A New Pirate Radio Station Comes to SF

February 1, 2002 3:16 PM

A New Pirate Radio Station Comes to SF Pressure FM is a new pirate radio station in San Francisco. They focus on dance music, but only broadcast from 6pm-Midnight on Fridays using 88.1 FM. This article focuses on the group's plan for the station (dance music), and how they hope to turn it into a 24/7 broadcast. The Bay Area has a rich history of FCC vs. Pirate Radio battles, but I am curious to see if the feds will take on an all music station. Sure, the operators say that, "[Pressure FM] is clandestine, so it's politically charged," but I wonder if the FCC will ignore them as harmless DJs, only to later respond when Clear Channel executives freak out over underground music in the Bay Area finally getting a legitimate, non-internet, outlet. It should be an interesting barometer of the Bush Administration's tolerance for independent broadcasters (political or not).
posted by ezfowler (6 comments total)

One of the easiest and quickest ways to get the feds on your tail in this country is to set up a pirate radio station, I hear.
posted by tomorama at 3:24 PM on February 1, 2002

If this kind of thing takes off, I imagine that manufacturers of low-range RF transmitters like this, that allow you to broadcast your MP3s from your computer to radios within a few hundred feet, will be angry too. They usually use 88.1 and 88.3 as their channel.
posted by machaus at 3:24 PM on February 1, 2002

Does anybody in SF use 88.1 legitimately? Are these guys bumping someone else off the air? A google search only turned up a low-power college station.
posted by tomorama at 3:59 PM on February 1, 2002

Here is the list of Bay Area non-commercial radio frequencies. There are 3 88.1 signals in the area. I listen to radio quite a bit, and can tell you that the hilly landscape here is not conducive to large broadcasting ranges. I have never picked up a frequency on 88.1 besides the Pressure FM group.
posted by ezfowler at 4:11 PM on February 1, 2002

I have never picked up a frequency on 88.1 besides the Pressure FM group.

me neither, and only south of ma.
posted by elle at 8:27 PM on February 1, 2002

I have seen Mephistopheles, and he looks a lot like Clear Channel.
posted by canoeguide at 11:22 PM on February 1, 2002