Mr Project wrote:it is something we will deal with if it is true.

You'll 'deal' with Ofcom? Fix up son, seriously.

If you read what they said I think they were thinking of a new frequency if it's something legal

SundayGroover wrote:You'll 'deal' with Ofcom? Fix up son, seriously.

Of course not. Not even the mighty "Project" would deal with Ofcom. They will move to another frequency - sorry - "dial". As Project are fully aware that anyone using a dial for 5 minutes has some nebulous right of ownership, they will of course move somewhere which isn't, and never has been, occupied by another pirate.

is there any free dials out there at the mo without sharing a dial. not projects biggest fan but good luck to em if they can bounce bk for those who do like that style

Must have some serious problems beyond their (or just his LOL) control if still off after this long.

Mr Project wrote:We have seen no evidence to back this claim up and it is something we will deal with if it is true.

Perhaps you should keep an eye on the OFCOM website. Applications to use 106.5MHz in London closed on 16th October this year. It is to be licensed to a "Community" station at 400W "per plane". The site is to be central South London (probably Crystal Palace). When you consider that Crapital ran just 600W for a London-wide service when it started, you can consider 106.5MHz effectively gone for your toy station.

400W from Crystal Palace (and if I was engineering it - which may happen - I'd ensure that it was 400W horizontal and 400W vertical polarisation, "to enhance reception in more difficult parts of the target area", since that would be within the terms of the licence). There's no way any pirate would make the slightest dent into that from any block.

You're not going to "deal with" it at all: you'll just have to find another - inferior - frequency.

LOL The Rig Got Wet wrote:Must have some serious problems beyond their (or just his LOL) control if still off after this long.

Rumour has it that nobody will build gear for them, since they have very unrealistic expectations of price. I was asked (a while ago) through a third party who's quite well known for dealing rigs, links and aerials:

Apparently someone was asking for "300 Watts on 106.5 wiv' a satcan" and was offering £400 - I told him that he could have a supply of 8 off 300W rigs for £18,000 cash (which would be cheap, these days) or he could FO and buy a Radiomaster. There's still nothing on 106.5MHz!

£400 for a 300w sounds about right tbh.

Capital only started on 600 watts? How many power increases since ? It's about 5000 watts now isn't it?

OldskoolPirate wrote:£400 for a 300w sounds about right tbh.

Hmmm stolen and retuned perhaps

You're kidding? A genuine 300W FET is going to cost you the better part of £100. The output match will need high voltage capacitors - several of them - adding up to about £25. You're going to need cooling - to do it properly will cost £120 or more.

You've then got the power supply - switched-mode noise generators need not apply - which needs to be rated at (at least) 450W DC - that's a 500VA transformer (£80), a 25A bridge rectifier (£6.50) and at least 100,000µF at 63V smoothing - another £80.

The exciter and driver will need to be clean, stable, separately supplied and in their own housings - you won't get change out of £200 for suitable parts.

You've then got to box the whole thing up - something suitable, with the vents for the cooling can be had for about £50.

So far you're looking at about £700 without a good link receiver - just for the parts alone. I don't work for nothing - you're going to have to pay me my commercial rate of at least £1200 per day.

There's also all the ancillary gear that the average pirate is going to want to go with his transmitter - aerials, feeders, mains leads, locks and chains and all the rest.

If anyone's supplying 300 Watt rigs for £400, they're doing it out of crap components and without making any kind of profit, or it's stolen and re-tuned.

Back in the 80s, stations were paying £600 for a 90 Watt rig with a link receiver. That's when components and metalwork were cheap, and things like heatsinks and smoothing capacitors could be bought for almost nothing. At one time, I was shifting 15 - 20 rigs each week!

famefm wrote:Capital only started on 600 watts? How many power increases since ? It's about 5000 watts now isn't it?

Nope - it's just 4kW ERP. When it started, it used a 600W rig into a turnstile aerial array that gave it 2.2kW ERP. The re-engineering (when Global took over) increased the transmitter power to 1kW and the antenna was re-engineered to better shape the coverage. They still don't employ anyone with a clue about audio processing, so it sounds just like all the other Global stations - total crap.

These days in London you'd expect to pay around 5 or 6 ton for a 0.3kW rig, 4 ton might get you more like a 0.2kW box.

Albert H wrote:

Mr Project wrote:We have seen no evidence to back this claim up and it is something we will deal with if it is true.

Perhaps you should keep an eye on the OFCOM website. Applications to use 106.5MHz in London closed on 16th October this year. It is to be licensed to a "Community" station at 400W "per plane". The site is to be central South London (probably Crystal Palace). When you consider that Crapital ran just 600W for a London-wide service when it started, you can consider 106.5MHz effectively gone for your toy station.

400W from Crystal Palace (and if I was engineering it - which may happen - I'd ensure that it was 400W horizontal and 400W vertical polarisation, "to enhance reception in more difficult parts of the target area", since that would be within the terms of the licence). There's no way any pirate would make the slightest dent into that from any block.

You're not going to "deal with" it at all: you'll just have to find another - inferior - frequency.

Mr Project wrote: Firstly let's be very clear that 106.5 is our dial and it will remain our dial.

No no no Albert, you've not fully digested the original post.

If I want to fire up a few hundred Watts tonight in London, one of my choice of frequencies would be 106.5 MHz. It's clear at the moment, and has a 300 kHz first adjacent. Nice.

It might be fun to fire up one of the old stations.....

Any ideas yet who might be in the running for the legal licence on 106.5

There are several of the "usual suspects" including a Christian "Praise" station and an Islamic wailer. If the wailer gets it, they'll be jammed - permanently. Global have a bid, and so do a couple of the other bigger broadcasters. It looks like it's going to be limited to South London coverage (yes, right) and will be another mess like 96.9MHz and 107.1 MHz.

I also see one of the former choice fm owners is applying if it was similar to the early choice fm that would not be bad or possible misoul?

96.9 actually gets out quite well in my Windsor Great Park area considering it was only on about 50 watts

Most I get Kiss on 106.4 but at other times I hear a French talking station on 106.5 to.