On the heels of the FCC and US Attorney shutting down unlicensed Rika FM in New York City, on Thursday three stations in the Boston area were taken off the air, as well. The most prominent of these stations is Touch 106.1 FM, which was a fixture in Dorchester’s African-American community. Like the Rika FM […]
On Monday the FCC announced [PDF] the unsealing of two complaints against unlicensed broadcasters operating in the New York City borough of The Bronx. The Commission and US Attorney’s Office also said that “on April 2, 2014, FCC agents and Deputy U.S. Marshals, pursuant to warrants, seized the radio transmission and production equipment identified in […]
As the Shortwave Listening Post reminds us, Halloween is a peak broadcast day for unlicensed shortwave pirates. For folks with a shortwave radio, SWLing blogger Thomas instructs, “Turn on your radio anytime today, but especially around twilight and tune between 6,920 – 6,980 kHz. Pirates broadcast on both AM and SSB; you’re bound to hear […]
Last week I asked what outside and independent news and information sources are available inside Syria. In particular, I wondered what radio outlets are available. Tom Fudge, news director of KPBS, provides an answer to my question in a story aired last Thursday. He talked with a handful of independent Syrian journalists who visited San […]
Here’s what’s been going on in the world of pirate and unlicensed broadcasting. A Radio Survivor reader tipped us off to this story about a pirate radio operator in the hotbed of South Florida who died installing his antenna. The aerial accidentally hit a power line and he was electrocuted. His death is certainly unfortunate, […]
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 […]
Al Jazeera reports on the unlicensed Radio Free Sarawak which is making itself a thorn in the side of the Malaysian government, broadcasting independent voices in the run-up to general elections in that country. Sarawak is a former British colony located on the island of Borneo. The station is operated by expatriates out of studios […]
Last year we posted about the Decentralized Dance Party’s appearance at SXSW. The DDP uses a low-power unlicensed FM transmitter worn in a backpack, instead of a PA, to broadcast dance party music in public places to participants carrying boombox radios all tuned to the same frequency. Project founders Tom and Gary call it “The […]
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 […]
