Category: Pirate Radio

Wave Manual to Take Free Radio Into the Classroom

Interesting project in the works: Wave Manual: An Educator’s Micro FM Handbook proposes to “bridge the gap between the theoretical and practical advantages of Free Radio.”
The publication will document the use of community radio to affect sociopolitical change, drawing from the experiences of the U.S. microradio movement and the popular appropriation of radio stations in Oaxaca, Mexico. Continue reading “Wave Manual to Take Free Radio Into the Classroom”

FCC Flexing Enforcement "Muscle"

Radio industry trades and watchdogs have played up last month’s raid and seizure of pirate station Datz Hits 99.7 FM in Boston. According to the FCC and Department of Justice, Datz Hits caused interference to a licensed commercial radio station as well as an air traffic control frequency at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
Said Enforcement Bureau Chief P. Michele Elison, “This is an important issue for licensed broadcasters and for the public in general, as both groups rely on the vigilance of the FCC to keep the airwaves free of interference. This enforcement action reflects our continued commitment to that objective.” Continue reading “FCC Flexing Enforcement "Muscle"”

A Sneak Peek at Clandestine

Clandestine, a documentary about numbers stations completed last year, is screening at various festivals but has not yet been publicly released. The producers say they’re holding it close in order to cross-promote it with another project still in the works, but they were nice enough to send me a digital copy to peruse.
The short film has two interweaving threads: a relatively straightforward plot about numbers stations’ ties to the practice of espionage, and a biopic narrative about a man’s father and his unhealthy obsession with listening to these broadcasts. Continue reading “A Sneak Peek at Clandestine”

FCC Enforcement: Shortwave on Radar?

The Enforcement Action Database continues to show a relatively lackadaisical year of pirate-hunting shaping up: just 35 actions through mid-April.
Should the trend continue, enforcement activity against unlicensed broadcasters may approach levels not seen since 2005-06, the start of the FCC’s post-LPFM station-hunting campaign. This would signify a significant shift and could be indicative of strategic revisions involving the agency’s spectrum enforcement priorities more generally. Continue reading “FCC Enforcement: Shortwave on Radar?”

FCC Enforcement: Pirates Less a Pirority?

It’s been a surprisingly slow year so far in the FCC’s low-intensity war against unlicensed broadcasting.
After 2010’s decline in year-over-year enforcement actions, it would seem that field agents’ priorities are shifting.
Four people have been hit with a total of $75,000 in Notices of Apparent Liability (i.e., pre-fines) this year. However, three of those cases are carry-overs from 2010. Continue reading “FCC Enforcement: Pirates Less a Pirority?”

New York Next to "Outlaw" Pirate Radio

The New York state legislature is considering a bill to make unlicensed broadcasting a class D felony, punishable with possible (undefined) imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000. The bill would call foul on any broadcaster without an FCC license and/or accused of causing interference to another radio station.
Good luck with that. New York is a major hotbed of pirate radio activity in the United States, topping the perennial pirate radio capital of the nation (Florida) for the first time just last year. Continue reading “New York Next to "Outlaw" Pirate Radio”

Egypt: Old Media Sustains Change

Lots has been written about the power of the Internet and tools like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook in the recent promulgation of popular protests across northern Africa and the Middle East.
Latest under the cyber-microscope is Egypt, where a corrupt, decades-old authoritarian regime actually tried to turn off the Internet as protesters began to organize in force over the past couple of weeks. Continue reading “Egypt: Old Media Sustains Change”

FCC Enforcement Plateau Ahoy?

The FCC’s trend of hunting unlicensed broadcasters may be slowing down.
The number of enforcement actions against unlicensed broadcasters fell off dramatically during 2010 – from a record single-month high of 75 in April to just 9 (known so far) in November. May and June represented pivotal months in this decline.
Barring a massive run of enforcement actions over the next two weeks, 2010 will represent the first cumulative decrease in the FCC’s pirate-hunting efforts after four consecutive record-breaking years. Continue reading “FCC Enforcement Plateau Ahoy?”

The History of LPFM

What is LPFM?
LPFM stands for Low Power FM radio broadcasting. In the United States, the lowest minimum wattage a licensed FM radio station may have is 100 watts. There are lower-power FM transmitters in use, though, by some stations who want to increase their coverage area by extending their signal. These are called translators or boosters.
While these may only have a wattage measured in a range from dozens to hundreds, they are not true broadcast stations by the FCC’s definitions – they do not originate their own programming. They rely on a “parent” station to provide what they air.
Ham (amateur) radio uses a similar system called a repeater; people don’t broadcast from it. They shoot a signal into it, and then it gets re-broadcast to an area larger than what ham operators might reach with their own gear. In a nutshell, translators and boosters are the repeaters of FM radio.
LPFM is the common term used to define an FM broadcast station that originates its own programming but has the power of a translator or booster. Under current FCC rules, operating such a station is simply not allowed. You may also see LPFM referred to by other terms – like “LPRS,” “microradio,” and “mini-FM,” but they all mean the same thing. Continue reading “The History of LPFM”