Pirate Radio

Been on everyday since. Also heard over in the east today, so wide coverage.
Often playing the same repetitive Aussie 70’s - 80’s music. Never any announcements. Is mono, unlike 91.8 which is stereo.

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I am at Killcare Heights at the southern end of the Central Coast right now and my car radio has picked this up on auto seek tuning.

Must be putting out a fair signal for a pirate.

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I can just hear it under the static at my location. Sounds like they are playing some kind of dance music.

What parts of Sydney does it come in the strongest???

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Same where I am, I can get 87.5 it down to Bankstown and it plays just 70s - 80s music without processing.

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Comes in on my SDR here in southern Sydney but a bit distorted:

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It seems that 87.5 has moved to 88.8 with about the same signal strength with a revamped 70s-90s playlist, it also sounds a bit better with a little processing.

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Playing BLOODY ABBA is not revamped to me!

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I wonder why they didn’t move to 89.5 MHz where there isn’t a station +100 kHz to its centre frequency.

Recording from the 88.8 MHz frequency:

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Possibly because it’d be easier for ACMA to detect them…

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88.8 is a silly choice; it gets hammered on both sides. 108.0 would be better (outside of TCBL times).

Yes & maybe, depending on where they’re transmitting from & intended
coverage area in respect to existing broadcasters on 88.7x2 & 2RSR in city.

Anyone have any clues to the whereabouts of this ‘mystery’ broadcaster?

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Listening to 88.8 now, seems strongest out to sea? Using my 6 element yagi here in Sutherland (Southern Sydney). Currently playing Queen.

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Well, what’s the point? Sounds like a WS clone. They could at least skew their playlist towards the '50s and '60s for a point of difference! :rofl:

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Interesting. I’d eliminated some regions of Sydney.
Checking 88.8 tonight & it’s now gone. Was there this morning.
Maybe your post made someone nervous?
A pirate broadcaster out at sea? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: Surely not a Radio Caroline imitator?
I think one of our other members SDR showed a strong signal in southern suburbs.

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Welcome Sara(h); nice to see someone with a Yagi in the southern suburbs of Sydney…now that I’ve left the area!

Perhaps 88.8 is using vertical pol and is located to the north of Sutherland; this seems likely. The signal would peak 90 degrees off in that case when using a horizontally polarised Yagi.

A pirate in the steamy autumn brine off Sydney would be romantic but that’s a fanciful notion.

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Good point regarding the direction, didn’t think of that. But picking up a mystery transmission from the Love Boat or a tropical island would have been cool.

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We actually have picked up mystery all-music transmissions via E-skip that may have been from cruise ships. They have been received on their own and often just before/after Norfolk Island or New Caledonia FM. But I haven’t received anything like that for a while.

Such signals from cruise ships would exhibit very slow fading and slight choppiness. But of course this is masked by the inherent fading (‘QSB’) of E-skip.

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Saw a sticker today promoting a pirate station on 99.9 in Melbourne, indeed calling it out as a pirate station on the sticker. Wonder how many people seeing it would understand what’s meant by ‘pirate’ in the radio sense?

Playing a hip hop format - didn’t hear a station id in the time I listened. Not sure how long it has been broadcasting but seems to be a fairly powerful signal.

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Do you have a photo of the sticker?

Wow, where about are you receiving it? I’m in the northern suburbs, Ill see if I can hear anything.

Edit: there is definitely something weak on 99.9 on my SDR, its a tiny spike though.