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If it's mostly just broadcasting dead-air & the time, it's probably a legitimate, new station operating under it's FCC Construction Permit license that's trying to adjust power output and/or antenna height, directionality, etc. in order to conform with signal propagation (range) restrictions that the FCC placed on it. In this initial testing phase, many stations don't broadcast music, etc. because the license doesn't allow them to be on the air for profit-yet (in which case, the one commercial you heard would have been a mistake) but as part of the license, it may be required to benefit the public anyway, by broadcasting time info, relaying the local National Weather Service/NOAA Weather Radio station, etc.
Based on the relatively small (so far) coverage area, as someone else suggested, it's probably going to be operated as a Low Power FM station, designed just to provide coverage to a particular neighborhood or city, and not a wide-range FM broadcaster using an antenna high above the ground, transmitting with a lot of power, etc.
It's pretty easy to radio-direction find what seems to be a 'low-profile' station like this. The basics are that you tune in while in your car, stop the car at the spot in the community that you hear the signal the strongest, then tune OFF the freq 100kHz (i.e. going from 93.9 to 93.8 or 94.0). As you get close to the transmitter/antenna site, you will hear the station 'bleeding over' while off frequency. When the signal (albeit distorted) sounds very strong on 93.8 or 94.0, try tuning another 100kHz above or below, to either 93.70 or 94.10MHz & do the same thing. If you're two-steps (200kHz) above or below the actual station frequency but able to hear the distorted signal very well, you're likely close enough to where you might see the antenna on a roof, or even somewhat hidden in a tree, etc. Because the station is mostly transmitting dead-air, you may need to wait off-frequency until you hear the voice stating the time before you judge whether or not you're getting close.
There are other techniques, but the above is the simplest if you're new to RDF'ing.
I'm not finding any new station construction permits, etc. in the FCC database, but then I don't know for sure it'd show LPFM/Translator stations in the database I'm looking at.
It *could* be a pirate station, but people set up pirate stations because they want to play DJ or think that they have important information to convey, & don't want to bother getting a license from the FCC. Since these guys are anxious, you should be hearing them playing music and/or giving their "commentaries" out over the air, not mostly transmitting dead-air.
I hadn't noticed this post before. Good advice. I tried this technique and it narrowed the area down a bit. But it's still a one-mile by one-mile area, and right in the heart of town. So I have no idea which building the signal is coming from.
Well, it's been two years now, and my local "pirate radio" station is still on the air. NEVER hear a word on-air, except the time being announced at the top of the hour in a pre-recorded message (with a lovely, British woman's voice, oddly enough!)
If one wanted to try to track down the area of town where this was emanating from (without spending too much money), what kind of signal detector would work?? Any ideas?? (I just want to thank whoever it is for playing good tunes...........plus find out what their deal is. We NEVER get stuff like this happening in my neck of the woods).
This is a really fascinating thread. What kind of music do they play?
I hadn't noticed this post before. Good advice. I tried this technique and it narrowed the area down a bit. But it's still a one-mile by one-mile area, and right in the heart of town. So I have no idea which building the signal is coming from.
The horizontal antenna on your portable radio acts like a direction finder. All that is needed are two different locations to get intersecting lines on a map.
If you use a portable am/fm battery operated radio with the telescopic antenna extended you might be able to get closer to the location. First tune in the broadcast, then turn the portable radio horizontal so the antenna if level instead of vertical. Turning the radio & antenna in different directions will increase and decrease the signal. When the signal becomes weak or not at all – the tip of the antenna is pointing 90 degrees away from the direction of the station. Mark a map with a straight line denoting the direction of the 90 degree weak signal. The location of the station will be somewhere along that line.
Next drive to another location in the city and do the same thing as you did before. This time when you mark the straight line on the map it will cross over the other line you made. The intersecting of the two lines will be very close to the antenna broadcasting. It should give you a better idea of just where in town the signal is originating from.
You may try a third location to help with getting positive intersecting lines.
I used this same technique to locate a noisy power line interference that I was receiving on my shortwave radio years ago. After I got the location of the electric power line and transformer about a mile away from my house I contacted the local electric company and reported it. They had to change out a large transformer behind some commercial buildings that were faulty and my problem was resolved.
The horizontal antenna on your portable radio acts like a direction finder. All that is needed are two different locations to get intersecting lines on a map.
If you use a portable am/fm battery operated radio with the telescopic antenna extended you might be able to get closer to the location. First tune in the broadcast, then turn the portable radio horizontal so the antenna if level instead of vertical. Turning the radio & antenna in different directions will increase and decrease the signal. When the signal becomes weak or not at all – the tip of the antenna is pointing 90 degrees away from the direction of the station. Mark a map with a straight line denoting the direction of the 90 degree weak signal. The location of the station will be somewhere along that line.
Next drive to another location in the city and do the same thing as you did before. This time when you mark the straight line on the map it will cross over the other line you made. The intersecting of the two lines will be very close to the antenna broadcasting. It should give you a better idea of just where in town the signal is originating from.
You may try a third location to help with getting positive intersecting lines.
I used this same technique to locate a noisy power line interference that I was receiving on my shortwave radio years ago. After I got the location of the electric power line and transformer about a mile away from my house I contacted the local electric company and reported it. They had to change out a large transformer behind some commercial buildings that were faulty and my problem was resolved.
Heard anything awesome in Chandler Arizona( Phoenix area) on 87.7 FM. Its a medium power pirate radio station covering at least 10 kilometers with a good signal including Chandler downtown. It plays House music and also I am pretty sure its Russian music??? They have a Facebook page:
They have been around for 3 years, but the wierd part is that they were barely heard in Chandler downtown, like a week ago, now there is almost no static in the downtown area. What is going on here ???? KWFUCC is like not even heard in that part of town, they have extremly strong signal but a terrible range.
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