Anyone have any of these pirated stations pop up where you live? I guess theres some law saying that radio broadcasting is free in "times of war" or something like that.. anyway, we have one here. its the most randomized music ever, which is awesome, and they play no commercials. its just some dude in an office building broadcasting from his computer and office. pretty crazy

 

this happen anywhere else?

 

 

this is the article from the local paper.. its pretty crazy

 

http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2006/04/25...60044816055.txt

 

Radio ?pirates? fight for right to broadcast

By David Burke | Comments(73)

Admin Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES Jason Duncan, left, and Matthew Britcher are operating an unlicensed, or ?pirate,? radio station in the Quad-Cities, saying they found a loophole in the law that allows them to be on the air during a time of war.

Like other radio stations, ?Power Hits 103.3? plays music, takes calls from listeners and plans community-wide events to benefit charities.

 

Unlike other radio stations ? at least those in the Quad-Cities ? Power Hits 103.3 does not operate legally.

 

 

The low-power station, which Jason Duncan and Matthew Britcher signed on April 7 in Bettendorf, is operating without a license from the Federal Communications Commission and unofficially is termed a ?pirate? radio station. However, the two men say, a loophole in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations states that non-licensed entities can broadcast during a wartime situation.

 

?Basically it says that, in an emergency situation, you don?t need a formal license to use your radio or to broadcast,? Duncan said. ?It was kind of a legal loophole or a window of opportunity.?

 

The eight commercial FM and four commercial AM radio stations in the Quad-Cities are owned by two companies ? Clear Channel (through the Quad-City Radio Group) and Cumulus Broadcasting. Both have filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC.

 

?The frequencies are owned by the government,? said Admin Rosmilso, general manager of the Quad-City Radio Group. ?The frequencies are owned and regulated by the FCC, so not everybody can open up a radio station like they would open up a restaurant or a shoe store or whatever.?

 

Jack Swart, general manager of the local Cumulus stations, said, ?There?s a problem with anarchy if everybody thinks they can just pop a radio station on because they feel they should.

 

?That?s not fair to the people who?ve built up millions of dollars to build up a broadcast group.?

 

According to an FCC spokeswoman, the commission has four steps it takes in approaching an illegal broadcaster:

 

n A request for a voluntary shutdown.

 

n A warning letter.

 

n Issuance of an official order, with notice of apparent liability for forfeiture, for the broadcaster to explain the violation of rules.

 

n Accompanied by U.S. Marshals, an in rem seizure, confiscating all of the broadcast equipment.

 

The FCC is an administrative agency, not an adjudicative agency, the spokeswoman said.

 

A week ago today, the FCC asked to inspect the Bettendorf facilities, located in the Northwest Bank Plaza, and Duncan and Britcher refused. They then explained the wartime provision, which, the two said, the FCC inspector claimed he was not aware of.

 

?We told him what we were doing was legal and, whether he knew about it or not, he should look it up,? Britcher said. ?because we?re not stopping.?

 

The FCC does not comment on pending cases, officials said when contacted by the Quad-City Times.

 

Duncan and Britcher say they look at the battle not as one between themselves and the FCC, but rather between small broadcasters and large companies.

 

?I?m not hurting anyone by doing this. Unfortunately, they think we are,? Britcher said, ?they meaning the corporate giants.?

 

?We believe it shouldn?t have to take millions of dollars to express your freedom of speech,? Duncan said. ?If the airwaves are owned by the people, why can?t we have access to them??

 

The two wonder whether the big companies are afraid their small station will siphon off listeners.

 

?We don?t have enough power to do that,? Britcher said. ?We?ll never become big to the point where we?ll pull anything from anybody else.?

 

Duncan and Britcher say the radio companies are flaunting their criminal past. Both have been charged with theft.

 

?We all make mistakes, we?ve all paid the price,? Britcher said.

 

The two became interested in broadcasting two to three years ago. Already veterans of 10 years in a mobile disc jockey service, they began an online station, www.powermixonlineradio.com, that they say has listeners from around the world.

 

They checked the FCC Web site to see whether any frequencies were available, but the search came back empty. A search of the dial proved that theory incorrect, they said, so they purchased and imported broadcast equipment to begin their operation. They estimate having spent $15,000 on their operation so far and have received much of that money from various financial backers.

 

?If I would have gone into this for the money, I would have gotten out before I started,? Duncan said.

 

They look at two California-based low-power stations ? Pirate Cat Radio and Free Radio Berkeley ? as their role models. Free Radio Berkeley is the only pirate station to win an injunction against the FCC, and Pirate Cat has been in operation for 10 years.

 

The station features Top 40 music and recent dance and rap hits. If it continues, they eventually will have on-air hosts throughout the day. Although there is no regular morning show, Duncan and Britcher will be on the air from 6 to 10 a.m. today. They have no advertising, but have been working with some businesses, including an auto dealer, tanning salon and nightclub, that have provided them with some support.

 

The signal, they said, reaches to about Interstate 280, which circles the Quad-Cities on the north, south and west along with interstates 80 and 74. They have been encouraged by the response from listeners. Over the weekend, while they were out of town, more than 350 messages were left on the studio line, (309) 740-1650.

 

Although the station features national acts, the operators eventually want to play music by local bands.

 

?We want to give a voice to the people who don?t have a voice,? Duncan said.

 

The two also want to organize a concert next month called Powerpalooza, which would feature local acts and partially benefit the Handicapped Development Center.

 

The two are looking over their shoulder, fully expecting another FCC visit.

 

?They could come tomorrow,? Duncan said. ?They could come right now.?

 

Duncan and Britcher say it is a difference of interpretation.

 

?The FCC looks at it one way, we look at it another. There?s got to be a happy medium somewhere,? Britcher said. ?We?ve got to make that happy medium happen.?

 

In the end, they believe they will be proved to be in the right.

 

?If we thought we would lose, if we thought we had no chance in hell of staying on the air, I don?t think it would be worth our time to be here,? Britcher said. ?However, we firmly believe we have a very good chance of what we?re doing.?

 

Swart said broadcasters such as Duncan and Britcher should be playing by the rules.

 

?There?s only so much we can do. We can?t take the law into our own hands. That?s what the FCC is here for,? he said. ?It?s annoying to us. It?s not the end of the world, it?s just kind of stupid.?

thats awesome, them sticking it to the FCC

 

its stupid that authorities/radio companies are getting involved in this