Ever wondered what it was like to run a pirate radio station back in the day?
This is the true story of how I went from experimenting with a six-watt AM transmitter in my backyard to running a full FM pirate station—complete with music, listeners, and eventually a surprise visit from the FCC.
In this video, I’ll take you through the journey: building antennas out of copper wire, testing coverage across town, upgrading from AM to FM, trying to do things “legit,” spinning rock albums for friends, and ultimately learning the hard way that federal agents don’t find pirate broadcasting very amusing.
This story is part nostalgia, part engineering curiosity, and part cautionary tale. If you’re interested in radio history, ham radio, FM/AM transmission, DIY broadcasting, or just want to hear about how a teenage obsession with audio tech collided with federal law, you’ll enjoy this ride.
What you’ll hear in this story:
How a homemade AM pirate station reached across town
Building antennas with hundreds of feet of copper wire
Upgrading to FM broadcast equipment and stereo sound
The struggle to operate “as legally as possible” without a license
Rock music, no commercials, and a growing underground audience
The day the FCC showed up at my house and shut it all down
Lessons learned from a teenage adventure in pirate radio
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Chapters:
00:00 Storytime: Becoming a teenage radio pirate
00:14 Running unlicensed pirate stations
00:24 From AM pirate to FM pirate to the FCC bust
00:46 Disclaimer: Statute of limitations and a warning
01:02 Growing up in a radio and tech-driven household
01:20 Ham radio culture and early exposure to equipment
01:36 Discovering a low-power AM transmitter (LP6)
02:02 The power of just a few watts
02:24 Comparing CB radios, police radios, and commercial stations
02:52 Building and tuning a homemade AM antenna
03:52 Climbing trees and stringing hundreds of feet of copper wire
05:13 Testing coverage around town
05:27 Reaching half the town with 6 watts of AM power
05:57 Friends encourage playing real music instead of disco
06:27 Building a playlist: Rush, Zeppelin, Hendrix, and more
07:09 Pirate station grows to a small but loyal audience
07:39 Limitations of AM: noise, static, and mono sound
08:11 The desire to switch to FM broadcasting
08:30 Finding an FM exciter and learning its role
09:20 Setting up a proper FM antenna on a tower
10:34 Trying to make it legal with FCC licensing rules
11:10 Learning the low-power FM process from a broadcast engineer
12:13 Searching for open frequencies in a crowded FM band
13:31 Falling just short of FCC distance requirements
14:48 Accepting the limits but still broadcasting carefully
15:42 Upgrading to a full FM pirate station
16:37 Building out racks of gear, mixers, and tape decks
17:07 Daily after-school FM broadcasts
17:39 Directional antenna covering up to 25 miles
18:10 Playing music for friends and avoiding commercials
18:50 Taking song requests from listeners
19:31 Getting noticed by a commercial rock DJ
20:08 The uneasy feeling of being “discovered”
21:01 The FCC shows up at the front door
22:12 Inspecting the equipment and threatening federal charges
23:31 FCC agent officially shuts down the station
25:06 Remembering my dad’s advice: “Don’t get caught”
27:03 My dad keeps his distance from the operation
27:31 Talking with the engineer mentor about consequences
28:33 Writing a letter of apology to the judge
29:03 Case dismissed with a warning not to repeat
29:32 Lessons learned and why it’s a bad crime to commit
30:10 What happened to all the equipment afterward
31:00 Moving on to legal audio engineering
31:11 Reflections on being a 1970s teenage radio pirate
31:20 Final lesson: don’t mess with the FCC
Production equipment I use or recommend:
https://www.barrywatson.com/recommended_equipment.html