Here's the transcript from our third unreal-time chat, conducted with radio hobbyist and author Andrew Yoder on Shop Talk, our conferencing area. We'll be doing more "Geek-in-Residence" chats in the near future with computer and digital culture luminaries. If you haven't checked out Shop Talk...well WHY NOT. We give away cool prizes periodically to lure people inside. And if you have any suggestions for Geek-in-Residence guests, please email me. - Gareth

Andrew Yoder is a hobby radio enthusiast, activist and author. His book publishing credits include the latest edition of The Complete Shortwave Listener's Handbook, Pirate Radio: The Incredible Saga of America's Underground, Illegal Broadcasters, and his most recent, Pirate Radio Operations. He's also recently begun a new zine called Hobby Broadcasting.

Hey Andrew, welcome to Street Tech!

To get things started, Andrew, why not tell us a little bit about your interest in radio, especially pirate radio. How long have you been involved and in what capacities?

And tell us about your new zine, Hobby Broadcasting. What made you decide to go into the magazine business?

On 6/22/98 2:28:15 AM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>To get things started, Andrew, why not tell us a little bit
>about your interest in radio, especially pirate radio. How
>long have you been involved and in what capacities?

I've been interested in pirate radio since the first time I'd ever heard of the concept. When I was 10, I saw a little feature at the end of the NBC Nightly News about the TV pirate, Lucky 7, from Syracuse, NY. A few years later, I got interested in shortwave radio and discovered that pirates were broadcasting on shortwave. It all seemed so fun and mysterious that I *had* to start listening. I've been listening for pirates for about 17 years now.

In that time, I collected all of the information and media clippings that I could find. By the late 1980s, I realized that I had more information on the topic than just about anyone else. So, I wrote a book ("Pirate Radio Stations") for McGraw-Hill. Since then, I've written a few other books for Loompanics, HighText, and Tiare. At the time, it just seemed like no one else would do it if I didn't.

I started a newsletter (Pirate Pages) about shortwave piracy, also in the late 1980s. At the time, the pirates were starting to get active again and there was almost no information available on the topic. So, I felt like if I didn't put it out a lot of people wouldn't be able to find these stations and tune in.

>And tell us about your new zine, Hobby Broadcasting.
>What made you decide to go into the magazine business?

Kind of for the same reason as why I did most everything else in pirate radio. Over the past few years, I had suggested to a few people about doing a magazine like "Hobby Broadcasting," but no one wanted to do the work.

Then, I queried a few magazines about writing a regular column on the topic. They all said that it sounded like a good idea, but their space was full and they might be able to do it in a year.

Well, do-it-yourself broadcasting is exploding right now for a variety of reasons. I knew that there was a real need for information on these topics, so I decided to take the plunge. Right now, we're getting our feet wet, after two issues. We've started to take it to conventions and hamfests, and we're now getting national distribution. It's been fun!

>Well, do-it-yourself broadcasting is exploding right now for a
>variety of reasons.

Please tell us more about this. I was shocked and delighted to get this impression from reading your first two issues of Hobby Broadcasting. Why do you think this is? Can you give us some idea of the size of this "explosion"? Is this mainly in shortwave or FM or both? How do you think this growth will be affected by the recent court ruling in favor of the FCC pulling the plug on Free Radio Berkeley? Is this likely to have a chilling effect?

On 6/22/98 12:35:17 PM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>Please tell us more about this. I was shocked and delighted to get
>this impression from reading your first two issues of Hobby
> Broadcasting. Why do you think this is?

I think it's a combination of many factors, including the decreased cost/greater availability of equipment, the current corporate media buyouts, and the increased media/support groups on the topic.

>Can you give us some idea of the size of this "explosion"?
>Is this mainly in shortwave or FM or both?

Mainly on FM. It's anyone's guess, but I think it's reasonable to assume that hundreds of FM pirates broadcast on any given week. The shortwave pirate broadcasts have been on the increase, but it's been a slow, steady rise, as opposed to the explosion on FM.

>How do you think this growth will be affected by the recent
>court ruling in favor of the FCC pulling the plug on Free
>Radio Berkeley? Is this likely to have a chilling effect?

No, I don't think so. I think that most people that have gone on the air recently knew that they would be subject to the authority of the FCC and that the FRB case was an anomaly. Most pirates seem to think that what they are doing is what is Right and that they are providing a community service. I don't see that many of the active stations will suddenly voluntarily close down.

On 6/22/98 5:13:10 PM, Andrew Yoder wrote:

>Mainly on FM. It's anyone's guess, but I think it's reasonable
>to assume that hundreds of FM pirates broadcast on any given week.

My opinion on this is that FM wouldn't add costs to any potential listeners one might have. The majority of people don't have shortwave receivers, and aren't about to go buy one just to get pirate brodacasts. Do you think I'm correct in this? I really have no idea.

>I don't see that many of the active stations will suddenly
>voluntarily close down.

How about people like me who are considering jumping into the game? Would it make sense to play the FCC's game and apply for a low-power license, even though they don't grant them, and THEN challenge their policies? This seems like it would just point me out to them. Sort of like when states require tax stamps on marijuana sales.

On 6/22/98 6:28:24 PM, Timmy Tuner wrote:

>The majority of people don't have shortwave receivers, and
>aren't about to go buy one just to get pirate brodacasts. Do
>you think I'm correct in this? I really have no idea.

I agree, but it's also a peculiar situation. Although few people own shortwave radios, the signals can be heard hundreds or even thousands of miles away, so the number of active ("active" meaning listeners who actually will take the time to write or call in) listeners are actually often higher for shortwave than FM. For someone like me who lives in a rural area, shortwave radio is essentially my only way to hear pirates (aside from road trips :o)

>How about people like me who are considering jumping into
>the game? Would it make sense to play the FCC's game and apply
>for a low-power license, even though they don't grant them, and
>THEN challenge their policies? This seems like it would just point
>me out to them. Sort of like when states require tax stamps on
>marijuana sales.

Yeah, I agree. People sometimes take measures to point out the flaws in FCC policy, but even if it makes them look like heroes to the general public, the FCC usually takes'em out quicker.

Which brings up the whole question of risk. I know that it's probably situational and hard to assess, but can you give us some idea of what the risks are in setting up a pirate station? Do you have any idea of what percentage of pirates get raided every year? And of those, how many actually have to pay the fine? What conditions make it more/less likely that you'll get into trouble.

And speaking of the FCC, what's your take on their current stance? They seem to be leaning towards some acknowledgement of micro-broadcasting on the one hand, but turning up the heat on the other. And is a lot of the heat due to NAB's lobbying efforts?

On 6/23/98 1:35:45 AM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>Which brings up the whole question of risk. I know that it's
>probably situational and hard to assess, but can you give us some
>idea of what the risks are in setting up a pirate station?

Yes, it's definitely situational and you have no idea what will happen. In the past few months, the FCC has done any of the following: warned stations, fined stations as much as $11,000, confiscated equipment (including record collections), and brought in machine-gun-toting SWAT teams for a little "reign of terror." Take your pick: the punishment could be nothing at all or it could be much worse than if you had been DUI, crossed the center line, and killed a family.

>Do you have any idea of what percentage of pirates get raided
>every year?

Probably a fairly small percentage. However, many of the recent FM stations are broadcasting in the open, some even with signs on their transmitter building. This is a great way to be a martyr for "the cause," but it sure isn't a good way to avoid the FCC. There are plenty of ways to improve your chances of avoiding "the knock."

>And of those, how many actually have to pay the fine?

In the 1970s and 1980s, almost everyone did (fines were typically $500-1000). After they started handing out fines from $10,000-30,000 in the early 1990s, almost no one has. Who can afford to pay them?

>What conditions make it more/less likely that you'll
>get into trouble.

Anything that generates a complaint will cause FCC action (remember, though, the FCC doesn't find every station that they take action against): putting spurious signals into the aircraft band (just above the FM band), causing interference to the neighbors' TVs & telephones, or being too popular or well-known (commercial stations actively complain about low-power FM broadcasters, even if they are noncommercial, because of a perceived loss of revenue).

>And speaking of the FCC, what's your take on their current
>stance? They seem to be leaning towards some acknowledgement
>of micro-broadcasting on the one hand, but turning up the heaton
>the other. And is a lot of the heat due to NAB's lobbying efforts?

Agreed. The FCC is entertaining the idea of licensing low-power stations. Even some of the Commissioners have publicly supported the idea. That puts us in a transition period, so they want to retain control of the situation and not let anarchy cut loose because "Well, I heard that this stuff's gonna be legalized, so I just started now." So, the FCC is softening their stance in one respect and toughening up in another. It's an interesting situation and it could go in a lot of different directions.

>Yeah, I agree. People sometimes take measures to point out the
>flaws in FCC policy, but even if it makes them look like heroes
>to the general public, the FCC usually takes'em out quicker.

It seems like it would even be dangerous to have someone else apply for a license at the same time you were setting up a pirate station. They'd come a-lookin'.

>Take your pick: the punishment could be nothing at all or it could
>be much worse than if you had been DUI, crossed the center line,
>and killed a family.

Has there been any project to track down possible predictors of severity, or is this just educated opinion that there's no way to know? Has there been any correlation between the content a station broadcasts and the severity of fines/raids?

>There are plenty of ways to improve your chances of avoiding
>"the knock."

So how about some tips? I wanna do this, but I don't really have any desire to have feds steal my equipment.

My main question: where do I hide an antenna? How big are they anyway? I live in a city that's in a valley, and has a TON of very large trees. The trees don't extend to the hills, though. The good tower spots are (surprise) taken by the commercial stations.

Gee Gareth, it's starting to look like I might win the prizes by default, huh?

>Gee Gareth, it's starting to look like I might win the prizes by
>default, huh?

Really. And there are two prizes.

Does anyone else have questions for Andrew?

Or, does anyone else take issue with the whole notion of pirate radio? When I posted something on the Well awhile back, in my Jamming the Media topic, about the previous court ruling that the FCC could not shut down Free Radio Berkeley, my supportive comments met with a lot of criticism. A number of people basically felt like this would lead to an upsurge of pirate activity and that the airwaves would become clogged with amateur noise. As one poster put it:

"This scares the hell out of me. If it holds up, I can see every two-bit religious group and fringe political outfit, and hundreds of businesses and multi-level marketers starting teakettle radio stations that jam the FM band the way e-mail spam is jamming the net. I'm honestly afraid that any possible "community broadcasters" would be lost in the noise."

Is this a legitimate criticism? Wouldn't airwave anarchy be...well...airwave anarchy?

On 6/23/98 11:48:21 AM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>Really. And there are two prizes.
>
>Does anyone else have questions for Andrew?

If you do, keep your mouth shut :)

>I'm honestly afraid that any possible "community broadcasters"
>would be lost in the noise."

That discounts the amount of work that goes into making a listenable show. I think the "spammers" would spring up, then die out when nobody listened to them. As far as religious kooks go, I'm all for it. Kooks of all kind make the world interesting. Annoying sometimes, but interesting.

>airwave anarchy?

"Anarchy Airwaves, all Crass, all the time!"

>all Crass, all the time!"

Ahahaha. That would certainly be more listenable than most FM radio.

When I worked at STIM and we had a STIM house in The Palace, we had a room in our house that was sorta a Crass shrine. One of the guys who designed and built our house was a big fan of the band. That house and the wild virtual parties we used to have there was so much fun. I really miss it.

Ahhhh...anyway...back on topic.

On 6/23/98 11:19:26 AM, Timmy Tuner wrote:

>Has there been any project to track down possible predictors
>of severity, or is this just educated opinion that there's
>no way to know? Has there been any correlation between the
>content a station broadcasts and the severity of fines/raids?

To date, we haven't figured out any correlation between raid severity and content. When three stations were busted by SWAT teams in Tampa (two rock music stations & a Patriot station), a Nazi station (also in Tampa) went untouched. Of course, when it happened, the left-wing newbies on alt.radio.pirate decided that the government must be pro-Nazi. Not the case; they just don't seem to care about content.

The only thing that I've noticed that makes the FCC react and increases fine severity is when a station makes an effort to make the FCC look bad. Almost every station that has made disparaging comments (not just "well, the FCC won't let me have a station.") in the press about the FCC has gotten hit harder than what is typical at the time.

>>There are plenty of ways to improve your chances of avoiding
>>"the knock."
>So how about some tips? I wanna do this, but I don't really have
>any desire to have feds steal my equipment.

One of the best ways is simply to avoid FM, which has such a small range and is easy to trace. If FM is a must, it's safer to broadcast less regularly and move locations regularly. Also, the locations should be well-hidden &, if possible, unmanned. One old technique is to only broadcast during snowstorms (not too effective in Dallas). Another is to broadcast from a vehicle in work traffic jams--impossible to direction find (DF), except from a helicopter (which have not been used, to date)

>My main question: where do I hide an antenna?

Anywhere high. FM is primarily line of sight, so the higher the better (but higher means attracting more attention). Many stations use trees, house-mounted antennas, or TV masts.

>How big are they anyway? The antennas themselves (for FM) are pretty small. Most aren't any larger than a few feet. Some stations use TV antennas, but they're very directional, so the signal is pointed in one direction. Overall, antennas that radiate in all directions (nondirectional) perform better.

>I live in a city that's in a valley, and has a TON of very large trees.
>The trees don't extend to the hills, though. The good tower spots are
>(surprise) taken by the commercial stations.

Too bad you can't put antennas in trees on the hills--that'd be the prime spot. Stay away from the commercial towers--their signals are strong enough to bleed into your equipment...and the commercial sites could have an engineer roaming around on inspection.

>Gee Gareth, it's starting to look like I might win the prizes by
>default, huh?

No, I think I'm going to win! :o)

On 6/23/98 11:48:21 AM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>I'm honestly afraid that any possible "community broadcasters"
>would be lost in the noise." Is this a legitimate criticism?

Yeah, I think so. I think it'd be awful to have transmitters available at every Radio Shack for $49.95. Can you imagine the slander? That's the niee thing about pirate radio--it takes some technical know-how and there's a chance that you could get nailed--both of which filter out most of the people who would go on with less than noble intentions.

I'm for hobby broadcasting, but I think that it has to be licensed to succeed. Otherwise, it'll turn into another CB band. Also, there must be restrictions in place to prevent commecial stations from buying out the low-power ones. If those restrictions aren't in place, it'll be a feeding frenzy.

On 6/23/98 8:53:50 AM, Andrew Yoder wrote:

>warned stations, fined stations as much as $11,000, confiscated
>equipment (including record collections), and brought in
>machine-gun-toting SWAT teams for a little "reign of terror."

Andrew, have there been any cases of legal defense funds set up in advance of a bust? It seems like that would be an interesting pre-emptive defense against fines. Advertise the fund on the station, "we're bound to get busted sometime, you can help out NOW". It'd be like pledge drives for public radio, except it couldn't ever go towards equipment since it would be an independent trust explicitly for one purpose.

I have a former media professor who also happens to be a lawyer who also is the faculty adviser for the student ACLU. Something tells me he'd be supportive of the idea.... :)

On 6/23/98 12:30:30 PM, Timmy Tuner wrote:

>Andrew, have there been any cases of legal defense funds set up in
>advance of a bust?

Yeah, there's been some pushes this way, but to me it seems more like an excuse for sloppy operating. Is it more of a community service to broadcast 24 hours a day, get a $15,000 fine, and take thousands of dollars of donations from the public...or is it better to be on 6 hours per day, use evasive tactics, and never get busted? It's up to the operators to decide what's best. But you can bet that taking thousands of dollars in pledges will not endear a pirate to the NPR stations!

Personally, I think that commercial interests could be the best support for a pirate. A few years ago, Pearl Jam was putting out "Monkey Wrench Radio" here and there on their tour. What a better form of publicity than pirate radio. Really, a group like Chumbawumba, with both money and politics, would be perfect to run a station while on tour (or to completely pay for a station, including any fines). They could get their message out AND get some fantastic publicity.

Anyone wanna approach Dennis Rodman about the possibility of financing a pirate station? :o)

On 6/23/98 3:17:20 PM, Andrew Yoder wrote:

>Of course, when it happened, the left-wing newbies on
>alt.radio.pirate decided that
>the government must be pro-Nazi.

Well, duh. :)

>If FM is a must,

It is, considering I'd want to be a community resource.

>Many stations use trees, house-mounted antennas, or TV masts.

That was another question - trees don't interfere? Like in the direction of the trunk?

>Too bad you can't put antennas in trees on the hills--that'd be the
>prime spot.

Oh, I bet I can find one or two.

So what's a good way to have the transmitter be unmanned? Cheap cassette recorder?

In my country, Sweden, one has to have a very expensive licence to broadcast in the FM-band. Also the number of radio channels are limited to a very small number. Ham radio is, of course legal - but one has to take some certificates/tests for this in order to be able to buy/own hamradio-equipment.

There's not many interesting people into ham radio, and who wants communication when one can have broadcasting? Both things have their lure for sure but, printing a paper, doing websites or producing radio shows is about the fun of making something and (hopefully) getting people to consume it and react to it. In this sense broadcasting on the FM spectrum is a much better idea.

Perhaps as a remnant from the cold war era, the Swedish government keeps a strong policy against pirate radio broadcasts, all the important spectrums, such as the FM band are scanned day and night by the military, and triangulation and apprehension of pirate broadcasters are rumored to be done within minutes. I guess that they were afraid that Soviet in case of an attack would take control over the airwaves. So there's sadly no pirate radio over here, also getting caught will in most cases lead to a prison sentence since it is considered to be a very serious crime.

On the other hand, small FM broadcasting kits are available for anyone, since it's not a crime to own a kit, only the finished working gizmo.

I remember a story some years ago where there was a fair for young inventors. The national radio was there making a live coverage of the event. There was a lot of different innovative robots, waterpumps, can-openers proudly displayed by the participating inventors. But there was one guy that kept to himself walking around with a big cardboard box. Everytime someone asked him what were inside the box, he just said "i'll show you when the radio comes", so eventually the radio journalist came up and asked him to show the contents of the box. He opened the box took out a tape-recorder and pressed the "play" button and a loud beep came out of the machine. He had recorded the signal that can be heard late at night when they shut down the repeater systems, by playing this signal he shut down the FM broadcasting system for the whole country. Since he was a minor I think that he eventually got away with it after some legal hassle and didn't get persecuted.

This is just to keep Timmy honest. I don't know squat about radioing and my question will no doubt reflect my ignorance. This is a crossover post. Should "Pump Up The Volume" be listed as a Good Geek Movie?

Around here everyone has a scanner for listening to police and fire calls, I'd love to broadcast some bogus War of the Worlds shit to them, then sit back and listen to the Flack at the coffee shop. I don't want to actually interfere with actual official communications or anything, of course. In the words of our favorite president, "That would be wrong?" Milhous

Christ, now I'm going to have the FBI breaking down my door and I don't even get decent FM reception. Tim, you're a bad influence, you're always getting me in trouble. I never think of these things on my own, I'm Grandma's good boy.

On 6/23/98 4:40:43 PM, Swen XXI wrote:

>This is just to keep Timmy honest. I don't know squat about radioing
>and my question will no doubt reflect my ignorance. This is a
>crossover post. Should "Pump Up The Volume" be listed as a Good
>Geek Movie?

Since I'm somehow being kept honest (I'm not sure how your post accomplished it, but we'll assume you're correct), I honestly have never seen "Pump Up the Volume".

>Around here everyone has a scanner for listening to police and fire
>calls.

My old roommate used to be really into that. Every once in a while he still does. He caught this girl we know kvetching on her cordless phone about her boyfriend and swearing up a storm, and we thought it would be funny to boost and translate.

Now that I think about it though, there's much more useful things to be done with the air. Like play Crass.

>then sit back and listen to the Flack at the coffee shop.

You mean on their frequencies? Talk about going around the FCC! Nothing like getting the local pigs with no accountability on your ass. Wanna get shot?

>Tim, you're a bad influence, you're always getting me in trouble. I
>never think of these things on my own, I'm Grandma's good boy.

Wow, and I don't even know you! Or do I? I'll admit I try to be as bad an influence as possible at all times, though.

This thread has been really interesting, and I'm not really a radio head. Does Andrew Yoder get some space in _Culture jammers_??

My question for our guest is:

What is the relationship between pirate radio and the internet? Have the publishing opportunities made possible by the internet made pirate am/fm radio less necessary? Or are they parallel/complimentary media streams?

Also, a procedural question: How do you maintain important activist relations with the community and still remain anonymous and secure?

Finally, two observations:

The closest I've come to hearing an underground activist radio station was a small public station off of Burnside street in Portland Oregon. They played all kinds of subversive stuff, Chomsky, Michael Parenti, local radical anarchists, etc. But still a public station--so are they automatically coopted or what?

2) Did anyone hear the episode of "This American Life" about a month ago that was dedicated to radio? They had a really nice audio essay on an underground black radical pirate station operating outside of (Chicago?)

Ok, I'm questioned out for now. Who do I have to kill to get a complimentary copy of _Culture Jammers_? I've been thinking of using it in English 102 (I'm a graduate instructor).

Mark Crane

>Who do I have to kill to get a complimentary copy of _Culture Jammers_?

Mark, are you talking about Jamming the Media? Or some other book? I'm going to be giving away a copy of Jamming in one of two drawings here. The other prize is a one year sub to Andrew's magazine.

Re: Pump Up the Volume.

I bet that film did to the pirate radio scene what WarGames did for hackers.

Whoops, my apologies. I had the phrase "Culture Jammers" stuck in my head from adbusters or RU Sirius or someone. Anyway, I was thinking it would make a nice intro writing companion textbook--more fun than a research paper, to be sure.

On 6/24/98 12:35:22 AM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>>Who do I have to kill to get a complimentary copy of
>>_Culture Jammers_?
>
>Mark, are you talking about Jamming the Media? Or some other
>book? I'm going to be giving away a copy of Jamming in one of
>two drawings here. The other prize is a one year sub to Andrew's
>magazine.
>
>Re: Pump Up the Volume.
>
>I bet that film did to the pirate radio scene what WarGames did
>for hackers.

On 6/23/98 3:48:40 PM, Timmy Tuner wrote:

>That was another question - trees don't interfere? Like in the
>direction of the trunk?

Good question. Yes, they do. That winds up being half of the fun of antenna engineering: how to come up with a signal pattern that covers the best.

>So what's a good way to have the transmitter be unmanned? Cheap
>cassette recorder?

That'll do, but probably the best is a VCR. Better yet, do some searching around at hamfests and you can find an old battery-powered VCR with autorewind/replay. Continuous 6-hour repeating programming!

On 6/23/98 3:59:30 PM, Joel Westerberg wrote:

>Perhaps as a remnant from the cold war era, the Swedish
>government keeps a strong policy against pirate radio broadcasts,
>all the important spectrums, such as the FM band are scanned day and
>night by the military, and triangulation and apprehension of pirate
>broadcasters are rumored to be done within minutes.

Fortunately, it's not that fast!

>So there's sadly no pirate radio over here, also getting caught
>will in most cases lead to a prison sentence since it is
>considered to be a very serious crime.

Yup, I've read that Sweden is harsh, although I do know of a few shortwave pirates, such as Starshine Radio and Heavy Dude Radio, from Sweden. I don't know of any FM pirates from Sweden because they are so regional. Some other countries from Europe, such as Switzerland and Germany, are also known for being harsh against pirates.

>He had recorded the signal that can be heard late at night when
>they shut down the repeater systems, by playing this signal he
>shut down the FM broadcasting system for the whole country. Since
> he was a minor I think that he eventually got away with it after
>some legal hassle and didn't get persecuted.

Great story! Wonder if it's true? The hazards of repeater transmitters! In England in the 1970s, many of the BBC transmitters were taken over for a few hours.

On 6/23/98 8:59:31 PM, Mark Crane wrote:

>My question for our guest is: What is the relationship
>between pirate radio and the internet? Have the publishing
>opportunities made possible by the internet made pirate am/fm
>radio less necessary? Or are they parallel/complimentary
>media streams?

You know, it's strange, but the Internet has been complementary to pirate radio. I think that it's really taken off, in part, because of the Internet. For example, many FM pirates get national attention now because of the Internet. Also, stations help each other out (technically or with programming) because of the Internet. For example, I've had a great time with the Chat room on FRN.Net. A few times I've heard a shortwave pirate & have been able to chat with some other listeners from around the country and even the station operator while he was broadcasting. Just last week, I heard WACK Radio, I went into the chat room & chatted with the operator, someone else who was listening in Montreal, another listener in Pennsylvania, and one or two others who were listening, but didn't give their location. The flow of communications is remarkable.

>Also, a procedural question: How do you maintain important
>activist relations with the community and still remain
>anonymous and secure?

It's difficult. Probably the best way is to keep some distance: read articles or downloads & do anonymous interviews.

>Finally, two observations: The closest I've come to hearing an
>underground activist radio station was a small public station off
>of Burnside street in Portland Oregon. They played all kinds of
>subversive stuff, Chomsky, Michael Parenti, local radical
>anarchists, etc. But still a public station--so are they
>automatically coopted or what?

Wow, sounds a lot more interesting than any radio that we have around here.

>2) Did anyone hear the episode of "This American Life" about a
>month ago that was dedicated to radio? They had a really nice audio
>essay on an underground black radical pirate station operating outside
>of (Chicago?)

Black Liberation Radio, possibly the one (there are several stations with this name) run by Mbanna Kantako.

>Ok, I'm questioned out for now. Who do I have to kill to get a
>complimentary copy of _Culture Jammers_?

He wrote it, so I guess you hafta kill him!

On 6/23/98 4:40:43 PM, Swen XXI wrote:

>This is a crossover post. Should "Pump Up The Volume" be listed
>as a Good Geek Movie?

I think so. I loved it (and I'm The Geek this week!). I know that some pirates didn't like it, but I think they're just bitter that some cute girl never came down to their studio & ripped off her sweater.

>Christ, now I'm going to have the FBI breaking down my door
>and I don't even get decent FM reception.

Yeah, the reception's bad in jail :o) Actually, it sounds like a pretty fun idea, but you'd have to be very technically competent to pull it off without causing interference (for these frequencies, you'd have to build or modify a transmitter--no kits!). Also, when public safety is at risk, groups like the FBI do step in. Not very pleasant...

Here's something that you might be interested in. I posted a message announcing Hobby Broadcasting on the AM Amateur Radio bulletin board. Man, a different sort of crew than here! Actually, I've subscribed to many amateur radio magazines over the years, so I didn't expect anyone there to be quoting Crass. But if you want to see a bunch of guys getting really torn up about a simple announcement, go to: http://www.thebizlink.com/am/wwwboard/wwwboard.html

Also, I'm really sorry, but I'm not sure how many questions I'll be able to answer over the next few days. My father is a housepainter & his ladder collapsed last night. He fell about 40-45 feet (which isn't real cool for a 60-year-old). I'm going out to the hospital in a few hours.

Gareth, I'm not sure if you want to keep the pirate radio topic going for a few more days past the deadline (Geek Week & a Half?) or if I should just wing it and try to respond via laptop/long distance once or twice over the next few days?

On 6/24/98 2:27:54 PM, Andrew Yoder wrote:

>But if you want to see a bunch of guys getting really torn up about
>a simple announcement, go to:
>http://www.thebizlink.com/am/wwwboard/wwwboard.html

Geez, no kidding! I kept looking for any of the things they were accusing you of saying, and I just couldn't. Hope you had your asbestos shorts on. WWWBoard sucks, by the way. Half the posts had no content at all except quoting the message they were replying to.

>He fell about 40-45 feet (which isn't real cool for a 60-year-old).

Or a 20-year-old! That's a long fall! I wish you both well, good luck!

Andrew, really sorry about your dad's accident. Don't worry about the chat. Just let us know when you're back and we'll pick it up from there. And I hope dad's OK.

Wired News Today:
Sometime this autumn (possibly the first weekend in October), micropower radio broadcasters and supporters will gather in Washington, DC, for a protest at FCC headquarters against the commission's intolerance toward unlicensed broadcasters.

At the same time, the Electronic Disturbance Theater, a loosely organized band of several thousand artists and activists who are engaged in an online fight against the Mexican government's oppression of Zapatista rebels in Chiapas, will help facilitate what it calls an "online sit-in" at the FCC's site.

www.wired.com/news/news/culture/story/13278.html ____________________________________________

Odd but interesting coupling, micropower broadcasters and Zapatistas, curiouser and curiouser. Catch you in Washington Tim.

Hey, Street Tech's very own Joe Nickell wrote that piece! I'm so proud of that boy; he's really been kickin' butt on the Wired News assignments.

Man, sorry to hear that the FCC finally went after Radio Mutiny. And it probably is directly related to the FRB bust. They had a stated policy of wanting to set up 10 new pirates for every one shut down. I guess the FCC wanted to bag their asses before they could make good on that threat in the wake of the FRB shut down.

On 6/26/98 7:52:09 PM, Swen XXI wrote:

>Odd but interesting coupling, micropower broadcasters and
>Zapatistas, curiouser and curiouser. Catch you in
>Washington Tim.

I've always been very much in favor of Mexican shoes. I wonder if Converse has a factory there? Okay, questionable joke there.

I'd love to go to Washington, I've never been there. My big problem is the distance/cost of getting there. It's expensive to fly anywhere from Anytown.

On 6/24/98 3:54:53 PM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>Andrew, really sorry about your dad's accident. Don't worry about
>the chat. Just let us know when you're back and we'll pick it up
>from there. And I hope dad's OK.

Thanks for understanding about everything. Yeah, he seems to be doing amazingly well. After almost dying last week from a complication with the medicine (I don't think I'm stretching things too far, considering that his blood pressure dropped to 42 & he was life-flighted from one hospital to another), he's doing great. He's walking around outside now & doesn't even need a cane or anything. A mighty miraculous recovery.

Anyway, back to radio: Because of everything going on with my Dad, I didn't have a chance to listen to a whole lot of pirates on shortwave, but I did hear Radio Free Speech this morning, a big band/swing station around noon, and a station or two yesterday. Maybe something else will appear tonight?

Also, i don't know if anyone's interested, but we're going to try for at least one TV-related article for the next issue (Fall) of Hobby Broadcasting. Right now, I'm not sure what angle(s) we'll take--pirating, part 15, or cable-access TV, but I think the topic warrants some attention. Any ideas? Anything you'd like to see?

On 7/5/98 8:13:15 PM, Andrew Yoder wrote:

>Thanks for understanding about everything. Yeah, he seems to
>be doing amazingly well.

>Also, i don't know if anyone's interested, but we're going to try
>for at least one TV-related article for the next issue (Fall) of Hobby
>Broadcasting. Right now, I'm not sure what angle(s) we'll take--
>pirating, part 15, or cable-access TV, but I think the topic warrants
>some attention. Any ideas? Anything you'd like to see?

How-to's? Those are always really nice. What's part 15? I'm almost as interested in a pirate TV station as I am a pirate radio station, especially since the efforts to bring Public-Access TV to our town have been so pathetic (Missoula, Montana has 2 P.A. stations and we have NONE?).

Andrew, I'm *so* glad your dad is OK. I was really worried about him.

I'll start throwing some more questions to you tomorrow (Monday). Good to have you back.

Great to hear your dad's alright.

>although I do know of a few shortwave pirates, such as
>Starshine Radio and Heavy Dude Radio, from Sweden. I don't
>know of any FM pirates from Sweden because they are so
>regional. Some other

Wow, I didn't know that radio piracy existed here, very interesting! I found some stuff about swedish piracy on the net now that I have been searching for it.

>>He had recorded the signal that can be heard late at night
>>when they shut down the repeater systems, by playing this
>>signal he shut down the FM broadcasting system for the whole
>>country. Since he was a minor I think that he eventually got
>>away with it after some legal hassle and didn't get persecuted.
>Great story! Wonder if it's true? The hazards of repeater
>transmitters! In England in the 1970s, many of the BBC
>transmitters were taken over for a few hours.

I am not sure whether it is true or not since I heard it in n-th hand, I guess it is true though.

Andrew,

Very nice to hear about your dad's recovery, having ridden a ladder or two down in my day I know exactly how lucky he is. Say hey from all of us.

Pirate TV, this is getting ever more interesting. How much are we talking in 1960 dollars or have Joel convert it into.... ? It's sounds expensive in any currency. Are the technical questions on a par with radio?

On 7/6/98 11:44:17 AM, Timmy Tuner wrote:

>How-to's? Those are always really nice. What's part 15?

Part 15 is a section of the FCC's rules that allows radio-frequency emissions to be limited to a certain amount (typically 100 mW output or a certain millivolt per meter amount--you need special equipment to get the latter reading) with no license. This is typically used for limiting the amount of radio-frequency interference that stuff like a computer, hair dryer, or TV outputs, but it is possible to broadcast under these regulations. For the most part, a part 15 transmitter can only cover a few blocks reasonably well, which is why many people forget about Part 15 altogether.

Part 15 might be more viable for TV than radio. Here's an example. If you had a Part 15 TV station and were located very close to a cable TV system (given a good situation), they might actually *ask* you if they can carry your channel. If that would happen, your station could legally cover loads of people.

>I'm almost as interested in a pirate TV station as I am a pirate
>radio station, especially since the efforts to bring Public-Access
>TV to our town have been so pathetic (Missoula, Montana has 2 P.A.
>stations and we have NONE?).

None in this area, either. Are you planning to bring Crass videos to your town? :o)

On 7/6/98 4:08:02 PM, Chuck Hinckley wrote:

>Very nice to hear about your dad's recovery, having ridden a
>ladder or two down in my day I know exactly how lucky he is.
>Say hey from all of us.

Thanks much! Yeah, I think this is his 41st year of painting, so he's experienced a lot. He had a ladder collapse 11 years ago & that time, he fell 40-45 feet & managed to not break any bones!

>Pirate TV, this is getting ever more interesting. How much are
>we talking in 1960 dollars or have Joel convert it into.... ?
>It's sounds expensive in any currency.

It depends. One of my friends found a professional-quality, rack-mount cable TV modulator for $10 at a hamfest! Put an amplfier on that & you're capable of broadcasting a few miles for less than $100! Of course, programming is typically more expensive & hard to find, as well as produce.

>Are the technical questions on a par with radio?

For the most part. Color levels & all of that stuff gets much tougher, but that should typically not be a problem.

OK, you brought up the Hamfest thing, so don't blame me for the following rant.

When I was a kid, 10-14, our next door neighbor, Fred Fairypot (well actually Marriot), was a ham operator. Being an electronics engineer kinda guy, he worked during the day at the local antennae factory. Therefore, all of his hamming took place typically during prime, all-american, TV goddamn time. I mean this guy would intentionally wait for the exact, most critical, absolutely heartpounding moment during The Twilight Zone, to start sending out his call letters. CQ, CQ, CQ, this is CharlieTangoTangoBettaNerdodouble0niner calling.......

Jesus H Christ in a handcart, how did he always pick that exact moment to start some lame conversation about transistors and capacitors with some engineer type okra eatin' nerd in Georgia, or some damn place? First time I ever heard mention of Megahertz was right in the middle of Alfred Hitchcok Presents. Goddamn guy had an antennae that got lost in the clouds, thing always reminded me of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Finally, when I was 14, we discovered the true beauty of the old man's tower to heaven. If you waited for Fred Fairypot Sr. to start his nightly broadcast, you could climb stealthily up said tower, to the back room window. There Fred Fairypot Jr. was holding a penny ante poker game, complete with all the cigarette smoke you could choke down and even an occasional beer. Fred Jr. was known to have not only an awesome model car collection, but also an impressive Playboy collection to boot.

I figure the old man knew about the game, but if we stayed outta his shit, he was willing to reciprocate. I guess hamming ain't all bad.

PS. What is Christ middle name?

I'm fascinated by Pirate TV but was able to find few verified instances of it for my book (Jamming the Media). Is there a good source on pirate TV, Andrew?

I think cable access TV is one of the most disappointing amateur mediums out there. It cost relatively little to get involved and you have a huge potential reach. If you're good, you also have the opportunity to be "discovered," which has happened to a few access personalities. Sure it takes a lot of time and sweat equity, but hey, we live in the society of the spectacle. I assume that lots of people want to be on *that* side of the camera (witness the huge growth of peek-a-boo webcams). Cable access lets you live out your fantasy of being a TV star (just as pirate radio indulges your DJ jones).

But given all its potential, cable access is mainly a wasteland settled only by bigots, religious zealots and political nutjobs (LaRouche Connection, anyone?).

And then you see something like ROX (which was done by Street Tech's very own Joe Nickell), which was better than most stuff on any kind of TV, and you wonder why, why, WHY? Why aren't more people getting involved in this? I tell ya, if my dancecard wasn't so overwhelmingly full, I'd be down be down at Cable TV Arlington faster than you could shout Street Tech TV!

Interesting story on Wired News about Net.Radio and a Net.Radio 4th of July celebration. Lots of interesting links.

On 7/7/98 1:55:39 PM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>I'm fascinated by Pirate TV but was able to find few verified
>instances of it for my book (Jamming the Media). Is there a good
>source on pirate TV, Andrew?

Well, I'm hoping that Hobby Broadcasting will be! :o) Yeah, in "Jamming the Media," you mentioned the Max Headroom station. That was in Chicago around 1988 or 1989. It came over top of Dr. Who for about 60 seconds. Later (I think the same night), it came over a program (I believe it was the news) for a few more seconds. Funny, but the pirate got a lot more airtime from the commercial TV stations, who rebroadcast segments of it on TV for a while! I have a bunch of this stuff on tape & it's kinda neat. I know of a few other major example of pirate TV from the past (Lucky 7 from Syracuse, NY is what got me interested in pirate radio, oddly enough), but there're more stories shrouded in mystery than anything actually known.

>TV, and you wonder why, why, WHY? Why aren't more people getting
>involved in this? Itell ya, if my dancecard wasn't so overwhelmingly
>full, I'd be down be down at Cable TV Arlington faster than you could
>shout Street Tech TV!

I think it sounds great, but people are busy. That's a big problem. I've got two little kids and the process of entropy has been greatly speeded up around here! I guess I could come up with a 30-minute cable-access program of all the different dangerous things that my kids do...but we don't have a public-access station around here.

Too bad Cable TV Arlington doesn't have anything better to offer. With the population and money in that area, you'd think that they'd have lots of interesting programming.

On 7/8/98 2:35:07 PM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>Interesting story on Wired News about Net.Radio and
>aNet.Radio 4th of July celebration. Lots of interesting links.

Wow, this thread has slowed down--between the 4th of July & my break to go home. Maybe it's just that Tim's busy building his station :o)

I threw out the concept of pirate TV, now here's another that hasn't been mentioned on here that you might be interested in: Offshore radio.

Did you know that some of the very first stations to play music by the Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Rolling Stones, etc. were offshore pirates from around England and Holland? Those bands might not seem very revolutionary now, but remember that in the 1950s and 1960s, all of the licensed stations in Europe were owned by their respective governments (except Radio Luxemburg) and they refused to play any rock or pop music.

Today, we are so used to media (and dare I say, jaded by it) that we are unlikely to get together in support of much anything. At the height of the pirates in the mid-1960s, they could ask for a show of support and literally hundreds of people would drive to the coast of England and shine their headlights to the ocean. Also, these stations were massively popular. When Radio Caroline had its peak audience in 1967, it was regularly listened to by *9 million* people, making it the most-listened-to station of any type ever.

Offshore stations are also interesting because they are so fragile. Some have sunk, one was bombed, some have run aground.

Ooops, gotta run.

On 7/9/98 9:51:47 AM, Andrew Yoder wrote:

>Wow, this thread has slowed down--between the 4th of July
>& my break to go home. Maybe it's just that Tim's busy building
>his station :o)

Oh, I wish. Now you've thrown down the gauntlet. Next paycheck Timmy orders a kit. Suggestions? I want to cover about 3 miles, and there's a possibility of a hill-located antenna.

I did mention that I was interested in Pirate TV, but didn't understand some of the terms you mentioned and now I can't find the post in question. Can you go over the different types and what they are?

I also complained about Anytown not having public access TV. 2 days later after I complained, I heard on the news the city's finalizing a contract with TCI that will allow for 5! See what complaining gets ya?

>Too bad Cable TV Arlington doesn't have anything better to
>offer. With the population and money in that area, you'd think
>that they'd have lots of interesting programming.

Well, we used to have Slumber Party, which I talk about in the book. That was cool. Here's an excerpt about Slumber Party from Jamming:

I'm sitting on a big bed with three other people and a wiry little dog named Gracie. We're all in our pajamas, lounging like Turkish royalty on colorful pillows and cushions. The one women in the group, a very attractive Brit named Lucy, is clad in a *tiny* champagne-colored slip. The men are all over-dressed in an uninspiring mish-mash of robes, T-shirts, pajama pants and well-worn socks. Gracie, curled up at our feet, has begun licking Lucy's leg. As the slightly awkward conversation trips along, she continues the sensuous leg lapping. After what seems like an eternity of licking, licking, licking, I'm getting a little more...ah...enthusiastic than seems appropriate. As soon as I point out the mutt's antics, Lucy nervously brushes the dog aside and we all laugh. The last of the ice has been broken.

In case you're wondering, this is not the opening moves of an orgy. I'm a guest on Slumber Party, an Arlington, Virginia cable access chat show. The premise of the show, now in its fifth year, is simple: local poets, writers, artists, musicians, actors, and other DC-area bohos mix it up amongst the over-sized pillows and the late-night-in-the-group-house ambiance. The show is the brainchild of Hap Heubusch, a musician and fan of the arts who got tired of seeing local artist and musicians not getting the respect and exposure they deserve. He decided to do something about it, creating Slumber Party, and talking friend and fellow musician Miles Anderson into being one of its hosts. Current co-host, Lucy Symons, a local actress, came on board in 1992.

The sleepy-time trappings of Slumber Party create a playful, even erotically-charged, atmosphere. Guests are sometimes taken aback when they realize that the show really does take place in a bed, with guests in their underwear, PJs and lingerie. "I have more lingerie than any other women in the Western world!," blurts Symons. The hosts and producers have found that putting everybody in their PJs levels the playing field to an extent and gets people to loosen up. "It's a good way of selecting out people for the show," says Miles. "If you're too uptight to get in your pajamas and climb into bed with a group of strangers, you probably take yourself too seriously to be on our show anyway." Lucy tells the story of nationally-known mystery writer, Laurence Block, showing up for the show in a suit and tie. "Apparently he didn't think we were serious about the pajamas bit." After convincing him that climbing into bed in full business regalia was out of the question, they managed to get him into one of Miles' spare outfits. After a few minutes of Block sitting wooden and uncomfortable on the edge of the bed, he began to loosen. "By the end of the show, we couldn't get him out of bed!," giggles Lucy.

Andrew,

As our present FCC authority here on ST, have you read the AP story about Kennard's lightening up on Interenet tech regs?

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/w/AP-Internet-Congestion.html

"At a hearing Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission explored the possibility of incentives to entice companies to provide more high-speed connections into homes. That would help ease Internet congestion."

"`One of the great challenges that we have at the commission is creating ... a deregulatory environment where all these various technologies can compete in the marketplace,'' he said.

Local, long-distance, satellite, cable and wireless companies all are in a race to build high-speed connections to homes. Some companies want to deliver not only Internet and other data services over those high-speed lines but also telephone and television. That's the vision behind the proposed merger of telephone titan AT&T Corp. and cable giant Tele-Communications Inc.

Regional Bell telephone companies Bell Atlantic, US West and Ameritech say existing regulations discourage them from building high-speed networks inside their local phone regions.

They want the FCC to use its powers under a 1996 telecommunications law to remove regulatory barriers hindering development of advanced telecommunications networks.

The Bells' rivals, including Sprint, wireless local phone provider WinStar Communications Inc. and global satellite company Teledesic argued against emasculating the regulations."

Any thoughts about the likelihood that he will follow through? This has damned little to do with pirating directly, but it may implications for net radio.

Andrew, can you give folks here some idea of how to go about hearing pirates. What are good times to listen? Are there lists of pirate broadcasts? Is finding pirates on FM like finding a needle in a haystack? Is shortwave your best bet? Are there popular frequencies one should listen on?

And maybe tell people something about QSL cards. As someone who used to be into mail art, I find the QSL cards a really cool part of the pirate listening hobby.

On 7/10/98 3:07:10 AM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>Andrew, can you give folks here some idea of how to go
>about hearing pirates. What are good times to listen? Are
>there lists of pirate broadcasts?

I hate to go on again about shortwave, but that's one of the best places to find pirates. Here are some logs of stations from last weekend that I received from Harold Frodge. He doesn't have much detail, but it should give you a bit of a taste of what was on:

Alan Masyga Project
6955/U, 0235-0240*, 7/5, SIO=3+43; Alan w/usual rambling, cackling and Flash Gordon theme; off w/"You have just hrd a quality relay from WARR and the Capt. No Beard relay service" (Frodge-MI)

Fake Radio USA
6955.3/U, *0307-0334+, 7/5, SIO=3+43; Hard rock; Nazi Xmas mx, Horney Barney; mentioned AY but didn't hear any of the nasty stuff; slipped in IDs for Jack Boggan and K-2000; somebody screwing around; lotsa on/off (Frodge-MI)

Lounge Lizard Radio
6955/U, 0315-0322*, 7/4, SIO=3+53; Dean Soundgarden w/1st Anniversary px; "Volare" versions; ad/Fire Stick Lounge; "You don't have to go home but you can't stay here". (Frodge-MI)

Scream of the Butterfly
6955/U, 0112-0124*, 7/5, SIO=3+43; OM w/obscure rock & rockabilly; Mr. Pissed cmtry (Earl Pissed); off w/Jimi Hendrix National Anthem; via WREC per anmt; Providence drop (Frodge-MI)

WHYP-FM (tape of legit station)
6955/U, *0251-0305*, 7/5, SIO=3+43; crusty-sounding OM w/lotsa wx for NE US cities and London ON; few C&W intros and lcl nx (Frodge-MI)

"WMPR"
6955.5/AM, 0105-0201+, 7/3, SIO=3+53+; Euro-rock mx; "This is WMPR Dance Party" (Frodge-MI)

"WPIG"
6955/U, *0241-0249*, 7/5, SIO=3+43; old tape of Ira and WPIG; Ira w/wx-nx frequently interrupted w/phone calls; Ira "sang" Amazing Grace (Frodge-MI)

"WREC" Radio Free East Coast
6955/U, *0324-0357+, 7/4, SIO=353-; P.J. Sparx w/Reggae, Hillbilly and rock mx; bogus ads & Ren & Stimpy bits (Frodge-MI) 6955/U, *0125-0154+, 7/5, SIO=3+43; P.J. Sparx w/usual s/on collage; Ren & Stimpy; obscure mx; Jackie Chan movie bit; hot babe phone call; bit from movie Independence Day; Grateful Not Dead tour bit (Frodge-MI)

"WRKO"
6949.7/AM, 2024-2026+, 7/4, SIO=352/too much QRN; weak mx noted and M w/reated "WRKO" IDs (Frodge-MI)

"WSRR" Solid Rock Radio
6955.1/U, 2209-2223+, 7/3, SIO=352+; OM w/EZL vocals; gave Belfast drop and web page (Frodge-MI) 6955/U, *2017-2022+, 7/4, SIO=322; Came on while Jimi Hendrix stn. on; QRM chaos after that (Frodge-MI)

>Is finding pirates on FM like finding a needle in a haystack?

It is if you don't know of any active stations in your area. The best things to do are to check out "alternative" weekly papers, record stores, and to tune around on the radio occasionally (especially the 88-92 MHz "educational band").

>Is shortwave your best bet? Are there popular frequencies one should
>listen on?

Yup, right now 6955 kHz USB mode is best. Who knows when that'll change. Also, the longtime pirate Allan Weiner was recently granted an FCC license. His own WBCQ will soon (summer or fall start time) be airing their own and pirate programs on 7415 kHz (an older pirate frequency) with 50 kW--enough power to be heard worldwide (easily!)

>And maybe tell people something about QSL cards. As someone who used
>to be into mail art, I find the QSL cards a really cool part of the
>pirate listening hobby.

I agree. I think that QSL cards are fascinating--a way to graphically summarize the broadcasting of a station.

QSL (those letters don't mean anything, it's just one of many 3-letter "Q codes" that were created at the turn of the century to make sending Morse code easier) cards are logo cards that verify that you heard a particular station at a given time, on a given frequency, on a given date. To get one, you have to write a report, giving all of that info + details about the program so that the station is sure that you heard them. Most North American pirates are fairly easy to hear, so QSLs are more fun (to me at least) because they're cool looking (sometimes!) and they're a way to remember a station. But hearing European stations from the US are really difficult and getting these QSLs is more of an accomplishment. For a bunch of QSLs, see the Free Radio Network: http://www.frn.net

On 7/9/98 2:14:52 PM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>lapping. After what seems like an eternity of licking, licking, licking,
>I'm getting a little more...ah...enthusiastic than seems appropriate.
>As soon as I point out the mutt's antics, Lucy nervously brushes the
>dog aside and we all laugh. The last of the ice has been broken.

Good thing it wasn't a black lab!

On 7/9/98 11:10:24 AM, Timmy Tuner wrote:

>Oh, I wish. Now you've thrown down the gauntlet. Next paycheck
>Timmy orders a kit. Suggestions? I want to cover about 3 miles,
>and there's a possibility of a hill-located antenna.

I'd suggest either a Veronica or Broadcast Warehouse 1-watt transmitter. These are the basic building blocks for a system. If it's not enough power, you can add an amplifier. Also, these are mono, but you can add a stereo generator if you like. The Veronica kit is $120 shipped to US & I think that the Broadcast Warehouse trasnmitter's in the same price range. Of course, I must mention that using these transmitters in the US is a violation of FCC regulations and you could be subject to their authority... :o)

>I did mention that I was interested in Pirate TV, but didn't
>understand some of the terms you mentioned and now I can't find
>the post in question. Can you go over the different types and what
>they are?

Hmm...I forget what I said there, so I might look it up & repost...

>I also complained about Anytown not having public access TV. 2 days
>later after I complained, I heard on the news the city's finalizing
>a contract with TCI that will allow for 5! See what complaining gets ya?

Man! That's great! We don't have *any* even slightly interesting broadcasting around here. Gareth, drive about 90-120 minutes North and you can experience my lack of listening/viewing options for yourself!

On 7/10/98 9:01:28 AM, Andrew Yoder wrote:

>I'd suggest either a Veronica or Broadcast Warehouse 1-watt transmitter.

Addresses, current URLs? I found a Veronica link on your page, but it was dead. I'll do a search, I guess.

On 7/10/98 11:08:27 AM, Timmy Tuner wrote:

>On 7/10/98 9:01:28 AM, Andrew Yoder wrote:
>
>>I'd suggest either a Veronica or Broadcast Warehouse 1-watt
>transmitter.
>
>Addresses, current URLs?
http://www.ldbrewer.com
http://www.broadcast-warehouse.com
http://www.legend.co.uk/~veronica
pconcepts@compuserve.com

Please tell'em you heard it from Hobby Broadcasting!

Well Andrew, it was really great having you as our latest Geek-in-Residence on Street Tech. We'll continue the discussion here, so please stop by whenever you want. I'm sure Timmy is going to have a lot to talk about when he gets rolling with his kit, etc.

Before you go, Andrew, maybe you can tell folks here a little about Hobby Broadcasting, how much to subscribe, etc., and tell us about some of your book, especially your latest.

And participants: We'll be having a drawing in the next couple of days to give away a year's sub to Hobby Broadcasting and a signed copy of my book Jamming the Media.

On 7/10/98 6:19:53 PM, Gareth Branwyn wrote:

>Well Andrew, it was really great having you as our latest
>Geek-in-Residence on Street Tech. We'll continue the discussion
>here, so please stop by whenever you want. I'm sure Timmy is going
>to have a lot to talk about when he gets rolling with his kit, etc.

Thanks much, Gareth for letting me chat about this stuff. Yup, I'm out here in cyberspace at:
http://www.frn.net/rfi
ayoder@cvn.net
Sometimes I'm tough to get a hold of, but I always like to chat about pirate radio & help out when I can.

>Before you go, Andrew, maybe you can tell folks here a little about
>Hobby Broadcasting, how much to subscribe, etc., and tell us about some
>of your book, especially your latest.

Sure. Hobby Broadcasting is a quarterly magazine dedicated to do-it-yourself broadcasting of all types: low-power FM radio, shortwave radio (pirate and paid airtime), public-access TV, pirate TV, Part 15 radio & TV, Internet radio, high-school & college radio, & more. Cost is $12/year US, $15/year Canada surface mail, $19/year Canada air mail, $17/year rest of world surface mail, $25/year rest of world airmail.

My latest books on these sorts of topics are The Complete Shortwave Listener's Handbook (5th Edition) and Pirate Radio Operations. The former is easy to find & it's a good book to pick up from the library if you think you might be interested in shortwave, but wanna see what it's all about. The latter is entirely dedicated to how someone would go about running a pirate station, techniques, risks involved, etc. These books and others can be purchased through Hobby Broadcasting or my Web page. They're both a few dollars cheaper through me than even from their respective publishers (McGraw-Hill & Loompanics).

Thanks much for taking the time to read some of these entries and to comment on here!

Talking Houses:

I saw a strange application of low-power microtransmitters the other day while walking through my neighborhood. A house for sale had a sign in front that said "This is a talking house--turn your radio to am 1610." Seems like it would be a pretty fun thing to hack and change the recording.

"Uh, don't you have anything better to do than drive around listening to houses? You can probably talk the owner down by 5,000--don't tell them I told you!!"

Thanks again, Andrew for the helpful info. If I have questions, you'll be the first email-ee I ask.

Tim Tuner and Chuck Hinkley, COME ON DOWN! You're the winners in our latest Shop Talk drawing.

Timmy, you win a one year sub to Hobby Broadcasting.

Chuck, you win an autographed copy of Jamming the Media.

Please email me your smail addresses and thank you for playing our game!