Pirate Stations?
- Thread starter jaackla
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Unless you are American, in which case you're forgiven.
Well I do live in the States, so I guess I am excused
Soldato
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Are pirate stations a thing of the past now? What sort of gear did they have use and where did they get the money from for it?
Soldato
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While the magical era of them has passed, pirate stations are still very much out there. Their income mainly comes from advertising local events and bars/clubs I believe.
Some of the pirates sound excellent, stereo sound and huge coverage using multiple transmission sites.
Soldato
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Dont really listen to pirate radio stations now days, think its because I'm getting old. 
Rush FM used to be great in the early 90's.
Rush FM used to be great in the early 90's.
They're still going. Many moved to the internet though, since it's cheaper and doesn't incur the wrath of the police and OFCOM who will confiscate and destroy broadcasting gear.
Broadcasting gear boils down to FM transmitters and antennas (and your audio source, whether it's tape decks or turntables and mixers). For example, you can get tiny FM transmitters for your phone for in-car use. These can encroach on other cars radio frequencies if you're stuck in traffic but not much further because they're not particularly powerful. For broadcasting from a tower block, the more powerful the transmitter and larger the aerial, the greater the range. As for cost, depends on the gear used. How did they get the money for it? I know some guys that used to run DNB nights in the 90s and ticket sales usually went some way to covering the cost of broadcast gear. Most people involved with the radio station usually put money towards covering the gear simply for the love. I have also heard of some record labels maybe funnelling money into them too, particularly if they can't get airtime on legitimate stations.
any good websites that list internet based pirate radio?
Kool FM mentioned on the previous page operates at: http://www.koollondon.com
The rest you really just find by searching google for your preferred genres and "online radio" tagged on. As I said above, many pirate stations moved to the internet. Few carried over the radio names though. But the DJs float between the two scenes. For example Plastician started out on Desire FM and moved to online stations before floating back to radio with a BBC slot. Rinse FM was a pirate station that moved online (while maintaining FM presence) as well and then got a broadcasting license in 2009 or 2010.