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Radio Delmare was a project by enthusiasts in 1977 to restore a Dutch radio ship, about three years after Veronica and RNI went off air. In May 1977 they bought MV "Aegir" and made it ready.
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Radio Delmare was a project by enthusiasts in 1977 to restore a Dutch radio ship, about three years after Veronica and RNI went off air. In May 1977 they bought MV "Aegir" and made it ready.
The first broadcast was to have been aired on Monday 26 June 1978 but the Dutch Radio Control Office and police, already aware a radio ship was equipped, boarded the ship on Friday, June 23 at the Neherkade in The Hague's Laakkwartier district. They had been alerted by a man who did not want his son to take part in the plans to set sail for the North Sea in the next few days. Equipment was confiscated and the ship was made unseaworthy by taking away its anchor and steering wheel.
The enthusiasts bribed a lockmaster to slip away to the Rijn-Schiekanaal, sailing into open waters with food, oil and other provisions. In early July they entered the harbour at Maassluis, near Rotterdam with the name of the ship changed to "Flip". Two weeks later they sailed to Ostend and brought on board two Marconi transmitters formerly used by the Belgian colonial army in the Congo. Each of the transmitters had 3 kW of power. Damage during installation limited them to a few hundred Watts, and also the radio crystals were missing, which caused a very unstable frequency output with an unusual broad bandwidth providing a high spectral amplitude modulation. The studio contained two Revox A77 reel recorders, four FTM-spotmasters, two Thorens turntables, two AKG microphones and a mixer.
The station name changed to Radio Delmare with the theme tune "The Eve Of The War" by Jeff Wayne. Over 2000 listener reports in total were claimed from coastal and inland areas around the Netherlands and Belgium. The station aired old tapes from Radio Caroline and some non-stop music. These were live but did not contain much speech. The disc jockey for the first hour was René de Leeuw. The MV Aegir became stranded on 11 September 1978 as the improvised anchor failed at the first Force 6 wind of the season. During the scrapping of her wreck spare parts were gathered for the MV Mi Amigo on which it was planned to resume broadcasts of Radio Delmare. The MV Mi Amigo board technicians received a saved and badly needed second generator from Gerard van Dam, owner of the MV Aegir as well as the MV Aegir and the newly accessed vessel MV Scheveningen 54, which was for the time being used as a tender ship. Ronan O'Rahilly, operator of Radio Caroline on board of the MV Mi Amigo, however, refused to give up historical rights to the ship, so Van Dam had to change plans to revive Radio Delmare and the MV Martina was bought to be equipped as its next offshore radio ship. It broadcast for a three-week period during the summer of 1979.
Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures. Offshore broadcasters are usually unlicensed but transmissions are legal in international waters. This is in contrast to unlicensed broadcasting on land or within a nation's territorial waters, which is usually unlawful.
The Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967, shortened to Marine Broadcasting Offences Act or Marine Offences Act, became law in the United Kingdom at midnight on Monday 14 August 1967. It was subsequently amended by the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 and the Broadcasting Act 1990. Its purpose was to extend the powers of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949, beyond the territorial land area and territorial waters of the UK to cover airspace and external bodies of water.
Radio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 offshore commercial station that operated from 23 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles (5.6 km) off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England.
Pirate radio in Europe emerged as unlicensed radio broadcasting stations, often operating from offshore vessels or undisclosed land-based locations. The phenomenon began in the mid-20th century and became widespread in the 1960s and 1970s, gaining popularity in countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Offering alternative music and content across the British Isles and continental Europe, pirate radio challenged government control of the airwaves in the region until changes in legislation either legalised or shut down these stations. Despite suppression, pirate radio left a lasting cultural impact on European broadcasting.
Radio Atlanta was an offshore commercial station that operated briefly from 12 May 1964 to 2 July 1964 from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England. The radio broadcasting vessel was owned, at that time, by Gordon McLendon and Clint Murchison of Dallas, Texas, and leased to a British company for day-to-day operations. It was named after Atlanta, Texas,
Swinging Radio England ("SRE") was a top 40 offshore commercial station billed as the "World's Most Powerful" that operated from 3 May 1966 to 13 November 1966 from a ship in the North Sea, four and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England. While the station was dubbed a pirate radio station, its operation took place within the law and its offices were in the West End of London. Its representation was by a company formed earlier in the year to represent in Europe the ABC radio and television stations of the United States.
Laser 558 was an offshore pirate radio station launched in May 1984 using disc jockeys from the US. It broadcast from the Panama-registered ship MV Communicator in international waters in the North Sea. Within months the station had a large audience, due to its strong signal and continuous music, mixing current records with oldies. However, insufficient advertising starved the station off the air in late 1985. In 1986 an attempt was made to return as Laser Hot Hits, but the same problems arose.
Radio Veronica was an offshore radio station that began broadcasting in 1960, and was on air for over fourteen years. It was set up by independent radio, TV and household electrical retailers in the Netherlands, to stimulate the sales of radio receivers by providing an alternative to the Netherlands state-licensed stations in Hilversum.
Radio Nord was a Swedish offshore commercial station that operated briefly from 8 March 1961 to 30 June 1962 from a ship anchored in international waters of the Baltic Sea off Stockholm, Sweden. While the station was dubbed as a pirate radio station, its actual operation took place within the laws of the day and its offices were located in the heart of Stockholm. Its ownership was vested in a company which had been specifically formed by Texas broadcasting and political interests that included Gordon McLendon and Clint Murchison Jr.
MV Ross Revenge is a radio ship, the home of Radio Caroline, as well as having supported Radio Monique and various religious broadcasters. Funded by the Icelandic government, she was constructed in Bremerhaven in 1960 and served as an Icelandic commercial trawler until 1963 when she was sold to the Ross Group fleet, notably taking part in the Cod Wars of the 1970s. Following her decommissioning, she was purchased by Radio Caroline and outfitted as a radio ship, complete with 300-foot (91 m) antenna mast and 50 kW transmitter. Her broadcasts began on 20 August 1983; her final pirate broadcast took place in November 1990. She ran aground on the Goodwin Sands in November 1991, bringing the era of offshore pirate radio in Europe to an end. She was, however, salvaged, and is now maintained by the Caroline Support Group, a group of supporters and enthusiasts.
Radio Syd was a Swedish pirate radio station. It began life as Skånes Radio Mercur, the first "pirate radio" in Sweden, and started to broadcast in December 1958.
Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Allan Crawford, initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. Unlicensed by any government for most of its early life, it was a pirate radio station that never became illegal as such due to operating outside any national jurisdiction, although after the Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967 it became illegal for a British subject to associate with it.
Capital Radio was a pirate radio station which operated from international waters off the coast of the Netherlands in 1970. It was broadcast from the ship King David. On 10 November 1970, the ship sent a mayday signal after it became unanchored during a storm, and later ran aground on the beach at Noordwijk. The DJs were rescued by the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution, after which they were delivered to the police.
Radio North Sea International was a European offshore radio station run by the Swiss firm Mebo Telecommunications, jointly owned by Swiss engineer Edwin Bollier and his business partner, Erwin Meister. RNI broadcast for less than five years in the early 1970s and, courting both disaster and success, made a modest financial profit.
Radio Atlantis was a Belgian-owned offshore pirate radio station, which operated in 1973 and 1974 from the coast of The Netherlands and Belgium. The station began broadcasting from the Radio Caroline ship MV Mi Amigo on 15 July 1973. The station was owned by Belgian businessman Adriaan van Landschoot who ran a chain of companies all named Carnaby:
Radio Monique was an offshore radio station broadcasting to the Netherlands and Belgium from the Radio Caroline ship, MV Ross Revenge.
USS Density (AM-218) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the Pacific Ocean.
Mi Amigo was originally a three-masted cargo schooner, that later gained international recognition as an offshore radio station. She was built as the schooner Margarethe for German owners. A sale in 1927 saw her renamed Olga and she was lengthened in 1936. During the Second World War, she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine and served as an auxiliary ship between 1941 and 1943. In 1953, the ship was again lengthened to 133 feet 9 inches (40.77 m). In 1959, she was sold for conversion to a floating radio station and was renamed Bon Jour. Subsequently, she was renamed Magda Maria in 1961 and Mi Amigo in 1962. She served, intermittently, as a radio ship, until 1980, when she sank in a gale.
MV Norderney was from November, 1964 until 31 August 1974 the transmission ship for offshore radio station Radio Veronica.
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.