Maybe it’s because spring is in the air in North America, but pirate radio is bubbling up a bit in the popular consciousness, as well as the FCC’s. Seems like a good time for a pirate radio news round up. Albuquerque’s Alibi hazily reports on “at least one station operating without a license” in Northern […]
An uncompromising voice for human rights, unafraid to make unrestrained and harsh criticisms of local and federal officials, is still heard on the airwaves of Illinois capital city. Despite multiple letters and visits from the FCC over the years, the Springfield, Illinois unlicensed station Human Rights Radio celebrated its 25th anniversary last fall. This week […]
If you’ve ever found yourself scanning the AM dial during a late night road trip on the highways of North America, then you’ve probably encountered one of the radio networks that serves truckers with country music, call-in shows, and information tailored to long-haul professional drivers. They rely on the long-distance capacity of AM to serve […]
The Daily Camera reports on an unlicensed broadcaster in Boulder, Colorado that was previously little heard of outside of Boulder. Boulder was home to Boulder Free Radio, which was famous in free radio circles for playing a long-running cat-and-mouse game with the Denver FCC office, until being busted for the last time in 2005. It […]
Thanks to John Anderson and “Spatula” for their comments on why a South Florida pirate radio station was likely interfering with the keyless door entry systems of Lexus vehicles. “Lexus keyless entry operates at ~315 MHz. Harmonic? Blanketing interference? Sounds fishy,” Anderson noted. Ditto, declared Spatula. “Almost certainly a harmonic around 314.1 MHz.” As we […]
The Sun Sentinel, which covers all matters related to Broward County, Florida, has an interesting pirate radio story this week. Apparently a slew of folks around the Hollywood police station (Hollywood, Florida, that is, north of Miami) were having trouble opening their Lexus and Toyota vehicle doors via their keyless entry gizmos. Fingers pointed all […]
I was unaware that New Zealand had a pirate radio scene in the 1960s. But upon further reflection it makes sense, since that country’s radio dial was similarly monopolized by state broadcasters just like the UK and continental Europe. This meant that insurgent rock n’ roll music was hard to find, making for a ready […]
Back in January I reported on Ft. Myers, Florida resident Albert Knighten, a retired Navy air traffic controller who was arrested in December 2011 on charges of unlicensed broadcasting for running a neighborhood community radio station. Knighten got in additional hot water when he missed his arraignment hearing in order to appear on a panel […]
The biggest news in pirate radio so far this year is the story about Ft. Myers, Florida resident Albert Knighten, a retired Navy air traffic controller who was arrested in December on charges of unlicensed broadcasting. Knighten’s Dunbar Radio, named for his neighborhood, focused his broadcasts on the city’s underserved population of older residents who […]
A month ago the FCC issued a $10,000 Forfeiture Order to Pirate Cat Radio founder Daniel “Monkey Man” Roberts, for “willfully and repeatedly violating section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934…by operating an unlicensed radio broadcast station” in San Francisco. Today, Roberts’ attorney Michael Couzens filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the FCC, claiming […]
