Tired of the music choices major media outlets are offering you on the FM dial? Local college station spotty at best? Tape player broke? The answer may not be a subscription to XM/Sirius. Save your $9.99 a month pal. Satellite radio will be going the way of laser discs soon enough. Feeling a little rebellious? Well, maybe it's time for you to fire up your very own FM radio station.
(Little Radio pirate gear circa 2004 - secret basement, Echo Park, CA)
Sound hard? It isn't. Sound illegal? It is. But let's just say for a minute you don't care. I'm going to run you through the ins and outs of how to equip and operate your very own FM radio station, while giving you some insight into the legalities.
HISTORY
(Radio Caroline, c. 1964) (Wolfman Jack, c. 1970) (Hard Harry, c. 1990)
I'm not going to get into it much here, but the history of pirate radio is very interesting and worth some research. In the 1930's, the Mexican border was like the airwave wild west with Mexican border stations setting up mega-watt "border blasters" to evade U.S. regulations. Famed Disc Jockey Wolfman Jack rose to fame spinning R&B just over the border from Del Rio, Tx and years later in Rosarito Beach, Baja California. My cousin, Gene Fowler, wrote a book called Border Radio: Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves that's definitely worth a read. From the UK in the 1960's, came stations like Radio Caroline and Radio London, who were both broadcasting from ships anchored in international waters. The theme that keeps repeating here, is getting music and/or information to the public, while disregarding regulations designed to protect large corporations. Sound familiar?
Disclaimer: If you have shitty taste in music, please stop
reading this and go get a satellite radio subscription. There are
enough people in the world with bad taste in
music with radio stations.
Seriously-------->>>>>>> 
LITTLE RADIO
I launched Little Radio in 2004 online and as an FM radio station too. I tried different ways to do things, broke gear, learned from my mistakes, broke gear in new ways, figured it all out and kept Little Radio on the air for about a year and a half. During that time, the equipment had to move around to 5 different locations, due to the fact that the FCC kept shutting me down every few months. Here's what I learned along the way:
TYPE
Are you looking to show the world how kick ass your iTunes library is? Debate some politics? Expose conspiracy theories? Read 15th century English poetry? Radio Theatre? etc..etc.. Yep, the formats are limitless. In my opinion, the key ingredient to creating a really good radio station is community. Build a station with friends and people that will bring a variety of good content to the airwaves. Mix it up and keep things interesting. The whole reason pirate radio exists is because of the lack of good music and unique content on the airwaves.
**Please Note: Not all of your friends are good Dj's. Fewer than that, are interesting.
RANGE
First off, what kind of range do you want out of your radio station? Are you looking for full takeover, broadcasting over an entire city or are you doing something more local in your community? Are you looking to cover 50 miles or 5 blocks. This question is the best place to start. One thing you have to consider, is that the more powerful the station, the higher your chances are for getting shut down and the more money your going to spend on equipment. With Little Radio being in Los Angeles and everyone so spread out, I decided to go big and try and cover as much as I could. When I first launched, the area I covered was a 15-20 mile radius, blanketing a good portion of L.A. My advice is to keep it simple and keep it local. Smaller stations and stations with community support have a history of staying on the air.
Here's a few examples from my own experiences:
From a house high up in Echo Park (overlooking the city) and the antenna on the roof, 100 watts can get me a 15-20 mile radius. With 1 watt from the same spot I cover about 2 miles.
From my house in Venice Beach (totally flat) and the antenna about 10 feet off the ground, I can get about 1 mile radius with 100 watts and 8 blocks with 1 watt.
Make sense? This will vary with every location based on many things. Electrical lines above you, a building blocking your view, etc. I've had a great location, with the antenna mounted high up on a lightning rod with terrible range (very old building). At the same time, certain conditions like power lines can actually help. You really just have to test. It's the only way to really know.
LOCATION
When it comes to broadcasting, location is the key consideration. Where are you going to broadcast from? Your apartment or house? The higher the antenna can be, the less wattage is needed to cover an area. FM (frequency modulation) works as line of sight, with more power being needed when there are buildings or mountains/hills in the way. Rooftops are usually the easiest for houses or even windows at an apartment. The clearer the view, the farther your range. The location will need power and some sort of "studio" area, depending on your needs. You also need to run cable outside to the antenna, so think about being near a window. Hilltops and high building provide the most ideal spot for an antenna. My first location was a house sitting on top of Echo Park (veer right at Magic Gas for you locals). I could see the entire city 360 degrees. You could literally stand on the roof and look down at all the radio towers around the city. Amazing view.
**Stay away from city owned property unless you're trying to get your gear confiscated. Also, I don't recommend using your office or workplace unless the boss is in on it.
FREQUENCY
Now, you need to choose what number your station is going to be on the radio dial. This part is pretty fun. Look on the FCC website (http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/fmq.html) for a listing of frequencies in your area that are NOT being used. This list also includes stations that are under "construction", or preparing to go live. Try and find an unused frequency that has nothing around it as well. This will help keep the "man" off you as well as give you a clearer signal. Find an unused frequency that is all static with no bleed through from other surrounding stations. Once you've found one that is all static in the area you'll be broadcast from, go out in a car and drive around listening to static. That's right, drive around and listen to static and be sure to go well outside the area you are planning to broadcast to and make sure there are no other stations. Sometimes your range will push further than you expect and you don't want to push a legal station out of their area. Los Angeles is easily one of the most congested cities in America with most frequencies owned by licensed stations. In most other cities, you should be able to find something open.
**Don't broadcast on another stations frequency. It might seem like a punk rock way to stick it to the man, but it won't seem so punk when you're paying for lost ad revenue from a weeks worth of missed Geico/Extenz ads.
EQUIPMENT
Keep in mind, I am not some pro electronics dude or someone who studies
and tests this stuff for review. I am just telling you what I've learned from my
own experiences, mistakes and accomplishments.
Okay, now it's time to go shopping for your broadcast equipment. This is where most people think things are really complicated, but this is really where it gets fun. It's fairly simple equipment and set-up. If you're going to do something smaller or local, you can spend about $600 for your equipment. If you plan to go bigger, expect to pay anywhere from $1000-$3000. Once again, I say, keep it simple. Higher wattage equipment is very temperamental and can be broken by overlooking the simplest connection. There are a handful of electronics companies that make consumer level broadcast equipment. There are also quite a few tinkering, hobby-heads soldering wires in their moms basement that might be best to avoid. If something goes wrong, you want someone to stnad by the gear that you payed for. Hobbytron, BXI, Broadcast Warehouse and even Ebay are all great resources for equipment.
TRANSMITTER
As far as transmitters go, Ramsey is one of the least expensive and most reliable. I still have the first Ramsey 100B I bought 5 years ago and it still runs as good as it did the first day I got it in the mail. You can run a minijack cable from a laptop or mixer and into the rca connection on the back of the 100B. It's honestly as simple as hooking up a stereo. Ask questions from the seller. The people that sell this stuff know way more than me and are usually happy to help. Tell them what you are trying to do and take their recommendations into consideration. Keep in mind, it's illegal for anyone to sell to you for the purpose of pirate broadcast.
So, since it's illegal and a a black market operation, you'll have to search blackmarket, underground sources like...EBAY! The 1-Watt Ramsey 100B unit can be used on it's own with an external antenna or be powered up with an amplifier. Make sure you're getting the 1-Watt unit. The standard 100B is in mW and might get you to the next room. They run around $250-$350 assembled.
ANTENNA
Antennas are a fairly simple piece of the puzzle. There are two that have been around a long time and I've used both. The TM100 Tru-Match FM Professional Broadcast Antenna and the Comet CFM-95SL are both great, versitle antennas that are easy to set-up and work well with a variety of equipment. They are priced between $82.00-$129.00 and fairly easy to track down.
AMPLIFIER
Once you've tested your setup and determined you want more power, it's time to look at amps to boost the transmitter. Amps can range from 5-Watt/7-Watt boosters that give you a great push in distance to 100-300-Watts that will give you a city from high up. Honestly, try getting a small 5-7 watt booster and see what it does for you. They can also be found on ebay and only run like 50 bucks. Bigger amps will cost you in the thousands. If you run a bigger amp, never turn it on without the antenna plugged in ALL the way. You'll blow the amp. I know this from experience.
CABLE
Coaxile cable will be needed to connect the antenna and transmitter. Check with who you are purchasing from for the correct connections. Cable is pretty simple to come by and can usually be purchased at Hobbytron or other online sources.
NOTES
For legal reasons, many companies sell transmitters as kits that you solder and assemble yourself. If you want to go really DIY, this can be fun and totally geek. I'm more for the open box, plug and go. Avoid a company called TECNOLAB, Inc like the plague. They are just terrible people and the equipment and work is completely shoddy. They used to be located in Los Angeles and are still on ebay so watch out. I also had a bad experience with Free Radio Berkley as well. I wasted money on both of these companies, so be careful.
LEGAL STUFF
Another Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer nor am I your "radio
station" adviser. There is risk involved in broadcasting on the
airwaves and I am not responsible for what you do. That being said, I
personally think there are worse things in this
world than pirate radio. But you can't beat the FCC. They make the
rules and they have a long history of squashing good stations who try
and take a stand.
First off, let me just tell you, if normal people could actually get radio frequencies from the FCC, there would be much better choices. Large media companies and churches have forged monopolies over the airwaves with the help of the FCC. The FCC has now, at the request of large Media Companies shifted their focus to the Internet and new media platforms. PAY ATTENTION. The FCC describes itself as "regulating all non-Federal Government use of the radio spectrum (including radio and television broadcasting), and all interstate telecommunications (wire, satellite and cable) as well as all international communications that originate or terminate in the United States". In people terms, the FCC creates and polices legislation designed to protect large media corporations from terrible fiends like "competition" and "variety".
Los Angeles is one of the heaviest enforced areas in the US for the FCC, due to the fact that there are pretty much no empty frequencies and so many stations broadcasting. When I was first up, it was months before the FCC came knocking, by the end they were checking weekly. By checking, I mean "triangulating". The FCC uses radio tracking equipment to triangulate and narrow down where a signal is coming from. Sound hard? It isn't at all. In fact, it takes them about as much time to find a pirate station as it does to drive there.
Keep in mind, it's not illegal for you to buy broadcast equipment, but it is illegal for you to operate unlicensed, transmitting devices with more than 100 milliwatts (0.1 watt). Also, the combined length of your antenna and feedline (coaxial cable or other) must not exceed 10 feet. That make sense? Well, let's just say your moms old cordless phone has more range than 100 milliwatts. So, unless you're trying to broadcast to your flatmate, pirate is the only way.
Let me say again, that the best way to stay on the air is by not drawing attention to yourself. Some people broadcast only at night or on weekends which obviously gets much less attention than going 24/7. If a local station hears about you, they will most likely call to the FCC and tell them to do something. This was how my first run-in occurred.
What I'm going to tell you about next is a little loophole of sorts that I sort of exploited to keep Little Radio on the air for a while. We'll call it the "hot-potato" method of staying on the air. Let's say I'm broadcasting from my house and the FCC finds out or picks me up while they're checking dead frequencies being used illegally. They're going to come by, take some readings with their equipment, get photos of the antenna from the street (if they can) and write down the address. Following that, they'll deliver a "Notice of Unlicensed Operation" by certified mail. This is a letter saying that what I'm doing is against FCC Regulations and to stop or you could be liable for fines of up to $100,000. If I keep broadcasting, they can come back, fine me and have US Marshall's take my broadcast equipment. But, if I take the transmitter/antenna and move it to a friends house, I'm no longer broadcasting and have essentially complied with their request. Now that the broadcasting is occurring at a new location, by a new person, they have to go back to step 1 and deliver a "Notice of Unlicensed Operation". You see the pattern here? Each time we got a letter, I moved the equipment to a new location and so on and so on. This is by no means foolproof, but I have a collection of 5 letters that says it can work.
**Some righteous pirate broadcasters try and stand behind a
passage in the Communications Act of 1934 about how non-licensed
entities can broadcast during a wartime situation. Yes we're at war
right now, but unfortunately, these same people overlook Title 47,
section 73.3542: (b) stating that any emergency operating authority
issued under this section may be canceled or modified by the FCC
without prior notice or right to hearing. Keep in mind, that law was
published in 1934, the same year Orson Wells did a live radio broadcast
of War of the Worlds that had people losing their sh*t thinking earth
was being attacked by alien invaders. Don't waste your time trying to
make a stand behind radio laws from 80 years ago. Just 10 years before
that, Congress passed an amendment allowing women to VOTE and that only passed by a vote of 56 to 25 (men), if that gives you any reference to the state of laws and lawmakers back then. We're talking about laws that don't even make sense in 2008. For those
of you who make that your angle, here's a few other laws from around
that
time to help you out:
In New York, a person may not walk around on Sundays with an ice cream cone in his/her pocket.
In Texas, it's Legal to commit a homicide as long as you tell the person when, and how you are going to kill them.
In California, no vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour.
Happy Pirating!
D. Conway
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