The Unsorted BBS Collection/thegreatunsorted.tar/thegreatunsorted/texts/pirate_radio/pirate.txt

Text File | 1993-07-26 | 77KB | 1,296 lines

HOW TO BE A RADIO PIRATE?

This section tells you exactly how to go ahead setting up your own
pirate  radio  with  all the tips learned from bitter  experience.
First of all here's a list of main things you'll need. So you want
to be a radio pirate? Read on...

What you'll need

A. A group of committed people who get on with each other and have
plenty of time and energy.
B.  A  programme,  presuming you have something  worth  saying  or
playing.  You  don't even need a studio to start  off  with.  Just
borrow someone's stereo and a microphone and start making practice
recordings onto good quality cassette tapes.
C.  A  Transmitter. Ideally over 10 watt power, but 5 watt is fine
for  local broadcasts, or when using an aerial with 'gain'  .  You
can't  buy  one  over the counter in Britain, but  here  are  some
alternatives:
 I) Buy one from another pirate (beware of rip-offs).
 II)  Buy  one over the counter abroad. In Italy for instance  you
 can  get a high quality 50 watt transmitter over the counter  for
 ú200.  You  can  buy  kits in Belgium, France, Netherlands,  USA,
 etc. You then have to smuggle it home.
 III)  Build  your  own.  A hobbyist can  build  a  low  power  FM
 transmitter  easily.  Try  to interest radio  hams  or  dissident
 engineers. It's almost essential to have at least one  person  in
 your group with some technical know how.
 IV)  Get  one  built  to  your specification.  There  are  a  few
 electronics engineers about who will build them for a  reasonable
 price.
D.  Antenna.  You  can  adapt a design yourself  from  an  antenna
handbook (e.g. The 2 Metre Antenna Book). Or use one of our  ready
made  designs. Look out for aluminium tubing or struts which  make
good building material.
E.  Odds  and  ends.  You'll  need basic  tools  (soldering  iron,
multimeter, SWR meter), a cheap cassette deck, probably one or two
good  car batteries, a roll of co-ax cable for the aerial, a radio
to  listen  in on, etc. Also start reading Amateur Radio Handbooks
and all relevant writings.

VHF: Pros and Cons

First  lets deal with FM (Frequency Modulated) broadcasting, which
is  probably  your  choice. The advantages of  FM  are  many.  The
transmitters  are  small and quite cheap. Reception  tends  to  be
either very clear or non-existent. Its excellent for music and for
recording  off and can quite easily be adapted to transmit  stereo
(impossible with AM). A major plus for the pirate is that its easy
to  hide  and transport the gear, aerials are comparatively  small
and  can  be  made collapsible. It's also possible  to  put  in  a
vehicle, even an bicycle and go mobile, albeit with a smaller  and
changing  reception  area. The average 5 to  20  watt  transmitter
would  be  in a metal box no bigger than 12" by 6" by 3" in  size,
and  weigh no more than 8 lbs with the rest of the gear  (but  not
including  the  battery, if you're using one), The aerial  is  not
only  shorter but more efficient and of course more practical than
the  long  and tricky procedure for MW aerials. Also low power  FM
transmitters   ('rigs')  can  be  tuned  to   slightly   different
frequencies,  on  MW you're stuck on one, unless  you  get  a  new
crystal.
The  disadvantage is that VHF-FM is essentially a 'line of  sight'
communication,  which means your reception area depends  crucially
on the height of your aerial above large blocking objects. This is
no  problem if you can get up on a hill, or a tower block  but  it
does  restrict the choice of broadcasting sites, making you easier
to  find and trap. With local broadcasting you have more choice of
sites.  In  very hilly area, unless you can get up on a  mountain,
you'd  better  choose MW, also if you want to broadcast  scattered
communities  over a wide area. Distance covered  with  an  FM  rig
depends  as  how much height as on power. A 40 watt rig  on  a  15
story  tower block should cover a 15 miles radius if there are  no
blocking  objects. A 4 watt rig should go 5 miles  from  the  same
height  but if you build a directional aerial with 'gain' you  can
multiply  that  power  many times. You don't  really  need  a  big
expensive and hard to build transmitter. Also don't assume  a  100
watt  rig  is ten times as powerful as a 10 watt one,  it  doesn't
work like that.
To  sum  up,  FM  broadcasting is the ideal for the  guerrilla  or
community  pirate, cheap, mobile and adaptable. another  advantage
is  that  there's loads of room on the FM broadcasting band,  it's
literally  half  empty.  On MW its pretty crowded,  and  at  night
you're likely to be blotted out by continental interference.

The Broadcasting Site (FM)

TOWER BLOCKS
In cities tower blocks have been an ideal answer for good coverage
and  wide  reception  and  are especially favoured  by  commercial
pirates (who often use a link transmitter from the studio  to  the
tower  block so as to go live). A further advantage is that  there
are  usually electric sockets in the lift or heating rooms on  the
roof,  so  you can just plug in provided your gear is so adjusted,
rather  than  lug car or lorry batteries about. This is  'Stealing
Electricity',  of  course.  If  you're  caught  broadcasting   the
electricity company could bring this additional charge, though  in
practice  we've  never  heard of it happening.  The  advantage  to
sticking  in  car  batteries is that  you  can  conceal  your  rig
anywhere  on  the roof, rather than having it right  by  the  plug
socket, though in a surprise raid your aerial cable will lead them
straight to it anyway.
To  get  onto  the roof of a tower block you need  a  crowbar,  or
better,  a key. The 'Fireman's keys' have to be standard  for  all
blocks,  so once you have one you can get onto most roofs  easily.
Try  asking  other  pirates, or possibly a friendly  caretaker  or
fireman.  Or you can break the door, steal the mortise  lock,  get
keys  made up for it, then replace it, such keys may not  fit  all
roofs.
When  on  the roof BE CAREFUL (sudden gusts of wind can  blow  you
over  the  at  this height!) and always wear soft shoes  and  keep
quiet.  Lots of people have been busted simply because the tenants
below heard them and called the police. Its useful to dress like a
repair  person,  and claim if seen or challenged,  to  be  a  lift
mechanic.  The main problem with tower blocks is that, if  raided,
you can easily be trapped (see how to get away with it).

MEDIUM SIZED BUILDINGS
If  you're a local station, or have a high power rig or an  aerial
with  gain (or if you're just testing) you don't need to be  on  a
tower block. Any building higher than most others will do, and you
can  increase your height for instance by mounting your aerial  on
top  of  high, well secured scaffold pole (note: there must  be  a
wooden or plastic section between the pole and the actual aerial).
The advantage of lower buildings is that you can multiply both the
available sites for broadcasting. You will have to switch sites as
often as possible. Also you will have more escape routes and 'bolt
holes' than on a tower block. Unfortunately this may also mean you
have  to  watch more potential approach routes by the  police  and
DTI, and you'll need more lookouts if you're planning to save  the
gear when attacked.

BROADCASTING FROM HILLS
If  your town or city has hills this is a good option, the  higher
the better. You can use a piece of derelict or common land, or  at
night  you can use parks, cemeteries or even allotments. A  better
option is if there are hills outside the built up area, then use a
field  or wood away from houses. If you use the directional aerial
you  can  cover the city just as well. This was done by  Andromeda
Radio, to good effect, they used to cover most of Manchester  from
a  high  hill  outside,  using  a mere  4  watt  transmitter  with
directional  gain aerial. If you can get up into mountainous  area
you're  even better off and can adopt classical guerrilla tactics,
often  see  the enemy coming distances away, and be very difficult
to stop.
On  a  hill  within  the  town or city use good  lookouts,  escape
routes, CB's etc. and have regular 'escape drills'. Best place for
aerial  is  a high, easily climbable tree. If its not too  obvious
leave  it  up there and have a spare ready. An added problem  with
hills  is  that you normally have to lug at least one car  battery
about, which is terrible if you have to climb fences, ditches etc.
at  night, something like a pram or shopping trolley can help. You
can't  leave  the  batteries on site as they need re-charging  for
your  next broadcast. So mains electric is a big help if  you  can
run  a  lead  from somewhere. Outdoors all your gear  must  be  in
waterproof cases, or covered with a tent or tarp. Tents  are  good
if  you can pretend to be camping. Take care also of yourself  and
your  group.  Hot  drinks,  food, waterproofs,  short  shifts  for
lookouts  etc. are good ideas. It gets boring after a  few  hours.
CB's  are  excellent, but get ones with earphones if  possible  to
avoid noise.
If  on  a  hill  you can also use ordinary house, flat,  squat  or
derelict,  and  just set up your aerial as high as practicable  on
the  roof.  Its better to get a place, by squatting or  if  you're
rich,  by renting, specially as a broadcast site, no-one likes  to
live  under constant threat of the police storming in. In practice
you  may have to use someone's house, then don't use it too often.
If  you  must  use your own house DON'T leave dope, stolen  goods,
false  ID's or other naughties lying about. It is possible to  run
your  antenna cable from your house to the aerial on another roof,
and  whip  the cable off quick if they come, but this  would  only
work once, and you lose output power with every extra metre of co-
ax  cable  going to your aerial. More of this in the 'How  to  get
away  with  it'  section. NEVER have your studio at the  broadcast
site. They'll confiscate the lot, under the new laws.

OTHER POSSIBLE BROADCASTING SITES
FESTIVALS,  especially large free festivals are an  excellent  and
common broadcast site. A small 4 watt rig will do fine. Set up  on
a  high ground in a tent or vehicle and invite the festival  goers
to  protect you from possible police attack, much more unlikely in
these  circumstances. If possible make a live studio  in  a  tent,
caravan  or truck and get everyone involved. Try to get  mentioned
in  pre-festival publicity, or do your own, so people  will  bring
radios. This is pirate radio at its best.
DEMOS,  especially long ones, like blockades for e.g.  of  Nuclear
Stations or War bases, can be equally worthwhile. In this  context
the  pirate can be perfect medium for discussion, information  and
warnings  of  police movements, as well as for  entertainment  and
music.
BARRICADED SQUATS OR SQUATTED VENUES are another obvious and  much
underused  site  for the guerrilla pirate, especially  during  big
meetings or gigs, which you can broadcast live from the roof. This
has been done successfully for instance in Amsterdam and Berlin.
OCCUPIED FACTORIES or industrial areas during strikes and disputes
provide  an  excellent and often missed opportunity for  the  more
political  pirate  group, and can provide vital communication  for
mobilising, publishing and gaining support. There have  been  many
such opportunities in Britain over recent years.
SIT-INS  and  protest  occupations are another  good  possibility,
which  we  don't  think has been tried. Especially occupations  of
high  towers,  buildings  or pylons for  publicity.  But  in  this
situation  capture is pretty certain, therefore a small disposable
transmitter  would be ideal. A good strategy is  for  everyone  to
deny  using it, and to use any following trial for more  publicity
e.g.  on  the lines that the army etc. and the police are  already
hogging most of the airwaves.
'NO-GO  AREAS' are a step up from occupied factories. We know  for
instance  that nationalist pirates broadcast from Free  Derry  and
parts  of West Belfast when they were 'no-go areas' to the  state.
Of  course  there are no true 'no-go areas' in Britain, but  there
are  plenty of inner city estates where the police rarely venture,
especially  in  the  evenings in the riot  session,  for  fear  of
'concrete rain' or worse from the roofs. A high block on such area
could  be  an  excellent site, especially if you can tip  off  the
local  youth  to lend a hand. Whenever major rioting begins  large
areas  are  suddenly  devoid of police, till  they  can  group  in
numbers and re-take the area. This is another opportunity for  'on
the  ball' local pirates. By monitoring police radio, runners, and
phoned  in reports such 'uprising radio' could be a brilliant  aid
to  the  fighters  on  the  streets though  you  would  need  good
security,  disposable transmitter, quick getaway routes, disguised
voices etc.
LIBERATED ZONES! (Let us know if you find one!) Practically  every
guerrilla or Nat. Liberation movement, be they right or left wing,
has their own pirate radios, which are often crucial influence  in
such   wars,   broadcasting  from  freed  zones  or   neighbouring
countries. But you're not likely to come across this in Britain.
INTERNATIONAL WATERS is of course a favourite site, but out of the
question for the small 'do it yourself' pirate.

How to set up your gear (FM)

BEFORE YOU GO
Before   getting  out  you  had  best  brief  anyone,   especially
newcomers,  on  what  will  or might happen.  Talk  about  getting
caught,  for  instance have good excuses made up for being  at  or
near  the  site.  If  you are planning to give  false  names,  for
instance,  you'll need an address where someone will  confirm  you
live,  otherwise you might have troubles getting bail if you  were
arrested.  In  this case keep your first names the same  to  avoid
being caught out.
Make  out a standard 'check list' of all you need, and go  through
it  before you get out. It's surprisingly easy to find yourself on
top of a tower block, or climbing some tree, only to discover that
your cassette deck lead is at home five miles away.
         HERE'S A SAMPLE LIST OF THINGS YOU NEED
         Transmitter (TX), TX main lead or 2 clip on battery leads
(large  and well insulated),         TX lead to cassette  deck  if
not attached, cheap cassette deck plus mains lead or 2 clip    ons
and 6 volt bike battery, charged up 12 volt car battery if not  on
mains, antenna    (check you have butterfly bolts if collapsible),
the co-axial cable (with plug attached       and clips or attached
to  aerial),  fused  plug  board (if on  mains),  programme  tapes
(rewound  to  staring  position), small FM  radio  receiver(s)  to
monitor  broadcasts, CB's   for lookouts, plastic  'gaffer  tape',
soldering iron and solder in ease of broken leads,    torch,  warm
clothes, munches, bus fare

ON THE WAY
Ideally  you  need four people, at least two. Carry  the  gear  as
inconspicuously  as  possible, in holdalls or  plastic  bags.  The
antenna  is  a problem. If it's a big long one make it collapsible
using  butterfly  nuts in assembly. Or try to  keep  it  somewhere
close  to  the site. On arrival at the site, especially if  you've
used  it before, send an empty-handed scout ahead, to be sure  the
police and DTI aren't waiting for you and all is clear. Check also
you're not followed.

SETTING UP
In the case of a tower block you should have been there beforehand
and  have  either a key or a broken lock to get straight onto  the
roof. Lock the door quietly behind you. If there's two doors  onto
the  roof  have access through both. Take your gear to  a  lift  /
heating  room and find a plug in wall socket (if on mains).  Check
it  works.  Wear gloves when handling gear, and clean it regularly
with cloth and alcohol. They don't usually bother with fingerprint
evidence,  but  they  might start. The  antenna  must  be  cleaned
regularly  anyway for good transmissions. Set up your  antenna  as
high  as  possible,  if possible on top of an  extension  pole  or
length  of  scaffold pipe. Often there's a pole already,  left  by
earlier pirates. Attach the antenna securely, with bolts or strong
gaffer  tape, to a length of wood, then the bottom of the wood  to
the  metal  pole (if there). The antenna must NOT be  touching  or
blocked  by metal. The co-ax cable can be soldered or bolted  onto
the antenna, or attached with strong, rust free car battery clips.
The clips are recommended for fast dismantling and for testing and
developing  antennas,  mark clearly which goes  where.  The  co-ax
cable  should  not be longer than absolutely necessary,  you  lose
power  with every extra foot, and should be good quality and  well
insulated.  Your  lookouts  should already  be  on  station,  with
torches  or CB's, one at the foot of the tower (preferably sitting
on a car or flat) and one on the roof. Keep low and quiet and wear
soft  shoes.  (In one court case Eric Gotts (head of  DTI  squads)
claimed  he  recognised an Our Radio member from  the  ground,  18
stories up, at night. The judge accepted his word.)
When  the antenna is up securely, lead the co-ax back and plug  or
screw in to the back of your transmitter . Now plug the TX to  the
cassette  deck  keeping  the  two as far  as  possible  apart,  if
possible  blocked  by  something solid,  like  a  wall,  to  avoid
interference. Keep the audio lead well away from the power  leads.
Interference between leads can often cause loss of power and /  or
'Sprogs' (unwanted signals on the wrong frequency). You can go  so
far as to block leads from each other with bricks.
Plug  in  the  cassette deck and the TX to  your  plug  board  (or
connect  to  batteries) and switch on. If you have  that  facility
just  switch on the exciter stage of the TX first for testing,  no
need to alert Big Brother prematurely. Go on the other end of  the
roof  with  your  radio  receiver and tune  in.  Then  adjust  the
modulation on your TX, in relation of other channels, to  get  the
best  sound.  If  this  is  OK  but there's  unusual  knocking  or
crackling sounds try moving the cassette deck further from the TX,
or  raise  it above ground if possible. Try further separating  or
screening the power lines from the audio lines.
You  may  well  find that you have sprogs (harmonics  or  spurious
signals)  all  over  the waveband. Check for  this.  If  so  check
reception  with your lookout 100 yards away, normally such  sprogs
disappear  by that distance and you're OK. But if your  signal  is
still spread all over further away switch off and clear off.  Your
TX  is fucked up and needs difficult repair or tuning you can't do
on  the  site. If you find you're interfering with fire, ambulance
or  pigs, stop, before they come after you. Most pirates are  very
careful not to do this.
When  all  checks are OK, insert your programme tape, switch  off,
and  wait  for  the  agreed time to begin. With practice  you  can
easily  set it all up and test it in 10 minutes, but it's good  to
allow  a  half  hour  and to be methodical and  cool.  Never,  for
instance,  switch on your TX without the antenna attached,  you'll
blow  it.  The  amp  stage of your TX should get  quite  hot  when
drawing  the  power  ,  if  not  its  not  working.  With   bigger
transmitters you may need also a small electric fan  to  cool  the
heatsinks on the power transistors. Once you're on air its good to
go and phone friends for reception reports further afield.

Broadcasting.... How to get away with it

KNOW YOUR ENEMY
On  a  tower block, in London, the DTI squads can tell  where  you
are,  within 20 metres, less than 10 minutes after you switch  on.
So  they  can  bust you any time. In the case of new  pirates  the
procedure  is  to  monitor you for a while (in  case  you're  just
messing about) before busting you. It could easily be a few months
before  your  first  attempted bust.  If  you  play  anything  but
straight  music they will record and keep all your programmes  for
possible further use against you (though voice print's aren't used
in  court). In other cities they are generally slower to get after
you. In smaller towns they don't have permanent staff so they have
to  come specially, depending on your usual broadcasting time,  so
switching your time is a big advantage.
The  detection squads are now directed by the Home Office  through
the  Department  of  Trade and Industry (DTI) and  are  officially
responsible  for stamping out 'radio interference'. They  have  re
cently  been  recognised and upgraded with  fancy  new  equipment.
Their  HQ  is at Waterloo House by Waterloo Bridge and  they  have
several  other fixed triangulation stations in London, for instant
tracking. They use also mobile detection vans and lots of unmarked
cars  and  have a depot in East London for vehicles and  gear.  We
don't  know  where  they  keep their  extensive  horde  of  stolen
transmitters  prior to disposal. They also have  their  own  radio
frequencies,  they used to be (and still may be) using  around  88
MHz, just off the commercial FM waveband.
The  DTI  squads are not supposed to arrest you, so they  have  to
bring  the  local  filth along on busts, which makes  them  a  lot
easier to spot and makes them less flexible, as they often have to
wait till the cops have the time free.
For  large  rich commercial pirates the game is to have plenty  of
transmitters lined up, and not to try to save them if  the  police
and DTI raid. They often use remote links and can often switch  on
and  off using timers or radio signals, so they don't have  to  go
back  and change tapes and no one need get caught in the act  (but
recently  the DTI have cracked this by raiding the 'live  studios'
and nicking everyone and everything).
But  for small community / political pirates with only one or  two
transmitters its essential to save the gear if at all possible. At
the same time its now always cheaper to lose all the gear than  to
get  caught and pay the fines. Nowadays even for the small  pirate
it may be more advisable to put energy into money raising and mass
producing  cheap transmitters than into trying to  save  the  gear
when  they're  hot on your trail (though you need to guard  anyway
against the curious and rip-offs by other pirates.)

PRECAUTIONS
Don't  walk  and boast unnecessarily about your sites  or  studio.
Work  on a 'need to know' basis from the start. One method  is  to
keep  programme makers separate from your broadcasting team, tapes
can even be delivered to a 'dead letter drop' for instance. But if
you  can  really trust each other its better if everyone  takes  a
turn  at  broadcasting, otherwise the broadcasters  can  both  get
pissed  off  and become a power elite ('I'm not transmitting  this
crap!').
Don't,   of  course,  broadcast  your  location,  real  names   or
addresses.  Don't  give  your phone number  either,  certainly  in
Britain,  the days of phone-ins and instant access to pirates  are
numbered. If you're really into phone-ins, get a phone in a  false
name  at  a temporary address or squatted flat (NOT your  studio).
Tape  the  calls and check you're not followed there. For  letters
use  a box address (e.g. Wuppertal in Germany) and assume all mail
is  read,  or use a forwarding address. When travelling  to  sites
vary your means of transport.

The raid..... Saving the gear

A.) HIDING IT ON THE SITE
Some  pirates  have  tried  building the transmitter  into  walls,
parapets, roof, chimney stacks etc. You can conceal it under water
tanks,  central heating or lift machinery. Better  still  have  it
hidden in a legal or squatted top floor flat (possibly 2nd to  top
would  do) concealing your co-ax cable either up the side  of  the
building,  by  boring  a hole in the roof, or  by  running  it  up
ventilation  or 'stink' pipes. Another variation is to  have  your
tape  player in a flat, and a long concealed audio lead to the  TX
on  the  roof. The possibilities are endless, and most  have  been
tried.  On  one  occasion Our Radio tried the 'dummy  transmitter'
trick,  with it's own dummy aerial, leading the hounds to one  end
of  the  roof,  while  they  left  by  another  door.  Inside  the
transmitter box was a can of beer and a 'Booby Prize' note. In all
these  cases  you still need to at least remove your  co-ax  cable
before  the  baddies arrive, or of course it'll lead  straight  to
your TX.

B.) LOOKOUTS
You  need  two,  preferably three, and take it in  turns,  and  if
possible also monitor police and DTI radio channels. You  can  use
torches or signals from ground to roof. If on CB's turn them  very
low  or  use  headphones, and use codewords, they're very  public.
Watch out for cars and vans with too many aerials, electrical gear
in   the  passenger  seat,  hanging  around  trying  not  to  look
suspicious, police cars passing several times etc. Keep an eye  on
nearby  tower  blocks or anywhere they may observe the  roof  with
field  glasses. A raid is usually obvious, two or three cars  with
uniformed police accompanying them (though piggies may be also  in
an  unmarked car). They usually try and rush in a side or  a  back
entrance, so watch out... it's quite embarrassing to have all your
friends  nicked, and you still standing out front yawning! Usually
they take the lift (sometimes using a 'fireman's key' to bring  it
down fast) and often send a few young ones up the stairs.

C.) CAT AND MOUSE
This  involves  moving  and  hiding  the  gear,  in  flats,  stair
cupboards,   lift  shafts,  hanging  out  windows,  disguised   at
something else, etc. Normally they have no case if they can't find
it,  but  under  the new laws they might try to do you  anyway  if
you're  caught. If your lookout system works you have at  least  2
minutes warning before they reach the top of the tower block.  You
can delay them by switching off the power in the lift room, but if
doing  this be quite certain you're not trapping anyone, which  is
difficult. You can call the lift immediately, and if you get  them
first   jam  the  doors  open.  You  should  practice  for   quick
dismantling  and  packing  of the gear in  advice.  Sometimes  its
easier to leave the antenna and build a new one.
A  good  simple 'Cat and Mouse' is to run down several flights  of
stairs  with  the gear, hide it in a good spot (the ideal  is  the
flat  of a 'neutral' friend) and turn into a 'normal' citizen.  If
you're stopped have a good excuse for being there.
Cat  and  Mouse is a good system to start off with.  But  remember
they  have  done  it  1000s  of times  before.  When  they  become
determined to bust you you'll need more and more determined people
and  new  broadcasting sites to stay ahead. After a certain  point
they're  sure  to  catch you, as they learn more about  you,  your
faces, your habits, your tricks, and as they put more and more men
on  the  case.  If you want to get away with it  its  time  for  a
complete change of tactics.

D.) DISAPPEARING
When  the DTI are really on your tail one thing you can do is take
a  weeks  rest,  then come back with a different name,  style  and
timing.  Of course this fucks up your efforts to make a  name  for
yourselves and gain a regular audience, but at least you're  still
on  air, with maybe a few months grace before they start after you
again. Also change your frequency and voices on tape if possible.

E.) SWITCHING
In theory this is a good system, but you need a big team, your own
transport,  and  two  or three transmitters  (on  the  exact  same
wavelength). The idea is this... as the police and DTI close in on
one  location, the signal switches to a second site. Either you're
using  links, or have copies of the programme tapes. The  team  at
the  first site evades the police and sets off a 3rd site and sets
up.  If  they go for the 2nd site you switch to the 3rd  site  and
carry on etc. When combined to Cat and Mouse tactics this can make
you  difficult  to stop. The problems are, if you're  using  tower
blocks your choices are limited... If you set up say 5 miles  away
your  reception area may be completely different, and you'll  need
plenty of dedicated people ready to wait night after night to play
games with the police... And when they become determined they will
still  get  you.  We  know of one South London  pirate,  who  used
switching  with apparent success, then one night all  3  of  their
transmitters were seized within 15 minutes!
Switching  would work better when combined and varied  with  other
methods  of getting away with it. Particularly if you're  doing  a
local station, where you don't need so much height, and have  lots
of more choice of broadcasting sites.

F.) GUERRILLA RADIO
This  is  one  of the main ideas this text is trying  to  promote.
Guerrilla, or Hit and Run radio is the war of the flea.  First  of
all  you  can  reduce the risks of getting caught  drastically  by
broadcasting  not a fixed times or a fixed name, or  by  doing  it
only  for  1/2  hour periods. The problem of course is  that  your
audience  is also random and small. The guerrilla idea is  to  get
together  quite a few stations, broadcasting on the same frequency
with cheap, mass produced transmitters, thus forming one big loose
station  which  listeners would have a good chance of  finding  on
air, while being very difficult for the DTI and police to stop.

BREAK-INS
Break-ins  are  a higher and riskier form of guerrilla  radio,  as
used in Britain by Radio Arthur and Radio Wapping. The idea is  to
grab your audience by broadcasting on top of a legal station.  The
sentences  are  much higher but there's little chance  of  getting
caught  if your break-ins short, say for five minutes, on  top  of
the  news  or  advertising  of  a  major  station.  You're  taking
advantage of a quality of FM broadcasting that the stronger signal
tends  to  'win', blotting out the weaker one completely.  With  a
small transmitter you'll only win for a short distance, but even a
few  hundred  yards could cover a whole high density  estate.  For
break-ins  strength of signal is the main factor, a  big  powerful
transmitter  (100  -  200  watts) tuned exactly  to  the  required
frequency so you can break in for your message on the most popular
channel  on  prime time. For break-ins all precautions  should  be
doubled, also be sure to clear right away from the area as soon as
you've finished, and don't use the same time or broadcasting  site
again. It's as simple as that.
Break-ins are also easily possible on TV, but only over the sound.
Break-ins  are  more common in countries where pirates  have  been
repressed, e.g. in Germany or the Eastern Block, and are ideal for
announcing, demonstrations etc.
There  is  another and better way of doing break-ins on FM,  which
may  have  been  used by Radio Arthur. This is  to  use  the  VVHF
microwave  transmitter, beaming your signal at the microwave  dish
receiving the signals of a legal station from their studios. Their
dish  then picks up your signal, and providing you're close enough
to  be  stronger than their signal, you get re-broadcast by  their
main  transmitter,  thus  giving your break-ins  perfect  coverage
throughout their reception area.
However,  we don't have technical plans to build such tricky  VVHF
transmitters, and it would be quite expensive. Though this type of
break-ins is possibly at present. (To stop you fast they'd have to
switch  off the entire station.) They will probably make  it  more
difficult by using access codes to receiver dishes, as its already
done  to avoid piracy of satellite dishes. NOTE: Don't play around
with microwaves, they can be dangerous!

GOING MOBILE
In  theory this is an ideal way of getting away with it, but there
are quite a few problems. If you're going in a vehicle you can use
ordinary  car  cassette player, but you are better  off  having  a
separate 12 volt car battery to power the transmitter. One problem
is  with  the aerial. If you use a bigger, more efficient  one  it
will  be  very  obvious, one possibility is to  have  it  under  a
tarpaulin  on a roof rack. A bigger problem is height, unless  you
can  park or drive up and down on a high hill, your coverage  will
be badly blocked. And then of course your reception area will vary
radically if you're driving any distance. Not much use for gaining
or  developing an audience. The main advantage is that you will be
much more difficult to stop.
Going  mobile is more practical as a publicity stunt, or  possibly
for  local broadcasts. To a small extent, having a bigger TX  will
compensate  for  lack  of  height.  Going  mobile  is   good   for
broadcasting at random just for the hell with it.
Doing  break-ins in this way would be great fun in the  rush  hour
traffic.

LINKS, TIMERS, SQUARE WAVES
These aren't for the shoestring pirate, though you can build  them
cheap  if  you have the know-how. As we said earlier  links  often
prevent you being busted personally, if you can afford to lose the
gear,  and  allow you to do live programmes. All  it  involves  is
using a receiver instead of a cassette deck, then beaming up  your
signal   from  your  studio,  or  whatever,  using  a  small   UHF
transmitter (e.g. on 370 MHz) or adapted cordless telephone, or an
FM  exciter  on  a different frequency (or even an ordinary  phone
line, though sound quality suffers). You also have to make a small
directional  high gain antenna. If you're using a low  power  link
and  a narrow beam its highly impossible for the DTI to trace you,
and  it  was  assumed  to be safe to link  from  the  studio.  But
recently  studios using links have been raided, in  a  few  cases,
with  every  bit of equipment, furniture, record collections  etc.
seized under the 1984 laws (e.g. a raid on Radio Horizon's studios
in late 1895 when over ú20000 worth of gear was 'stolen' legally).
This  may  not  however mean that the DTI's new  gear  can  detect
links.  It's  just as easy to find your location by gossip,  phone
taps or just by following you. Links can make you personally safe,
if  they can trace you one you could always use two, or three,  or
.... what they don't and can't do is protect your transmitter, its
main  advantage is that it allows you to go live from the  studio.
To  protect  yourself you might as well use a timer to switch  the
gear on and off remotely. Timers are pretty easy to build, and you
can  buy  kits, but good ones are hard to find 'off the shelf'  as
they can obviously be used to make bombs. A good one to buy is the
plug  in  variety,  used  for  fooling  burglars  when  you're  on
holidays, or by landlords to deter squatters. For remote switching
you  can also make sound activated switches, via a radio link,  or
'square  wave'   switches, via a phone line. What  none  of  these
devices can do however is to turn over the tape, so you still have
to  go  to  the site to do this, unless you want to broadcast  for
less than an hour.

CONFRONTATION
A good trick if you can get away with it. The DTI and police (they
normally  only  bring a few) are wide open to  attack  (the  mouse
becomes  the cat!) when coming to get you. The problem is that  in
future  you'll  have to change your station name, frequency,  even
your  radio  voice and they'll always be on your trail.  The  good
thing  is that if pirates start attacking them they have to  bring
many  more police with them, and can only do it when spare  police
are  available. Also they are always looking over their shoulders,
and have to be more careful with their surveillance work.
One  way  to  hit back, on tower blocks, is to trap  them  in  the
lifts.  The lookouts signals up when they're in and you throw  the
main  power  switches in the lift room. Be careful you don't  trap
residents  as  well.  Then you take your  gear  down  the  stairs,
beating  up  any of them you meet on the way, and make off.  Their
cars  are also vulnerable, usually they're parked unguarded around
the  corner.  If  you're going to attack them directly  make  sure
you're well masked and tooled up and have enough skill and numbers
to  get past them. Go straight for the police officers and disable
them  before they can make their 'officer in distress' call  (take
or smash their radios, or have someone jamming their frequencies).
Other  direct ways of hitting back are attacking the DTI at  their
bases,  attacking  their  vehicles at the  depot,  obtaining  home
addresses  /  phone numbers of chief officers and  harassing  them
etc.
Remember they have the entire state apparatus backing them up, any
form  of  direct  attack should therefore be anonymous  and  never
spoken of or boasted about later (or before!).
When  the lookout signals a raid or anything very suspicious (e.g.
a  cop  car cruising too close too often) immediately switch  off,
dismantle the gear and move it (switch off the TX first, then  the
tapedeck.  DON'T rip out the aerial when the TX is still  switched
on!)
Building your pirate station

We're not talking here about commercial pirates, where its just  a
matter  of  having good financial backing, popular  DJ's  and  hit
records,  plenty  of  ads, jingles and news  replayed  from  legal
stations.
We're  talking about the 'do-it-yourself' community  or  political
pirate,  starting from square one, and doing something  worthwhile
and  original. The truth is that most commercial pirates, in their
effort  to  offend  nobody and build towards a  possible  licence,
practice  heavy  censorship  and  are  often  as  boring,   banal,
repetitive,  capitalist, sexist, elitist and even  anti-democratic
as  the  legal ones, though there are few exceptions. Such pirates
are  obsessed  with keeping their technology secret and  attacking
the competition at every opportunity.
Smaller,  non-commercial pirates are in a different situation  and
can  only  survive and develop by co-operation, with the  eventual
aim  of  breaking  the  state  and  commercial  monopoly  of  'Her
Majesty's' airwaves.

YOURSELF
First  thing you need is an interest in sound, and something worth
saying  or playing. Get a hold of a mike and a cassette  deck  and
play  around  with it. Record yourself, record any and everything.
Listen and record off the radio, off TV, off people's stereos,  in
the  street. Play back your results, see where you went wrong, and
try  again. Note down your results and ideas and discuss them with
others. Read everything you can find about sound and recording and
think  about why you want to be a radio pirate. Join the Free  The
Airwaves campaign and read their 'Radio Crimes' bulletins.

THE GROUP
You  need  to  find more people with similar ideas, and  not  just
'hangers  on'. You need to get to know each other well,  find  out
who  you  can trust, and ditch those you can't. Members should  be
prepared  to  share  in  the  tasks, risks  and  finances  equally
according  to  their abilities (in practice this rarely  happens).
Hold  regular meetings, just keeping in touch can be a problem  in
big  cities.  Go for maximum openness so everyone  knows  what  is
going on. Beware of the power freaks, ego trippers, party builders
etc. who are sure to turn up sooner or later.
A good point to start is with fund raising, arranging gigs, jumble
sales,  meetings, sponsored events or whatever, which  can  cement
your  group, attract more people, and advertise your station.  How
you  do  it depends a lot on the type of project you're doing.  If
for  example  you're  planning a minority  language  station  (and
there's  millions  in  Britain who have no radio  in  their  first
language)   you'll  want  to  advertise  widely   through   ethnic
organisations. If you're a 'revolutionary' group planning to claim
responsibility  for armed actions you won't want to  advertise  at
all.  Minority music stations are the most common. But we'd advice
you to widen and deepen your group, or join with others, if you're
going  to build and maintain the commitment (and cash) to  keep  a
station going. Many music stations get backing from clubs, and are
the  platform for the disgustingly egotistical and inane DJ's  who
work in those clubs. Such solid backing is a good idea however. If
you're running a station, you'll be hard pushed to fund a raise as
well.  If you see your station as a part of a wider movement (e.g.
anti-war,  women, gay, anarchist, animal rights etc.)  you  should
try  to get regular backing from that movement. Another good trick
is  to  siphon  off small amounts of cash regularly from  council,
charity  or  student union funded bodies which  your  members  are
involved in. What you need is income, not a lot, even ú20  a  week
would  do if regular. If some of your members have good jobs  they
might  be  able to do it, otherwise you could be tied  in  with  a
money  making co-op or small business. One example of this is  the
squatters pirates in Amsterdam, who can get a small regular income
from  a  fund raised by a small tax on drink in squatted pubs  and
cafes.

OPEN ACCESS
Once  your  group is going well, and you've started to make  tapes
and  get  the  gear and cash together, you should think  seriously
about teaming up with other groups who you broadly agree with  (or
don't  disagree). For example at the moment (late 1986) there  are
dozens  of  such  groups who have failed to  get  Community  Radio
licences and are dying to get their stuff on air, though afraid to
'go pirate' in their present hostile climate.
The  idea  of  'Open Access' is to share a frequency, studios  and
even  transmitting gear to start with, with different groups.  The
advantages are obvious... more money coming in from more  sources,
less  equipment  needed  to begin with,  a  pooling  of  technical
abilities,  more  political  clout,  more  participation,   bigger
audiences  etc.  A  good way to approach this idea  is  by  having
public meetings, contact Free The Airwaves campaign etc.
The  problems come with co-ordination, political rivalry, possible
infiltration and the sharing of tasks. For an Open Access grouping
you  need  regular democratic meetings of all involved  (at  least
monthly) and insist on full attendance. You need a few good people
who are into organising it and making it work. Another problem  is
with  broadcasting. You should aim for everyone having  their  own
gear  and broadcast team as soon as you can, so you will  be  more
difficult  to stop by the police and DTI. So you should insist  on
every  group producing tapes providing at least two trusted people
regularly  both to the broadcast team and to work on the technical
and backup side of it (building, repairing, purchasing etc.).
Open  Access station depend on co-operation, if you have that then
all  the other advantages come into play, but you are fighting all
the  time against our training, in this society, to be competitive
and  individualist.  The  ideas of Open  Access  radio  have  been
pioneered in this country by stations like Sheffield Peace  Radio,
Our  Radio  and  Cambridge Community Radio and its worth  studying
their  experience quite closely, as well as the  example  of  such
stations and Federations of pirates in other countries. Its  often
fatal  to  allow one person, however benevolent they may seem,  to
become  a leader or spokesperson for an Open Access grouping.  The
straight media also love this to happen.

LOCAL / "COMMUNITY" PIRATE RADIO
The word 'community' has lost any real meaning, through misuse and
over-use  (e.g.  'Community Policing'). The old style  communities
are  thing of the past (if they ever really existed) except on the
Soap  Operas,  as  the system breaks us all down  into  individual
consumers. So if you're talking about 'Community Radio' you should
be  quite  clear what you mean by it, and what the State means  by
proposing (and then cancelling) such an ideas. What class, ethnic,
interest,  political  or gender sections of  the  people  are  you
aiming your pirate radio at? Or better, creating your pirate radio
with?  Or are you really working on your own career? Or trying  to
create 'community' in your own head?....
Local pirate radio is a more clear idea. There are many advantages
to  broadcasting locally, e.g. more broadcasting sites, harder  to
get  caught, room for more pirates on the broadcast band,  cheaper
and easier to built transmitters, closer contact and participation
of  listeners etc. In a big city it's a good idea for your station
to  base  yourselves  in  one  area, whether  you're  broadcasting
locally  or  city-wide. You need a local base, and local  backing,
financial  if possible. If your station is appealing to one  small
section  of listeners it may not however make sense to do a  local
station,  because  the  potential listeners  are  fewer.  A  local
station should aim at a fairly wide section of the population.  An
Open  Access  station  would work well on a local  basis,  as  co-
ordination would be easier, and all kinds of interest and minority
groups  could  be persuaded to make programmes. On a  local  basis
publicity  and  support  are  much  easier  to  get,  as  is   the
possibility of mobilising people to defend you when attacked, e.g.
a popular station in the middle of the large housing estate. Local
broadcasting in inner city areas can nevertheless involve hundreds
of  thousands of potential listeners. Most of the smaller existing
pirates are, in effect, local stations, because of the limitations
of  height  and the power of their transmitters, though  very  few
allow any access or see themselves as a local voice and resource.

How to make a studio

Back   to  square  one,  you've  fooled  around  with  tapes   and
microphones, but soon you're going to want your own studio. If you
have  no  cash don't let that stop you! Most of the  gear  can  be
borrowed  to start off with. For beginners purpose a studio  is  a
small  room,  a  couple  of  turntables  and  cassette  decks,   a
microphone,  headphones, and a small disco mixer,  a  plug  board,
leads, some records and a table to put it all on. You'll also need
some  blank cassette tapes, and sound effects records if  you  can
(borrow from a record library).
After that it's just practice and patience, knowing and collecting
your  material, and getting more or better sound gear  as  you  go
along.
Having  said  that  there's plenty of tips  we  can  give  you.  A
permanent  room  is handy. Sound proof it if you  can,  cardboard,
layers of carpet, egg boxes or Styrofoam are all good. Try to plan
it  out before you start as to have everything within reach of the
operator(s), while having enough room for the interviews and group
work.  If you build your own control desk you can drill holes  and
arrange  for all the leads to disappear and join underneath,  much
less  hassle. If you're buying cassette decks try to get something
also  suitable  for outdoor work. Try it out before  buying,  e.g.
don't  get one which leaves a loud click on the recording whenever
you  lift the pause button. Quality and editing are better if  you
record  your  final product from mixer onto a reel  to  reel  tape
recorder,   though  it  means  re-recording  onto  cassettes   for
broadcasting,  and  a good cassette deck can  give  near  as  good
results  and is cheaper. If buying a microphone it's worth getting
a good directional one suitable for studio and outdoor interviews,
and  make  sure  the 'impedance' suits your mixer. A  'cheap'  ú50
disco  mixer will do the job (you can even mix through some stereo
units). If you have the cash go for the flashy new ú150 range with
built  in graphic equaliser with which you can do wonders. Another
tip, keep mike leads, din leads and power leads well separate each
other  and make sure everything is well earthed (from the  chassis
if necessary). If you also have 'hum' problems with cassette decks
try plugging in the power lead the other way round (i.e. where  it
goes  into  deck). Use cheap turntables, not automatics,  and  buy
ones  which  use cheap cartridges, as you'll have to replace  them
often anyway. Use good quality cassette tapes however. C120's  are
best for length of programme, but get the best or they'll tear  or
jam. On the turntables put in your own on-off 'cue' switches,  for
ease  of operation. When you've 'cued' a record to where you  want
to  start, turn it a full turn back, by hand, to avoid slow  start
up  noise. Try and have an LED meter on the mixer and on the final
tape  recorder, allow the needle to go just into the red for music
recording, but only half way up for speech recording. For group in
terviews  an  omni-directional mike can be handy, and pay  special
attention  to  sound recording levels and background noise.  Don't
use  telephone in the studio. Though the phone is the lifeline  of
democratic radio, in the present climate it means you'll be busted
and/or have everything in the room recorded by the police....
You  really  do  need  two turntables, and at least  two  cassette
decks... All these tips, and more you'll pick up as you go  along,
but  it's  good to work out standard 'how to use the  studio'  for
newcomers.  Pay  attention  to safety,  e.g.  have  the  plugboard
(fused)  well out of the way, and don't allow coffee or beer  near
the gear. Read a book on basic sound studios.
One  last tip, lock it up well, especially if it's not in your own
home,  and barricade and cover any windows. there's one sure thing
about  accumulating sound gear... sooner or later someone'll  nick
it!

The programme

This   is  entirely  up  to  yourself.  No  need  to  follow   any
conventions.   Some  people  say  have  to  'master'  conventional
programming  before you can do something different. Other  say  if
you do that you'll never do anything different.
Again  there are some hard learned tips for pirate. It's  good  to
talk  with all concerned before starting, make a list of  all  the
possible material gathered (music, interviews, sound effects, news
items,  jokes  or whatever) and try to put it into  some  kind  of
order. A signature tune or jingle isn't such a bad idea, as people
recognise  the programme by it, often after they've forgotten  the
name.  Repeat the name of your programme often, but not too often,
along  with your frequency and broadcast time. Put your  important
items  first  (e.g.  a demo next day, your appeal  etc.)  as  it's
always  possible you may be busted before the programme  ends.  If
you're excepting a bust put all your best material first and  keep
the  programme short. Use first names (false ones) and try to have
a  friendly, relaxed atmosphere and give everyone present a go  on
the  microphone  and control desk. While throwing out  conventions
don't forget that we're all conditioned to quick variety and short
attention  spans. Long single person interviews  are  not  on,  no
matter how interesting, but need breaking up, also remember people
are  continually tuning in (and out) and if doing long pieces  you
need  to  'flash  back'  the story so far. You  need  variety  and
interaction without sticking in jingles every 30 seconds. Try  and
make  it  interesting / enjoyable / entertaining both for you  and
the audience, otherwise why to bother?...
Style  and themes are your department. It's easy on radio  to  get
arrogantly carried away with an idea of your own ego, or with 'in'
jokes or political hobby horse, watch out for this. Practice  with
using  the gear, good preparation and research make everything  go
much smoothly. Background music and fading music in and out can be
very  effective if done well. A large studio, tea breaks etc. help
a  lot.  The more time you put in the better the result (usually),
you can spend a whole night making a good one hour current affairs
programme, for instance.
More than that is hard to say, so much depends on the people,  the
subject,  the projected audience, the time of broadcast  etc.  You
should  actively go out and seek feedback and opinions from people
you  know  have listened. Probably you won't bee able to do  phone
ins  and mail is slow and erratic (don't worry if you don't get  a
big  postbag, few stations or programmes really do). It's easy  to
become cut off and feel like you're talking into a vacuum, or  get
completely wrong idea of what kind of people are listening.
Making  programmes  is  really  not  that  hard,  however  bad  an
inexperienced you are, you can quite easily improve on some of the
'aural shit' being pumped out by legal stations over the airwaves,
24 hours per day!

Publicity

Publicity  is very important, especially when you're starting  off
your  new station. Of course your main publicity is to keep coming
back  on  air, no matter what. But if you're hoping for a minority
audience  to tune in specially you need to advertise a  lot  where
those  people are likely to see or read it. Be warned, there's  no
real  tradition  in  this  country for  large  scale  support  for
pirates,  and people often tend to consume the media  i.e.  forget
instantly they switch off. It could take you long time to build up
the  regular, participate audience, and the solid support you need
to attract new blood, break even financially etc.
If  you're  a  local  station your publicity is  obviously  a  lot
easier, and you can poster, graffiti, or even leaflet your  entire
reception area. If you're a wider station make sure you're  always
mentioned in the 'what's on' papers and get articles or interviews
into  any  paper  likely to support you. Send  out  regular  press
releases  to  the local and national press, and try  to  cultivate
contacts  among  the  slimy  reptiles  (journalists).  Almost  any
publicity is good, as those people likely to listen in to you will
also  likely read behind the bias of Tory press. Oddly, one  place
you  should certainly seek publicity is on radio, try for instance
getting onto phone ins. On radio you are already talking to people
who listen to it! TV, if you can find any way to stunt to get onto
it,  is the most powerful publicity and you should certainly court
the  bastards  running the local TV news, this kind of  appearance
really  does  stick  in people's minds and start  them  talking...
Strangely  enough  the media are not overly  hostile  to  pirates,
providing  you're just an oddity, not a direct threat. Many  media
workers  hate  the shit they're forced to produce and  admire  the
'romantic'  pirates. You should play on this for all  it's  worth,
and  always try and get your frequency and broadcast times across.
They  will sometimes put you on, as an interesting item.  Remember
that pirate radio is a 'victimless crime'!
If you're mainly a music station you should publicise where people
listen  to  that  type of music, if you have  your  own  club,  of
course,  you're laughing. Join Free The Airwaves and get publicity
in  their  paper. Write articles for radio pages, and  do  benefit
gigs,  public  meetings, media stunts, whatever  you  can  manage.
Choose  a  catchy, hard hitting name for your station.  If  you're
doing  political stuff they're going to go for you anyway, so  you
might as well get value for effort!
Remember,  if you want to be a participatory station, you'll  have
to  go  out  and  seek  feedback. Get out on  the  street  and  do
interviews whatever you can. Take along your cassette recorder  to
every  type  of  event, the more different voices  and  views  the
better.

Building up your pirate station

It's  hard  to  give  advice about longer  term  development,  but
there's a few things worth saying. First of all it's important  to
pace  yourselves. It's easy to start off with a lot of enthusiasm,
then  get busted off the air, or just burnt out with too much work
or  too few people. However good or different you are you will  be
very  lucky  to  build  up  a  regular audience  or  mass  support
overnight. Though your potential number of listeners may  be  huge
you  can  except  response  to  be  slow.  Breaking  down  passive
consumption  of  the  media is not easy. Having  your  own  clubs,
events, regular demos etc. helps, as do dramatic publicity stunts.
You  need  to work out what you're aiming at. We say support,  par
ticipation and a large number of listeners is a good aim. But  you
may  just  be  broadcasting as a way of pressuring for  a  licence
(which is a bit of a sell-out and a pipedream). Ideally you should
plan  ahead and gradually increase your broadcasting times,  while
developing all aspects of your station, rather than going all  out
and then collapsing at the first bust. The best advice then is  to
operate  well within your capabilities, and to join  up  with  any
other  pirates  who are not commercial and not racist,  sexist  or
fascist. Your longer term aim, as a pirate, should be to  reach  a
situation  where  you  have  so much support  (money,  volunteers,
transmitters,  listener support etc.) that the state  just  cannot
wipe  you  out at will. The best hope for pirates is to swamp  the
forces  of  repression by sheer numbers, as happened, at different
times,  in  Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and  now,  it
seems,  in  Spain.  This does not imply chaos,  but  co-operation,
federations and sharing of the available airwaves and  times.  The
swamping  the airwaves is NOT going to be caused by the commercial
pirates,  hogging, hiding and mystifying the technology  and  even
sabotaging  each other. However if we do manage to  start  a  non-
commercial  movement  of  pirates  capable  of  doing  this   then
commercial  pirates will jump onto the airwaves, with more  power,
and try to force us off. This would be a major problem.
It  is  a  mistake and an excuse to blame the Tories and  the  new
draconian laws for the lack of alternative pirates in Britain. The
main  thing  stopping  us  is the lack  of  any  strong  combative
movement (whether it be workers, women, anarchist, or whatever) in
which  to  build a big wave of pirates, though there are literally
millions of symphatetic people about.

Medium wave

ADVANTAGES AND PROBLEMS
At  the  moment FM broadcasting, with all its advantages,  is  the
favourite  for pirates. But it's well worth pointing out  that  at
least 25% of radio receivers in Britain can't even receive FM,  so
you can't pick up most pirates on older radios. Another thing,  in
some hilly areas FM broadcasts have a very bad coverage area.  And
a third advantage, you can cover a very much bigger area on MW, at
least  potentially. MW can be the best choice for you,  especially
if  you're  in a country area, or in hills or mountains,  or  only
want  to  broadcast  by  day and aren't too  worried  about  sound
quality. MW transmitters are also fairly cheap and easy to  build,
and  because you use a crystal there's no problem with  tuning  or
with  'sprogs'  (harmonics). Though the antenna is a  huge  length
it's  just a roll of wire, and doesn't necessarily have to  be  up
high,  which gives you a quite different, if still limited,  range
of  possible broadcasting sites. MW works by bouncing radio  waves
back off the stratosphere, not by line of sight like FM.
Of  course  there's  lots  of other disadvantages,  one  is  sound
quality,  and stereo is out of the question, and there's not  much
free  space  on the wave band, chiefly because of a host  European
stations, which become stronger at night, blotting your relatively
weak signal (this is due to atmospheric changes we are told).  The
TX  is  also bigger and heavier (about 12" x 8" x 6") and   you'll
probably need to use car batteries.
One  thing  I  forgot,  if  you want to reach  any  of  the  50000
prisoners  in Brit. jails, you must use MW, FM is still banned  in
prison, for some typically petty reason.
It is also agreed that you're generally less likely to get busted.
In the present repressive climate that's well worth considering.

How to broadcast on MW (540 - 1600 kHz)

YOUR TRANSMITTER
Enough general talk. So you want to broadcast on MW. So here's how
to  do it. First your transmitter. Medium Wave transmitters aren't
so  hard  to build, any good amateur radio buff could do  it,  and
there's people around who will build them (reckon to spend ú100 to
ú150).  The  technology is tried and tested and our design  is  as
good as any. The TX is valve operated and you use a crystal (which
you  have to order on the chosen wave length) which keeps  you  on
frequency  without the problems of FM. So you have to decide  from
the start which frequency you're going for and stick to it, or buy
a  new crystal. When choosing your frequency remember that it must
be  divisible by 9... MW frequencies are separated  by  9  kHz  by
international treaty. If your signal doesn't conform  you'll  prob
ably  have  the  DTI and police down on you faster.  If  you  have
problems getting a MW transmitter you may be able to buy a kit  or
adapt an amateur radio transmitter.
ADAPTING A MW TRANSMITTER
I'm  not  exactly an expert on this and the following  info  comes
from  the US. Apparently you can easily buy second hand radio  ham
transmitters  and  adapt them. The best to go for  is  the  Viking
Valiant  (200 watt) or the Viking Ranger (75 watt), both  made  by
Johnson  &  Co.  These ham radios are well built,  have  excellent
audio and moreover have built in VFO's (variable frequency oscilla
tors)  which make them simple to modify to work on the top end  of
the  AM band. All you need to do the RF (radio frequency) circuits
is to add capacitance to the 160 metre tuned circuits. And all you
must  do  to  the  audio circuits is to bypass the  first  pre-amp
(assuming you're using a line level instead of a mike level).  One
other thing, you must bypass the speech frequency filter, which is
located between the 2nd pre-amp and the driver.
When  buying such a 2nd hand ham transmitter: A) Get one with  160
metre  capability. B) Don't pay more than ú100  for  one(???).  C)
Make sure it has plate modulation (look inside and check there are
two  transformers well separated from each other). D) Don't get  a
'kit built' one with dodgy wiring and if possible check the valves
before buying, they're rather costly.

SETTING UP YOUR AERIAL (MW)
Security precautions and preparation are the same as for  FM.  But
there the similarity ends. For a start your total aerial length is
1/4 your wavelength, so if your wavelength was 200 metres, for  in
stance,  your aerial would be 50 metres long! You use  a  ordinary
thin  single  strand wire. Buy a roll, keep it  on  the  roll  and
measure  it  out, metre by metre. Ideally the aerial  would  point
straight up, but that's just not feasible, unless you hang it  out
from the side of a tower block or a steeple, or suspend it from  a
balloon  (only the balloon blows away). The normal method  is  the
'dogleg'  which  works just fine. The ideal site is  a  field,  or
deserted  common land, far away from houses, with two  tall  trees
(only  2  if  possible, poplars are best) about 30  to  40  metres
apart. Now string the 'dogleg' between the trees and down to  your
TX  without touching branches or leaves. Sounds impossible? If you
have  a trained monkey that's just fine. Otherwise try our method.
Practice and patience is necessary.
Bring  along  with you a catapult, a long reel of 70 lb.  strength
fishing line, a plenty of lead fishing weights (not too heavy  for
the  catapult).  Also some small plastic rings (cut  out  lids  of
plastic containers work fine).
Tie one end of the fishing line to a lead weight, leaving the line
coiled neatly and loosely on a piece of bare ground. Then fore the
lead weight from the catapult right over the centre of a tree!  Go
and  search for it (don't try this at night). Tie on your  plastic
ring in place of the weight and pass about 30 metre of your aerial
wire through the ring. Now get your mate to pull the other end  of
the  fishing line, if it doesn't get tangled pull it till the ring
is about 5 metres from the tree top. Tie the fishing line securely
(to  the  tree), cut it, and head for the second tree. Repeat  the
performance,  firing right over the tree from the far  side.  Pull
the aerial end through, and this time tie it to the ring. Pull  up
as  before to about 5 m from the top and tie the line. Now back to
the  roll of aerial wire (extended with fishing line as necessary)
and  start pulling it in till it's suspended without touching  the
trees!  It's hard to get it just right so the aerial reaches  your
TX  and is tight, adjust fishing line lengths and / or position of
TX. Better choose two trees too far apart than too close. When you
finally  get  it all set it's hardly worth taking  it  down  again
after the broadcast, though you should loosen it off or it'll snap
in  the  wind. Disguise it if possible. A further problem  can  be
with  kids  and passers by, disguise your actions, bringing  along
fishing  rods or a kite is a good ploy. One of the best  broadcast
sites is a clearing in a large wood. On Medium Wave remember,  you
can  go  right outside the city and still cover it and  lots  more
besides.

SETTING UP THE GEAR
The  transmitter should be on wet ground. If it's dry, wet it. Mud
is  good stuff. The aerial wire should be taut all the way. Bushes
are  an  advantage, for concealment, but don't let any  touch  the
aerial.  Your  power supply is a 12 volt car battery.  Bring  two,
well  charged up, if you're broadcasting for more than few  hours,
medium wave uses a lots of power. If your TX is on mains (240 VAC)
you'll have to get it adapted using a 'rotary invertor', it's  not
difficult. A lorry battery is the real thing, but what a  drag  to
carry! If there's a chance to go on mains, by running a line  from
somewhere,  you should go for it. Otherwise wear old  clothes  and
gloves  against acid spills. When choosing your site  balance  the
need for remoteness with the problems of moving the gear.
The  transmitter  must  be  very well earthed,  the  earth  is  an
essential  part of the aerial system. Use a ring of  metal  stakes
(e.g.  tent  stakes)  and  file off any  rust  or  dirt  for  good
connections. Attach the stakes securely to the chassis of your TX,
with  the  thick metal straps or wires held by butterfly  nuts  or
strong clean battery clips.
So  far  so good. The cassette player, on the contrary, should  be
off  the  ground, on a box or whatever. As usual  keep  the  audio
lead, battery leads and aerial wire as far apart as possible.  The
cassette  player  is  normally powered by  a  6  volt  motor  bike
battery, with suitable leads. Torch batteries are dear and have  a
pathetic lifespan.

SWITCHING ON
Connect  up  your batteries, load up your cassette player  with  a
'trial tape' and you're ready to go.
1)  Turn  tuning  adjuster to the right till the meter  gives  the
lowest reading.
2) Turn 'load' adjuster till meter rises about 50 milliamps.
3) Tune again till it drops about 25 mA.
4) Load up again as above.
5)  Carry on procedure till you get a load of about 150 mA on a 20
W  transmitter,  or  100  mA  on a 10  W  rig.  Your  last  tuning
adjustment should produce virtually no dip on the meter needle.
6)  Adjust  modulation in relation to other channels to  get  your
best  sound. Use a radio receiver held at least 50 yards away  for
testing.
7)  If there is crackling, knocking or bad sound, repeat from  the
beginning.  Check that your stakes are in well damp  ground,  that
all  lines  are well separated, that aerial isn't touching  trees,
hold receiver further away etc.
If  you've done all the above you should be broadcasting loud  and
clear.  If your signal is still wretched chances are your  crystal
is burnt out, or something is blown. Then go home.
If all is well, switch off and await the time of your programme is
due  to  start. Don't detach aerial wire with the TX still  turned
on.

PACKING UP
When  you're  finished,  switch off immediately.  Then  disconnect
everything  and  pack  into  holdalls or  large  plastic  bag.  Be
especially  careful carrying the TX with it delicate  valves.  You
should  have several sites, and switch as often as you can.  Don't
re-use a site after an attempted bust. If you have a good dry safe
stash  and  are coming back best leave your transmitter,  cassette
deck  and  leads  there,  and just take  the  batteries  back  for
recharging. Such a stash should be in cover, be quite sure  a  hid
den  watcher or bod with binoculars couldn't spot you stashing the
gear.  It's likely that the DTI will send in men to sneak  up  and
watch you, prior to planning a bust, so be careful, even when  not
on air, don't relax till safely home.

WHEN ON AIR, PRECAUTIONS (MW)
Read  the  FM  chapter 'How to get away with it'. A lot  of  those
precautions also apply.
At  a  MW  site your chances should be much better,  you  need  on
person just to stay near the TX, in case of kids, passers by  etc.
and  to  grab or hide it fast when they get the danger signal.  On
many  sites  you  can work out lookout points to  give  plenty  of
warning.  However  you might as well abandon  the  batteries,  and
certainly  the  aerial,  if you have  to  run  far.  If  you  have
transport  or good escape routes you can try a clean getaway,  but
safer method is to hide the gear well (not too close to the aerial
if it's left up) and beat it. We favour bunkers, holes pre-dug and
lined with waterproofs, under rocks, with heavy lids covered  with
earth  and  bushes. In theory they could find these with  dogs  or
metal detectors, but we've never heard of them succeeding or  even
trying  (you could always bury bits of metal all over the  place).
The possibilities are unlimited, if you're on the ball there's  no
reason  they should get the gear... and without that they  have  a
lousy case against you.




Busts.... If all goes wrong

You're  nicked. What you say to them depends on the circumstances.
If they haven't got you, deny it point blank, give them your cover
story  and a verifiable address, and stick to your story no matter
what. The problem with this is if they have nicked others and they
give different stories, a different name for you etc. Best discuss
all this beforehand. If caught on the hop, best say you don't know
any of the others. You're caught in the act or with the gear. Give
them  a  verifiable  name and address and refuse  to  discuss  the
matter further. No matter what. People have managed to get off  in
the  past,  even with the gear in their hands, but under  the  new
laws this is unlikely.
Although  they can arrest and charge you, illegal broadcasting  is
still  normally treated as a 'summons offence', which  means  they
question you, let you go (eventually), then summons you by  letter
to  appear in court. This opens possibilities of getting away with
it  -  you  may  be able to bullshit them with a false  name  etc.
(though they can now hold you on suspicion of doing this for three
days). They will normally 'ask to accompany to the station', or if
they've  raided your flat may interrogate you there and  then.  If
you  refuse  to  go  to  the station they  will  arrest  you  (for
obstruction,  insulting words, suspicion of  stealing  electricity
etc.)  and  take  you there, where you can be interviewed  by  the
police and DTI. The 'pretext charge' is often dropped later.  When
interviewed  on the station it's better really to  refuse  to  say
anything,  especially if there are several of you,  cover  stories
usually  fall  apart under long and detailed questioning.  However
silence  usually means they will hold you longer. If they get  you
to   the  station  they  are  pretty  certain  to  photograph  and
fingerprint you. You can't refuse under the Police Bill.
When nicked your best bet is to remain calm.
Demand  to ring your solicitor. Don't panic, it's not the  end  of
the  world. Smile at the bastards. Have a good kip in the  cell  -
you've done your best.

Fighting your case

It's  usually months before your summons arrives, if  they  decide
they  have  a case. Get legal aid if at all possible, and  a  good
solicitor  who knows the, by now, pretty complex legal  situation.
Plead  NOT  GUILTY, but beware if you have money, they  may  award
costs  against you if you lose. Get your Bust Fund together,  with
gigs, jumble, radio appeals, donations all round etc. It's good to
campaign  about  your  bust on the air if your  station  is  still
going. Most commercial (read conservative) pirates don't do  this,
carrying  their bid for respectability so far as to  ignore  their
own best weapon. Make  sure the address you gave when arrested  is
'clean',  they  could  possibly  raid  you  to  look  for  further
evidence.  If you're a political station watch out for  suspicious
break-ins where nothing is stolen, the Branch often do this.
Get  your  story  straight,  get  witnesses  to  write  out  their
statements  together, make copies and give them to your solicitor.
Don't  trust  your  solicitor too far, they sometimes  say  'plead
guilty'  just to save themselves trouble, if he/she starts getting
cold feet get yourself a new one (they don't like this at all  but
it  can  be  done). Get your solicitor to ask for  copies  of  the
prosecutions  witness statements in advance of the case  and  make
sure  you  see  them. In court dress neatly and be polite  to  the
bastard (magistrate) and the filth. Have a good 'hard luck'  story
for  your  solicitor to tell, it's always good to say you're  just
getting  married, starting a new job etc., but don't say you  have
money  or  the fines will be bumped up higher. If you're going  to
'bend  the truth' a little don't tell your solicitor you're  doing
it,  and  be sure friends watching in court don't start  laughing!
The DTI and police will lie anyway, more likely than not, get your
witnesses to focus on these lies and your solicitor to cross  ques
tion  them closely, especially any police witnesses, who are  more
stupid  and  inexperienced in this kind  of  case.  Demonstrations
outside  the  court  are  good publicity and  can  intimidate  the
magistrate if big enough, but don't always help your case (e.g. if
you're pleading 'dumb bystander' how come all these people are  so
concerned about you?). If you want press, send out Press  Releases
at  least  a  week in advance, so the hacks can put  it  in  their
diaries, and phone sound with reminders the day before.
Your  fine should be paid by the Bust Fund if at all possible.  If
not,  extra  costs  should be divided up  among  everyone  in  the
station (always plead poverty and ask for time to pay).
When  you've been busted once you shouldn't, ideally, work on  the
broadcasting end again, though you could still do lookout, backup,
monitoring  etc.,  as second offenders normally  get  the  maximum
fine.
If you win the case, as quite often happens, have a good party!
If  you  win there is also some possibility, in theory of claiming
the gear back, though this is much less likely under the new laws.
Ask  your  solicitor  about it, and there's a chance  get  someone
else,  with  some kind of receipt, to apply for it, saying  they'd
bought it before the bust.

Some adverts: (1986, addresses may be different?)

Radio Support Group
To  join  Radio Support Group and get updates and development  aid
write to:
Radio Support Group
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Avon BS1 3PY

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technical updates on these designs, and much more. To join FTA and
receive  the  bulletin  send  ú2 (for organisations  ú10)  to  the
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