Sunday, May 30, 2010

Beans reports hearing VONT

6900 AM WBNY relays

29 May 2010

WBNY with superstation show and relays of Pirates Week and Voice of Next Thursday. Not really good reception, but enough to pull ID's out. 6900AM SIO222/323 signals fades real bad, then back up for a few minutes, then back down.

Beans

Death of a Pirate


A killing in the English countryside takes us inside the world of pirate radio in its mid-1960s heyday.

When the pirate operator Oliver Smedley shoots and kills his rival Reg Calvert in Smedley's country cottage on June 21, 1966, it is a turning point in the careening career of the outlaw radio stations dotting the coastal waters of England. Situated on ships and offshore forts like Shivering Sands, these stations blasted away at the high-minded BBC's broadcast monopoly with the new beats of the Stones and the Who and DJs like Screaming Lord Sutch. For free-market ideologues like Smedley, the pirate stations were entrepreneurial efforts to undermine the growing British welfare state as embodied by the BBC.

The worlds of high table and underground collide in a riveting story full of memorable characters like the Bondian Kitty Black, an intellectual femme fatale who becomes Smedley's co-conspirator, and the notorious Kray twins, brazenly violent operators of a London protection racket. Here is a rousing entertainment with an intellectual edge.

by Adrian Johns
Hardcover
Forthcoming November 2010
ISBN 978-0-393-06860-3
6.125 × 9.25 in / 320 pages

LINK

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Reports of VONT on FRN Vines

Bunny Relay Network/Voice of Next Thursday:

Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 1245, 6925.5 am. Commander Bunny ad, and "the world's weekly wait is over" into Voice of Next Thursday. Good sound, s7, a little bit of noise.

Cosmik Debris

6900AM WBNY (26 May):

WBNY on 6900AM with "superstation" show and Voice of Next Thursday relay. Had ute noise, but then cleared up and SIO is 444 right now. 2310-still on

Thumper

Pat Murphy on WHKT talks about Pirate Radio



Pat Murphy was a guest on the Brian Holland's "Into The Night" talk show, on WHKT 1650AM 27th May 2010.

Holland talked to Pat about Pirate Radio.

LINK (41.7MB 128kbps)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Giant Article on Pirate Cat Radio


Another article on Pirate Cat Radio, this time from San Francisco Weekly.

LINK

Monday, May 24, 2010

CKUT Interview with Pirate Radio Authors

CKUT Radio Review joins four authors: Sheila Nopper, Ron Sakolsky, Kathy Kennedy, and Charles Mostoller to talk about pirate radio & the new book Islands of Resistance.


Ron Sakolsky (above)


Link to Audio (mp3 – 128kpbs, mono)

Thursday, May 20, 2010

New Book: Islands of Resistance - Pirate Radio in Canada


"In the first book published on the subject, Islands of Resistance gives you a view from the crowsnest of the phenomenon of pirate radio in Canada. Here is a collection of seventeen activist manifestos, artistic treatise of intent, historical essays on the development of radio and its regulatory bodies, sociological examination of pirate radio’s application in new social movements, and personal anecdotes from behind the eyepatch.

Just as the new media ostenibly renders the old obsolete, Islands of Resistance unveils the existance of a thriving clandestine counterculture. An invaluable addition to an unscrutinized subject in Canadian media studies, Islands of Resistance appeals to the anarchist, anti-authoritarian impulses inall of us."


Islands of Resistance SITE
AMAZON
Montreal Mirror

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Pirate Cat Radio Plays It Off Legit


"Monkey time: After 13 years as the operator of a pirate radio station out of the Mission, Daniel Roberts, who changed his legal name to "Monkey," has gone legit. Since last spring, the 29-year-old Roberts has been fighting a $10,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission for allegedly broadcasting his Pirate Cat Radio on the FM band without a valid license. Now he's taken the reins of KPDO, a moribund community station in Pescadero (San Mateo County). The signal has been licensed since 2006, but its founder, Celeste Worden, an educator, has moved out of town, leaving the station on autopilot, playing mostly classical music. Roberts, who'd long wanted to acquire a license for Pirate Cat, heard about the largely deserted signal late last year and presented a program plan to Worden, emphasizing public service, local news and education.

"She called me one morning at 6," said Roberts, "and said she'd read her tarot cards, and said, 'I'm gonna give you the station.' " Roberts has built a small studio ("all from recycled materials"), put together a DJ staff (half of them students from Pescadero High School) and was scheduled to hit the air May 8. The station is a 100-watter for now, reaching north only as far as San Gregorio. But it's online as well, at piratecatradio.com."

- 16 May 2010, San Francisco Chronicle

Read More and More

Corsair Transmitter Inside View



Bad Andy's Corsair.

The Quantum Mind of Next Thursday (show #7)


In the world of next Thursday the human mind will become quantum; that is things won’t be purely wrong or right, but they can also be wrong and right at the same time. For instance the “Liars Paradox” will no longer be a paradox. If you’re unfamiliar with the Liar Paradox let me explain. If I were to say “Everything I say is a lie” you’d think “that’s okay you’re a liar”, but then you’d realize that my statement must also be a lie, which would mean I was telling the truth, therefore being a lie and you’d continue going around and around in circles until you begin frothing at the mouth, eyes begin to bleed and bits of brain would protrude from your nose and ears. Not a pleasant sight I can assure you. The Next Thursday mind will not see this statement as a paradox, but accept it as both true and false at the same time, and have no qualms over this type of logic, therefore happily sitting in the third state of Quantum.

With the new Quantum brains of Next Thursday Schrödinger Cats will become popular; people will happily keep cats in boxes not knowing if they’re alive or dead, but happy in the knowledge that their cat sits in the third quantum state of being both alive and dead at the same time. Niels Bohr ping pong will also become popular with the new Quantum mind of Next Thursday. Where traditional table tennis had a net Niels Bohr ping-pong has a large board obscuring your opponent from view. Two ping-pong ball wide slits run vertically about the centre of the board, through which the ball will pass. The ball is called a fock. It’s your goal to hit your fock through one of the two slits before your opponent hits his fock through one of the two slits. If you manage to pass your fock through a slit it will enter a state of Complimentarity – that is it will have several contradictory properties. The outcome will either be a win, a loss, a draw, a win and a loss, a win and a draw, or a loss and a draw, or none of them, all depending on the spectator’s observation.

I understand all of this may be difficult to comprehend without a Next Thursday Quantum mind. Unfortunately not all primordial brains of last week will be able to make the Quantum leap to the third state, leaving some individuals stranded like a monkeys desperately trying to comprehend the intricacies of the stock market.

All this and more in the world of Next Thursday – five long day from now.

Andrew Yoder Reports In

Great to hear you again! Unfortunately, the signals I’ve heard from you lately aren’t what they were a few months ago, but I’m writing again anyway:

VONT via WBNY May 9, 2010 6899.5 kHz 2145-2211 UTC

2146 Gabby with a VONT bit

2146 Vaudeville-sounding song

2150 “Did you know that if you turn your underwear inside-out, you can wear it for another five days?” Another 5!

2152 Song with a higher-pitched woman singer

2155 Possibly a WBNY t-shirt ad?

2158 Clear VONT ID, into bit about paradoxes & lying.

2201 Woman talking, on the phone? Rambling about people out of work, marijuana, people sleeping on the sand, etc.

2203 Frankenstein radio control

2204 mid or late ’60-style rock or garage song "you don't know just how I feel about life"

2206 ID, something about pirate radio

Guitar bit

2208 “sadly, this brings us to the end of our broadcast” thanks to BunnComm for the relay, contact info, etc.

2211 WBNY ID into “Pirates Week”


I listened to the broadcast on a Drake R8 communications receiver connected to a 100' longwire antenna. 2100+ puts me on the fringe of WBNY range, unless he’s using the Heath amplifier (which he no longer is). Corsair power just isn’t quite doing it right now at that time of day.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Art of Hacking RADIO Documents


Mostly out of date and US-centric the Art of Hacking website has a large text document collection. Most interesting (to me) is the Pirate Radio section which has the ‘Pirate Radio Survival Guide.’

There’s also a radio mods section that falls under the heading of ‘Radio - Voice Communication Codes,’ which is true at first, but then you get to the mods section with a little bit of scrolling down the page.

It's worth taking a look, you never know what you may find.

LINK

New VONT QSL design for show #7

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Radio Ronin Shortwave QSL

I received my Radio Ronin QSL in the post today:

My reception report:

Radio Ronin 6925 AM
Tuned via globaltuners.com
Using Icom IC-R75 w/ 100’ sloper in Pennsylvania

18 March 2010 2330z-0010z

SINPO = 22343 (at first)

Audio file: http://www.mediafire.com/?m4zul1qvnmy

2330z Tuned in during Boston – More than a Feeling
2335z Jackson Brown – Running on Empty
2340z ID & David Bowie – Young Americans
2345z Unknown soul song “Baby I need your loving”
2348z Unknown song
2352z ID w/ contact details
2352z Elton John – Tiny Dancer
2358z Unknown Song (very noisy)
0001z Neil Young – Cortez The Killer (Love this song)
0002z Firefox crashes & I’m deaf
0004z I’m back & Neil Young is still on.
0005z Unknown Song
0008z ID
0008z Unknown Soul Song - Ike & Tina?
0010z WFUQ on LSB starts up & I can’t hear you any more..

Think I heard Wichita Linemen & Bright Eyed Girl in there too, but I had to give up and tune into WFUQ.

Thanks for the show!

Gabriel Syme

Sunday, May 9, 2010

William Hassig Reception Report 9 May 2010

6899.6am, 5-9-10, 2200utc, very poor, S7 peaks with S5 powerline static, heard mention of Commander Bunny, thanks for good announcement of stn name & email address, many pirates mumble and dont repeat and then I dont catch their name & address.

I'm located in Mount Prospect, Illinois 20miles (32km) northwest of downtown Chicago along the Union Pacific northwest line (formerly Chicago & Northwestern).

You peak at S7. There is a 34kv line a block south of here feeding a substation 1.5 blks south and sometimes it makes static. Or possibly the 2400/4160 primary 200 ft behind the house is causing a bit of static too.

William Hassig.

Aussie Pirate Radio Eureka to Make a Comback




Aussie shortwave pirate 'Radio Eureka' got in contact with me and indicated that he is planning a comeback after a 9 year absence.

Radio Eureka made several broadcasts with a power of 12 Watts on 6235kHz AM back in 2001 playing 80s rock. His original transmitter doesn't seem to work at the moment, he is considering building a Corsair as a replacement.

Stay Tuned.

(image above Corsair from Radio Mia)

Another Reception Report Today

As WBNY continues to test his Corsair more reports of VONT relay come in:

WBNY, 5/9/10, 6900am, SIO 433, 20:05+ UTC, Ragnar with Pirate's Week, slight static and very minor signal fade, very nice audio, at 20:25 ID WBNY Relay Service, signal reception is now SIO 333, increase in static and fade, but audio still beautiful. Now starting Voice of Next Thursday relay.

VoNT explaining some confusing ping pong ball hit through a slot game. If only there were some shiny objects involved it would be much more understandable. It sounds like a cross between slot car racing, table tennis, & cricket.

SIO 434 now at 20:50+ with minor static and fade.

L Cee Intl

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Reports of VONT #7 Airing on WBNY Corsair Test Relay

WBNY is testing out their Corsair by relaying VONT & The Pirates Week on 6900 & 6950 AM.

"We were testing out our brand new Corsair Transmitter! We'll be doing a test with the Grenade and the Corsair side-by-side with a Pop-Comm writer watching, hopefully next week. Love the Corsair, it has awesome audio. My understanding is that the reporter will take pictures of the side-by-side test and do a complete profile of the two transmitters.

Commander Bunny"


Some Reports:

hearing Pirates Week show and Voice of Next Thursday (new show, never heard before)on 6950. Super clean audio. Signal is fading up, solid reception for a few minutes then fades out completely. Conditions sucks. Heard WBNY relay ID. Wasn't sure, didn't sound like WBNY's signal at first.

Beans

SINPO 43423 from NE Indiana.

Great signal when it's busting through the fading or interference. Unfortunately you're getting either hit by it or interference from some digital signal.

Had Voice of Next Thursday clean and clear for about 5 minutes (2106-2111), then the signal either was cut or completely faded.

Caylorman


2117 fair-good sig here. Just heard bit about how if you turn your underwear inside out, you can wear it an extra 5 days.

Thanks for the shows!
Andrew Yoder

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Relays of VONT Delayed Due to Recent Events in USA



Apparently this is the first sign that authorities have taken an interest in HF Pirates since the late 90s. Luckily Weather Radio got off light.

From FRN Vines 4 May 2010:


Weather Radio is QRT

It's been a fun ride. Although 99% of my broadcasts apparently went unnoticed, I only hope that the 1% made a difference in someone's life.

I was doing some testing of the new 1 KW setup, and last month got "THE" visit. Yes, I have now seen with my own eyes, a federal badge.

Luckily, no harm done, was just given some written material about rules and regs, and informed that pirates can be DFed by remote stations with pinpoint accuracy from a central point in Washington DC. I just drew the joker card this time as my test transmissions swamped a local receive point some 40 miles away. I was flattered to be the focus of such talented tax payer funded attention. Even though the lengthy conversation was low-key and friendly, the underlying tone was very clear- Sin no more.

So, until I relocate out of US territory, or I figure out some way for my crippled, retired body to go mobile, Weather Radio is QRT.

With the utmost respect for my fellow HF pirate nutjobs, from the bottom of my former NWS heart, I sincerely thank you.

W.R

SK

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Farm of Next Thursday


Thanks to Andrew Yoder for link.

New VONT show to air in May


Show number 7 is complete and will be broadcast on WBNY's relay network during May. You will be treated to future facts that will thrill, tantalize & amaze your cerebral organs into a vicious state of explosive ecstasy, which you’re not likely to forget for at least the next week.

A new QSLs for the show is being designed right now.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Optic-Revisionism (from show #2)


In the far distant future of next Thursday pink is the new brown, through the miracle of optic-revisionism in which opticians are able to modify colour perception by means of a quick painless laser treatment to ones optic nerve. People of the world of next Thursday flock to have their colours mixed up. No more will you hear “I’m sick of the sky always being blue”, or “Why is the grass green?” Because in the beautiful world of Next Thursday pink will be the new brown. What of traffic lights I hear you ask? Well that’s another story, all shall be revealed Next Thursday.