Post by sgtpeppers on Jul 17, 2011 21:26:22 GMT -6
Here in Canada there are just too many hoops to jump through to obtain a license from industry canada, even if you are exempt from the CRTC. I have decided to just go underground and hope for the best.
perhaps they will find me, oh well. If they do find me all they can do is give me a written warning before they fine me.
What are some ideas on keeping the ham nazi's from ratting me out? anything they like to hear over the air?
Your best bet is to make sure the transmitter is not filling the spectrum with harmonics, spurious and other junk. A lot of pirate operators in the FM band do not take into account is IF frequency interference. And with a transmitter running without good filtering (7 pole at least), might as well put up a bright lit neon sign at the top of the antenna saying "Here There Be A Pirate".
Also keep a low profile. There is no need to grab everyone's attention. You only need the attention of your target audience. This can be done by word of mouth, or not say anything at all to anyone and just go on air at irregular intervals and let the word of mouth work on its own merit.
Another good idea is to not throw such a huge wattage signal that only ends up providing coverage to the field rats and brush rabbits. Though both species have incredible hearing with rather large sound wave collecting reflectors (ears), they will never pick up your RF signal anyways..so why waste watts. Use only the power level you need to cover your target audience. Showing off with watts will result in CRTC showing off their nifty fine chart and gladly hand you a "Please Pay This Amount" notice.
Play it safe and smart.
Peace!
K-ROCKS RadioOne
ZeroPointRadio
AM Stereo 1670
FM Stereo 92.1
What are some ideas on keeping the ham nazi's from ratting me out? anything they like to hear over the air?
Keep the interference non-existent.
Here in the States, I'd venture to say that 99% of all FCC enforcement is complaint driven. That is to say I really don't see much evidence of the FCC driving around hunting down pirates. Good filtering as mentioned by RF, and even going as far as a look with a spectrum analyzer to know whats going down the pipe will save you a lot of headache.
Also pick a clear non-adjacent frequency in your area and stay there.
Just don't stay on air 24/7 and get over-confident. Just because many of your listeners love you, there will be a few who don't like the local Ham, or commercial station engineer, etc. They have the contacts and means to get you found. Depending on how badly they want you gone, they can get unpleasant to deal with.
I used to council Canuck pirates to watch out in congested zones (here in the Vancouver-Seattle corridor, every KHz is spoken for on FM), but they busted a guy recently in the boonies of Newfieland :-\
Indeed. Good planning in those situations are highly called for. Setting up a remote located TX is probably the best for that. And most certainly operate at irregular intervals and for short time frames each time. Even re-locating the remote TX site every other time will help.
I am waiting for the Department of Homeland Stupidity to declare pirate radio as a terrorist act, and it surprises me they have not yet considering authority now goes after people who grow their own gardens in their own yards.
If its good for you, its bad. If its bad for you, its good.
Thank goodness for political correctness, debt ceilings on a financial system designed to be in debt, strip searches and crotch grabbing at airports, force fed lady gag gag dancing with the runs, kick starting wars in sovereign societies, and billions spent and billions served with shock n awe bombs via remote control from 5000 miles away.
Aren't we lucky to have such a loving, caring governing entity ensuring freedom and democracy through intimidation and incrimidation!
A few extra words were left out of the infamous saying during the last campaigning for pres....the complete phrase is "Yes We Can...But Not For You".
My next vote..."None Of The Above".
Peace!
K-ROCKS RadioOne
ZeroPointRadio
AM Stereo 1670
FM Stereo 92.1
I am waiting for the Department of Homeland Stupidity to declare pirate radio as a terrorist act, and it surprises me they have not yet considering authority now goes after people who grow their own gardens in their own yards.
New Jersey, Florida, and now it appears New York all make pirating a felony now. And that is States, trying to do a job the Feds are supposed to handle through their own agency.
I'm sure in time, if they can trace one wrong thing said over the airwaves to a terrorist plot real or imagined, then we'll all be traitors and DHS will be on us hard.
...if they can trace one wrong thing said over the airwaves to a terrorist plot real or imagined, then we'll all be traitors and DHS will be on us hard.
DHS pretty much considers every citizen a terrorist anyway. Look at what folks have to go through at airports....particularly children and babies, senior citizens, and those with fuzzy long curly hair or wearing depends.
Think about this for a moment. Back in 2005, every airplane got beefed up cockpit doors that would take a tank round to dent it, undercover armed security agents on every flight, trained flight attendants in martial arts, armed pilots and security cameras.
Does DHS really think that real terrorists are going to attempt to bring a bomb tied to their willy onto an airplane after all that precautionary measures put into place long before TSA began to reach down everyone's pants?
Israel, the most likely nation in the world to have terrorist acts, does no such things at their airports. Their security teams are trained to look for certain activity and behavior patterns. Hmm....it must work in a country where every day citizens and establishments are under constant threat of being blown to bits....no reports lately of random acts of violence or blown up airplanes.
Now...who are the terrorists?
In the eyes of DHS...we all are.
"Ain't that America...something to see baby....Ain't that America...home of the freeeeeeeee....little pink panties for you and me...."
As to the media..well there are plenty of television shows and Hollywood productions depicting terrorist acts. Those are exempt from being declared traitors since they are a part of the phony left/right scam. Us independent/alternative media outlets do not play along with the game, thus we are grave threat to their agendas. And it is for that reason we have to be more careful of our operations, even if our operations are fully compliant as far as the letter of the law.
I am hopeful that all of this nonsense will soon come to an end with the new elections on the horizon. But it goes much deeper than just the front play puppets put on stage for everyone to ohh ahh over. They are like Howdy Doodys on strings and really do not call the shots. As Eisenhower so elegantly put it back in 1960..."Only a knowledgeable citizenry can maintain the delicate balance of our democratic processes..for there is a real threat within the corridors of power and the military industrial complex." (paraphrased)
It will be up to us independent/alternative media outlets to keep the REAL spirit of freedom and liberty alive and to return our once great nation that others looked up to back to the level of credibility and honor it used to once have in abundance.
Peace!!
K-ROCKS RadioOne
ZeroPointRadio
AM Stereo 1670
FM Stereo 92.1
Looks like I'm somewhat lucky to be a Canadian pirate
It ain't no easier anywhere. Just CYOA.
It all boils down to one simple thing: The government (Canada or elsewhere) just can't put a tax on you with the stroke of a pen. That makes them a tad unhappy and as such, they get a little testy when you are operating without paying them. I doubt that they give one whit about you stepping on another frequency (commercial stations do it regularly) that you are not 100% perfect in your radiation pattern, that your signal sounds a little splattered, etc. They just can't stand not making even a dime off of you.
I have always believed that if an operator can demonstrate that their system is not causing interference or raising complaints, said operator should be given special consideration and permit to operate.
Some operators like myself, spend countless hours in planning and building a system that far exceeds the minimum specs called for under Part 73. We also take the time on a regular basis to inspect and spec the system, and even keep a maintenance log. The FCC/CRTC calls it "Good Engineering Practices"..and I firmly believe in that. Everyone should consider that as a priority in their stations.
Government believes that us peons out here are dummies and have no idea what we are doing or that we have no clue about good engineering. Perhaps there are those few out there who could care less and just slap happy a signal up and spew out nothing but garbage worthy of getting busted...and I would be the first to point the arrow in their direction. For it is those careless operators that ruin it for the rest of us. They push the envelope so far that authority puts a blanket approach to any and all operations to handle the problems caused by the very few. In other words, we are all put into the same bucket regardless of complaints/interference or not.
And obviously the bottom line is exactly that...the bottom line. These days governments exist to make a buck, not run a nation. They are in effect a business, a corporation. And those entities are in it for the money, which in turn creates a huge un-even playing field for everyone. Only the fortunate lucky with abundant throw away resources can play the game, and governments know this so they set up the ball field to cater to the cash cows. Since the cash cows want the field all to themselves, they lobby the authority to maintain that un-even playing field and keep everyone else out to dry. Why else would the process involve "auctions". And everyone knows that an auction means whomever has the most cash on hand will win the bid. So who shows up at these auctions..the ones with the expendable resources. Regardless..the government makes its money through and through. After all, that is the name of the game....money.
Peace!
K-ROCKS RadioOne
ZeroPointRadio
AM Stereo 1670
FM Stereo 92.1
Hello All: I've been in contact with the CRTC and what I was told was "no complaints no problems" where as the fcc hunts and kills pirate's". my station plays some FU #$% F ME @#$% songs ;but my audience is confined so I have a captive audience. sixer
I had a mate in the Kootenays, BC, that provided the only non-Pop, non-Hip-Hop and non-CBC station within hearing distance. He was up to 100 watts and was played in every office, fire hall and police station in the town. When the CRTC came-a-huntin' (some drunk a$$hat pirate in the next town was causing a lot of QRM), a friendly mountie would give him a call, "Hey ****, shut her for the day, the feds are comin!" ;D
Thanks for all the info out there guys.
