Three pirates in my area just showed up

Here is a thought just hear me out I know this sounds crazy. If the Pirate ever announces a way to get a hold of them see if you can work something out where as you two share the frequency. Don't threaten them or bully them in any way as they'll tell you to F off and possibly crank the power up in spite like Rika FM did and that only causes more issues. Say the only blank frequency in your area is 96.3 Mhz. You want to transmit from 12-5 PM. But you can't because Joe Pirate is on your chosen frequency. Ask him politely if he would not mind doing his show at a different time or you broadcast one day with your part 15 station and he doesn't transmit during that day. The next day he will broadcast and you don't transmit on that frequency. He may agree and this will keep the peace. Even if there were two legal part 15 stations that want to use the same frequency and you both were in range you'd have to compromise. You could ask him to turn his transmitter down just a tad as 50 Watts is overkill. Ask him to tone it down to a Watt or maybe 2 Watts for the time you want to broadcast. But if your within a mile of him that won't work. Maybe ask him to go 500 mW just for a few hrs to give you some time on air with your station.

Look I know you don't like it that he is on air but try first to work out some sort of gentleman's agreement. Sometimes a Pirate will be nice and allow someone else to broadcast. After all you both have hobby stations. Just that one is legal and the other, well is not. But that aside we as hobby Radio operators need to share. Getting the FCC involved is not always the best corse of action. Now if he is arrogant with you then you have to do what you have to do. But I'm certain that he doesn't want any unwanted attention any more than you. So he may cool his jets for a few hours a week in order to not make you mad enough to call and report him. Think of what you would do if someone called you and asked you if you would cool your jets for a few hours so someone else could use your frequency. Let us know what he does. Lets see if he is arrogant or works something out with you.

Good Luck.

Even if that would work, I don't even know if these people speak English. Also, they don't advertise how to get a hold of them.

I'm starting to get frustrated with this hobby. Depending on where you live, you're dependant on people taking over your legal signal with their illegal gear.

Well I will agree with TheLegacy, like it or not.

Case in point, when WXTZ 87.9 Norwich was accused by hobbybroadcaster of operating as a pirate station in Norwich Connecticut, we had LONG before that publicized an authentic valid telephone number over the air and also on all public web pages related to our radio station, to which if there was a problem with one of the transmitters operating in violation, anyone could have called and addressed us with the problem.

That was never attempted, instead, we had a cast of charicters running around town with spectrum analyzers, trolls scouring our web pages for evidence and accusations published on several broadcast related forum boards regarding an illegal FM pirate radio station operating on 87.9 MHz in Norwich Connecticut.

Now, if those who were concerned about our station had called that valid phone number, which would have gotten an answer from someone staffing the studio, we would have worked along with the complainant with what ever their concerns or complaints were about.

Okay, let's say for sake of argument, one of those Decade MS100 transmitters was covering a larger piece of real estate than what part 15 FM allows for legal range. If that was brought to our attention, we would have contacted that transmitter owner and tell them to cut the power until we figure out what is happening. Or lets say for sake of argument, one transmitter was causing harmonics on a licensed station's channel, preventing someone within range from listening to their favorite station. Again, we would have shut down the offending transmitter until the problem was resolved.

In other words, we would have complied and worked with those who had the decency to contact us and let us know there was an issue. They would have been invited into our studio and allowed to visit the locations where our 8 different FM transmitters were located.

But, not all people are willing to be civilized, some are like vultures looking to pounce on a person like we're some kind of evil villians and then brag or boast that they hunted down a pirate and deserve some kind of merit badge or than "at a boy" or something.

So, the point I am trying to convey here is don't always assume everyone involved in broadcasting without a license is intentionally broadcasting with than over powered illegal signal that covers more ground than is allowed for such.

Some people may not know the FCC rules word for word and verse by verse like some of us here at part15.us do. Some may think broadcasting is like owning a CB radio or other transmitting device that does to require a license. You never really know until you speak with the transmitter owner.

If they are in the USA and their station is in Spanish, they most likely also know enough English to communicate with you. They may also be providing a telephone number, but in Spanish. Ask someone who understands Spanish to listen in and see if they catch a phone number for the station's studio.

Then try to contact them and learn who, what, where and why.

Good luck.

Bruce. 

They're pirates. They have no phone number. No web site. No English. How am I supposed to communicate with them? I can't even understand what they're saying.

it's very likely nothing will be done about them in the very near future. i have heard a rumor from multiple places including some broadcast professionals (on professional broadcast lists) that the FCC has a congressional mandate to generally leave pirate stations run by certain immigrants (such as cubans, chinese, etc) alone unless they are causing interference to air traffic or public safety and my observations over the years seem to support this rumor.

i have seen english pirates get taken down fairly quickly in mnay situations while foreign language pirates have been permitted to keep going.

sometimes i do see foreign language pirates get taken down quickly but i kind of wonder if this is just a show to give the illusion they are doing something.

Some folks may recall when I had a pirate on my frequency a few years back. In my case simply talking to the operator stopped them.

Well, that's great but these people don't want to be found.

Thats why they stop when you talk to them. Finding pirate stations is not hard.

It's Hokey but you can DF them with a car radio.  If you think they are close by, disconnect your car radio antenna and when you can hear them with no antenna attached you will find them. You may have to connect and disconnect a few time.  But you get the idea. Or use a portable FM radio with no antenna attached.

Let me sort of explain a little bit about this area. My area is fine. The surrounding areas are fine and very nice.

These pirates are in one of the *nastiest* areas of NJ. I can't just trapse around in there with my car looking for pirates. Shootings, car jackings. No, I'm not going to roam around there. Nuh-uh.

I can tell you my Grandpa use to tell me his trucking stories about certain areas of NJ and how him and his partner did not want to go through there because of the racial issues in certain parts. He said he'd stick out because he was the only white man there. I can see your concern. But if he ever went off air hurry up and transmit and do a repeated question over the air. Please stop broadcasting from x to x so someone else can operate on this frequency. You may need to buy a Belkin TX one like the ones that have a built in memory for Mp3. Throw it in the neighborhood and have an extended wire attached to it. Use a voice synthesizer so they don't know its you. Get as close to him as you can and throw the transmitter out with the repeated message and waterproof housing and bettery and hall ass. He'll hear the message and maybe work something out. Yes it may cost you $20 for the Belkin and a little speaker wire to extend the range. Yes its past part 15, but its in the Pirates yard anyway and you just want to get a message to him and hall ass. I know its out there but just maybe it will work. At least you'll feel better because you got your message out.

Now for the rumor about foreigners getting away with Piracy because they speak another language? If that were true and you had proof do you realize the FCC could be liable for a huge discrimination suit? You could use give us 1 Watt on 87.9 or give us 800 million dollars in a discrimination suit. They'd give part 15 FM operators 87.9 and 1 watt to avoid embarrassment and another public scandal that would last years. If that were true and you had concrete proof you have their nuts in a vice. Give us 87.9 Mhz and 87.7 Mhz and 1 Watt or the ALPB will take you to court for a discrimination lawsuit and then every ALPB member will have a License to broadcast 250 Watts from their house on 87.9 with whatever antenna they want and the FCC has to buy every member a transmitter, processing equipment and it has to be able to operate from their house. Since my Landlord won't allow an outside antenna I'd just use a 1 Watt FM Transmitter one for translators and be happy with an inside antenna or one I can shove in the attic. Yup case would be closed and we would get what we want but its that proof we need.

If it was congressional mandate it would be in the Federal Register.  I did a search and found nothing supporting this assertion that FCC was told hands-off. Lots of Haitians getting busted in Florida all the time.

Thanks WDCX that makes more sense.  But I did read somewhere and I'll have to dig to find it that the FCC had a hands off ALL Pirates unless there was an interference issue and this could be the result of that.  If a Pirate was to operate on an empty channel and there is no issues like it or not their left alone.  So maybe this is why more are comming up.  It would just make more sense to give 1 Watt to 87.7 and 87.9 and that may solve the issues.  Want to broadcast?  You have those two frequencies available.  You'll have to share with the other hobby operators in your area.  Sort of how CB is not licensed and yet you have to follow the rules for the amount of power your allowed.  You can still shoot skip with 4 Watts and or 12 Watts PEP on SSB.  It just makes more sense to make it legal and stop making it gray by saying "Well if their not interfering!"  I think it may be because they want to keep the peace and at the same time make it look like their doing something.  When in fact it will always be what it is.

I can assure you whatever you read is wrong. The FCC doesn't give leeway to certain pirates because they don't speak english. They MIGHT let any pirate slide that isn't hurting anybody, but nationality has little to do with it.

You wanna know the real reason? They don't have the budget or the staff.