Those with a "pirate past" directing existing LPFM stations

[Harvey_Dogg]

How A Pirate Went Legit The FCC gave me three valuable commercial FM licenses more than thirty years ago.

From the Indy Star
The FCC man who had caught him, George Sklom, had taken a liking to
Quinn and helped him.

"I remember his music was out of the ordinary," says Sklom, now
retired and living in Port Charlotte, Fla. "And he had a relatively
sophisticated system to try and thwart us. He showed a lot of promise.
And he was a pretty nice kid. When I told him it wasn't so hard to do
things right, he was receptive. He didn't have many resources, but he
was willing to do the leg work."

Sklom showed Quinn maps of existing broadcast frequencies. Quinn
studied them. He's legally blind, but if he holds an object 2 inches
from his face, he can make out what it says. He learned the complex
radio license application process. He studied broadcast maps. He found
an unused frequency.

 

[Kelly A]

View attachment 2820
This is one of the good guys who helped me get a broadcast license from the FCC.

What were "your concerns"? Some letter from a Senator doesn't lend much context on your point.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

What were "your concerns"? Some letter from a Senator doesn't lend much context on your point.

So how would you feel if you passed the first phone and it had an invalid stamp on it because the government thought legally blind guys couldn't be engineers? Ted Kennedy changed that.

 

[Kelly A]

So how would you feel if you passed the first phone and it had an invalid stamp on it because the government thought legally blind guys couldn't be engineers? Ted Kennedy changed that.

So far I don't have 'feelings' either way. You posted a letter from a Senator which mentions "your concerns". All I'm asking is; what was your/the concerns he was referring to? And what does being blind, let alone some pirate radio station of the past have to do with it?
Looking for context.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

So far I don't have 'feelings' either way. You posted a letter from a Senator which mentions "your concerns". All I'm asking is; what was your/the concerns he was referring to? And what does being blind, let alone some pirate radio station of the past have to do with it?
Looking for context.

It was my way of protesting them giving me a blind endorsement when I passed the 1st phone. I WAS MUCH YOUNGER THEN AND HAD NOTHING TO LOSE.

It was long ago that I made up with the FCC. I now help others get broadcast station licenses from the Commission and I never charge them.

Chuck Ferris was Chairman of the FCC when Jolly Roger Radio was busted. He became my lawyer and did it for free.

 

[Kelly A]

It was my way of protesting them giving me a blind endorsement when I passed the 1st phone. I WAS MUCH YOUNGER THEN AND HAD NOTHING TO LOSE.

It was long ago that I made up with the FCC. I now help others get broadcast station licenses from the Commission and I never charge them.

Chuck Ferris was Chairman of the FCC when Jolly Roger Radio was busted. He became my lawyer and did it for free.

Okay the thread is starting to get closer to making sense. So, you were not given a First Phone because of a disability. Got it, and I agree that wasn't right. I know several very competent blind engineers over the years; Darwin F. and Colin M. come to mind.
I'm still not understanding the connection with the pirate station. Did you turn them in?

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

From Glen Hauser's program ]World of Radio A Pirate Went Legit

There was no money in it, either, but that didn't seem to matter.
Jolly Roger Radio, as Quinn called it, had a sort of doctrine -- the
belief that the airwaves were for The People and not just the
millionaires who could afford to buy radio stations. Jolly Roger may
have been somewhat anarchistic, but it was not mean-spirited; it was
not even obscene.

It was illegal, though. You can't broadcast without a license. The FCC
discovered Quinn's illegal broadcasts in December 1980. The penalty
wasn't stiff -- Quinn had to pay a $250 fine. The hard thing was, no
more playing Mr. Radio. It's what Quinn had always wanted to do.
Pirating seemed the only way. He twice tried to get a job at a
traditional radio station but failed, he says, because of his bad
eyes.

Over the next several years, with help from an unlikely source --
George Sklom, his FCC tormentor, Quinn went legit. He started his own
station in Attica, and then one in Monticello. Then, in 1993, in
Indianapolis, in the league of millionaires.

 

[Kelly A]

From Glen Hauser's program ]World of Radio A Pirate Went Legit

Over the next several years, with help from an unlikely source --
George Sklom, his FCC tormentor, Quinn went legit.

Now it makes more sense. The pirate station had a blind staffer.
Unfortunately, pirates going legit and applying for licensed stations is rare. Especially right after LPFM's were approved.
But nobody needs to be a pirate anymore. One starting a stream via a VPN tunnel will get you much more coverage than any low power FM or Part 15 AM. The difference is; Sound Exchange, ASAP and BMI will come after you in court, instead of the U.S. Marshal's showing up with the FCC at your door.

 

[AnyHuman]

There's more than one Internet station with blind DJs. Here's one.

https://www.mushroomfm.com/

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

At the same time that I am building commercially licensed FM stations in Indiana, I filed the first petition for rulemaking to bring back Class D noncommercial low power FM. I filed another petition for low power AM.

I did not file these petitions for me. I wanted to create low power community radio stations for big cities where no Class A channels would fit. I wanted this for broadcasting to minorities and for small towns that could not support a full power station.
.
The low power AM petition went nowhere. But my low power FM petition was included in Docket 88-140. The FCC liked my idea. The NAB was horrified and stopped it for several years.

Here's a review from Monitoring Times page 27. link