More news about Radio Free Brattleboro

BRATTLEBORO -- Federal authorities raided radio free brattleboro's office Wednesday morning, seizing the unlicensed station's equipment and turning its signal to static.

The 7 a.m. raid occurred when no one was in the downtown space, said Larry Bloch, one of the station's founders.

The action was executed by United States Marshals and the Federal Communications Commission, acting on a warrant issued by a Burlington federal judge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher requested the warrant on Tuesday.

Authorities has apparently obtained a key to enter the station, located in the Brooks House on Main Street. No one was arrested.

The 10-watt station has been broadcasting since 1998 without an FCC license. The FCC has been anxious to take the downtown-based station off the air since 2003.

Wednesday's raid sparked immediate outrage from rfb lawyer James Maxwell, who said the move deviated from the established court process that assured that equipment would not be seized. He vowed to fight the decision.

Rfb can request its equipment back and also contest the allegations made in the warrant request. Bloch estimated the equipment is worth between $15,000 and $20,000, though he had not yet made an official calculation.

"We're studying our options at this point," Maxwell said. "Obviously, we want the equipment back. We want the process that was established here."

Wednesday's action comes as rfb and the federal government are still locked in a court case, and before a judge has decided whether to make a ruling on the issue without a trial. Drescher has asked the judge to order rfb off the air, and the station is asking for more time, information and possibly a trial.

"Radio free brattleboro has been broadcasting without a license for (a while) and in violation of the Communications Act," Drescher said. "And we in this office are duty-bound to enforce the law and filing this forfeiture action is part of the law enforcement effort."

Rfb members maintain they have been given the right to broadcast by the community. The station's existence was endorsed by the majority of town voters in 2004 and the Brattleboro Selectboard, and rfb members have also gathered signatures from local citizens.

The station has pledged to step aside when a Brattleboro-based station headed by Vermont Earth Works goes on the air. It is unclear when that 100-watt station will hit the airwaves.
Rfb members also say that they wanted to be licensed by the FCC, but the agency isn't giving licenses to 10-watt stations.

Maxwell called Wednesday's move an "end run." He said Drescher should have allowed the court process to continue, and added that he shouldn't have gone through the Burlington court because the case is being heard in Brattleboro.

The FCC and rfb sued each other in March 2004. The FCC wanted rfb taken off the air immediately, and the station wanted to prevent them from doing that. Rfb eventually dropped its suit, Maxwell said, after being assured the government wouldn't seize any equipment at least until there's a hearing.

"I think it's also important to make clear that we will go to the (Brattleboro) district court and express our surprise and hope that the district court here will view this with as much astonishment as we do, because the government has essentially done (what lawyers call) 'judge shopping,'" Maxwell said.

Drescher said the Burlington court is part of Vermont's single federal court system, so it made sense to request the warrant there. Also, he said, he gave the judge the case's background and made clear that it is still pending in the Brattleboro branch.

Drescher also said he warned Maxwell that he may take more aggressive action. In an April 13 letter to Maxwell, the prosecutor wrote that he was recently assigned to the case and added that he intended to reverse the government's previous intentions of not seizing the equipment.

"Given rfb's continued unlicensed (and therefore illegal) operation, I write to notify rfb that the law enforcement intentions of the federal government have changed," he wrote. "The United States and the FCC are prepared to pursue other law enforcement remedies."

Brooks House resident Joe Dever noticed something going on in rfb's rented space Wednesday. He asked an official at the scene what was going on, but the official told him he couldn't comment.

When he figured out what was happening, Dever said, he ran back to his apartment and grabbed his camera. The pictures he shot show U.S. Marshals, FCC agents and members of the Brattleboro Police Department.

"The minute they saw that camera, they turned their heads," said Dever, who has been rfb's neighbor for four years.

Brattleboro Police Chief John Martin said the only thing his officers did was stand by in case an incident occurred. They weren't involved in the search warrant.

"The main thing for us is if there's something going on in our town, we want to make sure there are no problems," Martin said.

Bloch said he found out about the raid around 8 a.m., when an rfb deejay called him to ask why there was no signal. Bloch was scheduled to host his show, "Energy Matters," at 1 p.m. Wednesday, the first live show of the day.

The FCC's beef with rfb began in 2003, when it received two complaints that its broadcast was interfering with a Massachusetts station. The FCC shut down the station, but it returned shortly thereafter at 107.9 FM, an unfilled slot reserved for a community station.

Rfb allows anyone to become deejays and does not broadcast commercials. Vermont Earthworks was given the right to construct a station by the FCC in March; the organization says it will model itself after rfb.

Vermont Earthworks President Deb Forrett said Wednesday the station is coming closer to going live at 107.7 FM. She said organizers are fund-raising and have talked to a building owner about locating the station downtown. However, she said, the organization has yet to set a goal for a launch date.

"It's going really well," she said. "I guess I'm really shocked at the news."

An introduction to Longwave frequencies

"Longwave" refers to all frequencies below the lower end of the AM broadcasting band at 540 kHz. The lower limit of what frequencies constitute "radio" is not precisely defined, but 5 kHz is a widely accepted starting point for the radio spectrum.

For many years, radio hobbyists ignored longwave because most commonly available communications receivers only tuned down to 540 kHz. However, most new receivers today tune down to at least 150 kHz and longwave DXing is enjoy new popularity.

One big problem when tuning longwave is electrical noise from power lines, electrical devices, motors, etc. Longwave is far more susceptible to such noise than higher frequencies, and you might hear only a loud "buzz" when you tune across longwave from your location. Also, static crashes from thunderstorms can be severe, especially in summer. To combat noise, many longwave DXers use an indoor "loop" antenna that allows rejection of nearby electrical noise sources. Other longwave DXers use special phasing units to reduce noise levels.

Reception distance on longwave is similar to that on the AM broadcast band, as are reception patterns. Greater range is possible when the signal is reaching you over a water path, as is often the case in coastal regions. At night, reception of stations from hundreds or even thousands of miles away is possible. Night reception on longwave is better in winter than in summer, and the equinoxes often give the best propagation.

Unlike the shortwave frequencies above 1700 kHz, the longwave spectrum is allocated on a more "ad hoc" basis, with different users and services frequently sharing the same frequency range. Here is a general description of the world below 540 kHz:

Below 155 kHz: Signals below 155 kHz don't propagate very well via the ionosphere; the absorption is too great even at night during winter. These signals can travel for thousands of miles via ground wave, but high transmitter powers are required. Signals at very low frequencies, about 50 kHz and lower, can penetrate sea water very well. As a result, these frequencies are used by military forces of the major powers, especially for communication with submarines. The U.S. Navy's "Omega" navigation system is found on 10.2, 12, and 13.6 kHz. The Russian navy operates a similar system on 15.62 kHz. The U.S. Air Force has a FSK-based communications system on 29.5 and 37.2 kHz. This system was established to provide a backup in case nuclear explosions rendered the ionosphere useless for propagation. Miscellaneous FSK-based stations are found here for direct communications with submarines and naval forces.

150 to 175 kHz: In the United States, this range is used by the U.S. Air Force's ground wave emergency network (GWEN), a packet-based network to provide communications during a nuclear war. Transmitters are kept continuously operational here on a "standby" basis, and it's easy to hear their loud, "raspy" signal bursts.

155 to 281 kHz: This is another AM broadcasting band in Europe and parts of Asia. In Europe, there are numerous high powered (1,000,000 watts or more) stations here. These stations are capable of covering an entire European nation like France or Germany with reliable signals around the clock. Although ionospheric propagation is not good at these frequencies, the high powers used means that many of these broadcasters can be heard along the Atlantic seaboard during the fall and winter. Best reception is usually from local sunset to about 0600 UTC. A few longwave stations in Asiatic Russia can be heard on the Pacific Coast beginning an hour or so before local sunrise.

160 to 190 kHz: In the United States, this range is open to unlicensed experimental transmissions. Transmitter power is restricted to one watt, and the maximum antenna length (including feedline) can be no more than 50 feet. Any mode can be used. Some of these "lowfer" (as they are known) unlicensed stations have been heard several hundreds of miles away under favorable conditions.

200 to 430 kHz: This range is used mainly by navigation beacons, which continuously repeat their call signs in Morse code. Call signs do not follow the international allocations given elsewhere on this site. Instead, the call signs usually give an idea of the location of the beacon. For example, beacon "FT" on 365 kHz is located at Fort Worth, Texas.

430 to 500 kHz: This range is used for two-way Morse code communications between ships at sea and shore stations. Shore stations use three-letter callsigns, while ship station callsigns consist of four letters. All callsigns are from international allocations. The number of stations you can hear in this range is rapidly declining due to a shift in maritime communications to satellites and shortwave frequencies. After February, 1999, radio operators skilled in Morse code will no longer be required on ships sailing in international waters, and the number of stations you can hear in this range should drop precipitously after that date.

500 kHz: This is an international ship calling and distress frequency for maritime communications in Morse code. It is very lightly used, and after February, 1999, ship stations and shore stations will no longer be required to monitor this frequency for calls.

500 to 540 kHz: This segment is populated by miscellaneous beacons and stations. Perhaps the most interesting frequency here is 518 kHz, used for transmission of maritime safety and navigation information via FSK. This system is known as NAVTEX, and includes weather bulletins as well as notices of missing and overdue vessels. 530 kHz is used in the United States and Canada for low powered road and traffic information broadcasts.

107.9 MHz - Radio Free Brattleboro Raided

PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
James Maxwell, Esq. 257-1299 (media inquiries only)
Larry Bloch 254-9106


At 6:58 this morning, June 22, 2005, armed with a warrant issued by a Burlington magistrate, United States Marshals entered the studios of radio free brattleboro and seized its broadcasting equipment. The seizure of equipment and shutdown of rfb’s local broadcasts under authority of a warrant issued in Burlington comes while an action is still pending before Judge J. Garvan Murtha in the federal court in Brattleboro.

In March of 2004 radio free brattleboro filed for an injunction in the District Court in Brattleboro, asking the Court to prohibit the FCC from seizing equipment. The United States District Attorney, representing the FCC, filed a reciprocal action for injunction to shut down the radio station. These dueling actions were finally whittled down to one action and the rfb request for injunction was dropped, due to the following statement in a filing made by the United States:

In its suit, rfb seeks to enjoin the FCC from seizing its equipment or from stopping it from broadcasting without a hearing. Because neither of these eventualities are threatened, the suit is essentially moot. The FCC has chosen not to try to seize the equipment of rfb but to proceed by way of a preliminary injunction. Thus, there is no controversy about imminent seizure of equipment for this Court to remedy or enjoin. Moreover, since rfb is receiving a hearing on March 15 [2004], it will not be stopped from broadcasting without a hearing. Thus, the matters that it asks to be remedied do not need a remedy.

This constituted the Government’s assurance that it contemplated no seizure of rfb’s equipment and rfb did drop its own action for an injunction.

In April of 2005, with matters still pending in the U.S. District Court in Brattleboro, rfb received a letter from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Burlington stating that the FCC was “prepared to pursue other law enforcement remedies . . . .” Rfb was puzzled by this new threat, as it had dropped its original action for an injunction because of the Government’s assurance that the regular court process in Brattleboro would be the venue for the dispute. Accordingly, rfb replied to the U.S. Attorney’s office stating:

The radio station has continued operating because the FCC’s complaint to the court has yet to receive a ruling either on the preliminary or permanent injunctions you [FCC] seek. Your review of the file doubtless informs you that rfb originally applied for an injunction to bar the FCC from exactly the action you now contemplate, under 47 U.S.C. § 510. The station voluntarily agreed to a dismissal of its complaint for injunction because of the pending injunction petition put in by the FCC. In the given posture, I do not believe this district court or any appeals court will say that rfb was obliged to shut down: shut-down is precisely the question for which we await the judge’s answer. Your threatened action is, therefore, an end run, is it not?

On May 3, 2005, the Government filed for summary judgment in the case pending in Brattleboro. Radio free brattleboro responded to that motion and therefore the FCC’s case asking for an injunction to shut down rfb remains, today, in the hands of Judge Murtha in Brattleboro.

Radio free brattleboro’s attorney, James Maxwell, commented: “This is on one level no surprise. The FCC has run out of patience with the regular court process in Brattleboro and has gone elsewhere for the relief it seeks, namely, a chance to get the U.S. Marshals into the station to grab the equipment. Radio free brattleboro has a case with substantial and legitimate legal issues pending in the federal court here in Brattleboro, and the station has also applied to the FCC for a waiver to broadcast, and it has repeatedly stated that when the newly licensed 100-watt station is up and running it would step aside. Rfb does not operate in defiance of government but rather from the belief of its members and listeners that community radio is essential to good government and democratic process. Radio free brattleboro has always stressed to the public and to the FCC that it will adhere to FCC guidelines and will serve the public whether licensed or not. Nevertheless, it is very much a surprise that the FCC has done an end run around the court here in Brattleboro and obtained a warrant from Burlington—even while diverting our attention by applying for summary judgment here. It has undertaken these clever maneuvers, in my opinion, not because it must shut down the station but because it can shut down the station. For there is no harm whatsoever being done by rfb, while there surely is harm being done to a civil society by the broadcast and cable and satellite conglomerates whose idea of serving the public is to process entertainment, information and advertisements for mass consumption, which is to say for no one at all. It’s a sad and disappointing day, but of course we will explore our options.”

760 kHz - musings on NPR

With NPR under threat of severe funding cutbacks from Congress, thanks to some imaginary "liberal" bias in their reporting, I have been listening to NPR and reflecting more on what I've heard. Like shortwave stations that vanish due to lack of funding, and Joni Mitchell's classic refrain, you don't know what you've got til it's gone. Today the irony really struck me while listening to a report on "Day to Day" about thousands of protesters rallying outside an air force base in South Dakota that is slated for closure. The irony is: thirty-five years ago, as I was growing up, people protested against the war, not for the war making machinery. In Bush's Amerika, many of us are engaged in simple economic survival. In that small community in South Dakota, economic survival depends on the military industrial complex. Thus, people are almost caught in a trap, regardless of what one's values are, one has to fight for immediate survival. Another irony - while listening to this report about military base closures a car drove past me with one of those American flag ribbons that read "Freedom Isn't Free." This culture (as if I need to proclaim this) is in serious trouble.

I've had my issues with NPR stations over the years --- their lobbying against Low Power FM stations, grabbing up frequencies for translator stations, their lack of community oriented programming (at least here in NH) ... but the loss or diminishment of NPR would be terrible in the current commercialized media environment. NPR has dumbed down since I first started listening as a wee lad of 18, but I still think of those halcyon daze of in-depth, almost jaw dropping reporting that couldn't be heard elsewhere. So, for the sake of a little more freedom and divsersity of speech, I support the public service that NPR is. The last thing we need is more Fox news clones.

750 kHz

750 kHz- an introduction to the Seldom Heard Radio blog

Every venture starts at a point of origin, and my venture into the world of blogging starts here. Why a blog? I much prefer the written page and textured paper to the ephemeral world of internet technology. I’ve decided that Seldom Heard Radio needs a presence in the electronic community so I can share thoughts, resources, and creative work & ideas with others. This blog will focus on non-commercial radio, independent music (including some of my personal favorite, the realm of what is sometimes called "psychedelic folk") and occasional news and rantings regarding my show called "Seldom Heard Radio" which is heard on WSCS 90.9 (www.colby-sawyer.edu/wscs in New London NH and WNEC 91.7 in Henniker NH (www.nec.edu)

In New Hampshire there are very few alternatives to commercial radio. There is New Hampshire Public Radio http:/nhpr.org which is about as bland as public radio gets - there is only one music show and it's a boring traditional folk music show on Sunday nights. The rest is talk talk talk ... and very little listening to the audience. Only an hour and a half per day is devoted to topics of New Hampshire interest. "Public Radio" should rightly be called "partially public-funded radio" ... or "partly corporate sponsored radio" ... meeting local public need has little to do with it. I would rather listen to "public access" radio broadcasting if it existed --- frequencies where many diverse voices could be heard. I'll be the first to admit I know very little about podcasting, which seems in spirit similar to public access, though it is "narrowcasting" rather than "broadcasting". To listen to podcasts one must own the right equipment, a computer, etc. To listen to a radio broadcast, all one needs is a radio with an antenna and a power source (or not - some radios are solar or wind-up).Maybe narrowcasting is the future --- ever smaller audiences as we all become more active in creating our own media. The state of media is in flux right now, it is the most exciting time in radio history since Marconi received the letter 'S' in Morse code across the Atlantic. The possibilities for creating diversity are opening all around us even as commercial radio becomes more and more homogenized, monosyllabic and bland. So this is my first attempt at a web presence for Seldom Heard Radio. Please stay tuned.

700 kHz

I have unfortunately never been to San Francisco. I’m not entirely sure how I ended up incarnating in the stoic, cultural wasteland of New Hampshire but am sure there was a cosmic reason. Possibly because if I were in San Francisco I would go completely broke buying music from Aquarius Records and would end up having to find a second job!

Aquarius records is not just an internet shop --- it is a real record store … and has been since 1970! Their selection makes eclectic look passé. Genres they carry include (but are definitely not limited to) exotica, experimental, indie, international, psychedelic, jazz, rock, pop, electronic ... there are many sounds samples on their website for the curiously minded. Take a trip & never leave the farm at www.aquariusrecords.org