Bandscan and pirate radio in London

The first FM radiostation that I tuned into automatically with a portable radio in Walthamstow, NE London was... a pirate station! Another one... too!
It took a third or even fourth scan, when I finally tuned a licenced FM radio. How metaphoric for London!

During this trip, I almost totally neglected the legally broadcasting FM stations and dedicated almost my whole bandscanning sessions to the pirates - a broadcasting phenomenon, which is even more significant and representative of London. My impression is, it is pirate radio that provides quantitative, musical and cultural wealth of London's FM band...

 FM radio in London - observations by a tourist DX-er

I was visiting the capital of the UK for a week in June 2015. For advanced FM DXing, I took along Sony XDR-F1HD tuner, a double-telescopic dipole and a laptop. As mentioned, I was staying at a house in Walthamstow, north-eastern part of London.
Various local and distant signals pierce through the estates of the city upon The River Thames. According to my observations, the most distant and constantly receivable FM signal here, passes the distance of exactly 250km. I was also able to pick something from Wales and a scatter from the Old Continent. DX signals however, were - as we put it in Polish - like a raisins in a tasty dough - consisting of mostly pirate stations.

In so many ways it proved different from all pirate stations I've heard in Poland.
First of all - the enormous number of stations! Just like it happened to me - you are more likely to stumble upon a pirate FM station here, than a legal one. Not knowing the frequency plan, you may even be unaware that the station you are listening to is illegal (over half of them sound very professional - more about that in a moment). I read a survey by Ofcom, who interviewed radio listeners and - surprisingly or not - turned out many who were listening to the pirate stations weren't aware of the outlaw nature of the station they used to listen to.

With sharp splitting by as low as 0,2MHz next to a legal frequency, pirate radio stations crowd accross the FM dial in London, by far outnumbering (almost double) legal ones. To underline their dominance, I have put them in colour in the bandscan.

Second  - the powers. We will never get to know how many kilowatts (see? I'm not even saying watts) are there on the airwaves, but for sure there are loads of them. For example, I was able to pick clearly 99,3 SelectUK in almost all places in London, where I was able to check. Many other stations, although with variable signal strengths, were there as well. At my QTH in Walthamstow I was receiving all London pirates along with additional couple from Essex and Kent.

This in my compilation of all pirate (and community) FM radio stations I recorded during my stay in London (clip per every frequency, totalling with 20minutes- maybe save the preview for later :)



It was also amazing, that most are run 24/7 and have really long life behind them - I remember the reception of Hot90 and Lightning 90,8 couple of years ago via Sporadic-E propagation in Poland (link to my FM DX recording). Typical pirate radio in Poland would broadcast only once or twice a week for a couple of hours in the evening, and its lifespan would much shorter - couple of weeks, maybe months, untill an amateur broadcaster gets bored, or the project burns out with no listeners (apart from DXers). Actually, it is also quite fair to state that there are no regular (schedule-wise) pirate stations left in Poland, except for Cracow, where typically up to 3 active stations at the weekends make it for our "little-London" :)

That's why Polish pirates don't evolve into another stage, which many London's pirates have reached - establishing a profitable business. It was really shocking to hear how many pirate stations not only have advertisement breaks, but in many cases lasting much longer than ads on Capital, Heart or Absolute Radio! The commercial content was also unlikely to be heard on a licenced station - ads mostly for clubbing, musical and community events, social matter or local business (ie. car repairs). I was observing them with attention and curiosity as the first-time-in-my-life-experience, but quickly noticed the repetitive manner, which may become annoying to regular listeners.

This, along with niche music styles (carribean, african, turkish, garage, house) leads to a conclusion that most pirate radio stations have quite narrow listener-profile that does not clash with mass-audience broadcasters like Heart or the BBC. There are few obviously intended rivalry cases - ie.97,7 MHz pirate SLR purposely next to a legal 97,3 LBC - both talk-radio formats, or dance radio tandem: 99,3 MHz Select UK (pirate) next to 98,8 MHz Radio1 (BBC)).
What do they mostly clash (London's calling, pun intended), are the frequencies.

my pic of Crystal Palace broadcasting tower

I am familiar with most legal radio stations broadcasting on FM in London - from satellite and online (this is how I listen to LBC, my favourite talk radio). As I wrote, their programming was not a surprise, but the genuine experience of being able to listen to LBC or Absolute Radio on analog FM everywhere I go with my portable receiver was making me cheer (I associate these stations only with stationary listening).

I was a little bit confused with community stations. There are 11 such frequencies in London and a number of them, like NuSound, Buzz or Reprezent sound just  like pirate ones - ethnic, youth-led and eclectic. It can be true to some extent - for example, Rinse FM emerged from pirate underground to become a fully legal, community station, preserving its format (electronic music).

One can complain that if not the pirates, the number of distant signals would be greater. But I am preety satisfied with DXs I made. Especially with Holme Moss at 250km, which proved its power and fine location - the signals on 93,7 and 89,3 MHz were persistent for all days of my stay, peaking at o=4. (Did you know that Holme was even once received in Poland via 1400km tropo?)
Other high-power broadcasting centres I received in London include:
- Wenvoe (near Cardiff, Wales - 227km) closer than Holme Moss and way fainter and not on every day,
- Sutton Coldfield (near Birmingham, 168km)
- Rowridge (Isle of Wight, 138km)
- Tacolneston (to the east, near Norwich, 131km)
 I'm only a little bit disappointed with just one, single pick from across The English Channel - 95,6 MHz France Musiques - scatter from Caen, 294km
.

constant FM DX from Holme Moss

Bandscan London, UK
completed: 16-21.06.2015
(mostly nighttime, on the 19th also in the morning and noon)
over >17h of DXing, 8h45 of recordings (mostly pirate radio)
QTH: London - Walthamstow
tuner: Sony XDR-F1HD
antena: 2-telescopic dipole "rabbit ears"
bold - local stations
blue - pirate stations

MHz	station name	o=	tx	DX	comment
87,5	UK Raw	4 RDS!		?
87,6
87,7	InHouse R.	5-6		?	no RDS
87,9	islam	3+		?
88,0	Pulse	5 RDS		?
88,1	BBC R2	5	Guildford, 5kW	57km
88,1	BBC R2	5?	Manningtree, 4kW	85km
88,2					missing Rude FM
88,3	BBC R2	1-4-	Sutton Coldfield, 250kW	168km	tropo/scttr
88,4	Vision	5 RDS		?
88,5	BBC R2	4/3	Rowridge, 250kW	138km	Isle of Wight
88,6	BBC R2	3+	Bow Brickhill, 10kW	65km	missing Back2Back
88,7			^ or Hereford 180km?
88,8	BBC R2	6 RDS	Crystal Palace, 4kW	19km
88,9	BBC R2	0-4	Cambridge, 0,26kW	71km	scttr
89,0			^ or Northampton, 0,12kW	98km	scttr
89,1	BBC R2	6 RDS	Wrotham, 250kW	36km
89,2
89,3	BBC R2	3/4	Holme Moss, 250kW	250km
89,4	CityLock	5 RDS		?
89,5	BBC R2	3++	Oxford, 50kW	84km
	?????	3		?	once?
89,6	Westside	3	London - Southall, 0,05kW	25km	community
89,7	BBC R2	3/4=	Tacolneston, 250kW	131km	or 2tx 35-40km 20W
89,8	Station FM	6		?	no RDS
89,9	BBC R2	3-4	Wenvoe, 250kW	227km	Wales, scttr
90,0	Hot 90	6		?	no RDS
90,1	BBC R2	3	Peterborough, 40kW	106km
90,2	Point Blank	4 RDS		?
90,3	BBC R3	4	Guildford, 5kW	57km	+Manningtree, 85km?
90,4	BBC 3Counties R.	4=	Hertford, 0,1kW	19km	missing Whoa FM
90,5	BBC R3	3/3+	Sutton Coldfield, 250kW	168km
90,6	Cyndicut	5		?	no RDS
90,7	BBC R3	5	Rowridge, 250kW	138km
90,8	Lightning R.	5 RDS		?
90,9
91,0	BBC R3	6 RDS	Crystal Palace, 4kW	19km
91,1	BBC R3	3+	Cambridge, 0,26kW	71km
91,2			or Northampton, 0,12kW	98km
91,3	BBC R3	6 RDS	Wrotham, 250kW	36km
91,4
91,5	BBC R3	3=	Holme Moss, 250kW	250km
91,6	Genesis?	4+		?	only on saturday
91,7	BBC R3	3+/4-	Oxford, 50kW	84km
91,8	Live FM UK	5 RDS		?
91,9	BBC R3	1+/2	Tacolneston, 250kW	131km	or 2tx 35-40km 20W
92,0	NuSound	6 RDS	Newham, 0,03kW	5km	community, India
92,1	BBC R3	1-4	Wenvoe, 250kW	227km	tropo
	BBC 3Counties R.	3	Hemel Hempstead, 0,05kW	33km
92,2	MetroLove R.	5		?	no RDS
92,3	BBC R3	2-4	Peterborough, 40kW	106km	tropo
92,4	USD FM?	4/5		?	no RDS, later off
	BBC R3	2/3+	Swingate, 11kW	106km
92,5	BBC R4	4-5/3	Guildford, 5kW	57km	+Manningtree, 85km?
92,6	The Rock	4		?	wide modulation!
92,7	BBC R4	0-4	Sutton Coldfield, 250kW	168km	scttr, no Natural Vibez
92,8	BBC R4	2/3	Kenley, 0,03kW!!!	30km
	Release FM?	4-	Berkshire!	?
92,9	BBC R4	5-3	Rowridge, 250kW	138km	tropo
93,0	BBC R4	3	Bow Brickhill, 10kW	65km
	Freshsounds?	4	Kent!	?
93,1
93,2	BBC R4	6 RDS	Crystal Palace, 4kW	19km
93,3	BBC R4	3-	Cambridge, 0,26kW	71km
93,4			or Northampton, 0,12kW	98km
93,5	BBC R4	6 RDS	Wrotham, 250kW	36km
93,6
93,7	BBC R4	3+/4-	Holme Moss, 250kW	250km
93,8	Vibes FM	6		?	no RDS
93,9	BBC R4	3+	Oxford, 50kW	84km
94,0	Voice of Africa R.	5 RDS	London - Plaistow, 0,13kW	4km	4d, timesharing?
	?????	5	no RDS	?	1-3d, timesharing?
94,1	BBC R4	3/2	Tacolneston, 250kW	131km	tropo
94,2	True Flavas	4		?
94,3	BBC R4	3/4	Wenvoe, 250kW	227km
94,4	Flames R.	5		?	no RDS
	Street FM?	2		?	under Flames' carrier
94,5	BBC R4		Peterborough, 40kW	106km
94,6	Kool London	5 RDS	Camden	?
94,7	BBC 3Counties R.	2	Quainton Hill, 0,4kW	70km
94,8
94,9	BBC London	6 RDS	Crystal Palace, 4kW	19km
95,0
95,1	Origin	6 RDS		?
95,2	BBC Oxford	4-	Oxford, 50kW	84km
95,3	BBC Essex	5-4	South Benfleet, 1kW	41km	or R4 Blaenplwyf??
95,4	Roots FM	3/4		?
95,5	OnTop	5-RDS		?
95,6	France Musiques	0-3	Caen, 100kW	294km	FRANCE scttr,once
	talks	1	Sutton Coldfield, 11kW	168km	tent.
95,7
95,8	Capital FM	6 RDS	Croydon, 4kW	20km
95,9
96,0	BBC Cambridgeshire	3	Cambridge, 1kW	71km
96,1	BBC Solent	3+/4-	Rowridge, 10kW	139km
	S-Dance	5 RDS		?
96,2	Mix 96	2+	Quainton Hill, 1kW	70km
96,3	Heart	3/4	South Benfleet, 1kW	41km
96,4	Surprise R.	2/4		?	nigerian
	Eagle 96,4	4	Guildford, 3kW	57km	Heart network?
96,5	Dem Radyo	6		?	turkish, RDS?
96,6
96,7	BBC Kent	5 RDS	Wrotham, 9kW	36km	plus something-BBC?
96,8	talk in English	3	Wenvoe, 250kW	227km	tent.
96,9	Capital Xtra	6 RDS	Crystal Palace, 0,03kW	19km	//107,1
97,0	Heart	2/3	Reading, 0,5kW	68km	or Dover 102km?
97,1	Heart	2+	Ipswich, 3,5kW	101km
97,2
97,3	LBC 97.3	6 RDS	Croydon, 4kW	20km
97,4
97,5	Heart	3	Southend, 0,10kW	50km
97,6	Heart	4	Luton, 1kW	46km
97,7	SLR Radio	5		?	no RDS?
	BBC Radio1	3	Guildford, 5kW	57km	+Manningtree, 85km?
97,8
97,9	Divine?	6		?	no RDS
98,0	Phoenix FM	3	Brentwood, 0,03kW	23km	tent.
98,1	Mystic	5 RDS		?
98,2	BBC Radio1	5	Rowridge, 250kW	138km	or Bow Brickhill
98,3	RJR	4		?
98,4
98,5	BBC Radio1	6 RDS	Crystal Palace, 4kW	19km
98,6
98,7
98,8	BBC Radio1	6 RDS	Wrotham, 250kW	36km
98,9					Holme Moss missing?
99,0
99,1	BBC Radio1	4	Oxford, 50kW	84km
99,2
99,3	SelectUK	6 RDS		?
99,4
99,5	Venture FM	4+		?	missing RDS?
	BBC Radio1	2+	Swingate, 11kW	106km	or Wenvoe
99,6	BBC Radio1	0-1	High Wycombe, 0,05kW!	52km	missing Ragga FM
99,7	Flex FM?	3-4		?
99,8	Supreme	5 RDS		?
99,9
100,0	Kiss	6 RDS	Croydon, 4kW	20km
100,1
100,2
100,3	House FM	5		?	no RDS
100,4	Classic FM	3-4	Bow Brickhill, 10kW	65km
100,5
100,6	Classic FM	6 RDS	Crystal Palace, 2kW	19km
100,7	?????	1=		?
100,8
100,9	Classic FM	6 RDS	Wrotham, 250kW	36km
101,0
101,1	Naija FM	4		?	no RDS
	Classic FM	3+/4-	Holme Moss, 250kW	250km
101,2	Unique	4		?
101,3	Spice	6		?	no RDS
101,4
101,5	Empire LDN	6		?	no RDS
101,6	KM FM	3	Wrotham, 0,4kW	36km	not a LOC!
101,7	Flight FM	3		?
101,8	Bizim FM	6		?	turkish, no RDS
101,9	Classic FM	3+	Peterborough, 40kW	106km	missing Beat FM
102,0	Concious R.	6 RDS		?
102,1
102,2	Smooth R.	6 RDS	Croydon, 4kW	20km
102,3
102,4	Heart	4++	Heathfield, 10kW	69km
102,5	Galaxy	5 RDS		?
102,6	Heart	5-	Chelmsford, 2kW	32km
102,7	Heart	4=	Reigate, 3,5kW	39km
102,8	Umut	5 RDS		?	turkish
102,9	Heart	3	Hannington, 3,5kW	90km
103,0	WBLS	4		?	african
	London Live	4-		?
103,1	Heart	5 RDS	Bluebell Hill, 4kW	47km
103,2
103,3	LGR (RIK3)	6 RDS	Alexandra Palace	8km	greek
103,4
103,5	BBC Essex	4-	Great Braxted, 12kW	56km
103,6	Bang R.	3+/4-	Harlesden, 0,02kW	18km	community
103,7	Shake FM?	2	Essex	?
103,8	BuzzRadio	6		?	no RDS
103,9
104,0	BBC Surrey	4	Reigate, 4kW	39km
	??reegae??	5-		?	nd na 104,1?
104,1	Omega	4=		?
	BBC Berkshire	1-2	Hannington, 4kW	90km	tent.
104,2	Play	6 RDS		?	turkish
104,3	Crystal FM	2-3		?	off air on friday
104,4	Resonance	5 RDS	Bridge Hospital, 0,05kW	10km	community
104,5	BBC Sussex	3/4	Heathfield, 10kW	69km	or Bow Brickhill 65km
104,6	BBC Surrey	3-4	Guildford, 4kW	57km
104,7	Pozitif	6 RDS		?	turkish
104,8
104,9	XFM	6 RDS	Crystal Palace, 4kW	19km
105,0
105,1
105,2	Heart of Love	6 RDS		?
105,3
105,4	Magic	6 RDS	Croydon, 4kW	20km
105,5
105,6	Playback UK	6		?	no RDS
105,7
105,8	Absolute R.	6 RDS	Crystal Palace, 4kW	19km
105,9
106,0	??UK garage??	6	3d, pt off, nd off	?	no RDS
106,1
106,2	Heart London	6 RDS	Croydon, 4kW	20km
106,3
106,4
106,5	Project R.?	5		?	no RDS
106,6
106,7
106,8	Rinse FM	6 RDS	Bermondsey, 0,16kW	11km
106,9	Bob	3	Hertford, 0,28kW	25km
107,0
107,1	Capital Xtra	6 RDS	Alexandra Palace, 0,16kW	8km	//96,9
107,2
107,3	Reprezent	6 RDS	Lewisham, 0,18kW	15km
107,4
107,5	Time	5 RDS	Havering, 0,6kW	13km
107,6	Vibe FM	0-1	Watford, 0,2kW	28km	tent.; or Ashford
107,7	R.Essex	2/3	Chelmsford, 0,1kW	43km
107,8	Jackie	4 RDS	Kingston-Surbiton, 0,8kW	29km	SW LDN
107,9	KM FM	3-	Gillingham, 0,2kW	46km
108,0	Jam FM	5		?	no RDS, african
	Devotion	5- RDS		?	under JAM FM

RDS of legal FM radio stations in London (predominantly static PS) - Sony XDR-F1HD dial:


It's not over...
Leaving London does not mean saying goodbye to its FM band - I can turn on most commercial stations via satelite and online. And the original signals from London on their FM frequencies are occasionally received in Poland via Sporadic E (like the whole UK). Here is the selection of my Sp-E FM DXs originating from London, received so far in Poland, near Warsaw:

My favourite LBC 97,3 on XDR tuner via SpE at home in Poland :)

BBC from Wrotham and Crystal Palace
95,8 - Capital
96,7 - BBC Kent
97,3 - LBC97.3
97,6 - Chiltern R. (Luton, now Heart)
100,0- Kiss
and even a bunch of pirate stations via SpE!
90,0 - Hot90
90,8 - Lightning
92,7 - Energy
92,8 - Klash FM (id PS: www.klas)
+other unid pirates on 87,5-87,7



Thanks for visiting! 
It will be really great if you stay with Xploradio Blog. In upcoming posts, I will upload my pictures of broadcasting centres in Crystal Palace, Croydon and on Alexandra Palace.