SoftwareJock
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2:46 UTC - 6.895 Mhz - Playing "Rock Lobster" by the B52s
Before that rock group "Rush".
First time I ever heard a pirate!
Before that rock group "Rush".
First time I ever heard a pirate!
Pirate on right now 6.895 Mhz
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I think you mean 6985 kHz AM, not 6895, since at 0248 Rock Lobster was on 6985 and Rush had been playing before that.
The station came on a little before 0230 and ran of and on for about the next 4 hours, with the last transmission that I heard being after 0610.
A real power house and excellent audio for a Pirate. There was never any announcer or any ID sent that I know of, just music.
T!
mondomusique
Member
I'm always curious about pirates with good power and audio.. Was it in AM or SSB?
A few weeks back I heard Wolverine Radio, it was USB with lots of power and sounded great with 6khz wide filter on my receiver rather than the usual 3khz for SSB.
A few weeks back I heard Wolverine Radio, it was USB with lots of power and sounded great with 6khz wide filter on my receiver rather than the usual 3khz for SSB.
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In this case (6985 kHz) the pirate was in AM mode, and very wide.
Wolverine runs some of the best audio I have heard used by a Pirate on SSB. He is normally about 3.5 kHz wide, and the roll-off on the bottom end is around 40 Hz or so, so the sound is pretty full.
I recently put up a sample of Wolverine on my YouTube, this is the end of his Valentines day transmission. It is a medley of some of the songs he played during the previous hour and a half plus show. It is not the best example of his audio, as he was not particularly strong here that night, but someone asked for it, so that is why it is the one that ended up on YT. YouTube - Pirate Radio, Wolverine Radio, 6925 kHz USB, February 15, 2011, 0148 UTC
T!
mondomusique
Member
I found some interesting information on eSSB or extended Single Side Band, the hifi of SSB transmitting.
eSSB Extended Single Sideband
Apparently an eSSB broadcast can be as wide as 6khz and therefore sound as good as AM.
This is new info to me, but I am a rookie in this shortwave radio thing.
I'm not particularly fond of SSB used for anything but voice communications because of flies in the ointment. First is the transmitter, intended for narrow band communications music sounds pretty crappy. Then comes the receiver and you have the very same problem, it sounds like someone holding a telephone up to a 3" speaker and worse when ESSB is transmitted, it's awfully hard to get tuned in properly and even then it doesn't sound normal due to the narrow IF passband when switched to the SSB mode. The only way for it to sound decent is by modifying the receiver for ESSB reception, something WAY beyond the knowledge and capabilities of anyone not schooled in RF engineering.
As a footnote, a few years ago there was a group of hams who happened to know their stuff and used it on the ham bands to amuse themselves and apparently to show off their skills. Frankly I had a bugger of a time trying to listen even though I used an old "boat anchor" receiver that I could vary the bandwidth on in all modes, to me they sounded pretty awful. It came about that in the end they wasted all their time and money on what is clearly illegal, exceeding the bandwidth limit and interfering with communications on adjacent frequencies. After the FCC started receiving complaints they monitored to verify the allegations and came down hard... BUSTED!
Bottom line here is even on AM music sounds crappy unless the transmitter is modified so the audio amp all the way from the input to the modulator stage can handle the frequency range without distortion. FYI the SWBC transmitters are somewhat narrow deliberately to concentrate modulator power mostly in the voice range to increase "punch" and to avoid splatter on adjacent frequencies. Pirates just don't give a hoot so those who know what they're doing transmit the full range on AM and really sound great, provided the listener has the receiver for it. Those who REALLY know what they're doing use compressor/limiters like broadcast stations and sound even better, especially under poor conditions which is why audio processing is used in the first place. Those are pirates after me own heart ye buckos, those who know me well know just what I mean... ARR ARR ARRRR!
"This is new info to me, but I am a rookie in this shortwave radio thing."
Now consider yourself an educated rookie. (;->)
As a footnote, a few years ago there was a group of hams who happened to know their stuff and used it on the ham bands to amuse themselves and apparently to show off their skills. Frankly I had a bugger of a time trying to listen even though I used an old "boat anchor" receiver that I could vary the bandwidth on in all modes, to me they sounded pretty awful. It came about that in the end they wasted all their time and money on what is clearly illegal, exceeding the bandwidth limit and interfering with communications on adjacent frequencies. After the FCC started receiving complaints they monitored to verify the allegations and came down hard... BUSTED!
Bottom line here is even on AM music sounds crappy unless the transmitter is modified so the audio amp all the way from the input to the modulator stage can handle the frequency range without distortion. FYI the SWBC transmitters are somewhat narrow deliberately to concentrate modulator power mostly in the voice range to increase "punch" and to avoid splatter on adjacent frequencies. Pirates just don't give a hoot so those who know what they're doing transmit the full range on AM and really sound great, provided the listener has the receiver for it. Those who REALLY know what they're doing use compressor/limiters like broadcast stations and sound even better, especially under poor conditions which is why audio processing is used in the first place. Those are pirates after me own heart ye buckos, those who know me well know just what I mean... ARR ARR ARRRR!
"This is new info to me, but I am a rookie in this shortwave radio thing."
Now consider yourself an educated rookie. (;->)
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