Messages

16

General Radio Discussion / Using HF rig as AM radio receiver

« on: November 01, 2014, 2021 UTC »

Is it true that an amateur HF rig could be the best AM radio receiver you could have?  If you put up an HF antenna, it would almost certainly be able to receive signals at MF frequencies, and the receiver is well-designed to receive weak signals.  If I move to around Knoxville, I know that there are many stations in east Tennessee that play bluegrass and Southern Gospel music, but most are on AM.  I figured an HF rig would be able to pull these in better than anything else.

17

General Radio Discussion / Re: Favorite SW station that no longer exists?

« on: November 01, 2014, 2017 UTC »

I started DX'ing SW too late to catch any stations that no longer exist, but what're yours?

My favorite was WJCR 7490 that played Southern Gospel music.  It broadcasted from Upton, KY.

18

General Radio Discussion / Christmas Eve pirate radio

« on: October 21, 2014, 0231 UTC »

I would really love to do an hour-long Christmas bluegrass music show on pirate radio on Christmas Eve this year.  What are the chances of me getting into trouble with this?  I would use a blank FM frequency in my area with about 1 watt of power.

Also, how would I know whether anyone is listening or not?

19

General Radio Discussion / Re: Enforcement Bureau Upholds $24,000 Pirate Fine

« on: October 16, 2014, 0144 UTC »

If he was intentionally causing interference, then he deserves a fine.  One thing we pirate broadcasters try our best to do is to ensure that our broadcast signals do not cause any interference to anything else.

20

General Radio Discussion / Re: Radio Free Whatever on WBCQ 5110 KHz on Friday 10/17/14

« on: October 15, 2014, 1422 UTC »

Is the 5100 kHz band common for pirate broadcasting?  How does its usage compare with the 6900 kHz band?  What would be the advantages and disadvantages of each?

21

General Radio Discussion / Re: Prepaid cell phones for pirate DJ's

« on: October 12, 2014, 1242 UTC »

We do live in the VOIP era.  You can score a prepaid POTS adapter for as little as $10 and feed a phone hybrid with that.  Don't want big brother to know where you and your IP are?  No problem, use a proxy

+-RH

I have no clue what any of that stuff is, or how it works.  Could you explain this to a newbie (myself) please?

Thanks!

22

General Radio Discussion / Re: Have some down time? Tune in to my station online!

« on: October 10, 2014, 2333 UTC »

How do you create an online radio station like that?  Does it cost anything?  How do you get people to listen?  Is there a limit on how many can listen at the same time?

23

General Radio Discussion / Re: I have found my calling

« on: October 10, 2014, 2328 UTC »

Not to mention Internet. "Why should I listen to it on a radio when I can hear it on the Internet?" (NOT my opinion.)  

I keep hoping more people will discover shortwave radio and the adventures it holds.

Because it's a lot easier to turn on a radio and tune to a frequency and instantly hear the programming.  You don't have to log into a website, deal with buffering issues, or any number of other technical problems that could arise, preventing you from receiving the signal.

24

General Radio Discussion / Prepaid cell phones for pirate DJ's

« on: October 10, 2014, 2320 UTC »

To avoid FCC confrontation via a traceable (i.e. contract) cell phone number, do pirate radio DJ's ever use prepaid cell phones to give the number out over the air for song requests?

25

FM Free Radio / Re: 87.7 MHz FM, Monday 09/29, Livonia, Michigan

« on: October 03, 2014, 0011 UTC »

Okay I'm glad you're going to leave them alone. I'm curious though how one can say ", I would love to report this to the FCC and see them get busted" and yet then go ahead and say " I am in favor of free radio in general, and I DO believe something should be done to allow some form of limited unlicensed broadcasting for non-commercial purposes." But, I'm not going to incite argument here. I'm just confused.

Because I'm against rap "music" (if you want to call it that).  I always wonder how much less violent our society would be if rap never existed.

26

FM Free Radio / Re: 87.7 MHz FM, Monday 09/29, Livonia, Michigan

« on: October 02, 2014, 1242 UTC »

I'm not going to report the station.  It doesn't really matter to me.  By the way, I received it again yesterday morning while driving in Westland (even stronger than in my Livonia driveway), so I suspect the transmitter is south of where I live.  But I have XM (Ch. 61), Pandora, and over 1500 MP3's on CD-ROM, so I will just choose one of those options and ignore the pirate.  I am in favor of free radio in general, and I DO believe something should be done to allow some form of limited unlicensed broadcasting for non-commercial purposes.

27

FM Free Radio / 87.7 MHz FM, Monday 09/29, Livonia, Michigan

« on: October 01, 2014, 0143 UTC »

Yesterday morning when I started my car to leave for work, I heard a rap/hip-hop broadcast on 87.7 MHz.  I know it's a pirate because I didn't hear anything today.

Now, if I had time, I would love to report this to the FCC and see them get busted.  But if they were playing bluegrass music, I would have sat in my driveway and listened to it!  In fact, this may have even inspired me to get some DF equipment and find the origin of the station, then knock on the door and give them some song requests!

28

General Radio Discussion / Is 87.7 MHz a good FM pirate frequency?

« on: September 24, 2014, 2344 UTC »

Would that be a good choice for a pirate bluegrass music station?  No one uses that frequency, so there shouldn't be any complaints, right?

29

General Radio Discussion / Bluegrass music on shortwave

« on: September 24, 2014, 0328 UTC »

Suppose someone were to play an entire bluegrass CD album some evening on 6930 kHz AM.  Would the listener likely listen to the entire thing?  How many listeners do you think it would draw?

30

General Radio Discussion / Re: Avoiding the FCC

« on: September 13, 2014, 2139 UTC »

No, the FCC doesn't really care what you're programming (except for indecencies, I suppose), but the programming could make a difference in whether complaints get filed with them, or how many....

Yeah, I suppose so.  If I heard a pirate radio broadcast in my area, I would only report it to the FCC if they were playing music I didn't like.  If they were playing my favorite music, I would not report them, but continue to listen to the station.