It would serve us all better if hearsay and rumors which are not based in fact would not be posted.
There is also some very bad advice offered in this thread, such as placing a robot transmitter near a pirate station, that is best ignored.
We try not to do much content editing here but this may not be the case henceforth.
Neil
Do what the licensed broadcasters do with pirates and file a complaint with the FCC. After all, you may not be a licensed broadcaster but as a compliant Part 15 station you are "authorized" according to an FCC document.
As for DF'ing, using a small directional antenna you may be able to find the errant station from a distance rather than driving around in a bad part of town.
Take compass bearings from a few different places using a directional antenna and you may be able to get a good idea of where they are.
Of course the best suggestion is to file an interference complaint and hope for the best.
Well, based on what Carmine5 said above, I do not normally wish bad things on anyone, but, as it appears, in this case, there isn't much chance to communicating with the offender and perhaps, Carmine's advice is the best choice you have.
Just be careful that your station does not become a case in point, as I am sure the FCC agents will be camping out in your area and although your the complanant, they might find something they do not like about your station.
Now, I'm not saying your an idiot and do not do everything within your power to comply, but that agent might dislike the part 15 hobby all together and find fault with you also.
Please don't take that as a scare tatic for not reporting the pirates, just make sure everything at your end is 100% strictly operating within the rules.
I'll leave a case and point out of this post, because I can not find it as hard as I have looked for it on the web, but just take my word for it, quite a few years back, a complainer got caught in a FCC violation of their own when they complained about another person's CB station causing interference to other CB channels. They found the complainer's CB radio had added external switches for access to out of band frequecies above channel 40 and below channel 1 and also was putting out more than 4 watts on AM and 14 watts on SSB.
Bruce.
I only see one problem with part 15 stations filing a complaint against a Pirate in order to take over their frequency. The public would become a where that there was a Pirate on that frequency in the area and then you go and use that frequency puts you in the spotlight and under the cross hairs of radio engineers and local law enforcement who may hassle you and thus draw the wrong attention to you which is why I am totally against the tattle tale approach. Plus just as you traced that Pirate, don't think he can't find you and retaliate against you and your family. I'm just saying it was done in the CB world where as CB'ers turned other operators in for running linear amplifiers, and those operators retaliated against the ones who tattled on them. I'm just saying be ready for what ever may come from rating someone else out and then using the very same frequency that the Pirate you turned in was using. It does not look good for you in the public's eyes and some of the public people may have a strong desire to shut you down legal or otherwise. Remember the rule that every action causes a reaction and you have to weigh the facts in. If your already afraid to enter a certain area because of fear for your life, don't do something to cause these folks to know where you live and come find you. People do talk and just as good news travels, bad news travels faster.
You know the mantra:
YOU CANNOT CAUSE INTERFERENCE.
YOU MUST ACCEPT INTERFERENCE.
Since a pirate is most certainly an INTERFERENCE, you must accept it.
Valid and to the point Carl.
You absolutely DO NOT have to accept interference from a pirate. They have NO rights whatsoever. Even radio listeners have more rights than a pirate. Pirates are on the last rung of those who have rights. Actually, they have no rung. It's licensed full powers->licensed low powers->Part 15=radio listeners. While I wouldn't mention anything about operating a Part 15 transmitter to the FCC, I sure as heck would complain if a pirate was ruining my ability to enjoy radio in a legitimate way (and let me say again that FCC documents confirm that 15.219 with no field strength limits, 15.239 and 15.209 are legitmate or "permitted" as they put it).
So, while you must accept interference from a licensed broadcaster and from a fellow Part 15 broadcaster, you DO NOT have to accept interference from a pirate.
I agree. Report them.
And there is really no reason to fear the FCC (or anyone else) if you are running a compliant Part 15 station. That use is permitted, as Carmine5 says.
There are plenty of issues and problems with being a Part 15 broadcaster, but I do not think that fear should be one of them. That is not a message I would send to those browsing here and wanting to learn, either because they want to start a Part 15 station, or out of sheer interest.
The potential for being investigated by the FCC is just part and parcel of the game. It is highly unlikely if you really are operating legally.
I get that Carmine5 as the letter of the law was written. But just as the public who does not know about nor may not care about part 15. They just know that a station was taken off that frequency, you started using it, and hey they may decide to complain about you in hopes to gain a reward or to retaliate against the fact that their Spanish station was taken off the air and you replaced it with another English speaking station that plays only English music. Yes the law says Pirates have no rights, but the law does not say what rights you have when you have a bunch of angry folks who don't understand part 15 after their station was knocked off and here you are on that very same frequency. And does the law say that they will have a patrol car go down your street to protect you while you operate your legally owned station? Meaning a personal body guard? Again if your afraid to go to the hood and check out who the Pirate is, and then you have enough guts to go on that very frequency is not a wise idea. These guys who run these Radio stations put a lot of money into them legal or otherwise. They may have a spectrum analyzer too and can track you down just as easy as you did them. Monkey see, monkey do. Tit for tat. Its against the law that I agree with. You take them down, don't think that transmitting on that very frequency is going to get you any brownie points. It will only put a target on your back, and I mean that in a literal sense. But its your life at stake. Do what you will. But I warn you be prepared for any consequences that may arise from the ill advice of you transmitting on the very frequency someone else in your area was busted for. And it only makes Hobby Radio look bad because there are a lot of folks already confused about Pirate Radio VS part 15. That will blur the lines further in your area. Why not go AM instead? There should be plenty of room down there.
Lately I feel that I am entering the Twilight Zone when I come to this Forum.
Post #24 ArtisanRadio Said:
There are plenty of issues and problems with being a Part 15 broadcaster, but I do not think that fear should be one of them. That is not a message I would send to those browsing here and wanting to learn, either because they want to start a Part 15 station, or out of sheer interest.
MrBruce Said:
As I said in post #19 I was not promoting a scare tatic to discourage anyone from filing a complaint against an illegal pirate radio station. Just remember, the field agent makes the final decisions with regards to whether our part 15 stations are also legal.
A few tests performed and results posted here on this forum board has shown a few transmitters that are FCC certified to be over the limit for said FCC rule. If anyone's FCC certified transmitter is found to be over even a smal bit, they could also face a citation.
We can say what is and what isn't, but the final decision is based on how the agent feels when he also catches a part 15 station operating in the same area.
Just be cautious, but don't be fearful.
Bruce.
My statement about not mentioning to the FCC about operating a Part 15 transmitter when filing a complaint about a pirate was not based on fear. I was merely echoing Keith Hamilton's advice against notifying the FCC once you begin broadcasting as they are not set up to formally process that kind of information.
An FCC field inspection tutorial from May 2008 fully acknowledges that 15.219 has no field strength limits and may require a physical inspection for compliance with the 3m/100mW rule. Therefore, if your installation is totally in compliance then there is no reason to fear a NOUO even if your signal extends a mile or more.
Pirates are so against God and Country, and as they are in my area also, I've had this debate with radio friends, that as they as Hams had to earn their licenses and didn't like these guys too much.
Here's a seed of thought to think about, what if they were playing the perfect format you loved, the music you enjoy, and the news for your community and you were informed better than with other stations, then what?
The answer was something like, Well it's illegal, but just so long as they don't come on the ham bands and start doing it... What it could come down to somewhat are cultural differences in programming, and hearing something that sounds foreign, different and new, and as we hear in the news, there are lots of troubling issues along those lines today.
Here there are church stations running chants all day, with speeches that an interpreter has to render in English, and then an evaluator comes in to expand on what the speaker just said in the home studio, from his notes, until the next service and chanting starts again, and it's 24h per day, services pumped in different states and countries it seems like.
That's something I can barely understand using airwaves for, but I realise that for some, this may be life or death programming that they couldn't do without.
What tuorial? Where?