Customer Reviews

Pirate Radio Operations

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book contains a number of interesting anecdotes about pirate radio operations, and it ATTEMPTS to serve as a how-to guide of sorts, but it falls short in the latter respect. The technical information is sketchy, and sometimes downright vague or inaccurate. I suspect that the authors, for all their enthusiasm and (I assume) practical experience in pirate radio operations, have little theoretical knowledge of electronics and radiofrequency propagation. The reader would be well-advised to consult real textbooks if he or she wants a real understanding of how transmitting equipment works and how to use it properly.

Some of the suggestions for manners of covert operation seem ill-advised and overly difficult to execute--or, at the opposite extreme, too likely to result in an FCC bust. The chapters are poorly organized and the overall execution a bit amateurish, and the emphasis is on shortwave broadcasting. This bears mentioning because it seems that most people getting into pirate radio are more interested in local AM/FM broadcast band operations.

However, the authors' love of their subject matter shines through, the anecdotes and stories of pirate stations are amusing and informative, and I would consider this book a worthwhile read for any would-be pirates as long as they bear in mind that it is not by any means an "ultimate" guide to operations.

Well wirtten and easy to follow but not enough details on
station operations. I would have liked to seen more details on
modern tx operation mixing and editing.

If you don't care about how-it-works, and just want to make sure it does work, this is the book for you

Although a few things have changed since this book was published, the book is quite good, and a lot of the material here could just as easily be applicable to an internet station as a pirate one. Quite interesting, and overall a handy reference guide as well.