Tap the blue font above to add a fun, playful ham loop
Listen to South American pirate radio recordings
By Chris Smolinski
Compiled by BG5WKP Zhu Yi
Pirate radio originated from the English name: Pirate Radio, sometimes called Free Radio, also known as offshore radio Off-shore Radio, it originated in Europe in the sixties, but also in the european and American youth at that time the common confusion and rebellion of the social background, some young people dissatisfied with the government's control of radio broadcasting, began to try to set up unapproved radio stations, used to broadcast their favorite programs, mostly music programs. Later, in order to evade government tracking, some people began to modify transmitters and antennas on civilian ships to broadcast on the high seas, and some radio stations even became the "star radio stations" in Europe at that time.
Looking for a new DX challenge? In addition to the shortwave pirate radio stations in the United States and Europe (which we call Europirates), in North America there is a relatively new set of pirate radio stations that can be received from South America.
Last year we have confirmed that there are a large number of pirate radio stations available in South America. It's been a while since I received Radio Pirana and I'm sure you just know some of the reports about it, at least one station I don't remember the name of, but that's it. For many years, UNID radios heard in the 43-meter band (6800-7000 kHz) had a weak signal, presumably pirate stations, some of which may have come from South America.
Most of these stations use home-made transmitters, usually in a "Lulu" design, equipped with an IRF510 or similar MOSET RF terminal. This means that they are usually in the carrier range of 15 or 20 watts, although some stations have higher transmission power. Unless otherwise noted, all of these stations use AM mode, and in general, the frequency varies greatly, from night to night and even during transmission, with variations of 100 Hz or more.
An important tip: since most radio stations use relatively low power, and because of the longer distances involved, the signal level is usually weaker, but sometimes in very good conditions (especially in the presence of moiré propagation), a stronger signal can be received.
I've been fortunate enough to live in rural areas where noise/RF interference levels are relatively low, and I have several high-end receivers and large antennas. My main device for capturing these stations was a netSDR receiver and a 670-foot Sky Loop antenna.
You want to use the best receivers and antennas to capture these stations, and it's impossible to get good results when using portable SW radios, RTL dongles, or small/indoor antennas.
Also, I record the entire 43-meter band on my netSDR every morning and then make the recording. This allows me to find stations that may only appear briefly. That is, you can still hear them with reasonable HF settings, although it may need to be continuously checked every night until conditions allow to receive them.
It's well worth checking the Latin American Pirate Logs forum on the HF Underground website to see what you're currently hearing. HF Underground is the best way to follow the hobbyist broadcast reception scene, providing a dedicated forum for North American pirate radio stations, European pirate radio stations Europirates, and of course radio stations.
For those who collect QSLs, many of these sites are reliable QSLers!
In general, the easiest radio station to hear is LUPO radio from Argentina. In AM mode, it airs most nights at 6973 kHz. At least in my location, it provides the most powerful and reliable signal. Usually in the SIO 222 to 333 range, sometimes stronger. I used Lupo Radio as a "beacon" to measure signal propagation in South America at 43 meters.
Another frequently broadcast station is RCW from Chile – a global radio station. They used 6925.13kHz, which emitted a more stable signal, usually at this offset frequency, which made it easier to determine that it might have heard them on the American Pirate Radio.
Radio Marco Polo MP RADIO at 6991kHz new frequency point.
UNID Pirate Radio, also from South America, also appeared at a speed of 6934.9 kHz. I've been receiving their signals locally at night for a few weeks, usually starting around UTC 2300-0300. They sent out a recognizable signal that was enough for Shazam to recognize the song. They are frequently choppy during transmission, and during playback, the launch tends to turn off multiple times. They occasionally transmit audio test tones, and sometimes it seems that they also relay audio from authorized stations in Argentina, such as El Mundo Radio. Could it be that someone tested a new transmitter? This is a new mystery to be solved!
Radio Dontri is a bit unique because they use USB mode at 6955 kHz. They also send SSTV, which is sometimes easier to receive than music, and helps verify that you're actually hearing them, relative to the American Pirate 6955. Their signal drift is severe, however, which can make decoding SSTV transmissions more challenging.
Outside the 43-meter band, there is RádioCasa 8000 kHz. I only received weak radio from this station, although part of the reason may be because I don't check it very often, and it doesn't appear in my nighttime SDR recordings.
Radio Triunfal Evangélica is another radio station outside the 43-meter band that uses a nominal frequency of 5825 kHz, typically close to 5824.9 kHz. Again I only received their signals. As the name suggests, they are a religious station, affiliated with a church.
Now that we've talked about pirate radio stations from South America, you might receive stations that aren't pirates. Specifically, we hear fishermen's radio stations called Peskies (or Pesky as singular), or pescadores (Spanish). Peskies typically use LSB mode and can be heard on many frequencies in the 43-meter band, participating in QSO. Years ago, pirate radio reception enthusiasts began to call these stations video game consoles, because some of them were indeed fishermen and could hear discussions about related matters. It might be better to think of most of them as free-formers/come-outs, which is very important in the tradition of 11-meter transmission. There is a log forum dedicated to Peskies on HFU, if you are interested in learning more about them.
Occasionally they use AM mode. We recorded several (+/-, of course) at 6965 kHz, which were originally thought to be pirate radios. But they never passed on the music, and after some discussions with the South American DXers, it has been determined that they are believed to be the source of malicious interference.
Read more:
Come and arrest me, I'm a pirate radio station
【Radio Feature】2016 Pirate Radio Report (Excerpt)
【Radio History】Pirate radio stations with "top remote reception" programs
[Ham has something to say] A confused face | OX5T Pirate: The call sign was stolen by pirate radio
Amateur Radio WeChat: ham_cn
Add a friend - Search for numbers: ham_cn
Or look for the WeChat public account: Amateur Radio
Cooperation, submission, please add small editor WeChat: 78329708,
Or phone: 18959213416.