Capital Radio (pirate)
Encyclopedia
Capital Radio was a pirate radio
station which operated from international waters
off the coast of the Netherlands
in 1970.
The station was set up by Canadian
idealist Tim Thomason. In 1965 Thomason had established the International Broadcasting Society with the intention of bringing together professional broadcasting organisations from around the world. Eventually Thomason decided that the Society should have its own radio station which could be used to broadcast messages from the participating organisations.
Thomason and his associates acquired a former German
coaster
and renamed it the MV King David, because they saw the station as being a David
to the major broadcasters' Goliath
. The ship was registered in Liechtenstein
, becoming unofficially the only member of the tiny, doubly landlocked
country's Navy
.
on April 25, 1970, but the antenna (see below) buckled in a force 8 gale
and the ship had to return to port to have the antenna repaired.
Test transmissions finally commenced on 1115 kHz (269 metres, announced as 270) on May 1. These broadcasts consisted of classical music
recordings which were alleged to have been appropriated from the BBC World Service
by an ex-BBC
engineer.
Official programming did not begin until September 1, but after only ten days the antenna was damaged again and the ship sailed into Zaandam
for repairs. While it was there the Dutch authorities attempted to impound the ship, but the crew illegally sailed the ship back out to sea under cover of darkness.
It was about this time that a serious accident occurred. Third Officer
Arie van der Bent's left foot was crushed by the ship's heavy anchor chain while it was being lowered. Van der Bent had to be rushed to hospital on shore. His foot could not be saved and was amputated.
The station returned to the air on October 10 and broadcast uneventfully for a month. Then on November 10 the ship lost its anchor in a force 12 storm
and ran aground at Noordwijk. At that point the ship was impounded over unpaid debts owed to its tendering company. Thomason and the IBS were unable to raise the necessary funds, and so the ship was seized, ending any chance for the station to continue.
, so on his orders Capital Radio played alternative forms of music, including country and western, Latin America
n music, classical music
. According to Thomason, this proved popular with listeners.
that had allegedly belonged to Radio 270
, and was equipped with an unusual horizontal loop antenna
. The reasons for installing this type of antenna were also idealistic as well as technical. All other radio ships employed either vertical mast antennas, or horizontal antennas slung between fore and aft masts. These antenna types produced strong skywave
s that could potentially cause interference to distant stations, especially at night. The horizontal loop radiated most of its energy in the form of a surface wave
, thereby minimising any unwanted interference.
In practical terms, erecting a horizontal loop antenna on a ship caused several problems. The loop was supported by guy wires from a central mast. It was too wide for the ship to pass through Dutch ship canal
s, so the side sections had to be hinged so they could be raised to a vertical position until the ship was at sea. The initial design was not strong enough and one of the side sections buckled in strong winds, so the entire loop had to be reinforced and the guy wires strengthened.
Once the station went on air the loop antenna did produce an efficient signal, covering large parts of the Netherlands, Belgium
and eastern England
although the transmitter was only operated at 1 kilowatt. However, if the ship listed too far in heavy seas one side of the loop could make contact with the water, causing the transmitter to momentarily short out.
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
station which operated from international waters
International waters
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
off the coast of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1970.
The station was set up by Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
idealist Tim Thomason. In 1965 Thomason had established the International Broadcasting Society with the intention of bringing together professional broadcasting organisations from around the world. Eventually Thomason decided that the Society should have its own radio station which could be used to broadcast messages from the participating organisations.
Thomason and his associates acquired a former German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
coaster
Coastal trading vessel
Coastal trading vessels, also known as coasters, are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through reefs where deeper-hulled sea-going ships usually cannot....
and renamed it the MV King David, because they saw the station as being a David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
to the major broadcasters' Goliath
Goliath (Bible)
Goliath , جليات Ǧulyāt ) known also as Goliath of Gath is a figure in the Hebrew Bible . Described as a giant Philistine warrior, he is famous for his combat with the young David, the future king of Israel...
. The ship was registered in Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
, becoming unofficially the only member of the tiny, doubly landlocked
Landlocked
A landlocked country is a country entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are 48 landlocked countries in the world, including partially recognized states...
country's Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
.
Broadcasting history
The ship originally took up position off of NoordwijkNoordwijk
Noordwijk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 51.53 km² and had a population of 24,707 in May 2006....
on April 25, 1970, but the antenna (see below) buckled in a force 8 gale
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...
and the ship had to return to port to have the antenna repaired.
Test transmissions finally commenced on 1115 kHz (269 metres, announced as 270) on May 1. These broadcasts consisted of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
recordings which were alleged to have been appropriated from the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
by an ex-BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
engineer.
Official programming did not begin until September 1, but after only ten days the antenna was damaged again and the ship sailed into Zaandam
Zaandam
Zaandam is a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811...
for repairs. While it was there the Dutch authorities attempted to impound the ship, but the crew illegally sailed the ship back out to sea under cover of darkness.
It was about this time that a serious accident occurred. Third Officer
Third Officer
Third Officer may refer to:*Third Officer , a rarely used rank in civil aviation companies*Third mate, a merchant marine rank*A rank in the Women's Royal Naval Service corresponding to Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy...
Arie van der Bent's left foot was crushed by the ship's heavy anchor chain while it was being lowered. Van der Bent had to be rushed to hospital on shore. His foot could not be saved and was amputated.
The station returned to the air on October 10 and broadcast uneventfully for a month. Then on November 10 the ship lost its anchor in a force 12 storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
and ran aground at Noordwijk. At that point the ship was impounded over unpaid debts owed to its tendering company. Thomason and the IBS were unable to raise the necessary funds, and so the ship was seized, ending any chance for the station to continue.
Programming
Thomason was not a fan of pop musicPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, so on his orders Capital Radio played alternative forms of music, including country and western, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n music, classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. According to Thomason, this proved popular with listeners.
Antenna design
The ship was fitted with a 10-kilowatt transmitterTransmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
that had allegedly belonged to Radio 270
Radio 270
Radio 270 was a pirate radio station serving Yorkshire and the North East of England from 1966 to 1967. It broadcast from a converted Dutch lugger called Oceaan 7 positioned in international waters off Scarborough, North Yorkshire.-Origins :...
, and was equipped with an unusual horizontal loop antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
. The reasons for installing this type of antenna were also idealistic as well as technical. All other radio ships employed either vertical mast antennas, or horizontal antennas slung between fore and aft masts. These antenna types produced strong skywave
Skywave
Skywave is the propagation of electromagnetic waves bent back to the Earth's surface by the ionosphere. As a result of skywave propagation, a broadcast signal from a distant AM broadcasting station at night, or from a shortwave radio station can sometimes be heard as clearly as local...
s that could potentially cause interference to distant stations, especially at night. The horizontal loop radiated most of its energy in the form of a surface wave
Surface wave
In physics, a surface wave is a mechanical wave that propagates along the interface between differing media, usually two fluids with different densities. A surface wave can also be an electromagnetic wave guided by a refractive index gradient...
, thereby minimising any unwanted interference.
In practical terms, erecting a horizontal loop antenna on a ship caused several problems. The loop was supported by guy wires from a central mast. It was too wide for the ship to pass through Dutch ship canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s, so the side sections had to be hinged so they could be raised to a vertical position until the ship was at sea. The initial design was not strong enough and one of the side sections buckled in strong winds, so the entire loop had to be reinforced and the guy wires strengthened.
Once the station went on air the loop antenna did produce an efficient signal, covering large parts of the Netherlands, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and eastern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
although the transmitter was only operated at 1 kilowatt. However, if the ship listed too far in heavy seas one side of the loop could make contact with the water, causing the transmitter to momentarily short out.
External links
- Soundscapes: Tim Thomason interviewed about Capital Radio (Some of the information in this article is derived from this interview)