A new pirate radio station is born.. somewhere in Colorado

Got the Broadcast Warehouse 150w transmitter setup

And hooked up to the Dipole antenna (yea I know.. it's inside... gotta test it first) and man, this thing rocks.  Full 150w and ZERO reflection (i.e. a nice cool feedback loop to the transmitter and a clean signal).

Why the hell didn't I get one of these antenna's sooner?

What I love about this antenna is it's broadband.  NO tuning.  Just hit the buttons on your transmitter to move around the dial and it just works.  This makes setting up a pirate station, literally, a 5 minute job (most of the time is spent getting the antenna tuned just right).  Of course, getting that thing onto a mast or bolted high up a tree is still gonna be work, but we'll paint it brown and green first.  :)

Proper FM antenna tuning.. the simple brain dead way

Every wonder how to TUNE that antenna for your pirate radio station to 89.5 or 103.9 (or whatever frequency you can find that's open)?  Here's a simple and highly effective formula I've used many times.  Works great.

Using a properly tuned antenna is essential for micropower broadcasting on the FM band. An antenna that is not properly tuned will not pass along your transmitter's power as efficiently as it could - and this leads to a general degradation of signal coverage.

Fortunately, calculating the precise length of your antenna is pretty easy to do if you follow these three steps. Get a calculator to help with the math:

1. To determine the wavelength of your signal in inches, divide 11811 by your transmitter's frequency in megahertz (MHz). 

2. Multiply the answer from #1 by the fraction of wavelength of your antenna's design (most antennas are 1/2 (.5) or 1/4 (.25)  wave; the popular Comet is a 5/8 (.625) wave antenna). 

3. The answer from #2 is the length of your antenna in inches. 

Try to fine-tune your antenna using a properly-calibrated SWR meter for maximum antenna efficiency.  A perfect SWR match is 1:1; in the real world, you should be satisfied with any SWR of 1.5:1 or less.  Radio shack has SWR meters, with instructions.

You can do it without the SWR meter though.  I have, many times, and the formula above works beautifully.

Looking for a frequency to set up your FM pirate station on? Here's a great little tool. Just put in your zip, hit go, then click on the 'find unused frequencies' link.

http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/vacant

find US radio stations by location city/zip state find by call ...

Find Unused FM Frequencies in Your Area. Do you have a satellite radio or MP3 player that transmits sound to your car radio or home stereo? 

The KBFR (Boulder Free Radio) Van!

Great overall post on how to do a pirate station from the Wired wiki.

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Set_Up_a_Pirate_Radio_Station

Set Up a Pirate Radio Station - Wired How-To Wiki

The best transmitter for pirate radio.

We ran several of these for years in Boulder. We put them in boxes that sat in back yards, garages and attics. Pretty extreme conditions. 100+ degree in the summer and below freezing in the winter and they just kept on running. There are still 2 being used to this day by area pirates, 12 years and countless online hours later. It's not cheap ($2325) but it's a pro setup. And it's cheaper now than it was 12 years ago (they were $3,000 then).

http://www.broadcastwarehouse.com/bw-broadcast/tx150-stereo-transmitter/1381/product

BW Broadcast TX150 Stereo Transmitter - low cost at Broadcast Warehouse

The TX150 is a top specification FCC certified & RTTE/CE compliant FM broadcast transmitter.

The best antenna for pirate radio. The Comet CFM95 SL 5/8 Wave FM antenna.

I've used dozens of these over the years and because they're cheap, tough and are extemely easy to tune to whatever frequency you find. Under $100. Also, the seller (Progressive Concepts) is one of the best places to buy equipment in the US. Get your 50Ohm cable here to.

http://progressive-concepts.com/info/item.php?id=47

FM Transmitters, LPFM Transmitters, and Broadcast Equipment from Progressive ConceptsBroadcast Electronics: Comet CFM95SL 5/8 Wave FM Antenna