Hey who are you?

[Kage]

Just for fun. You don't have to be specific or such.

I got into pirate radio at very young age. My gradeschool friends were into listening to top40 FM stations.
I don't know exactly how or why it started. My brother once opened a simple RC car and I wondered how that remote got a signal to the car w/o wires. Then I found a great thing called the local library. First came little <60 page Boy Scouts books and they had a section on electronics and a simple voice transmitter. Well I didn't have the junk to make it, but I did have a FM radio and somehow SOMEHOW (don't ask how on earth I figured this out at 8 or so y/o) that the radio itself created a singal on another radio near by. Well that signal now I know was a simple IF signal. But back then I thought wow two radios, one is listening and the other is tuned and making the other go soundless if tuned well below the channel. So I pulled the stuff apart on a simple transistor radio. This is another mystery to me how I figured this out at such a young age, but I injected an audio signal into the leads of random parts until I heard audio in the receiver.

Okay you guys probably won't believe this story but it's 100% true. I did this when I was very young. I am guessing 7-9 y/o because I remember saying to kids in my grade school that I figured out a way to talk over a radio and they all thought I was completely crazy.

Well I don't want to make this some weird life story but simply said in less than a book, I picked up my first ARRL ham book in 7th grade. I was a bad kid and only cared about learning about what I want so you bet I poked open that book and could care less about the "school" books they gave me.

I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way. I am just curious how we all got involved in THIS hobby.
I know a lot of kids who I grew up with who got into CB radios, Ham radio later in live and other radio related stuff. Just curious how people like us got into "pirate" radio?

[Kage]

Lol, sorry for the randomness and spelling. I had a few cold ones and got to thinking about the past.

I find it very interesting how we all came here. Ya know how we all somehow got into this hobby. It's a wonderful hobby.

After reading Access to the Airwaves by Allan H. Weiner a year ago and understanding that I am not alone on this and how odd it is that all of us got started somewhere, I am just curious how we came to this?

Well heck it is an awesome hobby. I am sure if the FCC allowed a simple service to the US folk here for a free channel(s) to broadcast on either for public service, or hobby, it would have changed a lot of lives and been as popular if not more then ham and cheese radio.

[Reverend Bow Voodoo]

I was given an old Solid State AM/SW/FM/TV portable radio by my grandfather in the early 80's.. I was scrolling across the SW band one night and came across a radio show like I have never heard before.. I remember they said that were broadcasting from a ship... pirate broadcaster

I was always fascinated with the concept since then.. I got into CB in the mid-80's the life got in the way.. In the mid 90's, I got out of the service and picked up a CB, and when I got into the internet, Pirate radio was one of the first things I looked into...

I started pirating on 11 meters, just above channel 40 from my truck, in USB.. 300 watts PEP.. and got heard...

Then I picked up a HF transmitter, did the MARS mod right out of the box, and started on 41 meters...

I still play on SW, but I am looking to get on AM with the transmitter I just acquired... I'm also interesting in going active on the 11 meter SW BX band with a Johnson Blackface CB that I have seriously opened up the Audio on...

Radio is fun, the Airwaves should be opened up for hobby broadcasting...

[Kage]

Oh I forgot all about CBs. Yeah I was really into the whole 11 meter band for a long time until the band started dying out in the last 5 or so years because of the sunspot cycle. Back in the 90s we had a hometown channel and it seemed everyone had a CB. Got into playing CB tag which was great since I had a handtalky and bike
I also did a few pirate shows on channel 4 using SSB on a cobra. I did AM a few times also. It was interesting because right after an hour show and unkeying there would be like 20 people breaking in talking about what they heard.
Fun times.

[Reverend Bow Voodoo]

Hell, I have been looking at setting up a station in the house strictly for CB pirating... I'm surprised more people don't do it to tell you the truth.. Cheap and easy...

You should have a section for 11 meter pirating.. either in the normal 40 channels, of in the freebands above and below the normal 40 ...

[Kage]

I would include a section but I figure 11 meters to be part of the SW band and we already have a forum section for that anyways.

If you setup for 11 meters I find it best to use a dipole antenna cut and tuned to the channel you will use. Using a whip antenna or ground plane just doesn't cut it for DX work.
Also keep the output clean. I have heard too many stories of people using linears and pissing off their neighbors who end up calling the FCC because they can't watch their idiot box.

Another good idea is to wire up the radio so that you can receive from it after doing a transmittion to see if anyone breaks in and talks about your show.
Wire directly into the mic connector to get the audio in, or better yet modify the rig to use high level modulation
I find that if going into the mic connector that a good EQ will be needed as the audio is not good from most CB rigs.
The older classic 23 channel rigs seem to transmit the best audio quality.

[krepta]

I'm a stranger referred by darklife from another forum. What I got into at a young age (6-8) was NOT taking apart machines, but rather reading and writing science fiction and playing with mathematics. It was not until I was 18 years old that I met a guy who could build a radio with his bare hands and even HE did not teach me about ham radio! I learned what I know about physics in my late teens and early adult life. I learned a lot more about radio and the electromagnetic spectrum in my astrophysics courses 2 years ago, but I still don't know much about building radio stations and transmitting signals or stealing signals and how to do it legally/illegally/why the laws are in place and what they are. I firmly believe that information wants to be free , and I like to spread it about. I know a fair bit more about wireless internet than the radio waves that turn into sounds for speakers.

I don't plan on researching SUPER HEAVILY as I'm getting ready to start a master's degree in mathematics and JUST MIGHT not have much time, but I live with someone currently who fiddles with wires (he's into circuit-bending) than I usually do on the average day, so I plan to keep my eyes peeled for information about how the pieces work. I would like to be able to pick up some international news if possible so if this forum will show me where to go (I know that will be internet based, most likely, unless I can find some good radio signals in my new city of Richmond, VA) then I'll be super satisfied.

Hello <3

[ratdaddy]

I had a christian alternative show on a secular station in my small town in mid-MO. We played metal, rock, reggae, alternative, punk, whatever we felt like. After I got married and moved west, I have found radio to be especially crappy, and I missed playing fun stuff on the radio. Our urban area is saturated with crap music and talk, and always thought a pirate station would be fun to do.
I'm a little OCD and a lot ADD and throughout the last 15 years or so, would Google "pirate radio" and then would see what I could afford to do. Mainly nothing, and I didn't really want my equipment taken from me, but it's always been in the back of my head.
Now that the LPFM rules have changed and the FCC has other things to worry about, I thought now might be the time to get it going. And I have some money to cautiously spend. I'm attempting to start a licensed LPFM at our church site, but would still like to do a neighborhood HOA station that serves the HOA where I live. I don't know how feasible it'll be, but I'm gonna give it a shot thanks to technology being cheaper and somewhat easier to get a hold of.

[Ozone Express Radio]

Since this thread got dredged up again I'll add my story.


I grew up literally in front of an old Sharp SW radio my Dad brought back from Vietnam, then graduated to his Akai reel to reel player after that. I listened to about any style of music you could imagine on every medium at the time. Magnetic tape, vinyl, SW, MW, etc. As the years progressed I moved up from 8 tracks to cassettes, to CD's and now digital. I still have very fond memories of late nights in front of that Sharp (which I still have) with the lighted dial glowing dimly as I tuned into and listened to foreign voices and music that was so different, yet so alluring.

At home, I listened to lots of early standards, but fortunately my parents musical tastes were all over the board so I was exposed to all sorts of things. The radio was not just a thing in the background, but it was part of daily life as we didn't watch tons of TV even with all 8 channels, and it was on at home, work and in the car. I listened to radio in its peak and then sadly, listened to it decline and slip into the advertising medium it has now become, focusing on target audiences and demographics rather than good music and entertainment.

I really got fed up with the shift in radio about 10 years ago and swore it off for a period until satellite filled a huge void with XM. It was like radio was reborn and I rekindled my love affair for it once again. That was until Sirius wrecked it badly. That was the moment I decided to take matters into my own hands and with much research delved into the world of radio piracy. And here I am trying to sound like a circa '78 station!

[sgtpeppers]

Hey everyone. I just stumbled my way here in search of starting my own small station. I want to play some music on mine featuring the local area's music and maybe have a small bit of talk. My local FM band is pretty bland and I aim to change that, as soon as i can afford to.

I've tried building my own gear, but there is a severe shortage of parts in this town now a days, and i don't own a laser printer.

I have no electrical training other than the training I have given myself through schematics and putting them together.

I'm 19, enjoy local events (raves, concerts, music fests) and all the good things which is where i picked up my taste of music.

[RFBurns]

I began in all this mess way back when during my model building years. I built model cars, boats, airplanes and engines. Some of these models had lights and I wanted to expand on that by adding things like sound effects of engines or flashing beacons, so I got into electronics. Radio was only a small part. I did not limit myself to just radio and electronics. I ventured into everything electronics.

But the "big day" when I actually sent voice and music across the airwaves was in the same way Kage discovered how a radio receiver can be used as a transmitter. I already knew radio receivers had local oscillators. What I did not know was how could a local oscillator could be used in a radio receiver to send signals to another radio receiver in as much as modulating that oscillator. Then I remembered about high-level modulation in AM transmitter systems. So once I found the local oscillator circuits, I tracked down the best point where modulation could be applied. At first I also experimented by applying a low level audio signal to various points around the oscillator circuits, and although audio could be heard on the receiver, it was not clean audio and later finding that the oscillator was doing both amplitude and frequency modulation at the same time and I wanted one or the other, not both at the same time from the same oscillator.

Thus the venture began and I took that radio and turned it into an AM transmitter. Worked really well I should add. It was capable of covering the entire block using about 20 feet of wire for an antenna flung over a small tree and a connection to the cold water pipe for ground. Later I did the same thing to an FM radio, turning it into a transmitter. Some years after all that, and after a few classes and certifications, plus a degree, I started my CC station and cable FM station.

In 1989-1992 I ran an FM pirate station in Odessa Tx which used 100 percent home built transmission equipment, including the 3 bay antenna system from 1/2 inch copper pipe and pvc fittings. The only things not home built were the studio gear and the stereo generator inside the FM transmitter. The station was called "KROX" on 107.7 with an ERP of 240 watts. Everything was fine and dandy until someone we had on staff I thought could be trusted decided to call the field office in Dallas and well.....the rest is history. I remember the field agent stating my station had a cleaner signal than the licensed stations so I said to him.."then why are you giving me a hard time". I also stated as they left with my transmitter that they can take my gear but they cannot take what is inside my head. I still wonder to this day if they caught on to what I meant because I could have been back on the air within a couple of hours after their departure..and would have if I had spare copper pipe around to make another antenna.

It was fun at the time..we gave 93.3 KBAT a run for their money..especially on Friday nights because they aired the high school football games and 107.7 rocked the basin. There was even a call in number (forwarded). We also had a repeater station on 95.1. on the far east side of town to extend the coverage into the next nearby city of Midland.

The core of the hobby has unchanged, but the exterior of it has changed considerably and I do not go for all the brew ha ha of stats and statistics and pure automation. Radio should be fun, not cumbersome. Radio should be creative, not scripted. Radio should be enjoyable, not a nightmare. Radio should provide a public service, not serve special interest. If I was not as into radio as I am and have been, I would have given it all up the day they started putting computers and automation systems in place of disc jockeys and started outsourcing the engineering with one contractor fits all approach.

Some of the modern methods are ok, but frankly to me a real radio show utilizes a living human being sitting at a console queuing records and loading carts and turning those big black knobs while watching those huge VU meters and taking readings every hour and clearing the AP machine and replacing ribbon...not to mention producing commercials from all analog sources creating a master tape and dubbing over to cart, running from the studio during a 3 minute song on a 45 to visit the restroom and getting back in time to start the next song.

Those were the days of real radio! Never a dull moment, and never sitting around waiting for a computer to crash killing the entire momentum.

Peace!

[RadioFreeEuropea]

I don't remeber how I get in pirate broadcasting.
When I was 8 yers old, my neighbour give me two Mocoma II AM CB radios, this is start of my radio hobby.

Now I have amatur rigs, cb radios, pirate transmitter and linears.
My very first listening report is sended 18.10.2004, when I broadcasted only 15W power on SW band.

It's sended about 130km away.