Radio Engineers 2 Interview

[stemenist]

Hello hello,

I'm currently looking to interview Radio Engineers who worked at pirate radio stations anytime between 70s-00s! This will be part of an educational video about the engineering of radios & the social impact pirate radios had on communities in the UK for the national museum I work for.

Please help me find someone who has experience building rigs, setting up rooftop aerials, microwave links, studios etc. who doesn't mind being on camera!

Thank you

[radionortheast]

This was the best one Miles J, don't think it will help you any, he is there from 3:52 onwards, might be better digging about on youtube i'm sure i've seen from time to time people say they once made transmitters, I don't think they are on these forums.

[Albert H]

Miles certainly won't be interested in being in any programme like that. He keeps to himself these days.

I won't appear for some very obvious reasons. Most of the actual engineers remain pretty secretive about their activities, especially since the changes in the law.

You also have to remember that most of the really competent engineers had real jobs too - many worked for the BBC (I did), some for the ITV companies, others worked for BT and other significant organisations. Our employers would have taken a pretty dim view of our clandestine activities!

[stemenist]

This was the best one Miles J, don't think it will help you any, he is there from 3:52 onwards, might be better digging about on youtube i'm sure i've seen from time to time people say they once made transmitters, I don't think they are on these forums.

Thank you!

[stemenist]

Miles certainly won't be interested in being in any programme like that. He keeps to himself these days.

I won't appear for some very obvious reasons. Most of the actual engineers remain pretty secretive about their activities, especially since the changes in the law.

You also have to remember that most of the really competent engineers had real jobs too - many worked for the BBC (I did), some for the ITV companies, others worked for BT and other significant organisations. Our employers would have taken a pretty dim view of our clandestine activities!

Fair enough! Thanks for taking the time to give your point of view anyway, still very insightful

[Persona Non Grata]

The guys who were involved further back are likely to be more forthcoming what with law changes/statute of limitations and career changes/retirement making concerns about "what will my employer think" to be pretty moot.

[Albert H]

I'm retired, and so are most of the other engineers I knew way back. However, NONE of us would want to make our activities known, as the "Wrong Arm Of The Law" could still make things unpleasant for us.

One engineer I knew back in the 70s - who has been inactive as far as pirate activities are concerned since the early 80s - had life made very unpleasant recently when he (rather foolishly) admitted what he'd done way back then.... The "Authorities" have tried to pin all sorts of recent nefarious radio activities on him, despite his obvious innocence. His most recent employer decided that "there's no smoke without fire", and so he's currently looking for another job!

[FMEnjoyer]

Miles certainly won't be interested in being in any programme like that. He keeps to himself these days.

I won't appear for some very obvious reasons. Most of the actual engineers remain pretty secretive about their activities, especially since the changes in the law.

You also have to remember that most of the really competent engineers had real jobs too - many worked for the BBC (I did), some for the ITV companies, others worked for BT and other significant organisations. Our employers would have taken a pretty dim view of our clandestine activities!

It certaintly never stopped the BBC knowing employing pirate presenter talent when it suited their audience figures, hypocrites !

That aside: " especially since the changes in the law. " What are they out of interest ?

[Albert H]

The changes to the Law happened back in '85. Until then, contravention of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 was a "civil" offence, and attacted fairly small fines. The 1985 amendments made it a "Criminal" Offence, and allowed for "unlimited" prison sentences.

The practical upshot was that we all went deeply underground, and paranoia was widespread. Soon after the Law changes, big money started to get involved in the game, with some VERY dodgy characters trying to make money out of the growing "Rave" scene. That was the first time I got out of the game. It wasn't worth the risk any more.

A year later, I was involved in starting a very large, London-wide (and Home Counties) station!

[FMEnjoyer]

Thx for update. Could that have been something to do with a restaurant of some kind... hmmmm? Well you inspired me to check my trusty history book "London's Pirate Pioneers" A superb book for anyone interested, 309 pages of super cosy reading, essential reading.

In fact it is worth a thread on its own.

Amazing... I remember RFM I wonder if they were related to Q102 as well not many rock pirates in the late 80s 90's.

Such a blast to look back at how rich this scene was. As a listener you felt you had a deep connection to it all as well as they relied on you to dial em in and move your antenna about. Nowadays everything is served on a plate, we have lost a lot really. I loved the lot, oldies,rock, rave, obscurities the anorak side. There was naivety as well though I did not know heavies were involved in raves, I was a bit young to know or care I suppose, the average listener thought rave was the reigniting of the summer of love over again, and in many ways it was, albeit in the confines of conventional society. I listened to pirates since age of 12-13 I suppose whenever a scene appears there will always be a need to supply what that scene requires, which means money and the trouble that can come with it.

I think there will be no renaissance people are bigging themselves up, reading disinformation or rubbing themselves on special sites online these days. No time for FM anymore.

[Albert H]

You're mostly right - certainly in the UK.

Fortunately (for me), there's a LOT of FM activity in other countries, and our little company makes good money supporting it.

Incidentally, Q102 was a bit of a rarity - it was (virtually) a standalone project that had little to do with other stations. Other stations had quite some "crossover" - RFM had a couple of ex-RFL folks involved (for example).

By the way - the "London's Pirate Pioneers" book is rather inaccurate in many places. The author obviously didn't talk to too many of the principals involved. Those of us who were actually there (and involved) know the whole story!