The AM Forum

Just saw a short trailer on TV for a movie titled "Pirate Radio" to be released in November, based on a fictitous 60's Brit pirate station. Looks like a FB soundtrack...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/3451337/pirate_radio_movie_trailer/

Name change.

This movie came out back in the spring of 2009.  I saw it on an airplane in August.  What is known as "The Boat That Rocked" is being released in the US in November as "Pirate Radio".

Theres some more trailers and info here:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131729/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131729/)



Sam / KS2AM

I remember hearing that some of the scenes have ben deleted for the American version. It's supposed to have been based on Radio Caroline, but I can't remember where I heard that.
Shelby KB3OUK

Looks like a decent comedy but don't expect much radio in it ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boat_That_Rocked

here are some real tracks from a real pirate.

http://www.bunkerofdoom.com/vorv/index.html

Arguably the greatest pirate ever.

http://www.amwindow.org/misc/mp3/RadioClandestine.mp3

The announcer of Radio Radio Clandestine sounds remarkably like the same guy that did the pirate radio Vietnam broadcasts.

We would probably be surprised at the talent and a way different idea to broadcasting, that corporate radio will never air, on pirate radio.
A breath of fresh RF.

I thought it would be a movie version of Allan Weiner's adventures as a young broadcaster with his BC610 and the radio ships, the big TX's he had on the air.

Fred

Then towards the end show the now legal "pirate" station that he now runs. I first heard about  this move on his show if I remember right.  think he may have even said somethng bout it last night. But if they were to do a movie on Allan and his pirate days and include WBCQ in it, they'd have to include all the people who keep BCQ alive. Wonder where they'd find a Timtron lookalike?

They already found him for The Boat That Rocked.  :)

Sam / KS2AM

LOL! Great photos Sam.

Few compare with The Voice of Communism, replete with 50 Hz hum. If you never listened to Radio Moscow during the cold war, the humor will be lost on you.

http://www.amwindow.org/misc/mp3/VOC.mp3

I recall seeing in the trailer for this film that the audio console was an older tubed Gates unit.

73,

Bruce

Or Radio Tirana (Albania) during the height of the cold war years, when they routinely referred to the Americans on-air as "imperialist running dogs".

Even Radio Moscow wasn't that bad.

73,

Bruce

Hans and Franz....good schtuff

These are facts !

Talk about a lookalike,just needs his hair color changed a bit. But wonder if he can belch like the Tron can. Speaking of Timtron, listening to the 10th anniversary episode of Radio Timtron Worldwide right now.
Shelby KB3OUK  

There's a Voice of Communism clip in the AM audio vault here i think, and I think there's a Radio Moscow clip too.

And also like the guy who did the commercials for Squeegee J-S (at the sign of the unbound balls)  (a product of the Grotex corporation)

Available in many sizes ...

You mean this....

Wasn't Radio Clandestine on the FeeCee's most wanted list?

A lot of the studio equipment used in the movie was actually borrowed from Radio Caroline.

"Pirate Radio" aka "The Boat That Rocked" starts tomorrow.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809998397/info (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809998397/info)

(http://www.wildaboutmovies.com/images_7/PirateRadio-1Sheet_000.jpg)

I wonder what scenes were deleted for the American release of the film, and if the full version might become available on DVD.

I listened to Radio London a few times in the summer of 1965.  I think it was the most listened to pirate at the time, but they closed down promptly at 9 PM, apparently because of the selective fading that heavily distorted the signal.  It was practically unlistenable for an hour or so before shut-down; sounded more like slopbucket than AM.  I seem to recall hearing R. Caroline, but they were pissweak.  From the Netherlands I listened to R. North Sea on FM in about 1972.  By then, the British pirates had mostly gone dark.  The UK government respected the 12 mi. limit and didn't try to physically force them off the air like the FCC did to Al Weiner's station, but they made it illegal with substantial penalties for any UK based business to advertise over the pirates and thus cut off their source of revenue.

There was one that instead of using a ship, set up a station on an abandoned platform in the Channel that had been used for some purpose in WW2, maybe for radar or for anti-aircraft  gunnery.  It was invaded and taken off the air by a rival group of pirates.  I think this happened sometime in the late 60's or early 70's.  I seem to recall that someone got shot in the process.

There's a book on-line about pirate radio stations, actually not the whole book but excerpts, however it is still pretty interesting.  I was looking at the content that focused on the 1960s and 1970s.  There was a pirate in the Midwest, Voyager, that supposedly ran a HT-20.  I had heard the 20 was a popular pirate rig because it's 100 w. and can be tuned up anywhere from 1.8 to 30 MHz.  Here's a link to the book:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Vs_O3zeq-8wC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false (http://books.google.com/books?id=Vs_O3zeq-8wC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false)

73
Rob
K5UJ

A book by a pirate we all know...who went on to found WBCQ.
Read it some years ago, back when WBCQ was starting out, a good read.

Of course now, the internet has really given everyone "access to the airwaves",
can't see much need for "pirate radio" using RF unless you're fresh out of broadband.  ;)

http://www.amazon.com/Access-Airwaves-Fight-Free-Radio/dp/1559501634

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5172WN9A2QL._SS500_.jpg)

Something I could never see the point of was the pirates who played music on slopbucket with stock SSB ham transceivers.  There used to be a bunch of those just below 40m. Even if you could manage to tune them in correctly, their audio was terrible, worse than an early 1900's Edison cylinder or a tin-can telephone.

Unless you could get a strapping AM signal on the air with decent audio quality, the whole thing would have been a waste of time.  I recall hearing that some FCC official called the signal quality of Radio Clandestine "professional".

AHHH Yes Don,
I was treading in a dangerous way on 6955 for a while with REAL A.M. audio from a  modified T368 and there was quite a competition for listeners between me and another pirate, Radio Metallica, Ron Boot(?)
Monitoring times reported a lot of comments about KRAP and the good sound. Got into S. Africa one strange December night. A lot of folks sent tapes and it was pretty good for the distance covered. The S African reception was really beat to death. YOUTUBE wasn't so popular back in the mid 90's.
Allan was definitely a radio warrior and the movie seems like it leaves a lot to be desired. Was Allan consulted for any of the movie's production?
Fred

It would amaze me if the FCC even bothers with pirates any more unless there is a complaint. Even so, one would have to keep a regular or announced schedule to get busted these days it seems.

Maybe this activity was popular from the 60's to the 90's. I did not hear one pirate on halloween, that should say something.

For the movie I suppose we would have to wait for the DVD with the "dirtectors cut" and "deleted scenes".

The original version has been available on DVD since August 18, 2009:
http://www.amazon.com/Boat-That-Rocked-Blu-ray/dp/B002D0L0XG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1258336437&sr=8-6

And, there's also this feature length documentary called Pirate Radio USA that's been out on DVD since December 11,2008:
http://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Radio-USA-Jeff-Pearson/dp/B001NMT8F2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1258336437&sr=8-2

Saw the movie this afternoon in Santa Fe. It was predominantly the sex and rockNroll story of the DJs themselves, as fictionalized by some interesting and funny characters. Some good old music, Hendrix, Who, Stones, Moody Blues, etc. Also had an ancient Gates console, a Spotmaster cart machine, and few other relics. They never showed the transmitter side, or any engineering guys. When the ship was sinking, the transmitter amazingly stayed on the air until the studio was nearly completely underwater. Nice stunt. Our local audience gave applause at the end of the film, as the DJs managed to keep it on the air despite the prime Minister's effort to have "Radio Rock" shut down. This indicated the age of the audience for this film today, lot of early boomers and ex-hippies.

When I was 10 years old,  I rode my bike down to a TV repair shop and purchased a Sig generator for $2.  Took it home, Wired in an input lead from my Stereo, ran that to an OLD CB antenna on the fence. It transmitted around the block. I would play tapes and ride around on my bike with my Sharp portable stereo playing.. Does that count?  LOL   




Clark

Yes it does!

LOL... I guess I am a pirate.. Arrrggg.. Swab the deck! Tie the Skurvy dog to the yard arm!   Arrrgg! Shiver me timbers!

I am going to try to catch this movie!

C

This discussion led me to buy a copy, which just showed up at my door. From what I've read so far it's worth a read. Interesting guy!

Scroll down and click on the "pirate radio" clip to hear an interview with one of the real pirate DJs, Johnnie Walker. He was one of the voices that filled the airwaves from ships off the English coast during a time when the BBC offered very little pop music. Walker worked for Radio Caroline.

http://www.hereandnow.org/2009/11/rundown-1113/#6



Here is a web site that sells CD's of recordings of 1960's pirate stations

http://www.pirateradiosales.co.uk./

The reason I have heard for using slopbucket is that due to the lack of a carrier, the FCC's DF systems cannot lock onto te SSB signal and DF it, but if one were to use AM, the DF system can lock onto the carrier and they could DF the pirate. It's a way of not getting caught, as I understand.
Shelby KB3OUK

That would be false.

http://www.frn.net/special/prsg/xmitters.html (http://www.frn.net/special/prsg/xmitters.html)

 Here's where Ifound that. It sounds like a bunch of BS, especlly when now that I thinkof it, the reciever there would add a carrier in place and  the signal would still peak in the direction of the transmitter.

I saw the movie last Saturday....Gee, good movie but where the hell were the engineers ? Ya think they would have goofed on them in the plot but no ! They didnt even show the transmitters ! BOO HISS !

Saw it last night on Comcast pay per view. Fun movie as a reminder of the times and music. As others have said BA shots were few but enjoyed it. No heavy message, no Oscar perfromances, good music and just fun
Carl

Maybe I'll try to rent or buy the original version.

Neither one ever showed at any of the local cinemas.  No fiery explosions or cars flying through the air to thrill the the local yokels, I suppose.

This is supposed to be The Land of the Free, we're opposed to censorship, etc.  Yet, inevitably, whenever a foreign-made film comes to the US, they delete scenes before they release the US version.

Don, you're BACK  ;D  hope everything okay.  I have not even had any gear fired up in a few weeks.  Too hot; too much stuff to do around the house.   Hope the doghouse out at the tower is going okay.

They're more often found on low power FM, rather than shortwave. I suppose that's where they expect the best "listenership" for whatever message it is they're trying to get across. It's really easy to buy low powered FM transmitters, transmit into a ham 2m antenna or whatever, and drive them with a cheap audio mixer.

A few years ago I found a guy who could be a technical match for the TimTron, who had set up and was running a clandestine AM station that I heard on the way into work.  I thought it was interesting he picked the less-populated "expanded" part of the Standard Broadcast band to set up shop.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/22/pirate.radio/index.html

And when compared to using "radio" at whatever frequency, I also wonder whether the "blog" and its variations have taken the place of radio signals for broadcasting a message.  The internet, and cheap access to it, was not around when bootleg / pirate radio stations were at their peak.

Past 8 days on Cape Cod.  75-80° F by day, 50's-60's by night.  Microscopic humidity, at least compared to here. Loads of sand, sun, seafood and local microbrew. Big family get-together, so plenty of party time.

WX reports talked of high 90's down this way, including a few triple-digits.

Only negative was that damned Cape Cod Canal fog horn beeping at the crack of dawn even when it's crystal clear and no fog in sight.

I suspect the new breed of pirate was in diapers when medium wave and shortwave AM was king so it is off their radar.  They want to do the radio they know and their pals listen to.  Not complaining make no mistake.  I want them up there on VHF where they have limited harmless range.  Also, you can set up a VHF FM station in a day.   All the gear you need is (or was) on eBay.   100 w. class C amp, and software defined exciter.  I imagine they can fill the hard drive with days of music and away they go.  Putting up the antenna and feedline is about like putting up a TV antenna.

I"m not sure the internet gives pirates the same degree of satisfaction.    Where's the excitement in doing something legal?  I think these guys (I bet they are all males) get a charge off of doing something against the law.  You can't call yourself a pirate if you are just putting out a stream on the internet.

Anyway, so much for my attempted forray into the mind of the pirate woo woo  :o  I'm just glad  I have never wanted to get into that myself.

So, Cape Cod eh?  Pretty nice Don--welcome back to the hot zone hi hi.   I hope that by now, the heat will break in a few weeks.  I'm begining to feel like fall operating is not too far off.

I'd forgotten about this, but here is archived the "Voice of Revolutionary Vinco" website a few years ago, and it is gone now.

It was put up by the daughter of the former Pirate.. She had the tapes and made MP3's of them. It's all disappeared in a cloud of smoke apparently except my copy and I can't find it anywhere else, or find the daughter/webmistress much less anything more about the pirate.

It is a pity that unusual things like this fade away. It's really a good candidate for the prelinger internet archives.

So, come on, Let's Learn Vinconian!  http://bunkerofdoom.com/vorv/

vreej nite!

Talk Like A Pirate Day  19 September  2010



http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html


KLC