WOHP on Block Island RI

WOHP has made progress in leaps and bounds during the past year. Created last summer by Ian Larson, the “godfather” of WOHP, who no longer works on the island, the station has grown from three guys in the back of the National Hotel to something resembling a full-fledged Block Island radio station.

DJs Profit, Redbeard, Thomas Two, Johnny True Love, Coach Roach, Somer Nuts, technical mastermind John Dow and contributors DJ Myrin and Allie Saft now run the station out of the renovated Club Soda game room nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“We try to broadcast 24/7, but we all work over 50 hours a week,” said True Love. “We are working on trying to set a schedule, employ some new DJs who can commit to a certain time every week, but we’re not paying; this is people giving up their days off.”

The DJs all work summers on the island, most of them coming back year after year.

Read full story (Block Island Times): Block Island Times - ‘You will listen’ say the Old Harbor Pirates

WOHP FaceBook page

UK Police News - Pirate shut down for "Causing Nuisance"

On 7 May Ferndale Safer Neighbourhoods Team assisted by Lambeth Officers and OFCOM successfully executed a warrant on Nairobi’s Hairdressers, Acre Lane where broadcasting equipment for use to a pirate radio station was seized and one man was arrested.

This warrant was under Section 97 of The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, where officer’s entered the premises with the intention of finding broadcasting equipment for an illegal radio station.

There were thirty bags of evidence seized, ranging from broadcasting equipment, mixing decks and promotional material for 95.5FM - Ontop FM.

One man 24 years from Acre Lane London SW2 was arrested for Broadcasting Section 35 Wireless Telegraphy Act .as a result and taken to a south London Police station; while on the premises officer’s issued a woman with a cannabis warning after being caught in possession of cannabis. The manager of the shop a 51 year old man was subsequently arrested for, facilitating an illegal radio Station. Section 38 Wireless Telegraphy Act.

The intelligence for obtaining the warrant was received anonymously from crime stoppers, and proved to be worth while information.

Sergeant Paul White, Ferndale Safer Neighbourhoods Team commented:
“Pirate radio stations can bring about associated anti social behaviour, which is our ward priority. By executing warrants that focus on root causes that can lead to ASB we can eliminate the negative behaviour, while sending a message that ASB will not be tolerated.”

Paul Mercer, Head of Spectrum Enforcement at Ofcom, said: “This is a great result, demonstrating the strength of the working partnership between Ofcom and officers from the Ferndale Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

The pirate radio station was causing a nuisance to local residents, disturbing them in the early hours with loud music and anti social behaviour. The action taken sends a firm message to anyone involved with illegal broadcasting. They are committing an offence and the consequences are serious.



source: UK Police Lambeth News

Pirate Radio Station Shut Down in Orange Park

11June 2010

An illegal radio station that broadcast music and religious content to the Haitian community was shut down Thursday in Orange Park after a 60-year-old man was charged with unauthorized transmission or interference with a radio station, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

Fritzner Lindor, a Port-au-Prince native who now lives in the 3500 block of Silver Bluff Road, was arrested after an unlicensed FM station was found transmitting from his home, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The FCC tracked down the unlicensed radio station after responding to an April 26 complaint from Clear Channel Radio that someone was broadcasting on the 94.7 FM frequency. Using detection equipment on Wednesday, the FCC investigators found a whip antenna in a tree “operating 10,513 times the legal authorized value for a low power device,” the arrest report said. The agents traced the antenna cable to a nearby garage and confirmed the radio station had no license to operate.

The Sheriff’s Office got a search warrant for the house and discovered transmitters in the garage and a generator in a nearby pickup truck Thursday. Investigators think the station had been broadcasting for about a year.

from jacksonville.com

Santa Cruz Pirate Radio Walks Plank ... Again

"It’s not the first time the anonymous DJs and staff of Free Radio Santa Cruz have been told they’ll need to find a new home for the station’s transmission antenna. As an unlicensed (and therefore illegal) “pirate radio” station, FRSC all but expects that every few years, pressure from the Federal Communications Commission will spook either the tenants or the landlord of whatever property the big four-pronged transmitter is resident at for the moment, and the station will have to find a new set of hosts willing to defy the federal government."

Read more on SantaCruz.com

Captain Morgan Confirms that VONT was in the Pirate Zone

In response to my report.

Rinse FM UK Pirate Awarded Broadcasting Licence

London's biggest "pirate" radio station is going legit. Rinse FM has been awarded an FM broadcasting licence, giving it further opportunity to bring dubstep, UK funky and other new urban sounds into the mainstream.

Founded in 1994, Rinse FM played a pivotal role in introducing London listeners to grime, garage and other homegrown sounds, when mainstream radio was still mostly concerned with Take That and S Club 7. More recently, Rinse FM has showcased dubstep producers such as Kode9 and Plastician. Initially an unlicensed radio broadcaster, Rinse has been available as an online stream since 2006.

The Guardian

Berlin Police Against Political Pirate Radio

The police raid in the housing project at Boediker Str. 9 in Berlin, because of the Pirate Radio, during the Action Day “Enter Media Spree” at 5th June, ended with about 25 arrests, unreasonable accusations and their inability to find the broadcasting equipment.

At around 17.00, the police invaded the building of Boediker Str. 9, in order to confiscate the broadcasting equipment of the action radio. Despite having searched for hours, supported by two employees of the Public Networks Agency from Mainz, who were also there with their vehicle, the police couldn\’t find the broadcasting equipment. Instead, they destroyed rooms of the building and broke several doors.

13 people were indiscriminately arrested, as they happened to be at this very moment at the stairs, in front of, or in the Action Infopoint at Bodiker str. 9. After the chief of the police force was informed by lawyers that the use of a frequency without a license by the District Media Authority is just a minor offence and not a crime, as he had initially claimed, he came up with a couple of absurd accusations, such as “causing serious physical injury due to the exposure to electromagnetic radiation” and “theft of electricity”, in order to legitimize the operation of the police in the building.

Later this evening, during the spontaneous solidarity assembly that took place in front of the building, 10 more people where arrested without reason. The police (of the 23rd and 24th squad) were extremely brutal, beating indiscriminately people and causing a serious head injury to at least one person, who had to be transferred with an ambulance.

This brutal tactic fits in the picture of the whole day, during which the police tried to prevent the protests against the Media Spree project. The same afternoon, the police attacked the van with the loudspeakers, after the end of the demonstration, as the action concept was supposed to be announced by the loudspeakers.
Nevertheless, the protests will go on and the people, despite the repression, hasn\’t surrendered to the terrorization. The estate on Cuvry Str. (by IVG Real Estate) was successfully occupied and more than a thousand people took place in a creative “Enter Media Spree” day.

We will continue to support the contradictory opinion that the city needs.
In order to reach new coasts – for a free radio in Berlin
against the gentrification, the neoliberal restructuring of the city and the magnification of the flat rents

Berlin, 6th of June
your pirate radio

LINK

Tougher action against Dutch pirate radio stations

The Radiocommunications Agency Netherlands (AT) is stepping up action to prevent illegal radio radio broadcasts. The agency will not only close down stations that are on the air without permit, but will also target aerial towers “obviously intended for illegal broadcasts”.

As a first step, AT inspectors will pay warning visits to land and home owners on whose premises suspicious constructions are spotted. “If these are used illegally, they will be fined 2,500 euros plus a conditional fine of 2,250.” The total fine that illegal broadcasters risk “can total up to 33,750 euros”, according to AT spokesman Gernant Deekens.

The new approach will first be used in the relatively rural northeastern province of Drenthe. Pirate stations are often run from hideouts in sheds and barns, playing popular music to a local audience for a couple of hours a day. It is often felt that “official” radiostations are catering insufficiently for regional tastes, prompting enterprising individuals to set up their own transmissions on AM or FM. The quality of the transmitters is often such that the broadcasts are causing interference on other channels, often without the pirates even being aware of it.

“Pirate radios are causing a lot of trouble in the north and east of the Netherlands,” according to AT Chief Inspector Peter Spijkerman. “Their illegal broadcasts are interfering with legal radio stations here and in neighbouring Germany. Air traffic communication, too, is disrupted by illegal transmissions. This can lead to dangerous situations. We primarily want to take preventive action, but if people break the law, we’ll give the pirates tit for tat,” Mr Spijkerman warned.

Source: RNW News

New Pirate - Radio Valencia

"In San Francisco, a brand new unlicensed community radio station, Radio Valencia, is about to get off the ground, with a hoped-for launch date of early July. Housed in artist/musician/activist/former San Francisco mayoral candidate Chicken John’s warehouse “Chez Poulet” in the Mission District, it’s being envisioned as not only an underground radio station, but also as part of a larger non-profit community resource."

Read more via Radio Survivor

VONT Stamp to go out on QSLs

I've designed a stamp to go onto the QSL cards I send out.

Harry Smith reports in

Just heard Voice of Next thursday as relayed by WBNY relay service . You were on 6900Khz AM at 0008-0039 UTC June 15'10. Very weak tonight with lots of atmo noise. SIO 333. I use a JRC 535 D with a R f Systems Mk 2 antenna 30 ' high N to S. Havent heard you in a long time and haven't seen any logs for you either. Would love to get the next QSL if possible.

Details are :

0008 ID WBNY Relay service WWV time ticks
0009 ID Voice of Next Thursday with Gabreal Syme
0010 Song
0013 Talk by G S very faint
0015 Music faint
0022 WBNY ads for hats then back to V of N T.
0032 singing interf from Span station
0036 closing annc about being back next Thurs.
0039 Id for WBNY The real voice of America .
Thank you for the program maybe i'll hear it again maybe under better conditions.

Thank you
Harry L. Smith

Ken Reitz Reports Hearing VONT

Heard 6-13-2010: Voice of Next Thursday via WBNY relay service 6.913 AM 1441Z 5/9 signal with excellent audio. Narrated by Aussie-voiced male between music which was some of the best parody songs I've heard on HF pirate radio. Sign off by "Gabriel Symes" was at 1509Z with music. -- Ken KS4ZR

QTH: Central VA.
Radio: TS-140s
Ant: Off-center fed dipole at 25 feet

Pirate Logs from DX Listening Digest 10-23, 10 June 2010

** GREECE. 4854.7, Greek pirate, 2145-past 2300, May 14 and 15, heard by Arne Nilsson, in northern Sweden. As I do not speak Greek I sent the audio to Dario Monferini in Italy and to Zacharias Liangas in Greece. Liangas replied to say that this sounded like Radio Nikolas Dinamitis, but he was unsure of the location (which was not announced). Monferini sent the audio to Francesco Cecconi, in Taranto, who came back to say that this was Stathmos Nikolas Dynamitis, located in Tyrnavos, near Larissa. This is the station´s third harmonic, he said. Usually they are on approx. 1625, now apparently on 1618.2. Thank you Dario, Zacharias and Francesco for checking Arne Nilsson´s audio file (Henrik Klemetz, Boraas, Sweden, DSWCI DX Window June 2 via DXLD)

** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 99.9, the GCN pirate we tracked down in Enid has been heard whenever checked except for one previous brief absence, but it`s gone again the afternoon of June 4, checked around 2010 UT and later during that hour. Still missing at 0125 UT June 5.

99.9, GCN pirate in Enid still missing June 5 at 0530, 1330, 1600 UT chex. They had picked a good frequency to minimize the risk of interference complaints, as it`s used by no real OK station. Altho locally on one of my radios, DX-398, the RDS says I am getting an image on 99.9 from local KOFM 103.1. GCN might have moved and I have not searched the entire band for it elsewhere. That`s the nice thing about piracy; no paperwork to change frequencies. Or if busted, it`ll be a while before the FCC publicizes a NAL, but if FCC-watchers see one concerning Enid, let us know.

GCN Enid pirate on 99.9 still missing, I think, evening of June 5, but I am hearing some other signals, as area tropo enhancement is up with the humidity. Mainly ``Country 99.9 KTCS`` which fancies itself an OK station, 0127 UT June 6 talking about some shindig in Sallisaw, but its COL is nearby Fort Smith AR. FCC FM Query tigermaps are not funxioning when I need them, but longitude of its site 94-40-50 indicates it is in fact an Oklahoma station, about 192 miles distant.

Occasionally KLUR Wichita Falls TX, 177 miles, would overtake it thru nondirexional vertical caradio antenna. Just to be sure these stations were not masking the local low-power pirate, I drove by the site again and was still hearing them, nothing from GCN. The antenna I photographed is still up pointing south.

While I was on the way I tuned thru the entire FM band and did not find GCN anywhere else.

99.9, the GCN pirate in Enid is back after missing a few days, afternoon of June 7 in various chex around 2030-2130 UT with same talkshow YL as when I first heard it. She had visited Australia and admitted to ignorance of timezones by waking up her family back in the USA with phonecalls in our nightmiddle.

Usual spotty signal driving around Enid, including being totally wiped out by stoplite noise downtown. It also has problems with the real AR and TX stations near the borders I was hearing in its absence, so my previous remark about choosing a good frequency, clear in OK is inoperative. Altho it might be hard to find anything better in our overloaded and cluttered FM band (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** U S A. FCC KEEPS ORDERING PIRATES IN NEW YORK AND FLORIDA TO CUT IT OUT
http://www.news-press.com/article/20100604/CRIME/100604014/Pirate-radio-station-busted-by-Fort-Myers-police
and:
From radio-info.com (no specific hyperlink that archives this found):

about 1 hour ago

From this morning’s TRI Newsletter: “Just since mid-May, the New York office has mailed nearly a dozen “notices of unlicensed operation” to operators in Manhattan (at 94.5), Brooklyn (90.5, 102.3), Queens (90.5), the Bronx (102.3, 106.9, 104.5) and even suburbs like Mt. Vernon (101.5).”

A Radio-Info analysis of the FCC database shows plenty of letters being written to operators in South Florida, too. There were pirates in Miami at 101.1 and 95.9, at 98.5 in Ft. Lauderdale and 103.9 in Deerfield Beach. If the operators don’t shut down, they could be subject to a followup letter and investigation – and a $10,000 ine.

Other FCC field offices have recently written up unauthorized FM operations in the San José area and Colorado. Meanwhile, Florida’s unusual state law governing pirate radio led to an actual bust by the local police department last week in Ft. Myers Authorities confiscated equipment and arrested two DJs (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W Visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://sites.google.com/site/floridadxn/ DXLD)

UNIDENTIFIED. 5 June: 5099.63, harmonic of Greek (?)pirate on 1549 with Turkic music then LA. Not // 1700 kHz and seems having inner carrier fluctuations (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

LINK

Captain Morgan Commandeering the Frequency

June, 14 2010
2300z - 2310z
6925am

SIO=333

I tuned in online via a Global Tuner located in Trevor SE Wisconsin. G5RV Jr. inverted V, Yesu FT-857.

Caught the last 10 minutes of the broadcast from 2300z. A couple of deep fades, but generally steady. A series of piano based blues songs the first one being "Have A Good Time." Sign off with "Captain Morgan" @ 2310z, carrier, then gone.

audio

New WBNY Magnets & QSL cards

"We will be sending out, this summer, a brand new QSL and WBNY – Pirate Shortwave Refrigerator Magnets. Why the Refrigerator Magnets? Because we wanted to give you monkeys something to “stick”!"

LINK

Pirate Logs from DX Listening Digest 10-22, 3 June 2010

** EUROPE. Laser Hot Hits is now using 3940, good signals 2140 May 23 (shortwavedx.blogspot.com via June World DX Club Contact via DXLD)

Laser Hot Hits has moved frequency again after only a short time on 4015 kHz (where they moved from their long time frequency of 4025 kHz). [due to LIBERIA? q.v.]

Now audible on 3940 kHz having moved there this week - this from their website http://www.laserhot hits.co.uk/ :

"23 May 2010 Update - Well, 4015 kHz wasn't much better so we have moved again to 3940 kHz." (Alan Pennington, Caversham, UK, AOR 7030+ / longwire, May 29, BDXC-UK yg via WORLD OF RADIO 1515, DXLD)

** EUROPE. Pirates: 3910, Reflections Europe, IRL, 1900-..., 30 May'10, English, rlgs. propag. prgrs; 15341; \\ 6295 (bad audio), 12255. Fair-good at around 2200.

3940, Laser Hot Hits, G?, IRL?, 2150-..., 29 May'10, English, pops; 25421. Silent on 4015 (ex-4025) or on 4025; Better signal on 30 May'10 at 2225. WORLD OF RADIO 1515,

6220, Mystery R, I, 2117-..., 28 May'10, English (used for IDs only), non-stop music; 55444.

6295, Reflections Europe, IRL, 1731-..., 30 May'10, cf. \\ 3910; 33442, bad audio, adj. uty. QRM.

7600.1, FRS Holland, HOL, 1614-..., 30 May'10, English, talks, seemingly some Dx prgr; 23441, adj. jammer like signal.

12255, Reflections Europe, IRL, 1733-..., 30 May'10, English, rlgs. propag. prgrs, IDs, fq. announcement; \\ 3910, 6295; 35433. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, PORTUGAL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)

** EUROPE. Domenica 30 maggio 2010, 0927 - 7610 kHz, RADIO AMICA, II, tk OM e mx italiana. Segnale insufficiente-sufficiente (Luca Botto Fiora, SITO RICEVENTE G.C. 09E13 - 44N21, Rapallo (Genova), Italia, bclnews.it yg via DXLD)

** EUROPE. Mike Radio frequency change --- This week we changed the antenna system from Mike Radio (NL). We finally succeeded to change the 31 mb antenna into the 41 mb. The frequency is changed from 9290 into the range 7580 till 7630. This means Mike radio can be also heard again in western Europe! The antenna works super. The impedance of the antenna is for the working freq. near perfect. Also in 40 mb (ham) the antenna/reception works fine. All QSO (opposite) stations can be heard easy. This morning from the east-USA (nice) receptions of ham stations even when conditions were not that good. The antenna is the inverted V, top on 14 meters, one leg is to the west, the other leg is now more or less in the South East direction (mid/south Germany), the V has ca 120/130 degrees angle. So good news for the next winter-season. This summer we make a homebuild vertical for the 19 mb, the band where conditions next years will improve (via Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, May 30, shortwave yg via DXLD)

PIRATE (EUROPE). 9280, Mike R. Set the NRD and MD recorder and recorded in AM mode. Signal seemed to come on at 0232:27, then rock mx began about 20 seconds later. Canned ID at 0237. Live voice-over anmnt at 0244 with mention of USA. After song was playing for about a minute, heard another jingle. Another live anmnt at 0248-0250 over what sounded like "Radar Love". Ment of broadcast and e-mail. Getting slightly better. Canned ID at 0256, then Rock song I couldn't recognize. 0300 short live ID ".listening to Mike R." and e-mail address, music briefly, and continuous talk. More of the same. Not very strong, but there with a lot of static noise. Towards 0330, I thought the signal faded, but it turned out Mike changed frequency to 9260 to avoid splatter from 9305 [Cairo] which I also was getting. (24 May) 73 (Dave Valko, Dunlo PA, RX: NRD-535D, ANT: 60m T2FD and 31m Windom, HCDX via DXLD)

** GREECE. 4854.7v, May 17 2210, UnID station with mostly music. Did not succeed to identify the language. Heard on May 4, 14, 17 and 19.

My unID on 4854.7 is a Greek pirate, said Henrik Klemetz, who forwarded my audio clip to Zacharias Liangas in Athens and to Dario Monferini in Italy. Dario sent it to Francesco Cecconi, in Taranto, who came back with the ID, Radio Nikolas Dynamitis, from the town of Tyrnavos in the Larissa Prefecture. This is the third harmonic of their X-band operation which used to be on 1625v, and is now on 1618.2 (Arne Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin May 30 via DXLD)

Henrik Klemetz also gives a reference to DXLD 9-012 from Feb 7, 2009 where you can read the following regarding this station:

1625 kHz - Radio Nikolas Dynamitis, Tyrnavos (10 km NW of Larissa), Greece giving SMS-number (6972734489). I phoned to this number shortly and sent sms - and I have message back!! They are the oldest station in the town!! (Tnx Costas for help) - 18.50- (O=1-3) mp3 (name clearly mentioned in the end of mp3) 73's (Dario Monferini, Italy, Feb 5, playdx yg via DXLD via SWB via DXLD) See also CONGO DR [non]

** NORTH AMERICA. [Pirates]. 6900 AM, WBNY, 2330-2350, May 28, ID. Pirates Week program with talk about pirate radio. Played clips of various US and European pirates. Weak. Poor in noisy conditions.

6950.59 AM, Radio Ronin Shortwave, 2357-0005, May 28-29, ID. Pop music by Rare Earth, The Animals, and others. Fair in thunderstorm static.

6925 USB, WPON, 1930-1940, May 30, rock music. Beatles Tax Man song. Political talk. ID as “WPON, the weapon”. Poor to fair.

6925 USB, Northwoods Radio, 0157-0159*, May 31, just caught end of broadcast with ID announcement and morse code at sign off. Fair to good (Brian Alexander, PA, DX Listening Digest) see UNID 15066.75

** RUSSIA. 6660, The beloved frequency of Russian pirates, heard on 26/5 with Beatles songs, f.e. Roll Over Beethoven at 1908 (Rumen Pankov, Sofia, Bulgaria (Sony ICF 2001, Marconi antenna), June Australian DX News via DXLD)

87.9 MHz, GEORGIA, (pirate) unidentified. Like last year, briefly QRMing "CDC Radio" with gangsta rap.

UNIDENTIFIED. SW DX update from northern Delaware:
31-May-2010 // 2047 UTC // 15066.75 kHz. // Channel Z Radio // Pirate // End of Sweet's 'Fox on the Run' then male with "That was the Sweet with 'Fox on the Run' and you're listening to a DX test transmission from Channel Z Radio..." Into Susie Quatro's '48 Crash'. // New. Strong signal. MP3 clip available here: http://www.21centimeter.com/21centimeter/Recordings/15067-khz_2047-UTC_31-May-2010_Channel-Z-Radio.mp3 Rgds, (-Pete Jernakoff-, K3KMS, Wilmington, Delaware, NASWA yg via DXLD) Not sure if this be European or North American. Europeans mostly use this band, but accent on clip is NAm (gh)

LINK

AUSTRALIAN FM PIRATE RADIO

This is a rare sighting of a fellow Australian pirate radio operator.

"keep the airwaves free !!!!!
The airwaves shouldnt be given to the people who have the most money ..
We have low power licenses in aussie land but they are hogged up by christian and other organizations and the ones that are vacant are owed by people that want a shitload of money for them. . Who wants to pay thousands of dollars for 1 watt??? Its quite a unfair system..

So the other alternative is to pirate .."

In The Mix 74

Shortdogg & Joker of 95.7 Busted

A weeklong investigation by the Federal Communications Commission and the Fort Myers Police Department resulted in the arrests of two local men for allegedly operating a pirate radio station.

Alex Alcime, 29, known as DJ Shortdogg; and Patrick Michael Ford, 21, known as DJ Joker, were charged with one count each of unauthorized transmissions to, or interference with, a public or commercial radio station licensed by the FCC.

The station, 95.7 FM, broadcast a near-continuous stream of hip-hop and R&B music from a one-story light green house in the 2400 block of Welch Street, said FMPD Sgt. Sean Hoover. Between songs, they also promoted local night clubs, Hoover said.

He said the station typically played mellow R&B in the mornings and shifted to rap in the afternoons, much of which was vulgar and uncensored.

The station’s signal — which was almost 6,000 times the strength allowed for unlicensed devices — was strong in Cape Coral and North Fort Myers, tapering off in east and south Lee County, officials said.

“Basically they were operating like a real radio station,” Hoover said. “It’s funny; they had a request line and everything.”

LINK

The F Word:

This came from NBC

They broadcasted from a home in Fort Myers without a license, and without censorship

"Music with the ‘F' word," said Sergeant Hoover. "You think of the word and you heard that on the radio. They were not censoring it whatsoever."

It's funny reading this from my country where we don't have constituted guaranteed freedom of speech, yet "the F word" is allowed over the air and regularly heard.