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Difference between revisions of "Pirates and Clandestines"

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* 49 Meters - 6220, 6240, 6219 and 6295 khz, plus or minus 40 khz (mostly Europirates)
 
* 49 Meters - 6220, 6240, 6219 and 6295 khz, plus or minus 40 khz (mostly Europirates)
 
* 43 Meters - 6925 khz plus or minus for QRM. Includes over 90% of recent broadcasts
 
* 43 Meters - 6925 khz plus or minus for QRM. Includes over 90% of recent broadcasts
* 41 Meters - 7375, 7465 and 7470 plus/minus 60 khz. Rarely used by pirates (beware WBCQ on 7415)
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* 41 Meters - 7375, 7465 and 7470 plus/minus 60 khz. Rarely used by pirates (beware WBCQ on 7490)
 
* 19 meters - 15050 khz, plus/minus 30 khz (mostly Europirates)
 
* 19 meters - 15050 khz, plus/minus 30 khz (mostly Europirates)
 
* Local FM - Worth an occasional scan at your location. Very active in some cities.
 
* Local FM - Worth an occasional scan at your location. Very active in some cities.

Revision as of 15:31, 23 November 2011

There is another side to the HF broadcasting world - this side risks not only jail time, but also, in some parts of the world, torture and even death to get their message out. Welcome to the world of Pirates and Clandestine Radio.

Where to Find Pirates

  • Above the Medium Wave X Band above 1700 khz (should propagate well; underused but sometimes seen)
  • 90 Meters - 3400-3500 khz (good propagation during the winter, but sparsely used). Euros 3800-4000 khz
  • 49 Meters - 6220, 6240, 6219 and 6295 khz, plus or minus 40 khz (mostly Europirates)
  • 43 Meters - 6925 khz plus or minus for QRM. Includes over 90% of recent broadcasts
  • 41 Meters - 7375, 7465 and 7470 plus/minus 60 khz. Rarely used by pirates (beware WBCQ on 7490)
  • 19 meters - 15050 khz, plus/minus 30 khz (mostly Europirates)
  • Local FM - Worth an occasional scan at your location. Very active in some cities.

When to Find Pirates

  • Weekends - Local Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays see the most activity (some weekdays lately)
  • Holidays - Always see increased pirate activity
  • 41 Meters and Below - From local sunset to well after local sunrise, daytime too

Recently Active Pirates

  • Note: Very incomplete list
  • WBNY -Commander Bunny and the Rodent Revolution are quite active, despite his loss for Prez
  • Kracker Radio - Kracker mixes rock with interviews and commentary, he lost to Joe Biden
  • Captain Morgan - Rock Music mixed with audio from the Outer Limits TV show
  • WBOG - This is the new shortwave version of Arnold Stang's 'Hour of Slack' (new voice of Bob)
  • The Crystal Ship - Leftist politics and classic rock; John Poet uses odd frequencies like 5385 khz
  • Wolverine Radio - Political comedy mixed with rock music; some comedy is in-studio
  • WMPR - Their 'Dance Party' techno rock format is consistent but they don't correspond
  • Radio Mushroom - They claim to be the only pirate radio station powered by nuclear energy
  • Radio Free Speech - Bill O Rights with standup comics and promotion of individual freedom; a classic
  • Radio Azteca - Bram Stoker's funny DX comedy station reminds us of the old days among pirates
  • Undercover Radio - Dr. Benway plays rock and describes adventurys, sometimes mobile
  • Voice of Next Thursday - The only radio station in the world that gives you next Thursday's news today
  • WWV Parody - Their marketing slogan is 'all the time, all the time'
  • WBCQ and Area 51 - This licensed station relays programming produced by pirates on 5110 khz

Where to Write Them

  • P.O. Box 1 Belfast NY 14711
  • P.O. Box 109 Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. 17214
  • P.O. Box 293, Merlin Ontario N0P 1W0
  • P.O. Box 605 Huntsville Al. 35804?
Closed sites
  • P.O, Box 69 Elkhorn NE 68022
  • P.O. Box 28413 Providence RI 02908
  • Several other maildrops are active; enclose 3 44 cent stamps to USA, USD2 to foreign addresses

Links and Resources

Clandestines
Numbers stations
Other Resources
Pirates

Media Watch

Much of the above comes from a handout given at the 2011 Winterfest in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. March 4/5