r/pirateradio

Welcome to PirateRadioPlus. I think Mike u/KG7M had started a wonderful Subreddit that will attract a lot of interesting people. He's already seeded this Subreddit with great content.

So, let me introduce myself, I'm Stan. Mike asked me to participate as a Mod for this Subreddit. I'm very happy to do so not only to moderate but to contribute. I'm an EE and CS amongst other things. I'd like to do some interesting projects and share them with you. More on that in other posts to come.

That's me in the picture when I was 11. I can tell because I got my Heathkit GR-64 SW receiver when I was 10 and my hand is on the Q-Multiplier that I got the next year. You can see the QSL cards for I believe Radio Moscow and Radio Prague.

In 1968 the Soviets invaded Checkoslovakia and Radio Prague went pirate for 8 days. They evaded the Soviets by using mobile transmitters playing a game of cat and mouse that the Soviets had taught them thinking that should NATO invade the Czechoslovakians would be able to broadcast resistance. Kinda ironic how the tables turned.

So for 8 days this 14 year old and his GR-64 tuned into these brave privateers elude the Soviets. The next year I got my first after school job as a technician in a TV repair shop.

I posted a short video a few days ago, when I first received the AM Transmitter. Here is a bit more detail.

• The AM Transmitter is available on AliExpress for about $25. In order to have a decent sounding station, you need a few extras. A Mixer is the most important part next to the transmitter. Inexpensive models are available, but don't go too cheap - the lowest cost ones have a lot of hiss. Mine works fine and cost a bit over $50 USD. Next, some kind of antenna tuner is needed for any range greater than 500 feet. If you are only interested in running a Part 15 station, a 10 foot piece of wire is all that is allowed for an antenna.
• Antenna Tuners can be built from a Variable Capacitor and a coil. For power levels under a watt, an old variable capacitor from a junked AM Tube Radio can be used. The coil can be wire, wound on an empty oatmeal box. Or you can buy a used ham radio antenna tuner. Make sure that it can tune down to 160 Meters.
• A Compressor/Limiter is a great asset. It adds punch to your audio and prevents over-driving the audio if adjusted properly. I use a Behringer Composer MDX 2100. I bought it used for $15 USD.
• A decent Microphone is needed to announce songs and interact with listeners. I use a Shure SM-58. I am a musician, and this is what I have for my vocals, so it's what I like - and use.
• Laptop and Desktop Computers are perfect for setting up your playlists. Almost any older computer can be repurposed to use at your station. I use Linux Mint as an Operating System. It's totally free. I use Pulse Audio to direct the audio from my laptop to the Mixer. I can select Bluetooth using "SQ-MIXER', or my laptop 3.5 mm in/out jack with a splitter. I also use Audacity for recording promos and music tracks. All of the mentioned software is free.
• An SWR/Power Meter is a needed item for adjusting transmitter output and making sure that your antenna is tuned, We are dealing with power levels under 1 watt so I am building an SWR Meter using a board from AliExpress, and a vintage meter found on eBay. I plan to install everything in an enclosure.
• I hope this information is useful. I started out wanting to broadcast when I was a kid and saw the Remco Transmitter Kit for children. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but finally figured it out.

Running more than 100 milliwatts, and using an antenna greater than 10 feet is not legal in the USA. Proceed at your own risk if you are in the USA.

The background music is "Beyond the Northern Line" by Les Miserables, my aging band. If you find it annoying, just stop playing the video after the radio info is finished. I ran it through an AI Detector program for the AI haters in this community. I tend to overproduce as I provide promos for some stations. It probably would have scored better if I hadn't remixed it.

Hello community members. I have decided to start a new Pirate radio community here, on Reddit. After being the top poster in this pirate radio group for the past two months, I made the decision to leave this community.

I don't want to start out on a negative vibe, but the Mods in this pirate radio sub have not posted in their own community for years. The newest Mod posted 4 years ago. The older Mod has not posted anything for 8 years - and is a Mod in 13 communities! I have trouble properly moderating 1 community. And there are no comments from the Mods either. I attempted to contact them with some suggestions on how to improve the community - CRICKETS. No response. It's painfully obvious that they don't care. So I believe it's time for a new community for Pirate Radio.

In starting a new Pirate Radio community I hope to create a place where we can share equipment, best operating practices, and how to listen to Pirate Radio Stations. My goal is to make Reddit a safer place to share. It has become possible with r/ShortwavePlus, my first community. I ask your help to make it a reality for the new community.

I'm looking for a couple Moderators that would have the time to check in and keep up on the new community. I will probably use a small amount of AI assistance for eQSL Cards and Promos for Pirate Radio Stations. Although my plan is to use less AI generated images in the new Pirate Radio community. I can, and do draw freehand - but it takes time. Pirate Radio posts should be about the subject first, and the graphics second. I am hoping to find Moderators like we have for r/ShortwavePlus. They have made the community what it is!

The new community is r/PirateRadioPlus. I hope to see you there.

Michael KG7M

A small but effective AM Transmitter from China. It's putting out around 3/4 of of a watt. Frequency is quite stable for a transmitter with an L/C Oscillator. It shipped from China and arrived broken. I had to remove, and replace the broken input gain control by modifying a standard part.

Range is about 2 blocks. Using an outside wire antenna, it covers my 5-story apartment building. An outboard amplifier can be added to boost the range. Of course it's not operating under Part 15, so it is not a legal device for users in the US.

Photos of Bandaid Radio's studio and transmitter. They run off of the grid, the rechargeable batteries are shown at the far right in the first photo. Also in the first photo are an equalizer, compressor, mixer, modulation scope, transmitter, microphone, and station laptop computers.

Photo two shows a power supply, SWR/Power Meter, antenna switch, monitor receivers, and 2 kW amplifier at the far left.

Bandaid radio is owned and operated by Joh Black. It operates in the 43 Meter Shortwave Band on 6945 KHz USB.

Station

• Name/Call: CODAR WROZ722 & WRPD298
• Location: Oregon, Washington, and California Coastline
• Language: RADAR Oceanographic
• Target: Western USA Coastline

Time

• 0426 0500 UTC | 08 MAY 2026

Receiver and Receiving Location

• Radio: AirSpy HF+ R.4.0.8-CD
• Antenna: K-480WLA | 35' AGL
• Software: SDR# Studio v1.0.0.1921 64-Bit
• Location: Portland, Oregon | CN85qn

Signal

• RS(T) = 57 and 54

This antenna can be made from lightweight coaxial cable, RG-316. It will handle up to 50 watts when made from RG-316. The entire antenna should be enclosed in PVC pipe. This antenna offers 3 db gain which is equal to doubling your power. Additional sections may be added for even more gain.

There are 6 slides in this article

Hello, found these pics online but it only goes 100km would like to build something that goes 500km somewhere. I sadly dont have to much electrician skills exceot at soldering and console repairing.