Despite FCC's Promise To Take Aggressive Action To Stamp Out Radio Pirates, Illegal Stations Are Flourishing (newyorker.com) 198
Last year, when Donald Trump appointed Ajit Pai chairman of the F.C.C., Pai promised to "take aggressive action" to stamp out pirates. In early May, the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement, or PIRATE, Act was introduced in Congress; it would increase fines from a maximum of a hundred and forty-four thousand dollars to two million dollars. But the stations aren't going away, The New Yorker reports. From the article: Transmission equipment has only become cheaper and more sophisticated. "The problem, as I see it, is that the technology has gone beyond what the law has been able to do," said David Goren, a local resident who works as a producer on licensed radio shows. Between 87.9 and 92.1 FM, Goren counted eleven illegal stations, whose hosts mainly spoke Creole or accented English. Pirates, he said, "offer a kind of programming that their audiences depend on. Spiritual sustenance, news, immigration information, music created at home or in the new home, here."
Is there an app for that? (Score:5, Funny)
Pirate radio? They should make an app for that. Maybe call it Arrrrrrrdio?
Don't worry, I'll show myself out
Spin Vs. Reality.... (Score:5, Interesting)
The reality is that the FCC is an underfunded and incompetent extension of the RF industry. They will attempt to protect broadcast spectrum, and fail. While leaving the rest of the spectrum to rot on the tree.
They rarely enforce and have been reduced, through ongoing budget reductions, to in some cases turning the enforcement over to the actual users of licensed spectrum. They've closed there local offices, fired their engineers, all while giving lip service to the job they should be doing. Heck- I'm pretty sure they do not even have the ability to triangulate to find a pirate station.
They don't even stop illegal radio equipment from being imported- then sold everywhere from big box stores to truck stops.
Good luck... They cannot even clean up problem frequencies where *everyone* knows who the offenders are.
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That was the original job of the FCC. To make sure your transmitter was operating correctly. Then later they became the morality police and lately people think they should control the internet. I don't believe they are the right agency for that job. The only powers they have are issuing fines and managing licenses. It must be where I live but I have yet to hear any pirate FM stations or even shortwave pirates on 6925KHz. I heard a guy in West Virginia who thought it was still the 1970s on his kilowatt CB ri
Re:Spin Vs. Reality.... (Score:5, Informative)
Well, that and to prevent stations from accidentally (or deliberately) interfering with each other.
I recal a story from many years ago where several stations had promised live coverage of a (baseball?) game and there were several station trucks at the statdium trying to provide live scores. Things escalated, until they basically were all just belting out full power broad spectrum so that "if my report can't get through to the station, neither can yours", and as a result nobody was able to provide live coverage and reports had to be made to the stations by runners.
That's the big thing they started to deal with, and to some degree that's what their core work still is. Their #1 goal right now from what I can tell is to prevent disruption of important and emergency communications. They go after individuals that disrupt police/ambulance/fire dispatch for example, or that try to jam TV station satellite links. They also dedicate some of their limited resources into radio and tv station licensing, mainly to coordinate frequency allocation and prevent nearby stations from interfering with each other by limiting their power and adjusting their antenna coverage patterns.
More recently they've had to start dealing with cell phone and wifi jammers, mostly in venues where businesses are selling or restricting wireless internet access. (they also insure 9-1-1 access, as we've seen a big carrier recently get the smack-down for dropping for 5 hrs in a region)
They just don't have the time, manpower, or finances to do much else nowadays. Even the kilowatt CB stations are mostly being ignored. The only time they're going to bother with that is if they are interfering with something local. The FCC publishes their enforcements online (sorry I foet where) and I've browsed them a few times. The handful of CB stations they've gone after have indeed been the high powered stations, but only when they were interfering with a sheriff or ambulance dispatcher's repeater etc.
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In the main article, this is a problem in the high-density apartment block areas of New York. Anyone can operate a pirate station simply by installing a transmitter on the roof and running some cable down into an apartment studio. Sometimes they can make use of the existing coaxial cable TV network of the apartment block.
Legal radio stations can either be non-profit where they are not allowed to run any kind of advertising, or for-profit where they have to pay hefty license fees and are able to charge for a
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heard a guy in West Virginia who thought it was still the 1970s on his kilowatt CB rig. He was stronger than any of the local CB guys
Cool... with that kind of power he could probably be heard across the country. I wonder if I could have a chat with your Virginia guy by adding a 2kW amplifier and doing some surgery on a 10 meter transceiver to allow transmit on the 27.25 Mhz range.
For some reason I doubt the FCC is underfunded enough to let THAT happen, though.
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err, trolling or not? ;-) That's literally what's going on..
Re:Spin Vs. Reality.... (Score:5, Interesting)
The real issue with this is that LPFM [wikipedia.org] system is completely broken. I've personally had to resort to beg forgiveness, rather than operate within the bounds of the law... because they simply won't allow me to be a legal radio operator. I make sure to play nice, and only broadcast on open channels and regularly check to see if I'm stepping on a licensed broadcaster's spectrum... buy yeah, there is no option to be legal.
The whole thing is quite stupid.
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Spectrum in populated areas across the USA is tight. Even tiny stations have to ensure they don't interfere with others. If you're operating outside the bounds of your license (if you have one), then you do others a great disservice, and add to the increasing madness on the airwaves. I dislike the FCC as much as the next person, but you do both listeners and broadcasters a great dissservice. There is no inherent right to broadcast on licensed bands, the world over. It's not in the UN Charter of Human Rights
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Sure thing, let me know when the next open window is to file my papers... oh, that's right, it's never happened. If I could be legal, I would. But for now, and until they get their house in order, I'll just have to run my low power stations (that give non-profits a voice) as best I can.
Re:Spin Vs. Reality.... (Score:5, Insightful)
So you just HAVE TO broadcast, eh? You're compelled to sully the airwaves with whatever. Can't live without being on the air?
Lots of people waited a long time, and went through the drill, and got licensed, and operate legally. Why can't you? What makes you so special?
They have their house in order, but apparently you can't. That's no rationalization for ruining the airwaves for others.
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(source [fcc.gov])
Soon as they let me file, I'll
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Until then, you just gotta broadcast, right? Compelled to broadcast! Can't live without broadcasting?
You didn't answer those questions. What is it that compels you to squat on the airwaves over the rest of us? Is it some secret important message? Not hearing enough Black Sabbath? Your message must be heard? What is it? Why do you have to not only flaunt the law, but believe you're better than everyone else and can do it no matter the consequences? Are laws and civility made for other people and not you? Do
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One of my stations provides two hours a week of assisted listening for town hall meetings for a community that can't afford anything more than what can be had at the dollar general.
One covers a town of about 2000 people that sits in a valley that has no FM radio reception the than my station (not even PBS/NPR).
Another is a radio station that gives news in Vietnamese so that they have a native language option.
None of these are for profit, or could even turn a profit f I wanted them to... there's actual lega
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I'll sleep soundly doing the right thing. I hope you can do the same.
Re:Spin Vs. Reality.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Altruism doesn't give you a pass. Such rationalisms are the crux of narcissistic behavior. Living in a civilized world means looking after everyone, and deeply at your own motives.
Rationalizing incivility leads to a lot of the evil that the world sees today. You're not a hero, only a cowboy with an exciter.
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There's far more depth to the issue. Rationalizing incivility is a slippery slope. You don't know me, don't know what I do, but you're easy to cast judgment.
In the poster's case, he's admitted running two pirate radio stations with ostensible altruistic motives as his rationalization for doing so. I'm not a cop and don't want to be one. But I do listen avidly to radio, and know both public media and commercial broadcasters, who must deal with the problem that the poster creates.
It's not all about me. It's a
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I love the turn about... so this profoundly weak agency that is patently unfair, has sold out our voice to people who parrot fascism, and doesn't even take applications unless you grease the proper palms, has their house in order?!; And this gives you the moral right to say altruism is inherently selfish?
I need the brain upgrade you have, I can only hold like 3 bits of contradictory thought in my head at a time.
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Throwing out the baby with the bathwater is never a good idea. The history of the FCC is both sordid and has bright moments in it. The current regime is patently sold-out, IMHO. But this wasn't always the case.
I didn't believe that the prior head of the FCC, once of The Telecoms, would be fair, but he turned out to be a real advocate for the citizenry, not the corporate block.
No matter who's in charge, there is a price for civility, and that's not-insurrection. Insurrection often follows fascism, as liberat
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I tried looking into quantum upgrades, but they always collapsed when I observed them. I can definitely agree to civility though, and I try my best to be a mostly good neighbor. When I have the opportunity, or if someone in these poor communities comes up with the scratch to go legal, that's my top priority.
We disagree on my approach, but I think we both agree the current way of doing things might just be a little broken, and there are a lot of undeserved people out there who deserve better.
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Lots of that going on. There will be those that keep getting them renewed, those drivers licenses, and still have insurance.
A neighbor recently was hit by someone with neither license or insurance. Not quite two hundred grand worth of medical bills, not to mention no car, but he still has to do the payments. His uninsured motorist pays a bit, but not for the car.
Some try to keep civil, despite the incompetence of a bribed government. Some don't. Some try to work for change, others make up their own rules, o
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Actually yes, every bit of it is done for free with donated hardware; anybody that works on any of the projects I've been involved with gets paid, and often they (and I) go out of pocket with nothing expected in return.
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However, when oligarchs have captured the commons, the populace is right to disregard said control.
Oligarchs rely on the poor fighting against their own best interests, sowing the illusion that one may 'rise' within the corrupt system, to also become an oligarch. This is fallacy.
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Some of what you say is true.
But we're over-fishing the oceans. Over-polluting agricultural areas, leading to vast areas of dead zones in the ocean.
The earth, like the electromagnet spectrum, is a finite resource. In civil societies, we try to manage sharing these resources. Some will try to dominate, viz the overtaking of spectrum by phone companies and alt.right broadcasters. There are ways to redress this theft.
The concept of oligarchy is more likely kleptocracy. Without civility, without a method of gov
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But the entire spectrum isn't licensed at all.
Worse, those living in the licensed spectrum look for journalists, DJs, programmers, producers, all the time, across the USA. Some of the stations are commercial, but there are still many that are not. There is lots of opportunity with licensed entities. Lots.
If you want to talk on the radio, there loads of unlicensed spectrum waiting for you. There are limitations imposed, largely to prevent bleed-over into other parts of the spectrum-- mostly about power and s
From Article 19--UN declaration of Human Rights... (Score:2)
"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
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Funny how this same organization sponsors international commercial and amateur broadcasting regulations. Whiff. Try again.
Indeed the charter doesn't limit freedom of expression. I don't advocate that at all, either. To do so in a civil way requires removing anarchy from the airwaves. Try living in SE Asia and finding out what airwave/radio madness is all about.
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Thanks, Ii appreciate it. As for biggsy, it's provided a light bit of entertainment for me; his efforts allowed my offhand venting to reach a wider audience; if only to highlight the idea that right isn't always legal. (who knows, maybe it'll inspire somebody to go out and do something good)
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"They cannot even clean up problem frequencies where *everyone* knows who the offenders are"
Not necessarily true.
Just recently they proposed handing down a huge fine to a hobby company (HobbyKing) for the sale of non-compliant video transmitters (FPV) for model aircraft and drone use.
Then they issued this warning [fcc.gov] which may just be sabre-rattling but does show that they're trying to do something.
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Perhaps no enforcement is better. All I see from the FCCs handling of the broadcast band is that they use it against the community by using their power to cement the monopoly of 100,000 watt globalist megastations with their hollywood drivel that I would not call music. I say abolish the 100,000 watt monopolies and open FM to anyone with a 200-1000 watt power limit for people who live in the community the station will serve to encourage a more locally sourced community thing. The power limit with open acces
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All I see from the FCCs handling of the broadcast band is that they use it against the community by using their power to cement the monopoly of 100,000 watt globalist megastations with their hollywood drivel that I would not call music.
Are the local college station that is run and programmed by students part of this "monopoly" you are worried about? How about the community station that covers about a 20 mile radius near here? The other community station that covers a 50 mile radius and carries all the appropriate activist radio programs? Are these all part of the "globalist" monopoly?
The broadcast licensing rules protect THOSE stations just as much as the one you never want to listen to. You might want to stop and think a moment about w
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They don't even stop illegal radio equipment from being imported- then sold everywhere from big box stores to truck stops.
Do you want to give them the budget and manpower to do this job well? They do fine and confiscate equipment -- here [fcc.gov] is one place they list field actions. This includes all kinds of unlicensed and illegal activity. Some of the notices include actions against retailers selling uncertificated radios.
It's a hard job to catch every radio illegally imported to the US and sold in a small truck stop somewhere. I've brought back radios that are illegal to sell in the US, but because they are ham radios I can use th
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As of late, the BLM seems to have become anybody's bitch to fuck with [wikipedia.org] if you are white and have guns.
Interesting echo of this FCC discussion:
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How about the NIH, the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs), the DOT, the FHA, and the OMB ?
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Name one US federal TLA agency that you do want to fuck with.
The EPA doesn't seem to really matter anymore.
Better idea (Score:3)
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The FCC knows pirates don't have a few million laying around to buy a license. They might have a few thousand laying around to pay fines though. Although you can appeal fines down for pennies on the dollar.
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It seems less expensive
For whom?
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The FCC is just a prime example of how government bureauc
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Imagine if instead of trying to chase people down for pirate radio stations, it was actively helping provide information on how to set stations up and letting people know which frequencies would be good to use in their area?
They already do have that on their website for people who want a Low Power FM License. You can search by latitude and longitude of your station to find available broadcast channels. These tools have existed for years and years.
They also haven't taken any applications for LPFM licenses in years and years.
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Before anyone goes there, no, I don't think Hillary would be doing any better.
Re:Better idea (Score:4, Insightful)
No, we let them talk now. They're brown and that makes them the enemy now, just ask Trump & Co. Before anyone goes there, no, I don't think Hillary would be doing any better.
It's you guys who are obsessed with always calling people "brown".
It's strange, and even stranger when you think that your own obsession makes other people magically racist somehow.
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I'm using the term used by the racist scum to mock them. Intent makes all the difference.
Has Trump ever used the term "brown people"? If he had, you'd think that it would be all over the internet, but the only people that I see using it are people like you.
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You said "Trump & Co." That includes Trump, if you haven't noticed.
"People like you" are the people who use the term "brown people" like you just did.
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It's alsl quite funny, because you used the term before I did; I said "They're brown", I guess you can go right on and add yourself to that group. In fact, this thread probably accounts for 90% of my use of the term "brown people" in my entire life;
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The term "brown people" is not, in reality, a term generally used in a racist context. It is used primarily by those accusing others of racism. Try googling the term for examples.
I'm betting you say it a lot more on a daily basis.
This is what I'm talking about. I don't agree with you, so you immediately try to imply that I'm a racist. That is the kind of person that uses the term "brown people".
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Wait, when did I call you racist?
Playing dumb, I see, in hopes that people won't look at context.
You first said that calling people "brown" is "the term used by the racist scum."
And then you just said (addressing me) that "I'm betting you say it a lot more on a daily basis."
The implication is very clear.
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People who are sick and tired of seeing people persecuted for the color of their skin?
Busting pirate radio operators has nothing to do with the color of someone's skin. What an absurd implication.
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Before anyone jumps up to poin
You need sensitivity training. (Score:5, Funny)
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The correct term for them is "undocumented radio stations".
We need to wall up these stations and make the Mexicans pay for it.
Wrong target (Score:5, Insightful)
it would increase fines from a maximum of a hundred and forty-four thousand dollars to two million dollars.
That will do absolutely nothing to deter the pirate radio stations, which seldom are for-profit entities, but special interest and religious kooks.
They can't afford $144,000 either, so it doesn't matter whether you raise this. As long as people think they won't get caught, it doesn't matter how harsh the penalty is.
Too high fines even work against the intention, in that you might report your neighbor for running an illegal radio station if he was facing a $1,000 fine, but won't do so if he risks $144,000 or $2,000,000. Ruining a person's life is not something all of us are willing to do, even if they were the ones who broke the law.
(This is also why excessive prison terms for certain crimes make things worse, not better.)
Re:Wrong target (Score:4, Interesting)
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So...you want them to flip it and offer the 2 million to anyone who turns in a pirate radio operator? You'll have pirate bounty hunters lined up!
No, I don't want to see that either, unless the fine for running a non-commercial unlicensed radio station can be lowered to the point where it won't ruin the rest of people's lives.
A small reward for reporting that turns out to be substantiated would be good if combined with a lower fine for non-commercial operations, and a fine for false reports.
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Sounds like a quick way of losing a lot of money. Pirate radio equipment is often seized, rarely are there people sitting around with it. And now you've just spent $2m for something that will just pop up somewhere else in a few days time.
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I can see that being used for a good scam.
1. Find someone who doesn't mind ruining their life (career criminal, terminal illness, just plain dumb.
2. "Ok, you set up the station, then I'll turn you in. A million for you, a million for me!"
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There's a business opportunity! Here's how it goes:
1. Buy some broadcasting equipment. Used, cheap, needn't even work well.
2. Find a partner who is already broke and over his ears in debt.
3. Let the partner be the pirate and let him broadcast once or so.
4. Rat him out.
5. Make the FCC come in, seize the equipment and pay you the ransom.
6. Partner files for bankruptcy.
7. You hand your partner his share of the money in cash.
Repeat a couple times and you're set for life.
PIRATE? (Score:4, Insightful)
Illegal Radio Abuse..... ....as opposed to the legal kind?
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Who pays for pirate radio? (Score:5, Interesting)
Do they actually have advertisers? One would think that if an ad for Bob's Discount Autos was heard on a "pirate" radio station then a visit from the FCC and a fine would encourage Bob to not advertise and thus the radio station would go away fairly quickly. If the power requirements are so low that the stations need not advertise then perhaps a more reasonable approach would be a low cost for low power broadcast license?
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1000 watts is what an electric space heater might use; the cost would be below 20 cents an hour. 1000 watts is enough to be received in your car 20 miles away. Within 10 miles of the pirate transmitter, the pirate could easily overpower a legal station. This might cause financial harm to the legal station and its advertiser who expects to be heard in the pirate's region.
Your solution is not unreasonable, but the low power licensee would have to actually obey the restrictions he's licensed to operate under.
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As I understand, it's mostly private hobbyists and folks who care more about the prestige of running a radio station than about following the law.
These days, building a radio station costs under $1000 if you already have a suitable antenna location. You can get a $100 kit to do the interface, and a transmitter for about $500, then just a bit more for the antenna construction. It's well within the disposable income of many folks, who can then boast that they "own an independent radio station". Sometimes, tha
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a visit from the FCC and a fine would encourage Bob to not advertise
And what is the legal basis for fining Bob?
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Supporting and financing an illegal business. Please don't tell me the US has all sorts of ridiculous laws but that's NOT illegal.
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I've found a few pirate stations. A lot of it is weird, non-mainstream music. I've heard, but not personally found (for I live in the UK), that a lot of pirate stations in the US are run by church figures or political activists with intensely anti-governmental views - they aren't going to submit to the FCC as a matter of principle.
Mostly Harmless (Score:5, Insightful)
Most are low power and doing nothing much except be hobbyist projects.
Is that really worth a $2,000,000 Fine?
Just create a special low power license and limit it to noncommercial use.
Re:Mostly Harmless (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, they can harm people (Score:2)
There's a reason we regulate spectrum. We d
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Now where's money and content control in that?
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There's lots of things you can't do with a ham licence, though - like broadcast, or transmit music.
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Or pretty much anything remotely useful. Ham radio is only practical because it's utterly useless - if it were useful, the spectrum would be full of people actually using it.
- No broadcasts, except to establish contact: All conversations must be between explicatively identified parties.
- No commercial activity. That means no using it as a convenient way to coordinate your taxi fleet.
- No encryption.
- No music.
It's only usable as a hobby - see who you can, reach, chat a bit.
Questions: audience discovery, backhaul, equipment (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm curious how their audience finds them? If you setup a pirate radio station, do you always use a specific frequency even if you're forced to abandon your transmitter or gets seized?
Is the transmission equipment so cheap that pirate stations essentially don't care if it gets seized? They're probably more worried about finding another choice rooftop location with power than the transmitter itself?
How do they manage backhaul? My guess is that you would have the "studio" and the transmitter at different locations.
Grass is greener in NW (Score:2)
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Pretty much this. When I read that these station provide a program the audience depends on, I wondered... shouldn't we instead turn off the stations that clutter the airwaves with drivel nobody can stomach, let alone depend on?
Naked Gun 2½ (Score:3)
Anyone else getting flashbacks of Naked Gun 2½ when reading these new stupid backward-designed acronyms?
"I'm very proud to welcome our guests from the nation's energy suppliers.
First, head of the Society of Petroleum lndustry Leaders - better known as SPIL, Mr Terence Baggett.
Now, chairman of the Society for More Coal Energy, or SMoCE, Mr Donald Fenwick.
And president of the Key Atomic Benefits Office Of Mankind - KABOOM, Mr Arthur Dunwell."
Welcome Mr Pai (Score:2)
You have joined us in the brave world of common knowledge... the knowledge that the severity of the fine is rarely a deterrent of crime.
Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (Score:2)
Nothing good on commercial radio anyway (Score:4, Insightful)
"The Resistance" (Score:2)
Dunno about you all (Score:2)
but who listens to the radio anymore ?
I haven't tuned in any stations in the car for years. They're still set to whatever the factory defaults are.
The receiver in my living room has no antenna connected to it and has no stations programmed either.
Maybe they don't care about Pirate stations because so few even bother to listen any more.
Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse (Score:2)
Um.. if a radio is intended to be used illegally, then is using it really "abuse?"
Turning the radio off, or going behind its back and getting a legal permit, would be ways to abuse it.
Maybe the FCC can build a spectrum wall? (Score:2)
Seriously, this just sounds like more Federal govt. B.S. Over-promising they're going to get tough on something that's not practical or even clearly necessary.
Pirate radio?! This is the era where terrestrial radio is a dying thing in America. I know a surprisingly number of people who upgraded factory stereos in their vehicles and didn't even bother to reattach the antenna because they "never use the radio part anyway".
If the pirate stations are really interfering with reception of legitimate ones, then
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140k, 2 million 2 (pinky to mouth) TRILLION... (Score:2)
Doesn't matter. At a certain point, increasing the punishment isn't going to change jack shit. Hell, I couldn't pay 140k in a lifetime, you think that increasing it would have any effect on me? That's like upping the punishment from life to ten times life. It makes no fucking difference.
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The public airwaves are not a free market and never have been. They've always been tightly regulated.
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The public airwaves are not a free market and never have been. They've always been tightly regulated.
No they haven't. They were around a long time before government decided to regulate them.
Re:Pro-regulation conservatives (Score:5, Insightful)
Can't be having people saying just anything over unused radio frequencies.
There are no unused radio frequencies.
What you think are "unused frequencies" are actually used by a station far enough away that YOU can't hear them, but would be interfered with if there was a station using them where you are.
The fight against the free market continues.
The use of the public airwaves is not a "free market", it is a licensed market. Almost as soon as radio was invented, reasonable people realized it needed to be controlled so it would stay usable. Imagine YOUR delight when your favorite FM station playing your favorite radical hippy music was covered up by a paging system because there were no laws regulating who was licensed to do what. "You can get anything you want, at Alice's BRRRFFZZZZZZQQQQQQQQ..." Now imagine if your favorite FM station that you invested money in installing an external antenna so you could get the news and music you wanted from a distance was suddenly covered up by a pirate station two blocks away that played nothing but Devo songs interspersed with profane rants about the FCC.
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Why bother with pirate radio these days?
You can stream anything you like on the internet. Unlike the FM spectrum, there is an unlimited amount of "channels" available. No risk of getting punished. 20 years ago, pirate radio was a desperate way to be heard - or make some money. But now you can do it risk free on the net. So why pirate radio?
Anything you do on the internet is recorded and logged in perpetuity. I'm not sure how Uncle Sam will use your music choice against you. Maybe blackmail you and threaten to tell your SO you listen to nickel back if you don't do as they say.
Best play it safe and listen to pirate radio. Uncle Sam can't log what you listen to over the airwaves. Listen to Nickel Back without fear of repurcussions.
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Well there was that time the FBI was "CERTAIN" that the Kingsmen were encoding a communist agenda into "Louie Louie" (No, I'm not kidding!).
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Well there was that time the FBI was "CERTAIN" that the Kingsmen were encoding a communist agenda into "Louie Louie" (No, I'm not kidding!).
Yes, I remember reading about that. Another theory was that the song was lewd and immoral. There was a study to see if the song was subversive and after weeks of study the end report was that the song was unintelligible. I wonder how much was spent to determine that.
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And they wonder why they're not objects of respect and trust...
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Because every link is Rick Astley.
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When you take a look at what's broadcast, you'll notice that the target audience is probably one that can't easily afford a computer but can probably scrape together the 20 bucks a radio costs.
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From where have you bought the mask ?