Your Own Pirate Radio station?
Vložit
- čas přidán 23. 09. 2009
- Pirate is an archaic term. I prefer micro-broadcaster.
Note, the information in this video is just that, information. I am not responsible for your actions or if you get fined by the FCC. Ramsey Electronics kits are NOT designed to break the law, so I suggest no modifications be made. If you're just looking for something for your neighborhood, stick with Ramsey. Again, I am not responsible for your actions.
www.ramseyelectronics.com
I suggest the FM-25B Kit, as seen in this video. If you're into AM, then I'd recommend the AM-25. I also own one of these and have been pleased with it. You must build it correctly for it to work.
You can also do a search on ebay for pre-built factory tested Ramsey kits.
To check for open frequencies in your area, use common sense, and the following link:
www.radio-locator.com
They have a tool that shows you unused frequencies usually someone with an in car mp3 transmitter will use. As long as your power is low, you can have a small radio station.
The radio station in this video (MiloFM) does NOT make it to 1 mile under normal conditions. It barely gets out of the antenna before fading out. I have done this intentionally to keep the station within legal limits.
The higher the antenna, the better the range for FM, pure and simple. In a flat area, like Nebraska, your station will travel farther. For AM, this does not matter. The more power you put out on AM, the farther it will go. Remember, there are limits to power. Do the research.
In summary, the main things you need to broadcast a radio station are:
A transmitter
An antenna designed for whichever band you choose
Audio source
Common sense.
Also... licensed radio stations have the rights, you do not. If you broadcast on their frequencies, they can, and will come and get you and chop your balls off (not kidding :D)
If you still want more information, I found an excellent article here:
www.littleradio.com/entry/how_...
Here is the antenna I use:
www.fmdxantenna.com/proddetail...
Music is Creative Commons Licensed under attribution. It is the song Lightin by Antony Raijekov. I have the license to use this song, if anyone requests to see it. The artist does not endorse any product in this video. - Věda a technologie
Arrggg matey! Let's take to the high broadcasting seas 🏴☠️
probably the best way to do it is to build this station inside a bunker somewhere near some forest and let it run on batteries.
Or have a ham radio or something attached to the auxiliary so you can be miles away from the thing lol
A HAM radio? For Normal FM TX? STFU you clown of a boy!
Sealand
@@BitsofSkin Hes talking broadcasting the audio on a HAM to another HAM receiver with the output into the input of the transmitter, which still isnt a good idea but
i would rather put a solar generator on it so it could run infinitely
this video made me remember how the world was back in the early 2000s, simple internet and no youtube gamers.
I know. I run a pirate station currently and I'll tell ya what: when a natural disaster strikes, people aren't going to be logging onto CZcams for information, they're going to be tuning into radio, which is why I've got my station able to operate off of car batteries so I can work in conjunction with local ham radio operators in times of emergency.
@@brettcooper3893 I'm trying to do the same thing. Do you know a substitute for radio locator that doesn't require internet? Anything would be appreciated! Thank you!
I'm going to make a radio station that plays nothing but dank memes 24/7.
boomstick900 am still waiting for ur radio station lmao
That sounds like a fun idea!!! If I had a car I'd do it just to piss off the libtards in my area!!
still waiting..
Broadcast a warning about eating Tide Pods.
Xd
Holy shit i havent seen winamp in forever
I am an avid scanner and shortwave radio enthusiast. There are many 'pirate' radio stations you can hear on weeknights on 6.925 MHz (USB mode), especially on weekends and holidays. Even inexpensive portable receivers with a BFO will do the trick, but you have to have a long piece of wire clipped onto the existing whip antenna, hopefully one that runs outside or near a window. Happy listening!
PERFICK - Forgot to say I was one of the first Radio Pirates in England in 1964 on the Gun-Towers, Thames Estuary, UK.. RADIO SUTCH.
Have a look at my site Colin Dale Radio Sutch .. We English used to get it done until Poxy Politicians Fucked it up ! The bastard who stopped Pirate Radio in the UK was a Prime Minister Harold Wilson ( he's dead ) a real dick head, he even fucked up Rhodesia.
You all have a nice day. Regards, Colin Dale..
Nice video. I'm glad you gave the warning to all wannabe DJs about interference,etc. and made a disclaimer. Pirate radio is a lot of fun, but illegal. Using radio locator is a great idea for finding a clear frequency. In the good ole days it was hit or miss on that one. Generally, if you don't play really offensive content and stay off someone else's frequency, you're ok.
No no no. Part 15 allows you to used FCC approved transmitters on the FM and AM bands that transmit under 61 metres. Thank you!
There is a lot of 'pirate radio' activity on the shortwave bands, specifically on 6.925 MHz AM or 6.955 MHz sideband. This past weekend, I was listening for pirates on those 2 frequencies, and heard about 3 of them broadcasting!
you just need to know what type of transmitter to buy
By the way, thanks for making this video. It's probably one of the more easy to understand tutorials on this subject.
The rule for unlicensed Part 15 FM is a limit of 250 uV/m at 3 meters. I understand totally that there is no field strength meter that doesn't cost thousands of dollars to measure field intensity. I would think it would be safe to say as long as you don't go over 1/2 mile, then that would be fine. I have read the only big corporate broadcasters are the ones that complain the FCC about Part 15 Operators, but I think if you keep it down under 1/2 mile, you shouldn't have any problems.
I swear that some times I do get out that far, despite what some say. The FM-25B is fully capable of getting out 1 mile. It all depends on your antenna and it's height. If you don't believe me, come and do a field test.
I have a little fm broadcaster for playing music from my phone to the car radio. I put it on the radiator in the 125+ year old apartment we lived in and I walked a block away and still picked up my music on my pocket radio! The radiator worked as an antenna!
I've been told that a lot. I have worked on air on real radio stations in the past, and hope to do it again.
Good primer. Thanks for posting.
Thanks to both of you for the info. I really want to start my own station but I cant afford trouble with the FCC. Seems everyone has different information on the topic, some say the main thing is to not cause interference while others say broadcasting on the FM dial is just plain crazy. I'm assuming living right next to NYC would not help my cause either.
If I had a 20 nW transmitter and a 3 or 4-foot antenna (on an island) how far would the signal go?
Holy crap, man! I'd love to have a pirate radio station that travels around a mile.
The FCC would not like that.
@@18436Melissa They really don’t care as long as you aren’t interfering with other frequencies.
@@18436Melissa Well we have 3 stations that has been running for 8+ years and no FCC at all. So like many have said. "long as you do not interfer with any other stations transmission or the people of the public in any way" You most likely will be able to be on the air for years to come. 📻
From Ramsey Electronics:
The present edition of Part 15 of the FCC rules does not provide detailed guidance on ALL aspects of using a low-power transmitter such as the FM25B. The main point is that you may not cause any interference whatsoever to licensed broadcast services and that you must be willing to put up with any interference that you may experience.
Sir help me sir I have Ramsey stereo fm transmitter there are no any antenna how to make antenna for long range how to long range
what if I only use frequencies which are not used or off air, and I'm spontaneous with my pirate show times and dates, and I'm using a max of 5 watts for an fm transmitter? will I be likely to get caught bearing in mind I live in london??
Yes you can. As I said in the video, the audio source is really up to you.
you need at least 100watts or more to get an entire city on all normal radios
highly illegal.
yeh but u cant go jail lol ive ran 4 so far caught and arrested never banged up went to court for pence fines
+John clarke Here in Dublin, Ireland, there used to be a station broadcasting on only 50 watts from a mountain just to the south of the city and they covered the whole city and further!
am in belfast lol used to dx many dudblin pirates from sunset to nsr they both had 300 watts but used wicklow hills ,ive a 25watts tx here at 150m and can reach approx 45 miles Mark Ayt
@@ubstudiosfilms Unless you have a license
what is part 15 of the FCC? i have limited knowledge of part 15.
It is my Antennacraft FM-6, which is connected to the Sony radio you see in the video. It is used for receiving FM stations.
@Ubstudios When I built my radio station (20W with +6dB antenna) in college I made the conscious decision to sandbox the low power pc though to reduce the chances of anything screwing with anything in the beginning. Moved to a wired network connection so the journalism students could remotely upload news. A good firewall is a nice way to reduce the risk of anyone breaking in and causing interruptions.
@Ubstudios I used to own a good 5Watt but there was a near by station I had to worry about
Hey! First of all, thanks for the awesome videos. I've already ordered the Ramsey FM25 kit, but had a question for you regarding the kit. Did you use any "upgrades" for the kit or just the provided parts? From what I understand (and I could be wrong) the Ramsey is a 25mW transmitter. Is this sufficient to broadcast say over a 5 mile radius? and if not, what hardware can I upgrade while putting the Ramsey kit together?
Thanks for any information you can provide.
isnt there a device that you could plug into your ipod or computer or something to transmit songs to a certain fm radio frequency that you could get at future shop or something?
what is the max voltage you can use to power your station..i cant find that.
Any updates to your setup? Do you monitor transmitter input so that you don't over modulate it?
With the FM25B how can you select your frequency.I don't see where you can set tot what frequency you want to broadcast on
what is the max ERP you are authorized to use and are there any processing limitations in terms of audio quality. Antenna height restrictions? Also, Are alphanumeric messages allowed on subcarrier freq. or on shared subcarrier freq. dead time ?
thank you.
Can something like this be set up for mobility, would a 12v to 110v power inverter distort the signal?
So how far are you reaching in the country with a quarter watt and the antenna stuck to a swamp cooler?
what kind of watt do I need to brodcast on the radio. So people can hear the brodcast like 1-2 miles away?
So if we did everything correct and did not interfere with other stations they cant really do nothing right?
When it comes to FM height is everything. Height, height, and more height is what I learned in the broadcast biz. Also you need to consider coaxial cable line loss. It's best to install the transmitter in a waterproof container and mount it directly below your antenna as this will keep line loss to a minimum. Just run your A/C power adaptor line and audio lines outside your window and up to your transmitter and your set.
AntiqueRadios With What You Said Will This Give Me More Distance When Transmitting
+AntiqueRadios so if I had a small(ish) antenna on top of a hill overlooking a valley with a small town underneath, would I be able to cover the majority of the town. (its like 1 or 2 square miles)
The ramsey fm25b has a very small output and i can't seem to get my antenna to broadcast that far. How did you manage to get such a range?
how can you expand watts?
I'm a radio listener, and i've never heard an FM pirate. I hear many shortwave pirates though, mainly on 6.925 MHz, AM. They come on during weekend or holiday evenings. Just hook up a wire antenna at least 20 feet or more in length (you can clip it on your shortwave radio's whip antenna) near a window.
@outatime1955 Yes, this is true. FM operates on a sort of capture basis, where the stronger signal will be what the receiver locks on to. If your station is stronger, almost all FM radios will lock onto yours.
I'd like to add that commercial FM stations transmit up to 100kw in power. The chances of fuzzing up a 100kw station, unless you're on fringe coverage, are low.
ok it might sound like a silly question but, do you really need the internet in order to broadcast with this transmitter? or is it used to just take requests from emails lol
@mikilofo90 If I'm understandug your question correctly, you're asking if this antenna can hadle shortwave broadcasts? I doubt it can. Shortave ends at around 25-30 Nhz (I forgetwhich), but it doesn't matter. Ther FM band here ib the U.S. starts at 87.7 Mhz and ends at 107.9. Know what is after the FM band? Airline and airport band
do you need to check SWR like cb and ham and keep it below 2.1:1 but on my cb i keep it 1.5-1.8:1
@yamahonkawazuki Generally the farther away you go away from your transmitter, the less chance you have interfering with any licensed station, especially if you are broadcasting legally. The station in the video faded in and out at about the quarter mile mark, which is par with the FM-25B.
I went the AM route, but what if we're below the AM band on a regular radio?
I am starting to run a micro broadcaster but for now using one of the car FM transmitters which I discovered has a range of about 300 feet. I too use Winamp but a plugin called Stereo Tool which does multiplex FM stereo generation and also RDS generation along with full multiband processing. I can have good audio and also RDS data while still staying within 200 KHz of bandwidth and also adding stereo to what would normally be a mono transmitter.
I ran FM for a while but kept having problems with my transmitter drifting and took it off the air after just a couple days out of frustration I too used Winamp for my audio source for music playback and processing. Right now my station has moved over to AM but no Ramsey transmitter here. What I am using is known as the Alfredo Lite Special C-QUAM AM stereo transmitter but the version sold as a kit. Either way good advice for beginning microbroadcasters and good emphasis on being legal.
What is the other yagi antenna for? What is it pointed at? does it turn?
Did you say its actually legal to broadcast a small amount.In ireland here it something like €9000 for a 30 day licence for about a 5 mile radius.
Couldn't you hook up a mixing board to the transmitter, and plug a CD player or record player in the mixing board, and play music like that?
Been some time.... 11 years, crazy
They use radio direction finding equipment, which is not hard to do. Any radio with a ferrite bar can be used as direction finder. When the ferrite bar is broadside to the transmitter, the signal will be at full strength. When pointed directly at the radio signal, a "nulling" effect will happen, and you hear no signal. Just follow where the ferrite bar is pointing when the station is "nulled out" and it will lead you right to the station. Try it with a common household portable AM radio.
I'm thinking of using a PRC-25 squad radio manpack for pirate radio.
would that work?
@Ubstudios Does this transmitter, what you got is shortwave? and does shortwave transmitter, can go further than this one?
@pce81z Thats remaining 100% legal. Depending on where you are, your FM-25B or equivalent may just get out beyond a mile or so. Antenna height is a big factor. I have trouble believing the FCC would care about an FM-25B with 25mW, if you don't egg them on or give them a reason to fine you.
@Ubstudios this where you stated the distance, and NOT interfering wiht other station owners etc?
What legal range can you fm broadcast without a license?
do you know what those are called what other radio stations play between their songs? for example my local station is like. you listening to K98.
Could I just take a Transmitter and connect it to a CD player?
Sorry to be the noob, but how exactly does your computer fit into all this? Do you plug the FM-25B Kit into your pc?
okay what is the range you can get away with by law thanks.....
Does your station play music from artists/bands like Metallica or is it only for local unsigned artists/bands? And I ask that because of the royalties/licensing.
-just curious before I start broadcasting using the FM 25-B or the AM-25 transmitter.
Thanks :)
Good video! Complies with part 15, eh? Not even close 😂
How to make my radio station plz reply me
damn, yahoo. This feels like serious internet archeology.
Thanks a lot for all the info! I downloaded part 15 of the FCC rules and found it a bit confusing to say the least. Can you give me some key pointers so that I can safely operate a radio station like yours? I would greatly appreciate it, Thanks!
...and yes, it turns. I either point it north or south as to null out the powerful stations in town.
@geezlouies It depends greatly on a number of factors, most notably terrain. The antenna i have is a ground plane 1/4 wave FM broadcast antenna. I didn't modify my FM-25B at any point. It is the factory repaired/tested model. I also use RG-6 cable.
how much are transmitters?
or are they sold in stores? if so how much?
So how far did the transmission go?
Do I have to have a sound beatd to run my station?
this is so awesome, i can't wait to set mine up...how far does your station go...it cut off at 1 mile. how expensive would a decently powered transmitter be? i live in a very densely populated area near several large cities - does that make a difference?
@Djcaribbean read the instructions, its under the lid not on the outside. There are three switches that correspond to what frequency you want it on.
Thanks a bunch. So anything over 1 watt wouldn't be compliant?
Is it a good idea to switch between devices for the audio source so they don’t crash or to prolong their life? Because I have a chrome book and an iPhone se and an iPad and I thought maybe it would be a good idea to switch between them so they don’t overheat or something. Idk. I’m new to this.
I wouldn't use any of those as an audio source if you're planning on running a radio station. Use a regular desktop computer. You shouldn't have to switch sources. It's all up to how you want to do it. Experiment.
Using a simple handheld radio transmitter, tune in a station, and then twist it around 360 degrees. You will see at one point, you get full strength, but at 90 degrees to that, you will get null signal. The ferrite coil is very directional. Someone could use this to walk right to you. Their equipment works on same pricipal, but is designed specifically for radio direction finding, and they measure from 2 places, draw the lines on the map, and where the lines meet, boom, there's your station.
That song is bangin'
@40dawilliams I still see the FM-25B on their web page.
@caribootrail When I had the antenna there I was getting about 1/4 mile under good conditions.
nice vid.but one qustion.you said if you dont have a computer then use a raido.if you dont have a computer,then how would you watch this video?
Very interesting video but could you tell more on how to keep the FCC of your back if your trying to broadcast in your area? I really wanna try this but don't wanna get in trouble either.
Im guessing if you don't use a external antenna it is legal with the FCC? Im just looking for something for my neighborhood or school.
+1111winter4w The whip that comes with the FM-25B will more than adequately cover a school and a few neighborhoods.
can you be licensed and how high can it be to get the miles for your radio station? i like to know becouse i want to do this and i would like to have some more info about it.
check with your local and state laws too! for those in North Carolina regardless of county as of 11-16-2012 so long as you don't interfere with other stations and you stay under a 3 mile transmission range at 12watts your allowed to transimit all you want :D
i remember something about the us fcc relaxing radio wattage laws temporarily in the early 90's. Something about the high wattage nessisary for an fcc licence, puts radio b/cast only in the hands of commercial stations? anyone remember anything about this?
Mine runs at a bare minimum. Just enough to cover my house area. Even with this minuscule power, the station gets out really well.
@kc8pnd I do, via a little light on the front of the FM-25b. It is hard to tell if you are overmodulating, which is why I listen to the station on multiple radios. I find if the light is barely blinking along with the music, I am not overmodulating. If its constantly blinking, chances are, I am.
@GameTownTV If you have the FM-25B, you should look in the manual and watch my 2nd video. The manual shows the specifics, the video shows where the switches are.
Hey, nice video. Is there a cheaper alternative to the Ramsey FM transmitter? 130$ is a bit pricey for me at the moment. Thanks!
Ramsey has a number of models. The FM-10 is the cheapest, but it also comes with a price, drifting frequency. I stuck with the FM-25B because it is a solid unit. Google can help you find cheaper ones.
has any changed now in 2023?
@carl6405 pretty soon I plan on making a follow-up to this video showing the new set up. Things have changed quite a bit since this video. I also want it to answer a lot of the questions people have been asking me. Stay tuned, its on my to do list.
How many watts does this output?
dude can u tell me what is the max range of this station?
"veronica FM" from near bradford, yorkshire got me a 5watt pll and high gain 1/2wave antenna for about £200. It got out about 10 miles (high location / good quality setup) and could be upped to 30watts for "50 extra. I don't know if they still do them tho, I know you can get Veronica kits for a lot less (£100) but a decent antenna is what makes it work - go for half wave vertical they're the best.
Bro, this is 11 years old video 😱🎉
@juangta117 Look for a list of stations in your area and select an open frequency between them. Go out to your car and drive around on that frequency and see if any other stations are using it, if any.