142 lines
7.4 KiB
Plaintext
142 lines
7.4 KiB
Plaintext
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ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
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º Starting a Pirate Radio Station º
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º Chapter I: The Raw Basics º
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º Written 5-13-93 º
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º By -=Arclight=- º
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ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
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Disclaimer: It is illegal to operate a radio staion over 100mw without a
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liscense granted by the F.C.C. (Federal Communications Comission). Doing
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so can subject you to hefty fines, jail sentences, and lots of other bad
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things. So, as before, we will not be held responsible for whatever happens
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as a result of your reading this textfile. <-Legal Bullshit concluded. Now
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back to the article.
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Have you ever become so disgusted with the shoddy, corporate controlled
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radio stations infesting our airwaves that you finally said "Fuck it! Even I
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could do better than that."? Well, now you can. If you thought that all
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radio stations were was 100,000,000 watt, hyper-commercialized money
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machines playing commercials at computer-programmed intervals to stimulate
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you to buy more, you were right. Sort of. Just as there's an underground in
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the computer scene, there are underground radio enthusiasts. Commercial
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broadcasters are despised by them just as much as the operators of Prodigy
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(tm) are by hackers.
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Now then, we'd all like to rush out and buy a TX (transmitter) and
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broadcast merrily away. Unfortunately, you can't do that; you have to build
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it yourself. But with a little cash, some hard work, and motivation you can
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have your TX and and your stationgoing in less than a month or so. You're
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probably wondering "So how do I get my TX?" If you are not an ameteur
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electronics engineer, the best way to get your hands on a quality TX is to
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write to Panaxis Productions, in Paradise California. The address is listed
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at the back of the file. They can supply you with plans, parts, kits, and
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just about anything you may need to get going in either FM (preferrable for
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portability and size) and AM (longer range, more hassles, yech!) Otherwise,
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it is also possible to convert HAM radio transmitters to work on broadcast
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frequencies, or build TX's from scratch using, again, HAM technology.
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In any case, you will need more than just a TX (More on that later, so
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don't worry) in order to build a successful pirate radio station. You will
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need a group of dedicated people, a studio, time, money, and of course,
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something worth saying.
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To start with, you must have a quality pirate crew if you ever want to
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get off the ground. You will need people to help write and produce the
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programs, at least one person with technical know-how to keep the equipment
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going, and people who can serve as runners and lookouts during the
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broadcasts. Of course, there is no reason why these people so cannot be one
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in the same, so a crew of 3-4 people is usually adequate. You must have
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people that are dedicated, and that you can trust. Pick close friends who
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work well with each other. and remeber, since many aspects of this involve
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illegal activities, you you must must create and have everyone remember
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believable alibis.
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The studio does not have to be fancy; two tape recorders, a a small
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disco type mixer (such as those sold at Radio Shaft for around $50), and a
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microphone will get you started. The whole thing can be assembled for under
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$150- if you do it right. If necessary, you can even record your shows using
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only a portable tape palyer, though the quality will suffer. Note that it is
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better to record your shows in advance, rather than doing them live, as this
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allows you greater mobility, and will not get all your stuff taken away
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should a bust occur. Anyway, just start making tapes, recording yourself,
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playing it back, and generally experimenting. This is what it is all about,
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anyway.
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One other thing you will require is a broadcast site, or preferrably,
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several. Broadcast sites should be located in high, unobstructed areas with
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good visibility and multipl escape routes. Possible sites include rooftops
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of buildings, hills, and any high places accessable by car or on foot. If
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you have to go on foot, you will have to provide your own power, in the form
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of one or more heavy car batteries. Rooftops usually have 120VAC power to
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use. Note that with FM, any obstructions, such as trees, taller hills, etc.
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will reduce the effective range of your TX significantly. For AM
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boradcasting, the site should be a hilltop with tress nearby. An AM antenna
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consists of a long wire strung between two or more high poles, so it is
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necesary to have trees around. FM antennas are light and portable; they
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consist of copper or aluminum poles and are usually relatively compact.
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Now that you have a little info on what you need, let's take a look at
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how a typical pirate station works. A block diagram of a small FM station
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would look something like this:
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Antenna
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Feedline
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Bandpass Filter
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Transmitter
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Tape or Live from mixer board
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The transmitter is not the last step in successfully transmitting your
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signal; you may need a filter to control spurious emissions from the TX, and
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of course the antenna is what actually radiates the signal. Good antenna
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designs abound, and many can be found by looking through HAM radio books,
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especially those meant for the 2 meter band.
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Ok, now that the orientation is over, the important question is "How do
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I get started?" Well, probably the best way to get started is to find a HAM
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radio operator willing to help you. (The principles of radio, propagation,
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etc are a little too much to go into in one textfile.) If you know something
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about electronics already, you can probably teach yourself as you go along,
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but it is always nice to have an expert on hand. As far as getting equipment
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together, the fastest and easiest way to go is with Panaxis Productions.
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They have absolutely everything you could possibly want,from plans, to
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parts, to complete kits. They are a little expensive, but they do offer
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quality equipment. They also put out an "experimental broadcasters"
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newsletter, in addition to their line of books on the subject. Another
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excellent source of plans, info, etc is a book called "Radio is my Bomb"
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from Hooligan Press in GB. It may no longer be available, so you'll want to
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write the publisher for information. The following addresses should get you
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started:
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Panaxis Productions
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P.O BOX 130
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Paradise, Ca
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95969
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Hoolligan press
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1 BM Hurricane,
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London WCIN 3XX
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(May or may not
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be around)
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That's all for now, folks. Have fun and don't get caught!
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