MV Caroline was a passenger ferry originally operated by DFDS Seaways as MV Fredericia which later gained international recognition as an offshore radio station. She was built for and operated by DFDS Seaways serving various routes to and from Copenhagen . During the Second World War , she was laid up between 1941 and 1943.
37-534: In December 1963 Fredericia was sold to Cross Channel Container Services Limited, Greenore , County Louth , Ireland. This was a cover company owned by the Irish entrepreneur Ronan O'Rahilly . Having purchased the vessel, her new owners claimed that she would be used in service between the UK and Ireland under the name Iseult . However, in reality, she had been bought for conversion to a floating radio station. The conversion
74-618: A wireless license issued by the British General Post Office (GPO). However, under terms of that wireless license, it was an offence under the Wireless Telegraphy Act to listen to unauthorised broadcasts, which possibly included those transmitted by Radio Luxembourg. Therefore, as far as the British authorities were concerned, Radio Luxembourg was a "pirate radio station" and British listeners to
111-558: A 1940 British comedy about an unauthorized TV broadcaster, Band Waggon , uses the phrase "pirate station" several times. A good example of this kind of activity was Radio Luxembourg located in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . The English language evening broadcasts from Radio Luxembourg were beamed by Luxembourg-licensed transmitters. The audience in the United Kingdom originally listened to their radio sets by permission of
148-620: A demonstration. The United States Navy began using radio for time signals and weather reports on the east coast of the United States in the 1890s. Before the advent of vacuum tube technology, early radio enthusiasts used (electronically) noisy spark-gap transmitters . The Navy soon began complaining to a sympathetic press that amateurs were disrupting naval transmissions. The May 25, 1907, edition of Electrical World',' in an article called "Wireless and Lawless," reported authorities were unable to prevent an amateur from interfering with
185-578: A new ship, a converted fishing trawler named MV Norderney . In the 1960s in the UK, the term referred to not only a perceived unauthorized use of the state-run spectrum by the unlicensed broadcasters but also the risk-taking nature of offshore radio stations that actually operated on anchored ships or marine platforms. The term had been used previously in Britain and the US to describe unlicensed land-based broadcasters and even border blasters . For example,
222-590: A result of the AT&;T interpretation, a landmark case was heard in court, which even prompted comments from Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover when he took a public stand in the station's defense. Although AT&T won its case, the furor created was such that those restrictive provisions of the transmitter license were never enforced. In 1926, WJAZ in Chicago changed its frequency to one previously reserved for Canadian stations without getting permission to make
259-581: A vessel in international waters without permission from the authorities in the country to which it broadcast (Denmark in this case). The station was named Radio Mercur and began transmission on August 2, 1958. In the Danish newspapers it was soon called a "pirate radio". In the Netherlands in 1964, Radio Noordzee and TV Noordzee began broadcasting from the REM Island and Radio Veronica acquired
296-481: A year round service using its vessel, the Frazer Aisling Gabrielle. From 1873 to 1951 there was a ferry service between Greenore and Holyhead . The London and North Western Railway constructed a substantial hotel and railway station to serve passengers using the ferry. The original railway line ran from Dundalk to Greenore and the first service was 1 May 1873 when the station opened. In 1876
333-521: Is a village, townland and deep water port on Carlingford Lough in County Louth , Ireland . A lighthouse was built on Greenore Point in 1830. Several decades later, the Dundalk and Greenore Railway Act of 1863 authorised the construction of the port and railway. The port was constructed in 1867 to provide links to Heysham and Fleetwood . The village was constructed to provide homes for
370-501: Is an additional morning journey to Newry . There is no service on Sundays. In 1896 the Greenore Golf Club was founded. As of 2009 it is a 6,647 yard course, with a par of 71. Pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially when
407-575: The medium wave band ) with the opening conducted by Simon Dee. On 2 July 1964, Radio Atlanta and Radio Caroline's companies, Project Atlanta and Planet Productions, announced the stations were to merge and operate an expanded service as Radio Caroline. Consequently, Radio Atlanta closed at 8 p.m. BST that same day. It was renamed Radio Caroline South with the MV ; Mi Amigo remaining off Frinton-on-Sea , while Caroline would relocate from her position and broadcast as Radio Caroline North. Following
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#1732802343555444-426: The 1970s there was regular freight shipping from the port to Bristol . In 2005 Greenore was Ireland's 10th largest port in terms of tonnage handled with 649,000 tonnes of goods handled. Greenore is also a brand of whiskey produced by the nearby Cooley Distillery . On 21 July 2018 a ferry service commenced operations from Greenore, County Louth to Greencastle, County Down . The Scenic Carlingford Ferry operates
481-641: The TV transmissions of TV Martí , which are directed at Cuba (the Cuban government jams the signals). Military broadcasting aircraft have been flown over Vietnam , Iraq , and many other nations by the United States Air Force . Illegal use of licensed radio spectrum (also known as bootlegging in CB circles) is fairly common and takes several forms. The films The Boat That Rocked (2009), Pump Up
518-467: The US, but there were doubts they had the authority to issue such an order even in war time. The ban on radio was lifted in the US in late 1919. In 1924, New York City station WHN was accused by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) of being an "outlaw station" for violating trade licenses which permitted only AT&T stations to sell airtime on their transmitters. As
555-615: The US, the 1912 "Act to Regulate Radio Communication" assigned amateurs and experimenters their own frequency spectrum, and introduced licensing and call-signs . A federal agency, the Federal Radio Commission , was formed in 1927 and succeeded in 1934 by the Federal Communications Commission . These agencies would enforce rules on call-signs, assigned frequencies, licensing, and acceptable content for broadcast. The Radio Act of 1912 gave
592-671: The Volume (1990), and On the Air Live with Captain Midnight (1979), as well as the TV series People Just Do Nothing (2014-2018), are set in the world of pirate radio, while Born in Flames (1983) features pirate radio stations as being part of an underground political movement. Pirate radio is also a central plot point of the video game Jet Set Radio and its sequel Jet Set Radio Future . The video game Reverse: 1999 features
629-439: The advent of regulations of the airwaves at the dawn of the age of radio . Initially, radio, or wireless as it was more commonly called at the time, was an open field of hobbyists and early inventors and experimenters. The degree of state control varied by country. For example, in the UK, Marconi 's work was supported by the post office, but in an era of weak regulation, a music hall magician Nevil Maskelyne deliberately hijacked
666-520: The change, and was charged by the federal government with "wave piracy". The resulting legal battle found that the Radio Act of 1912 did not allow the US government to require stations to operate on specific frequencies, and the result was the passage of the Radio Act of 1927 to strengthen the government's regulatory authority. While Mexico issued radio station XERF with a license to broadcast,
703-729: The commercial station Radio North Sea International , which was based aboard the motor vessel (MV) Mebo II anchored off southeast England in the North Sea . Other examples of this type of unusual broadcasting include the USCGC Courier (WAGR-410) , a United States Coast Guard cutter which both originated and relayed broadcasts of the Voice of America from an anchorage at the Greek island of Rhodes to Soviet bloc countries. Balloons have been flown above Key West, Florida , to support
740-630: The consolidation between the two companies, Caroline weighed anchor and sailed from Felixstowe en route to the Isle of Man , broadcasting as she went. The only broadcast staff on board were Tom Lodge and Jerry Leighton. Caroline took up station at her new anchorage situated on the southern tip of the Bahama Bank , Ramsey Bay , on 6 July 1964, at a position formerly occupied by the Bahama Bank Lightship . In these strategic locations
777-489: The content of many of their programs could not have been aired by a US-regulated broadcaster. Predecessors to XERF, for instance, had originally broadcast in Kansas , advocating " goat-gland surgery " for improved masculinity, but moved to Mexico to evade US laws about advertising medical treatments, particularly unproven ones. In Europe, Denmark had the first known radio station in the world to broadcast commercial radio from
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#1732802343555814-609: The dock and railway workers of the Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway . Greenore has the only privately owned port in Ireland. It has three berths and can handle vessels of up to 39,999 gross tons. In 1964, the then disused port was used to fit out the ships used for the pirate radio stations Radio Caroline and Radio Atlanta (later Radio Caroline South). The port was owned by Aodogan O'Rahilly (1904–2000) - father of Radio Caroline founder Ronan O'Rahilly from 1958 until 2000. In
851-527: The interests of other national governments has created radio jamming stations transmitting noises on the same frequency to prevent reception of the incoming signal. While the United States transmitted its programs towards the Soviet Union , which attempted to jam them, in 1970 the government of the United Kingdom decided to employ a jamming transmitter to drown out the incoming transmissions from
888-409: The miniaturization of transmitters and the fact that they can be put together by amateurs, 'encounters' a collective aspiration for some new means of expression. Propaganda broadcasting may be authorized by the government at the transmitting site, but may be considered unwanted or illegal by the government of the intended reception area. Propaganda broadcasting conducted by national governments against
925-755: The operation of a government station at the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard using legal means. In the run-up to the London Radiotelegraph Convention in 1912, and amid concerns about the safety of marine radio following the sinking of the RMS ; Titanic on April 15 of that year, the New York Herald of April 17, 1912, headlined President William Howard Taft 's initiative to regulate the public airwaves in an article titled "President Moves to Stop Mob Rule of Wireless." In
962-458: The power of its 250 kW transmitter was far greater than the maximum of 50 kW authorized for commercial use by the government of the United States of America. Consequently, XERF and many other radio stations in Mexico, which sold their broadcasting time to sponsors of English-language commercial and religious programs, were labelled as " border blasters ", but not "pirate radio stations", even though
999-458: The president legal permission to shut down radio stations "in time of war". During the first two and a half years of World War I , before US entry, President Wilson tasked the US Navy with monitoring US radio stations, nominally to "ensure neutrality." The US was divided into two civilian radio "districts" with corresponding call-signs, beginning with "K" in the west and "W" in the east. The Navy
1036-400: The railway line was extended to Newry . In the 19th century there was a ferry from Greencastle to Greenore. The railway and the station closed on 1 January 1952 and was replaced by bus services to Dundalk and Newry. Bus Éireann route 161 links Greenore to Dundalk , Carlingford , Omeath and Newry . There are four weekday journeys to Dundalk and four to Carlingford . On schooldays there
1073-611: The signals cross a national boundary. In other cases, a broadcast may be considered "pirate" due to the nature of its content, its transmission format (especially a failure to transmit a station identification according to regulations), or the transmit power (wattage) of the station, even if the transmission is not technically illegal (such as an amateur radio transmission). Pirate radio is sometimes called bootleg radio (a term especially associated with two-way radio ), clandestine radio (associated with heavily politically motivated operations) or free radio . Radio "piracy" began with
1110-473: The station were breaking the law (although as the term 'unauthorised' was never properly defined it was somewhat of a legal grey area ). This did not stop British newspapers from printing programme schedules for the station, or a British weekly magazine aimed at teenage girls, Fab 208 , from promoting the DJs and their lifestyle. (Radio Luxembourg's wavelength was 208 metres (1439, then 1440 kHz)). Radio Luxembourg
1147-662: The two Caroline stations were now able to cover most of the British Isles. Caroline served as a radio ship until 1968, until she was impounded on the Bahama Bank as a consequence of monies owed in the region of £ 70,000. Her anchor chain was cut and she was taken under tow by the Dutch tug Titan . Caroline was brought to Amsterdam where she was laid up until being sold for scrap at auction in May 1972. The scrapping of
MV Caroline - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-702: The vessel took a number of years and was not fully completed until 1980. However, the original ship's bell from Fredericia was saved, being on display for many years at the Viking Longhouse , Peel, Isle of Man . Although the ship's bell remains in private ownership, it was displayed at the Radio Caroline 60th Anniversary Lecture at the Mitre Hotel, Ramsey, Isle of Man , in August 2024. Greenore Greenore ( Irish : An Grianfort )
1221-400: Was assigned call-signs beginning with "N". The Navy used this authority to shut down amateur radio in the western part of the US. When Wilson declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, he also issued an executive order closing most radio stations not needed by the US government. The Navy took it a step further and declared it was illegal to listen to radio or possess a receiver or transmitter in
1258-469: Was later joined by other well-known pirate stations received in the UK in violation of UK licensing, including Radio Caroline and Radio Atlanta (subsequently Radio Carolines North and South respectively, following their merger and the original ship's relocation), Radio London , and Laser 558 , all of which broadcast from vessels anchored outside of territorial limits and were therefore legitimate. Radio Jackie , for instance, although transmitting illegally
1295-581: Was registered for VAT and even had its address and telephone number in local telephone directories. By the 1970s, pirate radio in the UK had mostly moved to land-based broadcasting, transmitting from tower blocks in towns and cities. Another variation on the term pirate radio came about during the " Summer of Love " in San Francisco during the 1960s. "Free radio" usually referred to secret and unlicensed land-based transmissions. These were also tagged as being pirate radio transmissions. Free Radio
1332-778: Was undertaken at Greenore Harbour, following which she was renamed Caroline in 1964 with her port of registry changed to Panama . The Caroline departed Greenore on 23 March 1964, to a supposed destination in Spain. She passed Land's End on 25 March, at which time she altered course and made passage through the English Channel and entered the North Sea where she anchored off Felixstowe , Suffolk . Radio Caroline began test transmissions on 27 March 1964 at 6:00 pm GMT ; at 10:00 pm, and at 11:55 pm on 201 metres (1495 kHz). On 28 March, Radio Caroline began regular broadcasting at noon on 1520 kHz (announced as 199 metres in
1369-503: Was used only to refer to radio transmissions that were beyond government control , as was offshore radio in the UK and Europe. The term free radio was adopted by the Free Radio Association of listeners who defended the rights of the offshore radio stations broadcasting from ships and marine structures off the coastline of the United Kingdom . Félix Guattari points out: Technological development, and in particular
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