Category Archives: Pirate

Denis O’Callahan’s Personal History Of Radio Hauraki

DENIS O’CALLAHAN’S ADDRESS TO THE 2018 CONVENTION

It started for me when I was living in New Caledonia, having washed up there on a yacht and got a job with a local radio repair shop and a guy called Stan Clinch, who ran an outfit called Kiwi Radio. He’d been a wartime radar technician and had gone back to New Caledonia where he had been stationed during the war, to set up a radio repair shop.

The World’s First Pirate Radio

plugge1931Thanks to Paul Rawdon for the following item on DX Dialog: Les Woodland tells the story of Captain Plugge, founder of Radio Normandie, the first station to take on the BBC and probably the World’s first pirate radio. From January 2000.

And these is more detail and photos on the Off Shore Echoes website.

Radio Caroline Drops Anchor

English: MV Ross Revenge, home of Radio Caroli...

English: MV Ross Revenge, home of Radio Caroline from 1983. Photographed in 1984 at anchor in the Knock Deep channel of the southern North Sea. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And another famous pirate has made the news, this time in this Essex Chronicle article. Broadcasting will resume from “The Ross Revenge” on a short-term license as Radio Caroline chases a full-time permit to operate on the Blackwater, serving the towns of Maldon and Dengie as well as the surrounding area, and no doubt DXers!

Hams Celebrate Dutch Offshore Pirate Radio

nordseeOn August 31st it will be 40 years that the Dutch offshore radio stations stopped their transmissions due to changes in legislation. Many fans still mourn the loss of their beloved stations in 1974. Arie, PD0ARI, from Giessenburg, The Netherlands, will be operating the Special Event Station PD538RNI from August 28th until September 19th. He will be active on 10m, 20m and 40 meters. All operations will be on Phone.

The “538” in the call sign stands for the last frequency the offshore radio station Veronica used, and RNI stands for Radio Northsea International, the name of the other station that had to stop 40 years ago. QSL via PD0ARI, direct (w/SAE & 2 USDs) or by the Bureau.

A Day In The Life Of Radio Caroline

 

caroline

 

Thanks to Paul Rawdon for posting the following on the DX Dialog user-group: The 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s saw the evolution of a new type of radio broadcasting around the British Isles. With the BBC being considered as a dinosaur completely out of touch with the younger generation, a number of brave souls decided to do something about it. “Pirate Radio” was born.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URl4bW5uoO0

Ross Revenge Radio Caroline

Ross Revenge Radio Caroline (Photo credit: mrrobertwade (wadey))

 

Radio Hauraki Film On the Way

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Via Bryan Clark reporting on the DX Dialog reflector: The following posted to the DXLD Yahoo Group yesterday by Mike Terry:

The film ‘3 Mile Limit’ about Radio Hauraki New Zealand is now in post production. There is no official Trailer yet but there is this clip on YouTube.

“Auckland Viaduct, October 1966: a group of determined young men defy the police and government and, to the cheering of their fans, launch a coastal ship that has been converted to a pirate radio station which they intend to use to broadcast from the Hauraki Gulf.

The Halcyon Days of Offshore Pirate Radio

In response to an e-mail from Paul Rawdon on the DX League reflector, Martin Hadlow recalls the days when he worked for Radio England…
england
Is it really 47 years from the ‘summer of 66’ when I worked for off-shore stations Radio England/Britain Radio? It was my first job in radio and my shortest! The job didn’t last long because the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act was introduced to the UK Parliament that year and took effect a year later. Radio England/Britain radio went to air in June, 1966 (after testing from around May), so was a late starter in the whole pirate radio scene. I had a job in the station’s London office (in Curzon Street) and often visited the ship (which was anchored in the English Channel) carrying a suitcase full of the latest top 40 records and taped commercials.  To get to the ship entailed a train ride from London to Harwich, thence to the small port of Felixstowe, where one boarded a Dutch registered fishing boat for the voyage to the ship.
ressex
What an era! Crazy days. Imagine being an 18 year old in London in the swinging 60’s working for a pirate station? It is still hard for me to believe I was part of the excitement of the time, albeit for only months, not years. By the way, one of my jobs was issuing some of the QSLs…so if you have a QSL card (which featured a photo of our ship, the MV Olga Patricia) have a look to see if it has my signature.
radio_270
                                                                     Radio 270
The Government legislation of August 1967 effectively brought the whole off-shore radio scene to a close, although several stations battled on. Thanks for the memory…
nordsee
Here is the article from Alan Jarvie via Facebook, on celebratiosn by Scotland 69am to commemorate the introduction of the Marine Offences Act in 1967 and the implications for the offshore pirate radio stations….
london2j
August 13, 2013Alan Jarvie writes on Facebook:Today and tomorrow, Scotland 69am (http://www.scotland69am.com/) will be
commemorating the introduction of the Marine Offences Act on August 15th 1967.
eve
There will be a two part AJ Pirate Radio Special, Part 1 tonight followed by Part 2 tomorrow night. Part 1 will feature recordings of the early days of the offshore stations whilst Part 2 will feature recordings nearer the end of the stations. Both progs will include interviews with former offshore presenters, including Dave Gillbee (ex-City and Britain Radio) and Tony Prince (ex-Caroline North). The programmes should start at 8pm UK (19:00 UTC) but this is to be confirmed… (internet only, more stations expected with special programmes tomorrow)
rveronica1
                                                                    Radio Veronica
Per Wiki:The Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967 c.41, shortened to Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, became law in the United Kingdom at midnight on Monday 14 July 1967 and was repealed by the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006.  Its purpose was to extend the powers of the British Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949 (which it incorporated by reference), beyond the territorial land mass and territorial waters of the UK to cover airspace and bodies of water.
caroline
At the time that the Bill was introduced in Parliament in 1966, there were radio stations and proposals for television stations outside British licensing jurisdiction with signals aimed at Britain. These stations were at sea but there were press reports of stations planned from aircraft.caroline3                                                       Radio Caroline South
The Act included the Channel Islands and extended to the Isle of Man. As a result, offshore stations called pirate radio became criminal if operated or assisted by persons subject to UK law. Station operators thought they could continue if they were staffed, supplied and funded by non-British citizens, but this proved impractical(More details here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine,_%26c.,_Broadcasting_(Offences)_Act_1967)
And here is a Youtube compilation of English off-shore pirate radio stations
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts5EfWPy-ew]

Pirate Radio Thrives In The Internet Age

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Just read an interesting article on Radio World discussing pirate radio although the theme equally applies to clandestine broadcasts.

With countless establishment broadcasters ceasing or cutting back on shortwave broadcasts, pirate and clandestine stations offer good opportunities for the die-hard DXer.

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