118 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
118 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
********************
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* THE BASIS BEHIND *
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* RADIO HACKING *
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********************
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PART I
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In the future, we hope to bring you more installments of this article as more
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is learned about this fascinating new hobbie, FREQUING. Future articles hope
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to include: finding frequencies and codes, satellite design, CB, cellular
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phones, the Ham bands, radio design, plus much more.
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Pirate Radio Stations
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Remember piracy? Piracy is when something protected by a copywrite is copied
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against the wishes of a copywrite holder. Software, books, pieces of art, etc.
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can be pirated.
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Radio stations, especially popular music stations, require many records in
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order to make people listen to them. The more listeners the station seems to
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have, the more money the station can charge for advertisement. Pirate radio
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stations get around the huge cost of records by taping them off of other radio
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stations. Pirate stations are characterized by the mediocre sound of their
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songs.
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Of course, it takes alot of money to operate a legally licensed radio
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station. The FCC has many regulations, such as equal employment, community
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service, and licensing fees. As a result, many pirate stations are not
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licensed (non licensed stations are called "midnighters"). It is not to hard
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to get business for midnighters, especially in large urban areas with lots of
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small shops. Many midnighters use loops as call in lines, instead of giving
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their number over the airwaves.
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Ghost Stations
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Many Frequers like to set up their own radio station without commercials, and
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often "replacing" stations of lesser quality (i.e. classical stations, country
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stations, easy listening, etc.).
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Short-lived stations that are more than just frequency jamming and saying
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four-letter-words into a transmitter are called "ghost stations." Ghost
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stations offer a chance for one to play any kind of music one wants. Often
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listeners don't realize the station isn't legal.
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You want to set up a ghost or midnighter station? All you have to do is
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build a FM or AM transmitter with lots of power. Information on building these
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can be found almost anywhere!
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If you plan on operating for a long time, there are some simple steps to
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follow:
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1. The best place to operate is out of man's best friend, The Car. Just be
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careful to CONCEAL the antenna! A benefit of this mode is easy traffic
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reporting.
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2. Don't give any real names, or phone numbers. Especially phone numbers
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that don't exist. Why?
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3. Avoid making your station look like it isn't real. That's why. If
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someone calls you up, only to find you don't exist, they may smell a rat.
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4. Try to monitor FCC bullitens and communiques. If you see anything that
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may say they're looking for a ghost station in your area, STOP
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TRANSMITTING!!!
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5. Stick to one frequency. See #3
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The FCC
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-------
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The Federal Communications Commission has alot more clout than you may think.
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The airwaves not only carry your frequer's ghost stations and rock music, it
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also carries top-secret military information, messages to pilots that are life
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and death, and the entire basis for communication in time of emergency. They
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monitor the airwaves.
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But how can they track you down? They often listen in to ghost stations for
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any kind of information on where the illegal station is transmitting from, and
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who is doing it. The second way is mechanical.
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In the old fashioned method, 2 or 3 cars with loop antennas took bearings on
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where the transmissions are comming from. Also used is an omnidirectional
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strength meter to make sure they are going towards you and not away. These can
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track down most frequers stations within 10 feet. At that range, the station's
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equipment can be seen. (Oh yeah, all the equipment of a station is called 'the
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machine', and the place that houses it, 'the vault')
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There are a few other ways of tracking that are more modern, but the system
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hasn't changed too much from the cars and loop antenna system.
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Some usefull numbers+addresses:
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FCC 1919 M St NW 655-4000
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Radio+TV programming 632-7048
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Cable TV 632-7048
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Telephone 632-7553
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Interference (301) 962-2728
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Operator Examiner " " " "
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News Media Division 254-7674
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Press Release Recording 632-0002
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Mass Media Burea 632-6460
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Authorization and Standards (301) 725-1585
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Field Operations Bureau 632-6980
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(field operations employees are
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called 'FOPS' which rhymes with cops)
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FOP Watch Officer 632-6975
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Laurel Monitor Stat.('The Laur') (301) 725-3474
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Private Radio Bureau 632-6940
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Ham+CB+Walkie Talkies 632-4964
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Aviation and Marine 632-7175
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All numbers are in the 202 NPA unless otherwise stated.
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