Pirate radio ships and other stuff in the 1960s

Pirate radio ships and other stuff in the 1960s. What was radio like back then? In the days before Radio One. Here are a few recollections of those happy days listening on medium wave radio... and other stuff.

[@NigelDixon1952]

In 1964 I was 12 and on my way to the family holiday Inn Great Yarmouth. There were about 10 of us all packed into my dad's Bedford Dormobile ex police bus. To me, radio was everything, I'd stay up all night trawling the short we bands. Living near Leeds in the North of England, I hadn't even tried to get Caroline or Atlanta. Anyway, we were getting closer to Yarmouth so thought I'd have a tune about and WHAM! Radio Atlanta was blasting out Shout, by Lulu. I twiddled a bit more and there was Caroline! I was totally hooked! About the quality. To us listeners it was fantastic, top notch sound. Like with the early days of colour TV, I was in a cue of hundreds filtering through through BBC tent at the Great Yorkshire Show. As we got near the 25 inch Bush TV set showing a colour film on BBC 2, the experience was truly wonderful, just like being at the cinema! But the point is, to us it really was that good, we didn't know any different, the colour TV was good beyond words, and medium wave radio was the same, nothing better! Ok there was the FM band, but in those early days hardly anybody listened to it anyway. Yes, 1960s medium wave really was better quality than it is now, for lots of reasons. Now interference is everywhere, with the worst offenders being cable TV, and landline internet. But back in the day medium wave and early colour TV were fantastic. Maybe, fifty years from now, people might be saying "How the hell did they manage to enjoy TV and radio back in 2018? Did they actually watch those 65 inch TVs, so tiny and poor quality" ! Back home from the holiday, I stuck up a massively long and high tuned wire antenna, and I had every single pirate station, loud and clear. Thanks for the memories, Ray.

[@g4nsj]

Thanks for your memories, Nigel. They are very interesting. Cheers, Ray.

[@VickyGeagan]

Take a listen 648 khz medium wave am radio caroline and once a month on 1368 khz manx radio normal programming on their fm frequency isle of man which can easily be heard in Liverpool area

[@dougmcartin3881]

Back in the early 1970's I was living in the north of England in the Newcastle area. I was in a little coastal village called Seaton Sluice. Reception on the coast was great on shortwave. There was a pirate radio ship called the Mebo 2 that was Radio Nordsee International. I would listen to them for hours. Great stuff. I still have their QSL card from 1972. 73 Doug.

[@g4nsj]

Doug McArtin I remember RNI. It was a great Station.

[@ianmedium]

Best Christmas present I ever had when I was a kid was a bright red Pye radio. It had one of those big batteries that cost a fortune but luckily it also came with a mains plug! It was life changing, I had the world at my finger tips in the 70’s as it had Long wave as well as Short Wave plus the usual medium and FM. I lived on the coast in Devon and remember late at night under my bed covers listening to some exotic station transmitting from Marseille!

[@barneykennett9282]

Wow, swing that light Ray, great video. Totally agree about 60's and 70's pirate radio stations, they were raw and individual, unlike the bland corporate stations on BBC and the like. I think we were fortunate to be around in the early days, sometimes change isn't for the better. Keep posting Ray, never boring, always entertaining.

[@g4nsj]

Hi Barney, glad you liked the video. Cheers, Ray.

[@tinkmarshino]

WOW that wonderful radio London 266 is outta sight! Brings back the old days.... damn fine radio.....

[@101jumpit]

Totaly agree with you Ray.1960's radio was fantastic.Not only on the medium wave but on the Ham bands too...Happy Happy days..... :)

[@g4nsj]

M0ZEM Yes, ham bands were great! All noise now 😟

[@101jumpit]

I love your ramblings ray.Keep them coming.73 de M0ZEM.

[@kennynvake4hve584]

Thanks for helping me out...I found 2 IF cans for the BUSH, from the UK, and there on the way...

[@tonyworrall7379]

Really enjoyed that Ray. I remember the pirates well into the seventies.I later co hosted shows with Roger Day(England,Caroline and RNI) at BRMB Birmingham.Nice man.

[@g4nsj]

gwylfa Wales nice one! Thanks for commenting!

[@hymatwat9412]

I love your Lab. You are correct Flowers in the rain was by the Move

[@NOWThatsRichy]

Hi Ray, love your ramblings, you can tell a good story, I was born in 1968. So bit before my time but love hearing about the pirate radio days, at least radio Caroline had been revived, here in Portsmouth its a bit beyond the range of 648khz but it is on DAB in this area as well as online. It's absolutely true what you said about local commercial radio now, that most of them are just clones of each other, I remember back in the 70's when commercial radio was just starting, although all the stations were owned by the IBA, they all produced there own programmes and content and had their individual station names, you knew which town you were in by which station you could pick up, we used to have radio victory here. All the best. 👍

[@g4nsj]

Thanks for your interesting comments. I have listened to Caroline on 648khz. It's quite strong here.

[@charlesparks7267]

Your right about the pirates .good job radio Caroline is still around on 648

[@KiloWatt304]

love your stories ! i was born in the wrong generation ..... love the radio nothing can replace good true old school AM broadcast transmission audio

[@g4nsj]

Great to hear from you. Long live AM radio!

[@tinkmarshino]

Love your stories.. the 60's here was a kick in the butt and am radio led the way... We had a little band that played gigs around the west coast a bit.. those were the days eh? Great roll through the meadows of time my friend.. CARRY ON!

[@g4nsj]

Thanks!

[@ukcbtv]

You tell a good story Ray, fair play and becoming a lost art too. Can't remember much of the 60's (born in '68) but certainly remember listening to Lux in the 70's (Stuart Henry comes to mind who used to DJ despite suffering from multiple sclerosis). I remember watching international football live on satellite when it had a less than perfect picture and audio which made it feel far off and more exciting somehow. I also remember dialling 16 on a landline phone and listen to the latest hits on that! A.t.b

[@NOWThatsRichy]

16 for 'dial-a disc! Listening to one song on a tinny crackly phone line, i just about remember doing that in a phone box once!

[@g4nsj]

I remember Stuart Henry, and dialing 16... Great days!

[@coroamanicolai4527]

Please, waffle on for hours. Your stories are great. I really enjoy them!

[@g4nsj]

Thanks!

[@grahamrdyer6322]

ear Ray you must be my age ..... 36 ......ish, I remember radio veronica and RNI, great radio ,and as you say today the radio stations are S###, but I suppose it's our age, I think we had the best days of radio.

[@g4nsj]

Graham R Dyer definitely the best days of radio.

[@MirlitronOne]

Medium wave audio quality? Fantastic on my parents' old Pye P75, commandeered by me in the 1960s. Radios London, Caroline, North Sea International and Luxembourg in glorious mono. I also attached a wire aerial to it and heard WNYW, Radio New York World-Wide from NYC for the first time. Started me off as a SWL and now licensed amateur. As you say, happy days! As for pub bands, couldn't afford a Marshall but I still have my 1973 TUAC 50W transistor amp, in perfect working order (even with original electrolytics). Two 2N3055s in the output stage. Why the TUAC? 'Cos it had four input sockets - bass guitar, rhythm guitar and two microphones all through one Fane 'Pop 60' 15" speaker in a home-built cabinet! PS. I might have to drive down to the coast and ask you to refurbish the P75 sometime, if only to say hello. I know I've still got it somewhere...

[@g4nsj]

Ah yes, the good old Pye P75. A lovely radio. Cheers, Ray.

[@ianharling9569]

Ray you are "SPOT ON". They were great days when radio presenters (DJ'S) were entertainers too.I personaly can't listen to the UK comercial stations as the presenters just sound "plastic and boring".Its 40 yrs since i started my first pirate station on the 48mtr band.It was a station called "Radio Cavendish" in Eastbourne on 6255KHz.In 1980 we also started on Medium wave on 1322KHz ( Later to qsy to 1323KHz ofcourse).We then went onto FM and got raided several times from locations on the hills above Eastbourne.☺These days we have a licence from Ofcom to broadcast "Radio Airbourne" each August for the Eastbourne Airshow.I loved my pirate radio days.73..Ian Harling.G7HFS/PA3IKH.☺

[@g4nsj]

It's nice to hear from you, Ian. There was a lot of pirate activity along the south coast. Many stations could be heard every Sunday. I used to go out in my car and track them down. Great fun. Cheers, Ray.

[@VickyGeagan]

Check the alternative Caroline on 648 khz medium wave and on dab birmingham Brighton London and a couple of others comes in real well along the I way on DAB

[@freedomvigilant1234]

The best thing about Radio One was the frequent rants by the DJ's. For example, I remember Chris Moyles ranting about the cash that the BBC paid him (or should I say the lack thereof.)

[@RGC198]

I have a tape of Radio One, which was given to me back in 1976 by a radio enthusiast who I knew back then. It must have been one of their good days, as it was all recorded at the same time. The DJ and choice of songs was so good, I almost wore out the tape and the cassette recorder playing it so many times. The DJ was Paul Bernet.

[@davidwakefield8267]

Spot on Ray, Big L was my favourite as well. Kenny Everett was a genius. He used to set fire to the bottom of the news reader's script while he was reading it.😀😀😀 great times for us listeners. By the way Ray I love your style of presenting.

[@g4nsj]

Hi David, it's great to hear from you. I loved Kenny Everett, what a brilliant guy. More from me soon. Cheers, Ray.

[@johnmcmahon3959]

Such interesting stories Ray from a bygone era...Marshall amps still one of the best today,never get bored of listening

[@g4nsj]

Thanks, John. Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers, Ray.

[@RSPYT]

Fantastic story ol' chap! Wish I was alive to see it all.

[@petemoss1938]

Kenny and Cash on (Radio) London - From my formative years Ray!

[@jessikaentwistle3145]

brill as allways.. i listen to your podcasts but miss you on youtube ray.. very entertaining.. gez

[@g4nsj]

Thanks!

[@pcno2832]

The rise and eventual suppression of pirate radio reminds me a little of the "free form FM" phenomenon we had here in the 'States when the FCC finally banned AM/FM simulcasts in 1967. Stations across the country were suddenly desperate to fill up dead air time, so they gave DJs and producers much more freedom to chart their own courses than they had allowed on AM stations. That allowed the playing of all kinds of unknown artists as well as album cuts from current artists and created a new, but fleeting genre of radio station. As FM got more and more listeners, the forces of homogenization moved in. By 1970, there was the spread of all-automated robot stations (Drake-Chernault supplied a canned format to some), while other stations were setting up FM top-40 pop stations resembling the ones on AM. By the end of the 1970s, the outliers were slowly disappearing and as AM stations were converted to news, talk and sports-only formats, FM came to be dominated by a few corporate-backed standardized formats, like "album-oriented-rock" (which was becoming less album-oriented each year), "soft rock", prepackeged "oldies", etc. There are still a few stations that dare do go off the beaten path, but the biggest stations in the USA are all owned by a few companies, and sound about the same from city to city.

[@g4nsj]

Thanks for your interesting post. Wish we had more like this. Cheers, Ray.

[@zenrascal]

Wonderful stories about the "good old days," Ray !

[@g4nsj]

Tim Rand thanks!

[@TheRogey1]

Love it!! Built a TX when I was 16,807 valve on trawler band,in the early 70's,lasted quite a few months until the 'Gestapo'(GPO) turned up! Lost a lot then R1155 reciever,TX,record,tape deck. I was taken to court and fined £25 and £7 costs,I only earned £9 a week!! Radio mio migo( spelling🤔)😁😁

[@700weedkiller4]

Cheers. Glad your back with new stuff..keep up the good work..

[@g4nsj]

Thanks!

[@stevedoubleu99B]

I liked radio London as well, remember Silmo's lollies? That was one of the things they advertised. Ahh happy times.

[@g4nsj]

Yes, I remember!

[@RGC198]

Hi Ray, back in 1970, while holidaying in New Zealand, I heard Radio Hauraki, which was an AM pirate station fifty miles off the coast of Auckland on a boat called the Tiri II. They played pop music, which lacked on all the legal stations there when Radio Hauraki first came to air. In later years, they were given a land licence and made legal. It was a similar story to how it was over there in the UK. Anyway, take care. Robert.

[@g4nsj]

Thanks for the info, Robert. I really do miss the good old days. Cheers, Ray.

[@RGC198]

@@g4nsj Yes, I agree completely about missing the good old days. Maybe it is my age, but back then life seemed to be more exciting, especially with all the interesting radio stations around.

[@RGC198]

Here in Melbourne Australia, we heard several pirate broadcasts over the years. Most of them were on FM. Some of which were: 3POX-FM/Christian FM/Wave FM, Exodus Radio (Greek), Radio Uranus (3RAT-FM), 3YOS-FM, 3STD-FM and 3TEX-FM. In earlier years, I heard a pirate AM station in Sydney identifying as Radio Belgrade. The announcements were all in Yugoslav and they played a lot of Dean Martin music. The authorities eventually worked out their location and met up with a small army with machine guns, hand-grenades, rocket launchers and who knows what. The whole thing got into the newspapers at the time. They certainly don't make pirate radio stations like that anymore!!!

[@g4nsj]

Blimey, they don’t make them like that anymore! Great stuff, thanks. Cheers, Ray.

[@madcarew.3256]

great stuff Ray in Midlands 208 faded in and out but it really was under the bed clothes listening!also A.F.N.from Germany (manhiem?) with The Wolfman Jack! Eh tell the kids today!!!

[@g4nsj]

The fading was all part of radio in thoise days!

[@m3uec]

Very good interesting video.

[@ashleycox432]

Really like these kinds of videos, please do more. I could happily listen to you ramble for hours. I'm in my 20s and enjoy hearing about the great decades I missed that gave us some of the best music and personalities we will ever see.

[@g4nsj]

Thanks, Ashley.

[@barriepeck4377]

Spot on Ray that was the golden age of radio it is plastic rubbish now loved radio London

[@g4nsj]

Thanks, Barrie. Nice to hear from you. Cheers, Ray.

[@SwtTrisha8]

Back in the “good old days” .... it’s wonderful going back in time and love to hear you waffle on! Could listen all day, you are such a great story teller of going back in time. “Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end-we’d sing and dance forever and a day’” Cheers!!! Do you remember that song?

[@g4nsj]

I remember that song well!

[@1fanger]

Very cool, thanks

[@SpectreOZ]

Agreed Ray... unique character is in short supply amongst modern DJ's, I believe The Mighty KBC (Trucker) Radio plays old DJ content including Wolfman Jack etc. 👍

[@rolandpeachie9807]

I really enjoyed your memories or the 60's, I'm guessing we must be about the same age, I was raised in the L.A. area of California and we had all the Surf Bands playing at our High School Friday Dances, then the Stones and the Beatles came out with a lot of singing and a lot less guitar & Drums compared to the Surf Bands.. we had Dick Dale and the Del Tones etc.. Two Radio Stations (KRLA and KFWB) -AM- Fm wasn't popular yet and you are right, the Disc Jockey's were entertainers, with all their funny sound effects, games, and of course taking request and dedications from their listeners, kids called their Disc Jockey's and got put on the air...and of course the closest thing we had to Pirate Radio was Wolfman Jack who broadcasted from the other side of the Border-- Mexico, where he could turn up the wattage and be heard at night all across America! Fun Stuff

[@g4nsj]

Hi, thanks for an interesting read. Fun stuff indeed! I miss those days. Cheers, Ray.

[@Antony-DB]

Hello ray I hope your well, thank you for your awesome video I’ve just come across you on KZbin and was shocked to see your from Worthing as I’m from shoreham lol but I’m on radio and doing my main license now many thanks

[@g4nsj]

Wow, it’s a small world!

[@robertwinton3371]

i remember them asking listeners to turn there lights on and off so they could see if anyone was listening in the early days

[@g4nsj]

I remember that! Happy days!

[@stevedoubleu99B]

Speaking about medium wave sound quality makes me think about the little pocket radios. Compared with todays stuff, the sound quality was appalling, BUT, it was what we had and we didn't mind. If you got one of these little sets in your christmas stocking, you were thrilled to bits, unpacking the radio, earphone and even a battery! Incidentally, I recently modified one with a line output socket taken from the hot end of the volume pot. When connected to a decent system, the quality was quite amazing.

[@g4nsj]

steve double u I used to take a pocket radio to school. Great stuff!

[@phildodd9942]

As others are saying, fantastic memories that you are bringing back ! Maybe you can remember at the start of July 1964, that Radio Caroline first started using two ships, and the one becoming Radio Caroline North sailed past your coastline to become "Caroline North" of the IOM ? On that journey they did try coins on the turntable arms, but had to resort to a tin opener ! We did listen to them from "up North", but lost them when they were on your bit of coast ! Anyway, a great video - THREE mugs of tea this time ! Watneys Red Barrel ? The Spaniards can keep THAT !!!

[@adrianpollard2763]

Hi Ray. I watch all of your videos and love them. Somehow I missed this one until today. Totally agree about the Pirate stations being more in tune with teenagers during the late sixties. I used to like Luxembourg and Radio Veronica. Awful reception but great music. Sadly, live pub music seems to be a thing of the past now. Best wishes to you and family from a very hot Bognor Regis.

[@g4nsj]

Thanks, Adrian. It’s great to hear from you. Hope all is well with you. Cheers, Ray.

[@jeffgarrett4533]

Great Stuff I enjoy all your videos but these pirate videos bring back my daze of studying in UK and Vienna Austria and I as you... listened to them all and 208 Radio Luxemburg Brings back some fun memories thank you OM keep'em coming 73 de KE4EZ

[@g4nsj]

Hi Jeff, it's nice to hear from you. Glad you like the videos. Cheers, Ray.

[@madcarew.3256]

About bands set one up in a very old boozer in Brum went to plug in and the sockets were 2 pin round!! But it worked with Englands Glory wedging the wires in and no fires!!!

[@g4nsj]

Excellent!

[@northstar1950]

Brilliant, as usual Ray :)

[@g4nsj]

northstar1950 thanks!

[@BoB4jjjjs]

Could listen to you waffling on for hours, so don't let me stop you. I agree with almost everything you said, except Tony Blackburn, he was not my cup of tea. How did we put up with listening to AM Medium Wave Radio, well we didn't know anything else. I used to hide under my bed covers with the ear piece in my ear listening to Caroline or the preferred one, Radio North Sea. Fade in and out all night, but when we heard a good bit of record before it faded out i was ecstatic! Bit to young to know about 60s night clubs, but even in the 70s the bands were there playing within half an hour and it was skill that made them sound good, not a lot of electronics. Radio One was ok-ish at the start, but it was not long before we got fed up of it. Look what they have done to it now! I never listen to it at all, all chat, it was supposed to play records! I remember a band being interview about the pirates playing their records, they said they loved it, unheard of bands were getting air time and this came from a big band at the time, they were happy that other bands were getting air time as well. Radio North Sea had a shady background of course having Arms Dealers behind it with supposed coded messages going out at night on Short Wave, but I never heard any of it. What harm did the pirates do anyway, most of them, the ships any did their best to avoid problems with other stations and services. I bet they wanted them closed down because they were making no tax revenue from the pirates. I wish they were back so we could hear the bands that you don't hear about. KZbin and the like might be helping a bit, but it was the odd band that was played that you had never heard of that made you pay attention. I wish I had been a teenager in the sixties, but I just missed all that, but I still remember the Pirates, listening under the blankets until the blankets were pulled off and an angry parent standing there with their hand out for the radio, little 9v transistor radios that we bought for next to nothing from Japan or Taiwan with only a couple of transistors inside. Those were the days, it was a disaster when the Pirates were closed down by of all things a Labour Government, if I remember right. Go on Ray, just waffle on as much as you want, I will still be there listening after three hours, I never get fed up.

[@g4nsj]

Hi Bob, all noted with interest. Thanks for m,your excellent post. I'll waffle on! Cheers, Ray.

[@malcolmlewis6014]

I listened to Luxembourg in the late fifties and a little later jazz on Voice of America with Willis Conover.

[@royfishall6482]

Love the reminiscences you should write a book about them. When I was a kid in the 60s, I lived in South of Manchester, my favourite station Caroline North, but signal was a bit weak. On my Cossor transistor radio I noticed there was an aerial socket and I found that by running about 30 feet of old telephone wire out of my bedroom window to a shed in the back garden, plugging it in, it improved the reception a bit, but still not great.(I'd found the wire where some old buildings being demolished - demolition sites - aka the adventure playgrounds for kids in the 60s, how did we ever survive?) With a bit of experimenting and not having a clue what I was doing, I found that if I got a piece wood (broom handle) used it as a former and made a coil in the wire about 3 foot from the end (tricky it was really springy wire) it improved the signal when I put the tranny near it, instead of plugging it into the aerial socket. Then I noticed if I touched the end of the wire the radio station sounded louder, so I tried connecting the end to the water pipe in the hot water cylinder cupboard (which was in my bedroom so it was always nice and warm in winter :) ) Near perfect! The pirates were so different after trying to hear a few songs on fading in and out Luxembourg or request programmes on the BBC, which if you were lucky would have a couple of pop songs in a hours show. Sitting poised with my Sobel reel to reel tape machine to record them...

[@g4nsj]

I remember experimenting with aerials to get the best signal. All part of the fun!

[@paulcollins664]

I enjoyed every day of those days, I feel sad these days seeing the young looking miserable with their heads buried into their phones, don't know about you ,but am so glad I was born in the good days I was born in 1954. Caroline and nordsea (Northsea) and luxy really happy days, before I go there was always the girl next door , you never hear that anymore, it's all done on the internet I'm told

[@GarySanson]

New Zealand also had it's pirate radio stations the biggest been Radio Hauraki which is still going legally on land, you can find info about the history of radio in new zealand on the web.

[@g4nsj]

GarySanson_nz thanks, I’ll take a look.

[@andrewthestarfam9668]

have a look at Pirate.ie the Irish Pirate days love the videos

[@Wenlocktvdx]

Shame we don't get many pirates in Australia. There was POX-FM in the 80s in Melbourne, he was in the SE suburbs but sometimes heard in the Northern suburbs where I lived. Another one broadcast from a boat in Port Philip Bay in the 80s, radio inspectors turned up pretty quickly though. Main reason there are few pirates is the speed of the RIs here. Radio G'Day did make a few shortwave broadcasts from NSW but I haven't heard them in many years now. Since Radio Australia and the ABC Northern Territory services shut down there has been a licenced station, Ozy Radio on 4835 from NSW near Sydney but it's hard to hear them here in Bacchus Marsh.

[@g4nsj]

POX FM, I like it! Thanks for the info. Cheers, Ray.

[@Wenlocktvdx]

I forgot their slogan was "We're a pox on the others"

[@RGC198]

@@g4nsj POX FM was later called Christian FM and later still Wave FM. The guy operating the station was actually a HAM radio operator. His signal came through quite well here at my place as he has not that far from my location.

[@jimjordan2209]

My background is a little different than yours. I grew up in the middle of the US where we had commercial radio stations. I listened to a local AM station that played Rock most of the time. I also listened to WLS the superstation on a clear channel out of Chicago. There were other local stations that targeted an older audience. At night, especially during the winter months, I would often listen to KAAY out of Little Rock, Arkansas, which had a clear channel at night and boosted their power during the night. This was the first station that I heard a Beatles record on. On winter nights their signal reached the most populated parts of Canada. I also grew up listening to international shortwave broadcasts. In the early 70s, I spent 2 years in Germany I was stationed very near Luxembourg. For English language broadcasts the choices were Armed Forces Radio or Radio Luxembourg. I preferred Radio Luxembourg which was very much like US commercial stations. At night I often picked up Radio North Sea International. It was often a weak signal but was edgier than my other options. I never listened to anything from the BBC other than their international shortwave broadcasts.

[@ArlenMoulton2]

I believe that Global own Capital, Heart, Classic FM, Smooth, Capital Xtra, Radio X, LBC and Gold, and then the BBC have 1, 2, 3, 4, Wales, Merseyside and 6, so yeah most of the stations are owned by 2 companies!

[@jarekjagielski366]

Please do waffle on for hours, this is fascinating :D despite being somewhat too young (born in the 80's), I find the overall climate of the 60's pirate radio really enthralling.

[@g4nsj]

Excellent! Thanks for your kind comment. Cheers, Ray.

[@KentuckyRanger]

Here in America, Clear Channel (I-Heart Media) owns pretty much the entire FM dial...

[@razzman7711]

Great memories Ray I was 12 in 1967 & yes I remember those day's living as I do in Leeds we only had Radio 270 off Scarborough 1966/7 later the ship moved to off Bridlington I was gutted when they had to close on August 14th 1967, I was never a fan of Radio 1 like you said a poor replacement for the ships Radio 1 closed about 6pm back then & joined up with Radio 2 not very good for pop fans.

[@g4nsj]

Razz Man thanks for your comments, much appreciated. Cheers, Ray.

[@Mudsuitable]

always looking forward to your next show! a few friends and I are working on a cool project, we bought another truck with a 53 foot trailer and I was wondering how to make the trailer itself the antenna I don't wanna get too far into detail but we are attempting to give a tip of the old hat to the ships that used to troll around/ anchor around NYC back in the day, is it possible if so what would it take to do it? Thank You for another COOL video!

[@g4nsj]

You'd need an ATU to match the 'antenna'. I think you'll have to experiment.

[@Mudsuitable]

+Radio Workshop yeah its definitely gonna take some trial and error and some fancy gear Thanks Mr.Ray!

[@cockneyb2k]

Yeah I think global owns a lot of stations. I was running a pirate back in 1999 to 2002 in London. You had other pirate stations would try and take others down. Take the rig and set it up playing Motown and that. We Couldn’t do nothing about it 😂 I remember talking to the manager of Thames fm because he rang up as we was bleeding over that frequency. I politely said sorry but there’s nothing we can do about it atm 😂 wasn’t many days later when DTI took the rig yet again.

[@jnzrc4336]

90s radio wasn't bad either. I remember picking up American sports on sw mid 90s

[@mdftrasher]

Wow! Just like the radio here in Holland! Remeber Veronica?

[@g4nsj]

I remember Veronica! A great station! Cheers, Ray.

[@mdftrasher]

@@g4nsj The same story was going on with tv. There whas a dutch pirate station on the northsea, "Tv Noordzee" build on a special platform "The rem eiland" Dutch politics had to kill it, instead of competing with the station. They did not want to compete, only in 1989 commercial tv was possible in Holland!

[@g4nsj]

I love the Dutch pirates!

[@brianfretwell3886]

The BBC was limited to the number of hours of records they could play - that was needle time not the payments, if the BBC paid more they still couldn't play more as it was set to ensure live musicians were employed. As for the ships not playing - well they were supplied with advance promotion copies, so the record companies played it both ways. In fact some companies paid the pirates to play their records. I remember there was a DJ called Segue-way Sid that was a tape of records without any DJ in-between used when the sea was too rough to keep the arm on the record. Radio One lost the atmosphere of the DJs being isolated on the station for weeks on end and the rapport that built up between them.

[@g4nsj]

Great info, thanks!

[@Analogue-gs3wc]

Caroline is back on 648 happy days

[@madcarew.3256]

and radio Mi Amigo from some ship.

[@alexmckenna1171]

I used to love Radio City, because it was chaotic and low budget. Could you get a decent signal down there from 299?

[@g4nsj]

Not really a good sig here. If I recall correctly, I could only just hear it.

[@ddrhaha8129]

Hey I bet the Sex Pistols got the idea when they jammed on the boat in 1977 during Queens Silver Jubilee from the pirate radio blokes😆😆

[@VickyGeagan]

Ray my mate if anyone of your viewers are interested I always get them mixed up. Gary Ziepe old pirate style services from Germany on the Continent are Absolute radio which may be their English service and their Dutch service Radio Mi Amigo it may be the other way around.He plays the old programs from his offshore radio days he also has a website that you can look up from a link posted on the South Hamptons Supports group website also he and Andr'e Von Ose are still running Pirate stations on and off of course Andre's radio name was Satan on kiss, Monique, and Veronica. You might have heard on of his pirate broadcasts sounds like him. Once an offshore pirate always an offshore pirate. Carlie wolf a very good friend of mine aka Matt. Belcher owns his own station now Marconi Broadcasting 95.1fm the I way here in the states his studios are located in an old textile mill in Coventry RI here across the pond he also has a medium wave talk station and 1 or 2 others keeps him busy he has two children with his wife a very lovely gale the really miss the uk and the voice of laser 558 Jeff Rothstein Aka Blake Williams, Art Bell just passed away this past summer it was very sad at his home in Pruhmt, Nevada His sister Jillian aka Heather Wade and his wife Ilean found him it was determined his cause of death was a fatal mixture of his anti anxiety medications along with his muscle relaxers which he took for his bad back. Possible suicide he was on the communicator laser over in the uk and in the states for a week long test broadcast and publicity stunt as the Sara NY international Along with Allen H.Weiner assistant head Engineer on Laser 558 and Caroline after Lasers main Generator set blew up along with Barry Marsh Head Engineer Kiss RPI Laser Caroline and a few others still can be heard occasionally on Bankers weekends still running pirate radio

[@g4nsj]

Hi Vicky. Wow, all very interesting stuff. Thanks very much. Cheers, Ray.

[@northstar1950]

I don't remember where I heard or read this regarding Radio Luxembourg but the story goes like this. This must have talen place prpr to the general use of magnetic tape recording or even before it's existence. There was some well known dance band appearing in London but at the same time that this band were playing Radio Luxembourg were transmitting a 'live ' performance of the same band. needless to say this caused some confusion. and how did they do it? Well the story goes they had earlier recorded the band using a 35mm film projector head and recorded the whole thing onto the film sound track area and then had the film developed so that they could use the printed optical sound track , so back in Luxembourg they used, probably two, similar or the same projector heads and replayed the recording they had made on film. Needless to say this would have caused some confusion! whether this is true or not I don't know but it is technically feasible and is a good story anyway.

[@g4nsj]

Good question! I'd like to discover exactly what went on. Cheers, Ray.

[@kevinwood4592]

Needle time was more to do with agreements with the MU (musicians union) than copyright as composer royalties would still be payable to Lennon & McCartney regardless of who was performing “I wanna hold your hand”, the BBC being one of the largest employers of musicians.

[@g4nsj]

Thanks, that’s interesting.

[@kevinwood4592]

But the limit on “needle time” was to do with keeping musicians employed.

[@jaihind8850]

Sir, can you do one of my help? I have an old radio that is running but the magic eye wire does not know how it's gone! Is there a magic Eye number EM 81? Can you tell me how to do this connection? The radio is only MW, SW and it has 9 pins with small tubes ! all tube in 9 pins 😃

[@g4nsj]

Hi, I'm afraid I can't help as I don't have data on the EM81 magic eye. You should be able to lopok it up on the internet.

[@TheMajkla]

Spot on Ray, nowadays the radio got killed or should I say, networked by Bauer.. Fortunately, there are still some pirate souls putting up a great show on weekends. Like during the last weekend: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJSmn4p6psZraJI Thank you for a lovely talk, it could have been longer though:) 73s, Ron.

[@g4nsj]

Hi Ron, I'll try to ramble on for a bit longer on the next video. Cheers, Ray.

[@TheMajkla]

@@g4nsj thank you Ray, I'm looking forward to next video - it's never too much of talk about this wonderful hobby:)

[@petertate3436]

Totally agree with the idea.... the BBC could have gotten BETTER. Pirates out of business over night. No need for gov regulation tweaking. We never saw the pirate era here in Australia. They did nearly go the same way as UK... but lucky we didn't. Yep.... the copyright not being paid argument by pirates also falls over with the likes of Nova in Ireland in the early 80s. Alot were paying alsorts of taxes.

[@g4nsj]

The BBC are now very unpopular. Some of their ideas are crazy. Great to hear from you. Cheers, Ray.

[@andrewthestarfam9668]

ray do you Rembert a guy called daffy don Allan on radio Caroline

[@g4nsj]

I don't think so. It was a long time ago!

[@donaldmason4959]

Red Barrel in Spain(Ibiza) tasted foul ,nothing like the brewery claimed that it tasted the same anywhere you drank it in the World!!!

[@alexblizzard9113]

interesting stuff. Quite agree about the BBC. Personally I think Auntie has had her day, dumbed down, biased and formulaic., apart from a few good items on Radio 4. To be fair they have tried to move with the times, but I suppose they are constrained by circumstances. Shame.

[@bilbp41]

Global and capital are the main two

[@N3WERHamRadioElmer]

So you never listened to Lady Kilowatt 27.555

[@g4nsj]

I often pump out some sideband on 27.555.

[@custardpie69]

Certain pirates did pay for needle time

[@chasdj]

but the music got played

[@VickyGeagan]

Ray all the pirate stations where owned by Walt Disney and Ernest Mortermier Disney studios planet records, Queen Magazine the had a bet with each other to see who got out in the North Sea off of Felixstowe first Walt Disney along with Ronan Riley bet Ernest Mortiermier and James Stevens by a week With caroline and the Mi Amigo Ernest and James had swinging radio England which took a week more to get outfitted ant Belfast Ireland Emperor Rosko aka Michael Japanski is an adopted Uncle of mine he still lives in California and his sister has a summer cottage next door to me his father was a movie producer for Walt Disney and Caroline is still a pirate Illegally broadcasting into coastal Europe from the old bbc radio 1 equipment from Orfordness barrier island off of Orford Village In Sussex South East England technically they are supposed to be using the old vertical back-up antenna formerly of the bbc radio 1 they even have the old grundig telefunken transmitter a couple of their djs that now work for the bbc and still are involved with caroling have their own youtube videos of the facility posted of the current equipment they are using their engineer of the Ross Revenge made his own video of the facility from the nation trust side of Orfordness and what you have been listening is Radio Caroline's Gary Ziep from the former bbc german really near Belgium he is working to bring back the pirate stations and he is still hosing the mellow show on Sunday nights uk time you can also here former engineer kiss 103 laser 558 Myles Johnston aka Barry Marsh on Caroline as well their website is www.radiocaroline.co.uk Radio Caroline is presently heard supposed to just be heard upper essex and sussex counties but is being heard actually Coastal Europe Ireland Scotland south London on 648 khz medium wave with a double side band signal and once a month broadcasting From the Ross Revenge by wifi internet link from 648 khz medium wave and their new old commercial station 1368 khz medium wave isle of man they have almost the same coverage as the old days all on 1 kw erp with the horizontal antenna aimed across the uk and Europe just do not let the gpo know lol Sorry so long Gary Ziepe main station in Germany is radio Mi Amigo English servise he also has a Dutch service just google radio Mi Amigo I believe he also has a link up on the South Hamptons supports group website

[@g4nsj]

Hi Vicky, all very interesting stuff. Thanks for taking the time to post. Cheers, Ray.

[@VickyGeagan]

You quite welcome Ray here across the pond when they switch to dab tv it opened up the old anag tv channel 6 87.7 fm top of vhf low band to fm pirates their popping up everywhere Cheers Ray

[@williamburgess8979]

Well said ray, planet rock couldn't be more plastic if it tried, now its become a quiz show hosted by a load of frustrated self apineated musicians what a load of commercial crap.

[@g4nsj]

Indeed! 👍

[@jeromegrzelak8236]

Dont you love the BBC and the FCC some one has to do it

[@RobinBlamires]

"Radio 1 didn't work". Well why is it still on air after 51 years then?

[@banjax66]

Please stop going on about Radio 1.... You are driving me mad.....

[@g4nsj]

Banjax 66 😃

[@banjax66]

I live in Peterborough. I listen to Radio Cambridgeshire .. M5IFZ