Technical Topics > The RF Workbench
High Powered Pirates
Echo_One:
Please tell us
Beerus Maximus:
--- Quote from: ff on November 23, 2013, 2041 UTC ---The only unmentioned high power operation I can recall offhand is the ill-fated mobile Voice of Laryngitis relayer from about 20 years ago. He was transmitting non-stop from a van hurtling down the Interstate highways and was eventually busted hundreds of miles later with a 1KW linear amplifier. And it seemed like such a good idea...
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I recall this bust too. Operator was an ACE editor. Busted in Colorado, or Kansas. FCC and Marshals threw up a roadblock to grab him. Slightly more than 20 years ago, I believe. 1991-ish? The ACE did a good job burying it so the gory details largely remained in the shadows of the rumors.
As kilokat7 mentioned, Hope Radio was very high power. The operator was from the 75 meter AM scene and valued high quality audio and watts. The shows were immensely entertaining and involved numerous members of the 75 meter AM scene, some of whom continue to be very well known. A great station, and the operator put a lot of heart into it. The FCC field office in his jurisdiction really had it out for him and had him punished hard. I believe he lost his ham license for many years, and went abroad to get away from it all, but has returned and is on the air again (legally, with a new call sign) on 75 meters from time to time. He has a distinctive voice and personality, instantly recognizable if you ever heard Hope Radio.
Those were some formative pirate radio days for me.
Andrew Yoder:
Yeah, Hope Radio was a great station. By the end, the programs were really well done.
The Voice of Laryngitis relay was on for about 13 hours while the op was driving on Rt. 70 from either Kansas or Missouri. If I remember correctly, the roadblock was just outside of Boulder, CO. It's a great example of the FCC's interest in pirates back then. I can't imagine them setting up a roadblock on an interstate to catch a pirate now--especially one on 19m. Then again, I think their priorities were totally out of line back then...wasting police resources and shutting down an interstate to catch a guy broadcasting on a clear frequency to about 20 people? Insane.
ff:
Hope Radio Int'l was the kind of pirate operation any of us might "hope" to be like. MJ was really a class act.
--- Quote from: Andrew Yoder on December 02, 2013, 1619 UTC ---I think their priorities were totally out of line back then...wasting police resources and shutting down an interstate to catch a guy broadcasting on a clear frequency to about 20 people? Insane.
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Yeah, the Feds had that old "stomp 'em into submission" thing going on back then. They had me scared more than once. Paraphrasing an old buddy of mine from back in the day: "they operate with the mentality of a grade school hall monitor." I guess someone finally figured out that it wasn't working...
BDM:
--- Quote from: Andrew Yoder on December 02, 2013, 1619 UTC --- I think their priorities were totally out of line back then...wasting police resources and shutting down an interstate to catch a guy broadcasting on a clear frequency to about 20 people? Insane.
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Absolutely!!
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