Pirate Radio Survival Guide

Advanced Stuff

In this chapter, I'm going to throw out some more advanced things that you can do with your station. Don't attempt these things unless you understand them! For the beginners, and there is NOTHING wrong with being a beginner even Radio Clandestine was a beginner, the topics in this chapter might confuse you and should be avoided.

Receiver Muting

If you are using a Transceiver with another external receiver or you are using the traditional Receiver/Transmitter combination, you might want have you receiver muted while transmitting. This is easily accomplished with a little understanding. Most Transmitters/Transceivers will have an internal relay that closes when transmitting. Unused contacts of this relay are provided access on the rear of the equipment. Look at the manual of your receiver and determine if it can be muted (most can) where the muting control line should be attached, and what muting level is required by the receiver. Most receivers simply require that their muting line be grounded. Again, look in your receiver manual to be sure! Look at your transmitter manual to determine which set of contacts are NORMALLY OPEN and connect a wire from the Transmitters relay contacts to the receivers mute line. If all goes well, when you transmit the receiver will mute and when you quit transmitting the receiver will un-mute or receive! If you wish to engage in Two Way Pirate QSOs, it is recommended to externally mute your receiver. If you are using a transceiver, this is already being done. See Figure 1 for a Typical Connection.

Using The Same Antenna For Receive and Transmit

Refer to Figure 2 for a drawing of a Transmit/Receive Changeover relay. You should not have any problems following the diagram. Your transmitter's manual will probably have a drawing quite similar to this one. You can buy or build. Purchasing can be a little difficult since the advent of transceivers has dampened consumer demand for manufactured units. If you decide to build, the Relay is the most critical item. Use one that has Gold Plated Contacts. Size of the contacts matters, but at low power levels just about anything will work. Coil voltage is not a problem, use what is easiest 110 Vac or 12 Vdc. Remember to enclose the whole thing in a metal box to prevent RF from escaping AUDIO PROCESSING: This can be a difficult and touchy subject. I'm not going to come right out and say that EVERYONE should use processing! Sometimes, the signal will sound fine as it is, and in other situations some audio processing is needed. If you have advanced to this level, then anything I might have to say on the subject would be redundant. Compressor/Limiters can often be easily built or purchased but should be used sparingly, too much compression can distort your signal.

Linear Amplifiers

For the most part I would say avoid running a lot of power. Not only will it increase your likelihood of QRM problems, it may also increase your chances of getting noticed by the wrong people. In most cases, using a proper antenna will make more drastic (and cheaper) results than by increasing power levels. See the "Myths of Power" in the Transmitter section.

Transmitter Modifications

A broad subject to cover and, generally, some electronics background is required. Information on this subject can be found in several modification manuals. (check HAM Radio magazines for advertisements of these books. Or see the listing for DVS communications in the "Sources of other pirate radio information" section of this book.)