NASWA Journal Columns · Pirate Radio Report, March 1998

Pirate Radio Report, March 1998

Hello and welcome to the March edition of the PIRATE RADIO REPORT. I hope many of you have already made your plans to attend the 11TH ANNUAL SWL FEST in KULPSVILLE, PA this March 12^th through 14^th. I’m planning to be there.

This month I’m going to explain some rules as regards to reporting to pirate stations. I know many of our members are relatively new to the hobby, so I hope that the following information is of use, especially to them.

QSLing The Radio Pirate

OK, so you’ve heard your first pirate and want to send them a reception report in hopes of obtaining a QSL. What do you do?

The first thing is to make sure you have an address to write to. Most stations use maildrops, so pay attention to the program so that you can catch their address. Once you’ve got that, then you can start the report. Just like reporting to any legitimate SWBC station, you’ll want to note the time, date and frequency that you heard the pirate. Also, be sure to tell the station how reception conditions were.

Stations need to know if there was anything wrong with the audio. Tell them if there was a problem with the modulation, if the signal was distorted. Was the frequency drifting? Station ops are always very interested in the quality of their signal. Sending a cassette tape of an off air recording is good, but be sure to include program details too, just in case the tape gets lost or damaged.

Before finishing that report, don’t forget to comment on the program content. Be honest, if you thought the programming needed improvement, don’t hesitate to tell the station.

Finally, a little info about yourself, your hobbies and the area of the country you live in makes for an interesting report. Enclosures, such as a postcard or photo of the old radio shack are great too.

Including enough return postage is very important. Because most pirates use maildrops, postage is required to send the report from the drop to the operator, from the operator back to the drop and then back to the listener. This is why stations request three 32 cent stamps or US $1.00. If you’re sending a cassette tape, it’s best to double these amounts. For stations whose maildrops are in Canada or Europe, it’s best to send either IRCs or two US dollars.

Most pirate stations that request reports are good QSLers. QSLs range from the very plain to the elaborate. Some stations will even send studio copies of their programs, pirate patches and even a pirate flag!

After you get that QSL, don’t forget to report it to Sam Barto’s QSL column.

Loggings

All on 6955 kHz unless otherwise noted.

Joe Momma’s RADIO NONSENSE was heard on 6^th February at 2327 UTC with a program about “space” and the MIR space station. [R. D’Angelo-PA]

TRANSATLANTIC RADIO, a Dutch pirate was heard via North American relay of Feb. 7^th at 1750 UTC. Programming consisted or techno-rap music and letters read from a broadcast last August. [R. D’Angelo-PA]

The VOICE OF ANARCHY, was noted at 0010 UTC on February 15^th with a show featuring Polka music. They claimed to be located near Chicago. Their maildrop is Box 109, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214 [D. Krause-OH]

WMPR, The Techno-Pop station which seems to operate every weekend was heard on February 14^th at 2203 UTC in the AM mode. [D. Krause-OH]

Until next month, when we hope to finally tell you that the MV Electra has finally left port, Happy Pirate DX!

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