So that's where my transmitter went :) Great story Ray. I can see you publishing a book in the near future. You could call it " The Untouchables" or "The one that got away" Hope you are going to do a Christmas special for us. It will be something good to watch over the holidays. 73 and keep them coming M0DAD
Hi Ray.I started my "Pirate" radio career in Eastbourne in 1978 with a tx on 6255KHz AM.The station was called Radio Cavendish and it was named after my school that I went to in Eastbourne.Then we ventured onto Medium wave on 1323 KHz and called the station South Coast Radio.After getting raided we went onto VHF and broadcast from the hills above Eastbourne on Sunday evenings.Happy days.In 1990 I decided to get my Amateur radio licence and still enjoy radio as much now as I did all those years ago.We still broadcast on FM during August for the Eastbourne Airshow each year but we get the licence from Ofcom so it's "legal" 😉now . 73.Ian Harling.G7HFS
Hi Ian, there was a station local to be transmitting on 1323 KHz last year. I've not heard it for a while but I often monitor the fx. OK on the airshow, great stuff. Cheers, Ray.
Always look forward to you're stories from days gone by about pirating...lol, was an avid SW listener since I was 5 along with my dad so can relate to these stories, you bring back great memories for me.....Being licenced is not always as much fun......:-)
Hi Ray, thanks for another excellent video. Love all your equipment there. I thought I have a lot of radios until I saw your workshop. I have a long way to catch up it seems. LOL. Incidentally, at my previous house in Sydney, there were some old fashioned light switches, which were quite useful as MW antennas. I found when I leaned the transistor radio on to the pipe above the light switch, the distant radio signals would increase in strength. Incidentally, have you ever heard a signal on SW or low VHF, which can only be described as a lot of people waling? No one has ever been able to verify the location, but the signal comes from out in the ocean. I heard it on one occasion, but wasn't able to record it unfortunately. I heard it on low VHF, but I believe it was a harmonic from the SW band. Anyway, take care. Robert.
I love your stories Ray, and I can't believe you're pretty close to me. I'm in Hove and going to fire up my old cb from the early half of the 90s. (doubt I'll hear many or anyone for a bit) Great to know there's someone in the not to distant area 😊 keep up the great posts 👌🏻
Very intriguing and absorbing story Ray…love listening to these. I made a modded top band tx and used to pirate on mw back in 1970…6V6 in the pa, mod transformer was back to back to a Dansette record player speaker o/p…Beatles, Kinks etc. Unfortunately the signal didn’t get too many miles as the aerial was only 6 feet off the ground down my dad’s garden fence! Kept looking out for the GPO van though…
5B/254M- as you say, derived from the 807. They were the PA in the Decca HiFix radionav Tx's- the 'jinglebells' you used to hear on top band many years ago. Great video as always Ray, thanks :)
Ray you know your stuff I have one of those set the thing is were can I get a cable to hook the unit to the power suppy can you let us know thank you keep it up sal
Weren't they broadcasting station IDs? When I did that stuff in the 70s we put the station name out frequently, along with a phone number and mailing address. I'm still not sure how you were 'saving' the transmitter from the rain if it was installed in a brick hut. We wouldn't have taken kindly to someone running off with our transmitter for sure. It wasn't ours though, we never used 5B/254Ms. 807s, KT88s, TT21s, and 813s mainly. A rival station stole our transmitter once, 6 x TT21 PA. We recovered it.
The transmitter was on top of the hut and the rain became torrential within minutes of my returning. There was no station ID. There was no DJ, either, just continuous music. I believe that the pirates were long gone before I arrived, something must have scared them off but I don't think it was me. I did hear later that a GPO van was on route to the site but it broke down. I'm glad you recovered your TX. Cheers, Ray.
Great story, Ray. It's mysterious indeed, that no one came back to retrieve the equipment. The mind conjures up all sorts of reasons, as to what might have happened. As you tell these stories, I form a picture in my mind of the event. I guess, most people do for that matter. By any chance, were you driving around in a "Moggy" Minor? LOL. I hope I spelled that right. Cheers!
Nice pirate story! I bet you would have liked to talk to the guys who built that transmitter. It sounds like a true craftsmen made it. Thanks for the story!
Do you, or have you ever owned a b40 receiver Ray ,, had 3 in the past and had to carry one for a good way to my car ,, arms must have been a foot longer ,, thanks Shane
Thanks Ray. I overheard someone say that recently here in the US the FCC caught someone doing something, and I didn't catch what really, but they fined him US$20,000 for his errant ways. Took his gear, of course. Now that's serious money, so I can't believe they'd do that for something relatively trivial. For a while I've heard one or more people getting on and interfering with people and nets while they were talking, and I'm wondering if it was one of these guys that was caught. Then again, it could have been someone just getting carried away telling a story. Take care and keep the stories coming.
I know very little about the subject that clearly you are an expert of, although I do own an Eddystone receiver but I found this story quite amazing, how odd that no one ever claimed that gear.
I see a lot of 19's with Russian type language below the english.. what do you know about that? did the Russian take the 19 and use it for themselves? Do you read these new comment on old videos Ray? and way thanks for the happy days remembrance
I read and reply to all comments. I think there were three versions of the 19 set made in the UK. Canadian, Russian and ours. I’m not 100% but I’m sure they were all manufactured in the U.K.
@@g4nsj I saw your other video on the 19.. what an amazing thing.. about 450 - 500 dollars here today if you can find them.. Great stuff Ray.. thanks.. Born in 52 I was.. you about the same?
@@g4nsj Was there anything distinctive about it? Some pirate stations play some very unusual music or comedy; or have a strange persona as the announcer.
I too DF'd mw pirates in London. I remember one occasion heard a station come on took a bearing on an OS map, went a couple of miles down the road and took another. Went to the intersection, attenuated the receiver and discovered I was under the antenna wire. Nice TX too complete with sensible carry handle for quick getaways, a mod interrupt button to summon help and the anode current meter kept seperate on a switched socket so it wouldn't be lost with the rig should the worst happen. DF'd another and found their security was a dozen bikers each the size of a garden shed. Fun times.
After all that time you still have no clue who built the amp? The pirates really must have bailed when you found the transmitter. Never to be heard or seen again. Cool story.
C-90 Cassette.....those were the days. Thank you for sharing a slice of pirate radio history with us.
So that's where my transmitter went :) Great story Ray. I can see you publishing a book in the near future. You could call it " The Untouchables" or "The one that got away" Hope you are going to do a Christmas special for us. It will be something good to watch over the holidays. 73 and keep them coming M0DAD
These stories bring back the best memories from my childhood. Thanks for quality time :)
Thanks for commenting. Glad you like the videos. Cheers, Ray.
Another great story ray! I'd love to hear more about those mobile radiophones you mentioned in an earlier video
Another very enjoyable trip down memory lane, Ray.
Thanks for posting and will look forward to the next one!
73's 2E0MIY
Thanks, Paul.
What area is Ray at,does he take on repairs by post.thanks
Allen Braithwaite hi Allen, I only repair 1940s British valve radios.
Radio Workshop ok Thankyou
Hi Ray.I started my "Pirate" radio career in Eastbourne in
1978 with a tx on 6255KHz AM.The station was called Radio Cavendish and it was named after my school that I went to in Eastbourne.Then we ventured onto Medium wave on 1323 KHz and called the station South Coast Radio.After getting raided we went onto VHF and broadcast from the hills above Eastbourne on Sunday evenings.Happy days.In 1990 I decided to get my Amateur radio licence and still enjoy radio as much now as I did all those years ago.We still broadcast on FM during August for the Eastbourne Airshow each year but we get the licence from Ofcom so it's "legal" 😉now . 73.Ian Harling.G7HFS
Hi Ian, there was a station local to be transmitting on 1323 KHz last year. I've not heard it for a while but I often monitor the fx. OK on the airshow, great stuff. Cheers, Ray.
You are a joy to listen too. Those days are gone.
Thank you.
Always look forward to you're stories from days gone by about pirating...lol, was an avid SW listener since I was 5 along with my dad so can relate to these stories, you bring back great memories for me.....Being licenced is not always as much fun......:-)
Thanks for commenting, I'm pleased that you like the videos. In some ways, being licensed isn't as much fun, I agree. Cheers, Ray.
Hi Ray, thanks for another excellent video. Love all your equipment there. I thought I have a lot of radios until I saw your workshop. I have a long way to catch up it seems. LOL. Incidentally, at my previous house in Sydney, there were some old fashioned light switches, which were quite useful as MW antennas. I found when I leaned the transistor radio on to the pipe above the light switch, the distant radio signals would increase in strength. Incidentally, have you ever heard a signal on SW or low VHF, which can only be described as a lot of people waling? No one has ever been able to verify the location, but the signal comes from out in the ocean. I heard it on one occasion, but wasn't able to record it unfortunately. I heard it on low VHF, but I believe it was a harmonic from the SW band. Anyway, take care. Robert.
I've not heard the wailing, Robert.I'll listen out for it.
I love your stories Ray, and I can't believe you're pretty close to me. I'm in Hove and going to fire up my old cb from the early half of the 90s. (doubt I'll hear many or anyone for a bit) Great to know there's someone in the not to distant area 😊 keep up the great posts 👌🏻
Cally C Thanks, it’s nice to hear from you. There are quite a few people on CB. I’ll listen out for you. 😃
Just discovered your channel. I'm hooked. Great stuff.
Thanks!
That was a great story Ray
I enjoyed it.
Very Interesting.
Ed Wymer thanks!
excellent stuff! looking forward to the shortwave stories.
Watch this space!
Another great story Ray. Takes me back to the early 90's when i worked with the Late Colin Dixon of Radio Gemini and Laser Hot Hits. Happy Days! :o)
Happy days, indeed!
Hello, Question, could one use a ham hf manual antenna tuner to tune a long wire antenna for AM broadcast?
Glenn Martel it depends on the ATU. If it’s a really good one that covers top band the it might work.
I am g;ad you have documented your stories. They are very interesting.
Very intriguing and absorbing story Ray…love listening to
these. I made a modded top band tx and used to pirate on mw back in 1970…6V6 in
the pa, mod transformer was back to back to a Dansette record player speaker
o/p…Beatles, Kinks etc. Unfortunately the signal didn’t get too many miles as
the aerial was only 6 feet off the ground down my dad’s garden fence! Kept
looking out for the GPO van though…
Hi Satori, thanks for commenting. I love the mod tranny idea, excellent! Happy days! Cheers, Ray.
Great information and wonderful stories Ray! Best wishes from America, W3DNQ here.
5B/254M- as you say, derived from the 807. They were the PA in the Decca HiFix radionav Tx's- the 'jinglebells' you used to hear on top band many years ago. Great video as always Ray, thanks :)
Thanks, Alan. It's nice to hear from you.
Ray you know your stuff I have one of those set the thing is were can I get a cable to hook the unit to the power suppy can you let us know thank you keep it up sal
I wish I could help. I don’t know where you’d find a cable. Sorry. You could look on eBay.
Another great story, good man thank you.
Lovely video! I could listen to you tell stories for hours! hope to catch you on HF one of these days. -KE8EAS
Hi Joshua. You never know, we might bump int each other on HF. Cheers, Ray.
Great story...
Brian McKown thanks!
My pleasure. I absolutely love old radio stories like that... especially if they're pirate-related
Brian - Riverside, CA USA
Weren't they broadcasting station IDs? When I did that stuff in the 70s we put the station name out frequently, along with a phone number and mailing address. I'm still not sure how you were 'saving' the transmitter from the rain if it was installed in a brick hut. We wouldn't have taken kindly to someone running off with our transmitter for sure. It wasn't ours though, we never used 5B/254Ms. 807s, KT88s, TT21s, and 813s mainly. A rival station stole our transmitter once, 6 x TT21 PA. We recovered it.
The transmitter was on top of the hut and the rain became torrential within minutes of my returning. There was no station ID. There was no DJ, either, just continuous music. I believe that the pirates were long gone before I arrived, something must have scared them off but I don't think it was me. I did hear later that a GPO van was on route to the site but it broke down. I'm glad you recovered your TX. Cheers, Ray.
Spooky...
Very!
Pity you didn't have a tarp or something to throw over the top of it to keep the rain off of it.
Brilliant story. Really enjoyed before bedtime
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Great story, Ray. It's mysterious indeed, that no one came back to retrieve the equipment. The mind conjures up all sorts of reasons, as to what might have happened. As you tell these stories, I form a picture in my mind of the event. I guess, most people do for that matter. By any chance, were you driving around in a "Moggy" Minor? LOL. I hope I spelled that right. Cheers!
Hi Dave, at the time I was driving a Morris Oxford. Happy days! Thanks for commenting. Cheers, Ray.
Nice pirate story! I bet you would have liked to talk to the guys who built that transmitter. It sounds like a true craftsmen made it. Thanks for the story!
I'd love to have met them. I did everything possible to track them down.
As usual a great story Ray
Thanks!
Do you, or have you ever owned a b40 receiver Ray ,, had 3 in the past and had to carry one for a good way to my car ,, arms must have been a foot longer ,, thanks Shane
They weigh a ton! I've owned as couple in my time.
I love your stories. Write a book, please!
Now, there’s an idea!
Thanks Ray. I overheard someone say that recently here in the US the FCC caught someone doing something, and I didn't catch what really, but they fined him US$20,000 for his errant ways. Took his gear, of course. Now that's serious money, so I can't believe they'd do that for something relatively trivial. For a while I've heard one or more people getting on and interfering with people and nets while they were talking, and I'm wondering if it was one of these guys that was caught. Then again, it could have been someone just getting carried away telling a story. Take care and keep the stories coming.
Good point, John. Thanks for commenting.. Cheers, Ray.
My father's 19 set was one that had the front silk screened in Russian,
The VHF regen receiver portion, I never heard anything.
Lee, WA8QFE
Thanks Ray love these stories
I wish I could learn how to do all of this. Watching valves glow is far better than modern electronics.
Cheers,mate😊Love the stories
I still have a 62 set, great bit of kit if you can stand the dynamotor noise!
It must be worth a fortune now!
Ray you should think of a book with the tales you have and the knowledge plenty of internet help on doing it.
Just a thought, good vid good tale.
I might give that some thought, Mike.
Curious no one ever claimed such a nice assortment of equipment, perhaps they had thought you an undercover radio inspector?
I thought someone would come forward within days. Maybe they did think I was an undercover inspector.
I know very little about the subject that clearly you are an expert of, although I do own an Eddystone receiver but I found this story quite amazing, how odd that no one ever claimed that gear.
WOW! Great video. YOUR channel is Awesome. Subscribed :-)
Thanks very much. Cheers, Ray.
Very interesting video, do you have a B40 by any chance?
I've had several B40 receivers over the years but I don't own one at the moment.
I see a lot of 19's with Russian type language below the english.. what do you know about that? did the Russian take the 19 and use it for themselves? Do you read these new comment on old videos Ray? and way thanks for the happy days remembrance
I read and reply to all comments. I think there were three versions of the 19 set made in the UK. Canadian, Russian and ours. I’m not 100% but I’m sure they were all manufactured in the U.K.
@@g4nsj I saw your other video on the 19.. what an amazing thing.. about 450 - 500 dollars here today if you can find them.. Great stuff Ray.. thanks.. Born in 52 I was.. you about the same?
So, do you still have the program tape of the Mary Celeste?
Noncounterproductive sadly, it was lost in a house move.
@@g4nsj Was there anything distinctive about it? Some pirate stations play some very unusual music or comedy; or have a strange persona as the announcer.
Noncounterproductive I don’t think there was.
@@g4nsj Well, in that case I guess it's not a big loss, except as a time-capsule of whatever music was being played at the time.
Personally I couldn't see much point to doing it, if not to present content that the licensed broadcasters were not supplying.
Dam I was wondering who nicked my radio!
Great story, but what was on the other side of the tape?
It was blank, which was another strange thing.
Hi Ray, was there ever any more activity at that location? A shame you had to keep it.LOL
I returned to the site on several weekends but found nothing.
I too DF'd mw pirates in London. I remember one occasion heard a station come on took a bearing on an OS map, went a couple of miles down the road and took another. Went to the intersection, attenuated the receiver and discovered I was under the antenna wire. Nice TX too complete with sensible carry handle for quick getaways, a mod interrupt button to summon help and the anode current meter kept seperate on a switched socket so it wouldn't be lost with the rig should the worst happen. DF'd another and found their security was a dozen bikers each the size of a garden shed. Fun times.
Fun times, indeed! I really miss those days.
loved your stories chaps like u make the uk a great country kg6mn
Thanks, Jerome. Glad you enjoyed it,. Cheers, Ray.
I like your stories, are you in Kent by any chance your voice sounds familiar. 2E1JEH
John
I’m in Sussex.
Couldn't you trace it from the cassette was there station i dent or jingles
Hi Mark, no station ID or DJ, just continuous music.
I enjoyed this!
Paula Spicer excellent! 😃
I do enjoy your video chats, Ray. Just wished they lasted a bit longer.
The truth is, I don't want to bore people. Thanks for commenting. Cheers, Ray.
Great story ray. Funny how no one claimed it. Maybe they thought it was a trap by the GPO and you were a double agent.
A double agent, I like it! One theory was that it was indeed a trap set by the GPO.
Hmmmmm....I wonder if it was a trap set by the gpo?
mentalvmaxrider haha, could be!
Great stuff 73 from ZS1CDG
After all that time you still have no clue who built the amp? The pirates really must have bailed when you found the transmitter. Never to be heard or seen again. Cool story.
I believe that had been long gone before I arrived. Something spooked then, but I don't think it was me.
You are talking to much. Demonstrate that beautiful radio on the bench! (video:8-3-2021).Please.
Oh, the Grundig. OK, I'll do a demo soon. Cheers, Ray.
Sounds like the guy responsible was JUST like YOU... Case solved and closed...... the case never ends eh? ;-)
Hmm, just like me! Haha!
basically you jacked their rig.
Yep!