IS PIRATE RADIO DEAD ?

[Northern Relay Service]

Something I have been struggling with ,besides Commander Bunny ,is what is really the point of pirate radio in this day and age . I have been doing a lot of listening lately instead of transmitting mainly to decide this .

  In my transmitting and posting I have tried to be provocative and point out injustice and the ridiculous nature of the world we live in . Granted a lot of that programming when I wasn't relaying stuff was aimed at the US infrastructure and its 2 faced persona and the cult of homeland fever that swept the nation  after 2001. Now I don't expect fan mail praising me or anything that was not my point . My point was to perhaps awaken a few people to what is going on in the world and how they are being duped . Perhaps I did but I never heard from them.

Pirate radio in the 60's was all about exactly that . Awakening people to the fact that they should be free to say and transmit what they want without government intervention. People risked everything they had to make that voice heard on the air. Long terms in jail were at stake in those days but yet people spoke their mind and played provocative music not allowed on the air by certain countries.

Today pirate radio seems to me to have become a long episode of "GUESS THIS TUNE" and "WOW WHAT NICE AUDIO".  Is it me or has pirate radio become a shadow of it's former self ? All I see is (mostly ) is a bunch of bored ham radio operators playing top 40 from times gone by with their store bought transmitters . Maybe playing with audio equipment or stereo broadcasts . Maybe it's me, but was the whole goal of pirate radio in the first place exactly that . The right to play DJ for an hour or so. Granted even I have done this from time to time , but it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth . The way I see it is the FCC likely leaves you alone because you do exactly what is done on top 40 stations across the nation apart from the fact that you are out of band and put in the occasional plug for "free radio". Maybe that is why Commander Bunny declared that I was the most dangerous kinds of Pirate radio operator there is . One that brings attention to what has now become it seems an accepted "HOBBY". When I say accepted I mean by the listeners and legally licensed hams . I cannot remember the last time I heard someone key down intentionally on a pirate op. Yet god help you if you say something negative on a ham band . Where it takes all of 5 seconds after a non-conventional thought has been transmitted for someone to QRM you.


  The pirate broadcasters of the 60's+ 70's in their rusted out boats made real waves in the sea of freedom .Today if any of the pirates are in boats the water around them would be calm because they aren't rocking the status quo  at all. Has everyone,, including pirate radio ops, been collectively absorbed by the BORG.

 Or again maybe it is me, and we are so "FREE" that rebelling seems pointless . Like so many corn fed cattle  in a slaughter yard.

  Now I am not saying for those who wish to put words in my mouth that pirate radio sucks and that I do not enjoy it . I was very willing and happy to participate in last nights top 40 line up with Wolverine radio .
However lets face it ,the same thing that was last nights extravaganza of great signal and music by request could have been done on any of the 10 000 licensed FM or AM stations across the greater US and Canada. Of coarse you would have had to put up with commercials and there would have been no sstv signal of a naked girl or some such silly thing at the end. Apart from that what is the point of HF pirate radio today??  The way I see it we live in a world that has never seen as much strife ,pain , ignorance , nationalism , war ,death ,starving ,and all around SHIT as the one we live in now, but pirate radio does not seem to reflect any of this AT ALL !

Sometimes I can almost hear a collective chant in the pirate scene.

"PIRATE RADIO IS DEAD, LONG LIVE PIRATE RADIO"

[Jolly Roger]

I both agree and disagree. I've been a pirate listener since the early '80's and was even an op of a short lived station called Maple Leaf Radio in the early '80's. Not the one from the the '90's, but the original one, from the '80's. Anyway, I've seen many changes in pirate radio over the years but also there have been changes in everything else as well. Back then (and before) many pirates had something to say, but not all. Amazing stations like Voice of the Purple Pumpkin and Voice of Laryngitis did brilliant, genuinely funny comedy productions that were fresh and interesting. Secret Mountain Lab and others had cutting political commentary. And of course others spun music. Operations were rare, and it was a treat to hear a station, any station. At MLR our agenda was to play only Canadian artists as well as do original comedy and political comedy. There were Canadian  bands that were superstars in Canada but unknown outside our borders. Bands like Prism, Trooper, Streetheart, and Luba were featured on MLR and heard in countries like England, Ireland, Germany and France when they had no hope of ever being heard on mainstream radio there. BTW Yoder has a large collection of our material that I sent him some years ago.
Anyway, fast forward to the post Y2K world and everything has changed. The internet makes it possible for anyone to hear anything, anywhere. Legit radio stations are all programmed and virtually none play obscure rock unless it's in a special oldies show, and to actually get through to a station and have them play your request is like finding the holy grail. So now pirates that spin cool old songs actually do have a place in the scene. When I'm working in the shop I listen to BOR and RTN as my station of choice as local legit FM radio sucks.
Most listeners today don't take the time to actually listen to a broadcast. This is mostly due to the fact that most of them just want enough info so they can obtain a QSL, but also it's due to the reception of the signal. Unless the signal is strong and clear with little fading and interference it's tough to follow a political discussion if half of every sentence can't he heard.
The internet has changed pirate radio in other ways. Darker, more sinister ways. It allows predators and trolls to operate with impunity. And as NRS and others can attest, it can destroy the pirate experience. Maple Leaf Radio can no longer operate because the very bunch that came after NRS came after me.

[ff]

Good topic NRS.  I, like Jolly Roger, find things to agree and disagree with.  However, my opinions are probably as pointless as half the stuff on the air nowadays.  The way I see it, pirate radio is constantly in a slow state of flux, and has been at least since the early 70s when I first became aware of it.  With the Internet you can now connect with any opinion/rant/viewpoint that you desire, within mere moments.  In that light, one's message gets lost in the ocean of messages out there.  As to "warning" the populace, you've got all sorts of that on shortwave already - being propelled by 50KW+ transmitters. My perception is that the current state of No.Am. Pirate Radio today is shaped by the overwhelming flood of chatter available nowadays from the Internet, and from cable TV (300 channels and nothing on ).  With all that to compete with, who really goes to their shortwave to hear yet ANOTHER lameass opinion?  Not me.  The hell with all that... Let's have some fun!  If the government here someday gets ugly and starts to intrude on the Internet, I believe we will see Pirate Radio again change into something that will be a (hopefully) appropriate response to those conditions... 73

[muremanon]

wow
guess yall aint just whistling dixie
thems some deep thoughts       

[cmradio]

The point I ponder is, who is hearing this besides us and the feds?

I had a program in the Bush era called "The 51st State". Anyone older than 35 is like preaching to the choir. Under 35 are unlikely to know what the hell shortwave is.

CBC's On The Coast had a guest on in his 20's that didn't even know WTF a radio was. No, he wasn't trolling (Stephen Quinn called him on it and he wasn't), he had no frickin' clue WTF a radio was! He streamed everything on a phone or computer and thought CBC was a big podcast company.

This was verified when a few local stations went from cutting edge Inde rock to Classic rock (GAWD, last thing Vancouver needs is another classic rock station). When I complained, they said they were trying to reach a non-existant audience... no one under 25 (their target market) had radios... all iPod and streams. It was re-target the 39-55 crowd or shut the station.

Good point NRS, why the hell are we doing this other than to court disaster from Industry Canada or the FCC? We'll get a blurb on page 10 of some newspaper, a conviction on file (even if conditional and no criminal record, the US DHS will have it) and may as well toss away our passports in the garbage.

Peace!

[redhat]

Pirate radio means different things to different people.  I agree that political commentary is a bit lacking in this day and age, but I imagine that most of the people listening to the funny bands are aware of the latest government conspiracy, regardless of it merit.  I from the beginning wanted to create a radio station that catered to people like me, people that were tired of the lack of choices.  Where I grew up, no one was playing electronica, or good alternative.  I thought I could do better, and to a large extent, I succeeded.  The decision to put on a music format was not because I was not interested in politics or comedy, but because I have no real talent or message in these areas.  I stuck with what I was good at, spinning music that is good, and in the process, exposing other people to different avenues of the like.  I also observed that the most outspoken stations (at least on FM) were the ones most likely to get "the knock."

As far as the stereo goes, the point was to scratch an itch I had, and also to add another layer to the experience of listening.  It was not my intent to create a technological arms race, or try and prove that my station sounds better than anyone else.  To my ears it does, but everyone has different ideals.  I'm know there are people out there that think its a bit excessive on the bandwidth.

At any rate, with the eclectic group of people that listen to pirate radio, it indeed exists in a constant state of change, and always will.

+-RH

[Northern Relay Service]

Some interesting points all around .

 First off I do not mean to come off the page in any way like I am aggressive towards any of the pirate ops (maybe with one furry exception) . I LOve radio in all it's forms . Whether it is a DJ show or a quirky mash up. I love the idea of Shortwave stereo , and getting new and interesting ideas out there. Or just plain being insane on the air. Radio is entertainment after all. But there is a part of me that feels we have been trained to expect nothing but entertainment from our radio these days . If radio had been allowed to develop naturally  instead of being regulated right off the bat ,I can only imagine what it would have been like. Judging from what recordings are out there of the real early days and some of the history of radio I think that there would have been a kind of free radio "webb " developed 80+years ago that would have connected and awoken society to their cells long ago. We might have even avoided some of the greatest disasters mankind has known because mankind as a whole would have been talking to one another.

I like ff's point about pirate radio and it's place almost as a reserve freedom force . A free radio militia of sorts . Lying in wait for when the S&^% hits the fan. I could almost live with that reasoning behind my being involved in pirate radio . I do believe that the internet will be choked until it resembles nothing more than a glorified T.V set that you can text people on ,but be completely monitored . They already set president with radio and TV as closed sources of info and communication .

As far a trying to wake people up . I'm the kind of person who believes that opinions should be stated to whomever is in listening range if you are convinced they are right . It doesn't mean one is right ,far from it ,it just gets the conversation going and that is the most important thing . If 2 opinionated people are talking and neither broaches their views to the other ,I say they are cowards and serve humanity no use . No matter how stupid their  ideas are . How else will they find out they are wrong or others learn they are right ?  I have prided myself on trying to give my opinions with a dash of salt and humor, without any religion(as I am an Atheist) or specific political party , mainly because they are all on the same team and by aligning with one you are part of the oppression system. Like Pink Floyd said on the Division Bell "all we got to do is just keep talking " And I don't think they meant the weather.

  CMRADIO also raises a great point . Is pirate radio today as it stands in the world worth risking all for. If no one is listening except to log you for a qsl card or just as a hobby then why risk going on the Nazi like  DHS list that continues to grow exponentially by the second. It doesn't help when you have gestapo  members such as Commander Bunny trying to snitch everyone and their dog to the FCC or Industry Canada.

Like Jolly Roger says . It still beats listening to the programmed trash that is on the air legally and it does add a nice personnel  touch to have such a close knit group of people entertaining one another . But with the limited audience I cannot help but shake the mental image of a group of people holding a sing song around a fire deep in the wilderness where none can hear .  A cozy and warm picture,until you zoom out (like google Earth) and see how small that fire is.

[ChrisSmolinski]

My take is that SW pirate radio, is to a large extent "hobby radio". Folks on both sides of the ionosphere are just trying to have fun. Some listeners like the challenge of hearing low power stations (the DXing angle), some like to collect QSLs, and so on. Likewise, some of the operators are into it for the technical side (building their own transmitters, etc). Others use it as an outlet for their creativity (KIPM and friends). Some probably just like to spin records and see how many people can hear them.

If you want to get a non mainstream message out to the public, there's the internet (which is why I am less worried than many about the large media companies buying up radio stations - they're buying up yesterday's technology). A few dozen watts on shortwave radio is one of the least effective methods I can think of to accomplish that goal.  I understand the potential for pirate radio to reach a large audience should access to the internet/etc be cut off, although I think it would take the form of FM/AM pirate radio, not SW, due to most of the public not having shortwave radios. And indeed, it's FM pirate radio that is actually serving underserved markets in large cities.

[Northern Relay Service]

Maybe the title of this thread should have been "is Pirate Radio a Hobby or a force for change? "

Chris is probably right . It is mostly a hobby for most people . Which is why we hide in our little corner of the spectrum . If pirate radio was indeed a force for change we would be invading the ham bands and legit broadcasting frequencies full force like pirates of old  ( Black Beard etc. )who didn't care about "the rules" .

Of coarse no one would hear us as 10000 hammy hambones would key down right on us . Until we started going HIGH power and bring out the big guns. Which they cannot due legally because they follow rules.

I've always kind of look at the ham bands as a kind of Nazi type polish getto . Where all the people who are interested in radio are rounded up and placed . Back in the day if you wondered outside the bands by accident or purposefully god help you . The yellow slips would flood your mailbox and the getto police( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Ghetto_Police ) would gang up on you so as not to attract the attention of the Gestapo,and have them lower the ration of potato eye soup that week .
Which raises the question should we be changing the name of the hobby to something else.? Start referring to ourselves as "non licensed hobby broadcasters" or something similar. Because it sounds to me as if the term "pirate " might be a little off base then.  

[redhat]

Ham's following the rules, there's a laugh.  Listen to 75 meters any night after a sporting event....

[Jolly Roger]

Listening to 14.313 for an afternoon can leave one with much to think over. Personally I don't like and am disgusted by what goes on there, but isn't what goes on there what pirate radio purports to be? It reminds me of what goes on in public squares in London, and where the term "on his soapbox" comes from. A person simply stands up in a public forum and voices their opinion on whatever they want to talk about. The surrounding crowd can then either listen, debate, or shout down as they see fit. And that actually happens from time to time on .313. It's democracy in it's most stripped down form.
There used to be several pirates that operated in this fashion. The most recent example would have to be Radio Yellowknife then Northern Relay Service. The problem is that the internet allows spineless weasels (or bunnehs, as the case may be) to operate with anonymity and impunity and "shout down"  stations like Radio YK/NRS without debate or fear of retribution. And that's not democracy.

[ff]

What a great, thought-provoking thread - my thanks to NRS for starting it.  Seems to me that pirate radio is whatever the operator wants it to be, it's highly personal.  You have 30 minutes, or 60, or whatever, and that's your canvas - paint on it what you will.  Whether comedy, or a political rant, or music, or freeform, or...? - it's the op's call.  And its also the op's call whether that freedom of expression is worth all the risk, and if so, how much risk is comfortable?  Only he can answer that and then act accordingly.  My concern is whether the listener has received some satisfaction for his effort.  Shoutouts, played requests, SSTV images, and QSLs certainly help to "jazz up" canned mainstream music shows.  These are nice gestures and help to preserve and grow an audience.  They also help to differentiate pirate radio from other forms of entertainment.  I believe that if we can offer enough satisfaction to keep an audience then certainly our existence is justified, regardless of what the Feds have to say about it...

[Sealord]

Thanks NRS for this thread - my take on this my be goofy, but I love this hobby for the thrill of the chase and whatever it brings to the airwaves.  A station can have a profound influence on me by drawing attention to something or a viewpoint that's free of monetary & political influence, but I equally love the hombrew music only guys as well and everything in between - it's like open mike night for anyone willing to take the risk and there's always an audience listening.

This weekend was a perfect example with Wolverine taking request & the excitment of hearing those songs set free to the airwaves and then hearing Undercover Radio later discussing our freedoms eroding for the convenience of the digital age.  I never know what I'm going to hear or what mother nature will let me hear for that matter and that keeps me coming back for more - for better or worse.

[Northern Relay Service]

Damn I wish I had heard that Undercover Radio episode  that sounds right up my alley.

Maybe part of my problem is I am simply not hearing some of these stations due to where I am. And of coarse perhaps that could also be true of my transmissions . The eastern part of the US has always been hard to reach hear ,and it does seem there are a lot of listeners out there,as well as transmitters.

[Tom S]

You mean there's a point to pirate radio? 

For me, I just enjoy having something interesting to listen to on the HF bands.  If a pirate is going to risk his virtual neck to put a show on just so I can be entertained after a long hard day at work, then I'll definitely tune in.  I agree with Chris, I see it as a hobby.  If you're actually trying to reach the general population with your opinion, there are better ways than broadcasting to the few dozen or so of us pirate radio listeners out there.  But if you want to voice your opinion on your HF pirate station, there's nothing wrong with that, either.