A Pirate Radio Station In A Derelict House

[@timmehlittleloud2251]

Can I just say that this series on the pirate station is absolutely brilliant. Takes me back to the early 80s when a few of us did the same sort of thing with FM and AM for rag week in Leicester. The DTI were not impressed 😂😂😂 Can't wait for tomorrows episode.

[@matambale]

These have been brilliant - keep 'em coming!

[@kingaroykid]

Thanks for posting these stories. They make great listening and the fact that they are true makes it all the more interesting and takes us back to another time. Keep the stories coming.

[@ChoppingtonOtter]

This would actually make a movie. I can imagine it being a comedy actually. With the GPO guy being a "Blakey" type character (check out the old TV series "on the buses" for the reference.)

[@LatitudeSky]

Would be a SUPERB movie. A mini series, even. It is a helluva story that just happens to be about radio. But still a helluva story. Drama. Action. Police chases. Espionage. And nobody did any of it for money.

[@prophetmargin7497]

They made a movie about a pirate radio station that operated in international waters off the coast of England back in the 1960's, forget what it was called!

[@prophetmargin7497]

@@justaperson8910 Yes, "The Boat That Rocked" with Philip Seymour Hoffman! Great film and great music as well, about a pirate radio station off the coast of England that played all the rock &r roll music of the late 1960's after it was banned by the British government in 1966!

[@eddiewillers1]

"I'll 'ave you, Otter!"

[@ChoppingtonOtter]

@@eddiewillers1 🤣

[@the80hdgaming]

Another great video, as usual... Keep up the great work...

[@jmr]

It's like listening to old time radio and I have to wait each night for the "exciting conclusion". I do love their but waiting is hard.

[@madcarew5168]

episodes should be introduced with Dick Barton music...or perhaps I'm just too old!!

[@dubliner1100]

What an absolutely brilliant series! Better than a TV suspense drama!

[@datasilouk1995]

Fantastic stuff. Really enjoying this "mini series" and takes me back to listening to the pirates of the early 1980s.

[@boilerroombob]

A bottle beer and a bowl peanuts has kept me up tonight glued to this! ..boy I wish I was there in those days well done Lewis x

[@brianfretwell3886]

I'm surprised stations weren't found more often. I located one London AM station with just a transistor radio with a ferrite rod aerial. It was very small, in a terrace house, with an open chassis and an 807 as the main valve. I got invited it, I suppose to stop me attracting attention walking up and down with the radio in the street.

[@robertabbott7770]

Love it Lewis , this is absolutely fascinating to watch . Reminds me of the start of AM CB back in the 70`s , keep the vids coming , you have me hooked !

[@Corruption-uncensored]

This channel is making me investigate online radio broadcasting for myself. It’s so informative and fabulous

[@djsarahjones]

Love hearing about all Northwest Pirates. Had a little dabble myself in 2002ish near Liverpool. But Mix-up 106.4 could get past Warrington to Manchester as of antenna height issues. Still had fun for the year or so before we nearly got busted. Couldn't find a practical broadcast spot after that. 🤷 Keep it up 👍

[@WiggyVideos13]

Brilliant as usual..... Im booking a holiday to sun drenched Salford, i think one day should do it :)

[@volvo09]

Yes! Another segment!

[@garyhinson3876]

loving these, thanks for producing them

[@ZippletTech]

Again absolutely brilliant Lewis - thank you! This is one of my favourite channels for amateur radio/radio content in general :)

[@RingwayManchester]

Thanks so much :)

[@erikmutthersbough6508]

Excellent. I can't wait for the next episode ❤.

[@rachelcarre9468]

i’m loving this, it should be a screenplay! Fab work Lewis, thank you!

[@Raptoricus]

Loving this series. I used to go past that house on my way to and from work.

[@Mike-H_UK]

Another excellent video Lewis. I'm surprised that the DF was accurate enough to pinpoint the house from any reasonable distance away, enabling them to subsequently search it, but maybe the antenna at the back gave the game away. Still, finding the TX behind the bath panel was far better detective work than I would expect from the police these days.

[@laurensvisser7623]

With 4 bearings at a distance of about 3km, i could get a circle with a diameter of about 200m where a local LPAM transmitter is situated. For that, i just used a printed out map and a portable radio with ferrite antenna. Repeat it at a closer distance and you get a more accurate result. So if you drive around a town, it's pretty easy to pinpoint AM transmitters (and omnidirectional FM ones too)

[@Mike-H_UK]

@@laurensvisser7623 Thanks, that's a good data point. A good set up with an antenna designed for DF will be a bit better than this. So it may get to within a few houses rather than 200m.

[@Isochest]

I think the antenna gave the game away then. My CB dipole was camouflaged by trees. I could see the GPO van through my shack window through the trees and other gardens but didn't transmit of course. The valve filaments were still on. It was a 6CH6 osc/mult with a screen modded 807 PA from a 1977 SWM design! I never got to meet them happily 😊

[@wisteela]

This just gets more amazing. Also, that old house looks great for a possible urbex.

[@lucienberton4538]

This is the Radio Amateur's version of the 1001 Nights! Thanks Shehrazad, and 73s to you. L.

[@icemonAesDana]

brill post...reminds me of the Radio Veronica broadcasts around Bradford in the early 80`s

[@ArlenMoulton2]

Excellent video as always! And a nice old tractor in the barns next to that house you showed!

[@xandervideo1]

Absolutely loving this series!

[@FearAllYouHear]

Really enjoyed these videos this week!

[@Mr_Spliffy]

Working class heroes. Maximum respect 🙏

[@harbselectronicslab3551]

Loving these stories..............

[@LoftechUK]

This is brilliant

[@jacquesmertens3369]

It was good to read Andy Howlett's comment on the political activities of Aquarius. I have removed my earlier comment in the knowledge that Aquarius was indeed focused on independent broadcasting. Looking forward to the next episode.

[@andyhowlett2231]

Thanks Jacqes. It's important that people don't get the wrong impression about the activities of Aquarius and similar stations of the period. Andy.

[@andyhowlett2231]

Best episode so far Lewis!

[@raymondmartin6737]

Nice continuation of such an interesting 👍 story, when my hair looked like these fellows did back then in the photos.

[@huwkelvinmorgan3575]

I am loving this series just brilliant you have got something here that you should pursue you have the perfect voice for narration hope that you can do more story's after this one, very cool to listen to every evening and something i look forward to.cheers and beers from MW5UFO

[@RingwayManchester]

Thanks so much! Kudos on the M5 and kudos on the UFO!

[@huwkelvinmorgan3575]

@@RingwayManchester Cheers Thanks

[@kc0eks]

Love these stories. I'm in the USA so most is a distant story but you tell these stories well.

[@robertcroft8241]

As an old man I remember the Border Blasters ! Luxembourg is of course the best known. The Mexican Blasters along the southern US border with their (Supposed) Million Watts , could certainly drown out all the US stations with their 50K FCC limit. Radio Brazzaville in the Congo Blasted all middle Africa with American Hits , and my favourite Blaster of all time , (These were all Government Licensed ) was CKLW a tiny local station in Windsor Canada which grew to enormous power and blasted Motown 24 hours a day across the USA drowning out the Detroit stations with their limited 50K,

[@donpro3672]

You need to get more of these stories up Lewis 🤩

[@merlin5476]

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. As a youth back in the late 70,s i was heavily into Caroline & regularly bought " Monitor" magazine & built a few mini FM bugs from a kit form & really wanted to start my own station ( i was 15 at the time) it never materialised sadly. I would love to have another go now ( at 58) as i dont like any other stations out there ( caroline has gone down hill dramatically musically )

[@stevencoleman7477]

Great Stuff Lewis I'm loving this series. As Rachel says this would make a great screenplay. I was never involved with the pirate music radio scene but was into AM cb back in the 70s and remember the fun and games we had. Keep them coming .... G0BTV

[@dave1secondago]

haha the gpo snoops cheered me up , brilliant stuff

[@danielscotcher]

Such a great story Lewis, your videos are amazing the content is on another level

[@RingwayManchester]

Thank you so much

[@Tmacker71165]

brilliant as ever 👍

[@captaintrips2980]

A ground plane antenna has been my choice.

[@peterstean2138]

This is absolutely fascinating :)

[@bearfreeman7604]

We did the same thing in N London 1965 - 2000, mw n fm, tho live and album rock format, ie AC/DC to Zappa, for a huge and astonishingly, still unserved discerning audience.

[@pyeltd.5457]

You managed to get away with illegal pirate radio for 35 years

[@bearfreeman7604]

@@pyeltd.5457 Got busted in '68, again in '78, had a few close shaves over the years.

[@dave1secondago]

only managed half this vid , will watch later brilliant series

[@markcancellara]

brilliant jingle

[@robertfletcher3421]

I just love this account of yesteryear and can't wait for a more exciting episodes. It beats 007 but sounds like these guys were members of Spectre.

[@brianmorris8045]

The reason why pirate radio sprung up, in the 60's, because in those musty old luddites were running the radio stations and any 'new sounds' by modern musicians(well, luddites of radio headed for the hills at the mention of the word 'modern') wouldn't be played.😅🤣😂

[@LoftechUK]

Brilliant

[@radiosnmore]

I look forward to these uploads man. Cooool. Gunplexor dreamssss

[@benabusthethird9751]

Really enjoying the series

[@richardmillican7733]

Brilliant! I wonder if the copper tuned in after he had pulled em?!

[@alienwarex51i3]

Why would the post office have anything to do with illegal radio transmissions?

[@RingwayManchester]

The general post office (GPO) was responsible for all radio, radio communications and television in the uk until the DTI took over in the 80’s

[@lexington476]

Reception report, we are receiving a clear transmission reading you five by five 🙂.

[@brianread9781]

We had the first Stereo Pirate in the North of England I.B.C. Radio 104.4 FM D.T.I. was swines they could only take the vinyl that was playing at the time of the raid, so months after court cases we would get the rest back,,, every one scratched deep wrecked & unplayable ! we had a Link system in later days that ran on 900 Mghz if i remeber rightly. somewere around carphone frequency at the time that transmitted to a reciever that went into main 50 Watt FM Trans with a STEREO Modulator we could have the studio anywere within a 15/20 mile radius of the Main transmitter that was situated in the lift shaft room of DARN HILL High Rise flats in HEYWOOD Manchester we got took off air a further couple of times were all they got was theLink Reciever & main Transmitter.. but they got pissed @ us coming back on air straight away & Triangulated on the Link Transmitter as they had the frequency it opperated on from taking the previous unit ! 30 years later & you can buy 50 Watt FM Stereo transmitters from China for a couple of hundred quid, The D.T.I, did say our home made Trans was very stable for a back street pirate job. an elecrical engineer from Bradford made our Transmitters ...They was good days used to enjoy it.

[@jean-lucpicard5510]

Can someone tell me the classic tune at the start?

[@Steve_Wardley_G6JEF]

Great video's Lewis, love the tenacity of these individuals despite it being illegal. I take it these guy's will still be around somewhere ?

[@andyhowlett2231]

Still here, and been a good boy since getting my licence (G1HBE) in 1984.

[@Steve_Wardley_G6JEF]

@@andyhowlett2231 Ah well done matey, good to hear.

[@nuvotion-live]

These are awesome videos. I really would consider renaming them to include “Part 1”, “Part 2” etc so it’s easier to follow the series

[@gordonbrown6793]

Back in the 80s we visited a number of Irish pirates. Radio Dublin was in an old house on Inchicore Road I think and the MW tx was bricked up somewhere inside it. Apparently to switch it on you had to tread on certain floorboards in the right order! 😁 One story I heard was of a P&T investigator who went up the aerial mast trying to find the feed cable when Eamonn stood by one of the guy wires with a pair of bolt cutters and told him if he didn't get out he'd cut the wire (which would probably have catapulted him into the Liffey!).

[@pogo_01]

i listened to the red hot sound of Sunshine 101 FM in 88, i could hear that on 101.5 fm a lot here in manchester but mainly 531 am not 539 what Sunshine used to say. and also Radio Nova and Energy 103 that i could hear on 738am, i wasnt a fan of Q102 or Super Q102 an exact copy of Sunshine but i did pick up Hope 104.4 fm from Dublin here one october night when the pirates boomed in and Q102's 103 transmitter almost jammed our local key 103 fm in 1988. Never heard Radio Dublin apart from when i was in Dublin, Their sound quality wasnt that good and i know Eamonn Cook wasnt a good guy....🤔

[@SocialistDistancing]

OK, that was funny descriptive phrases. 1) scruffy Herbert's. Lmao. What is a Herbert? I've only heard the term used on star trek tos, when they picked up some space hippies and one of them called cpt kirk a Herbert. I was around hippies in the 60s a don't ever remembering them using that term. 2) A long haired weirdo wondering around the woods at time like this would draw suspicion. Lmao Long haired weirdo? Lmao, well I can say I may have been one at one time. LoL

[@ClumsyCars]

You should put chapter 4 in the title for people following along

[@lexington476]

3:05 what is a curtain switcher?

[@joez.2794]

I also want to know!

[@lexington476]

@@joez.2794 I'm kind of thinking it's English-English slang. But I'm on the other side of the pond and never been to England 🙂.

[@joez.2794]

@@lexington476 Same here. My best guess is "nosy neighbor" or "window watcher," but when Google turned up nothing that only made me even more curious. 🙂

[@andyhowlett2231]

@@joez.2794 It's curtain twitcher. A nosey type who watches what the other folks are doin'

[@DrDennieJay]

first :) good video :) keep up the good work :)

[@jackburton5085]

5:22 Benny Hill?

[@wam2610]

👍

[@JohnSmith-ux3tt]

I am amazed that there is still a country, besides Russia, where pirate radio stations are still a thing. Everybody else just have a simple administrative procedure to avoid stations interfering with each other - fill out the application form, send the form in with the fee and it's done. I assume this is all to protect the BBC from "unfair" competition. Unfair meaning radio that people actually want to listen to. But the BBC need all the money they can get, to fund the dross that is gay, black and "women" Dr Who, etc. Lmao.

[@vylbird8014]

These stories are all from long ago - this one is from the 70s. Pirate radio in the UK barely exists any more, and the BBC has plenty of competition these days. Your comment also seems to be rather... well, outright homophobic, racist and misogynist, in that order. Apparently anything that isn't made for ans by straight white men is just dross?

[@JohnSmith-ux3tt]

@@vylbird8014 Oh no, will you report to the thought police for saying things that hurt your sensibilities? However, none of the above. Dr Who, and so many other BBC shows, are absolute rubbish these days. It might be simple coincidence that it went downhill fast when the bbc went full woke.

[@karengill8234]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. G4OWW