistical way of saying "I got better shit to play than you".

That's why to this day, I will do any and all radio shows, whether it's special mixes or a full show.

=======

As for now, I currently do my online radio show, Unlocked, through 3030Radio. I may have another online show on the horizon, still trying to finalize a few things. I would definitely jump at the opportunity to do something for satellite radio.

brown_jenkin · July 2005

piraate radio is easy. you just need the right equipment and should broadcast at different times, don't transmit all the time, or you will get caught. i got my transmitter and antenna at www.progressive-concepts.com

unlascivious · July 2005

i found these 3 websites to all be pretty informative:

FCC Low Power Broadcast Information
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/lowpwr.html

Decent How-To Pirate Guide
http://www.c6.org/archive/radio/pirate-fm.html

Gospel Radio Guide
http://groups.msn.com/GospelRadio/gospelradio.msnw

For a neighbourhood station, you could build it yourself for under $100. The gospel site has a 50 W transmitter for $995. Coupled with a quality antenna, it claims it can reach 10-20 miles, but that seems doubtful for a low to earth antenna overtaking licensed high power stations operating on the same frequency.

NewLifeTrio · July 2005

Kiss FM in London used to be one of the big pirate radio stations in London, pushing all sorts of black music through the 80s, but they then applied for license and went legal and now it's one of the biggest stations in London.

Unfortunately the music has taken a major nosedive and mostly ultra-commercial shite, but even up to about 4 years ago there used to be great shows on there like R-Solution (Phil Asher/4 Hero/Kirk Degiorgio on rotation)... now the best show they've got (for us at least) is probably Patrick Forge's show but even that is on at 1am GMT on a Monday morning!? Not exactly sociable hours, but worth checking out (online) none the less. He's one of only 2 DJs on Kiss FM that have been there since the pirate days. That dude has got mad raers and good taste.

mrmatthew · July 2005

I did it for a minute a few years ago. Got shut down in like 6 days. Heres some pointers.

Do not squat near any existing stations. Make sure your spot is at least 2 clicks away from any existing station.

Try doing it mobile. Go Captian Midnite stylee. You could probably do it out of an SUV nowadays.

Dont have a set schedule. Its way easier for the FCC to track you down. Depending on the size of your neighborhood or desired broadcast area, just go out and flyer the night before you are gonna be on.

Actually, we wouldnt even be HAVING this discussion if the FCC would have done something about the AM MicroPower Community Radio act a few years ago. It would have made it easy as pie to get a LEGAL station going, but the FCC was way too influenced by the monoploies. And as for the medium being dead, that is a HUGE misjudgement. Radio is still VERY much alive and a big time business. Thats why the monopolies fought so hard against the AM MicroPower Community Radio act.

SoulOnIce · July 2005

"Legal" pirate radio in the US was not too hard to do for many years, up until just recently, when, under the Clinton administration, the FCC seriously cut down the amount of power transmitted that would fall under their radar. I don't have the wattage numbers in front of me, but basically in the past you could broadcast throughout a radius roughly the size of a neighborhood, say 8 city blocks in each direction, and still be within the legal limit. Under the new regulations, the wattage that is considered legal is barely enough to cover one block.
It sucks, because I have a cool booklet that details every aspect of how to build and run a neighborhood station for under $1,000 - and I planned on legally having a radio station for my neighborhood...then they changed the rules.

Mr_Lee_PHD · July 2005

Thanks for the info man, I'm gonna have to check that show out.

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