CFAY the Pirate

A look back at various radio stations

CFAY the Pirate

Postby jon » Sat Apr 25, 2009 11:04 am

The recent death of Crash Williams of pirate radio CFAY got me to wondering if he is the first of the long list of CFAY's on-air personalities to pass away.

Surrey's CFAY was certainly a cut above most, if not all, of the many pirate radio stations that have existed in Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest over the years. Certainly not great studio equipment, at least during my time there (first half of 1969), but the station did have a decent transmitter. From what I understand, it was designed by John Peters, and maintained by Jim Haveman. I'm not sure which of them actually built it. The crystal used to determine what frequency the station was on was purchased from The Ham Shack in downtown Vancouver, and must have pre-dated the 1920s expansion of the AM Broadcast Band to encompass its frequency. The crystal had likely been used for Ship to Shore.

The transmitter's 5 watts on 1357.25 KHz fed into a long wire antenna. Unfortunately, KMO in Tacoma was 5000 watts on 1360 KHz, and was audible throughout Vancouver. So, I considered myself fortunate to be able to listen to CFAY in South Burnaby, despite being well over (North of) the Ridge that runs through Vancouver, Burnaby and Coquitlam. Admittedly, it took a mediocre communications receiver and a directional 4 foot box loop antenna to do it.

CFAY's most memorable reception was by long-time Seattle DX'er Bruce Portzer who heard CFAY one Sunday night after midnight when KMO and other stations on 1360 KHz were off the air. He still has the tape, and played it for Mr. CFAY over the telephone the next morning.

I am no longer sure, but I suspect Bruce knew of the plans for CFAY to be on the air after KMO signed off that Sunday night. Though Bruce had done enough foreign DX by then to always be on the lookout for a hetrodyne, the tone caused by a transmitter operating on something other than the North American standard of 10 KHz-spaced AM stations. I'm not sure how exactly CFAY's transmitter and crystal kept it on 1357.25, but that would create a 2500 Hz tone against any remaining stations on 1360 KHz that Sunday night/Monday morning. Carrier signals are so much stronger than the signals representing components of the actual audio being transmitted that receivers detect carriers of stations too weak for their audio to be heard.

A lot of folks passed through the doors of CFAY -- just a little shack in the backyard of Mr. CFAY's parents when I was there -- during its existence.

But, what I will never understand, is how Mr. CFAY was allowed to continue, despite several visits by the Department of Transport, who regulated Radio in those days. If the DoT wanted to ignore the station, then why visit? If they made the effort to visit, why didn't they seize equipment? It wasn't that hard to find, at the entrance to the little shack out back.
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9254
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

DoT

Postby jon » Sat Apr 25, 2009 7:47 pm

Just had a nice phone chat with Mr. CFAY. He apparently had an old 100mw carrier current transmitter that he showed the DoT on their two visits.

Find one transmitter and you stop looking -- makes sense to me.

Plus, they weren't investigating any interference complaints, just a tip on a "previously unknown radio station".
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9254
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby VE7ROX » Sun Apr 26, 2009 6:54 pm

Wow, totally awesome. All of the above did indeed happen, as I was there. I fondly remember going out on range checks, and it obviously radiated a little beyond Whalley. I was one of the CFAY "Swell Guys" back in the day, Jim Haveman, or "Jim The Jock" and also had a hand in building the transmitter. Yes, the crystal came from The Ham Shack, located at the south end of what is now Granville Mall, near Granville and Davie. We did operate on other frequencies such as 670 KHz and 1450 KHz, but 1360, or should I say 1357.25, was one of the more memorable. The fact that it was 2.750 kiloHertz off of the 10 kiloHertz spaced North American channels may have been an advantage for DX purposes. I am in constant touch with Mr. CFAY, and both of us have transmitters made by Ramsey Electronics. I myself have the Ramsey FM-25B Synthesized FM Stereo Transmitter, http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bi ... &key=FM25B, and feed that into a Ramsey LPA1 RF Linear Power Amplifier ( http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bi ... n&key=LPA1 ) which boosts it up to a mighty 1-watt. If Bruce Portzer heard that one in Seattle, I might hit the floor. Ramsey also makes low-power AM transmitters, might look into getting one of those. So that is the scoop.
RoX ToX in the dialog BoX . . . Bye, Jim VE7ROX
VE7ROX Website: http://ve7rox.spaces.live.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Law Won:....http://tinyurl.com/2gbzvn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
VE7ROX
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:30 pm
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby jon » Sun Apr 26, 2009 7:20 pm

Jim: You may want to take a trip up Mount Seymour if you want to have your 1 watt FM transmitter heard in Seattle. Big problem will be picking an empty frequency. It is not like FM stations sign off after midnight Sunday nights, like AM stations did in the '60s.

And I'm still interested in whether it was you or John Peters who actually built the CFAY transmitter on 1357.25 KHz. I stand corrected on the tone created by CFAY against stations on 1360 being 2750 Hz. Not exactly, of course, but I was actually quite surprised how little drift there was on the CFAY frequency given the varying temperatues, which could effect the crystal's frequency.

Speaking of other frequencies, it would be interesting to know how you set the transmitter to 670 or 1450, as I assume you couldn't find crystals for those frequencies.

Finally, Jim, please feel free to start a new thread and share some of your great DX catches of the '60s. I remember you did very well in that department.
User avatar
jon
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 9254
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 10:15 am
Location: Edmonton

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby VE7ROX » Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:16 pm

Holy smokes, is that you jon? I remember when we used to put labels on to paste bottles and/or glue bottles at Peerless Paste haha. That didn't have much to do with broadcasting but was an interesting production line job. Maybe they have machines doing that now. I was just talking to Mr. CFAY last night, he has cell phones now (plural - more than one), so we can keep in touch. I have both landline and cell, so that is handy. On top of that, I set up one of my computers on his kitchen table, and put a wireless card in it so he can get on to the internet without a cable or Telus connection. There is a Messenger Box in it, so we keep in touch using WLM (Windows Live Messenger), along with using the e-mail. He mentioned something about talking to you the other day. I will send you some pictures via e-mail.
So let's see, transmitter on top of Mount Seymour. Could be pushing the envelope there. Hmmm, I am on the south slope of Capitol Hill, about half way up, so it is a reasonably high location. On 89.1 MHz, I hear the signal (the one transmitted from here) at about a 5-mile radius. I have heard it as far west as Nanaimo and East Hastings, and south as far as Metrotown. That frequency (89.1 MHz) is reasonably clear around here, although you have to contend sometimes with splash from "Radio 89.3 FM Tourist Information Radio" (they never use a callsign) and CBUX-1 FM 88.9 in Victoria, the two umbrella frequencies on either side. Mr. CFAY and myself did some FM DXing a little ways back (OK, back in the eighties) on Thorne Hill (east of Haney) and picked up KZEL FM 96.1 in Eugene, Oregon. They even sent us QSL cards, posters,and other goodies. That frequency is now occupied locally, but the FM band back in the eighties didn't have anywhere near as much on it as it does now. In Vancouver, we now have a vacated frequency on the AM band as you probably know, 600 KHz. You can hear CJWW Saskatoon, SK reasonably well in this area. The frequency is totally clear during the day. Maybe a Ramsey transmitter running a couple of watts could do something there. Hmmm.
Last edited by VE7ROX on Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:56 am, edited 8 times in total.
RoX ToX in the dialog BoX . . . Bye, Jim VE7ROX
VE7ROX Website: http://ve7rox.spaces.live.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Law Won:....http://tinyurl.com/2gbzvn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
VE7ROX
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:30 pm
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby VE7ROX » Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:53 pm

Oops, I could stand corrected. That station on FM 89.3 in the Vancouver area maybe has a callsign after all. Just did a little research and went to the website ( http://vancouvertouristradio.com/ ) and lo and behold, a callsign IS presented there, CFVT. Interesting. I guess radio-locator.com is not always up-to-date, or the most accurate ( http://tinyurl.com/c4oy9p ).
RoX ToX in the dialog BoX . . . Bye, Jim VE7ROX
VE7ROX Website: http://ve7rox.spaces.live.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Law Won:....http://tinyurl.com/2gbzvn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
VE7ROX
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:30 pm
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby skyvalleyradio » Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:57 pm

VE7ROX de VE7SKA - thanks for relaying the fascinating stories about the tech end of CFAY. As a young DXer in Kerrisdale, I was aware of CFAY's existence but never was able to pick it up. If you want to try a REAL low power FM transmitter at a reasonable price, get rid of that Ramsey shit and check out the units that PCS Electronics in Europe sells.

http://www.pcs-electronics.com/fm-trans ... 3337ca5106

At Sky Valley Radio we've been using the PCI-slot version of the Max Pro which gives us 1.3 watts of stereo power with a finely tuned homebrew 1/2 wave ground-plane vertical. The VSWR is 1.2-to-1 so we can crank the full power into the antenna. This unit is PLL-controlled and nicely filtered to prevent harmonics. This output RF is only obtainable using the external power supply as opposed to tapping in to the DC power inside the server that functions as our station. Located high on a ridge-top we get pretty good coverage in the directions that the trees don't hinder and at a mountain-top location across several valleys from us, we can get a clean, full quieting signal. We've been using this unit without any trouble for 4 years now and considering we are under the main air corridor between Vancouver & Victoria we HAVE to run a clean transmitter! The PCI Max units are type-accepted for low power usage in New Zealand, Italy, Malaysia, and a few of the Baltic countries too.

Remember, if you ARE planning a little 'extra-curricular' broadcast tests to let us all know so we can aim the antennas your way

--... ...-- -.. . ...- . --... ... -.- .-
User avatar
skyvalleyradio
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 1109
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 1:16 pm
Location: The Goofy Islands

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby VE7ROX » Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:43 pm

VE7SKA de VE7ROX. Wow, thanks for the reply. Nice to run into hams on the RadioWest site hihi. A lot of things I wasn't aware of before, including PCS Electronics. Looks like mighty high-quality equipment, commercial-grade at that. Maybe a step above Ramsey. Was talking to Mr. CFAY just last night, and he is going to check it out also (the PCS site). That is most interesting - you knew about CFAY back in the day. Yes, Brian "Crash" Williams was one of the DJ's there, as was myself, and I guess you could say we gained a little radio experience. What a way to start. Will keep you posted on "extra-curricular" broadcast tests. - ROX . . .
RoX ToX in the dialog BoX . . . Bye, Jim VE7ROX
VE7ROX Website: http://ve7rox.spaces.live.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Law Won:....http://tinyurl.com/2gbzvn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
VE7ROX
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:30 pm
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby skyvalleyradio » Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:55 pm

VE7ROX de VE7SKA -

glad to be of help! You & Mr CFAY can save yourselves some bucks on one of these by ordering and building one of their kits. They are located in Slovenia and I had NO problems with the shipping of the unit, Canada Customs etc. I never did know Brian Williams but remember hearing his name from an elderly VE7 who lived near my home and 'mentored' me into electronics and radio. BTW, if you ARE planning any tests on 89.1 let me know so I can QRT the Sky Valley Radio xmitter, swing the 10 element FM yagi your way and even crank on the 30 dB FM receiver amp/bypass filter. Yo ho ho & a bottle of (Jamaican 150 proof) rum!!!! 8-)

73 VE7SKA
User avatar
skyvalleyradio
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 1109
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 1:16 pm
Location: The Goofy Islands

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby VE7ROX » Sat May 02, 2009 2:00 pm

VE7SKA de VE7ROX
Yes, thanks for turning us on to that PCS-Electronics place. Most interesting. Mr. CFAY was also most intrigued and I assisted him in getting the information and links to the place, including the order form page and the order form in a .pdf file. He (Mr. CFAY) just recently registered with RadioWest, a "Newbie", so he should be able to get on here pretty soon. OK on your friend from back in the day who 'mentored' you into radio, DXing, and I presume amateur radio. I started off DXing on the AM band long before doing the amateur radio thing, not the other way around. I still of course DX both bands AM and FM, and in fact, just did a little FM DXing the other day. I was in Pitt Meadows and heard CHWK FM 89.5 "The Hawk" booming in on Harris Road, and as I headed west toward PoCo, they were still quite solid. They started to get choppy as I crossed the Coquitlam-Burnaby boundary heading west. I thought I heard KNHC FM 89.5 Seattle competing with them at that point. Interesting. I also discovered an LPFM station operating on the PNE grounds on 88.7. I presume they use it to broadcast special events, but in between, to fill in dead air, they re-broadcast CISL AM 650. If anybody is in the PNE area, maybe about a 2 or 3 kilometer radius, you can listen to CISL AM, on FM. I hear it as far away as the North Vancouver Seabus terminal. When you go east of Willingdon in Burnaby, CHNW FM 88.7 in New Westminster starts to dominate. Sounds like John Ashbridge giving out emergency preparedness info in an endless loop ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHNW-FM ). It runs a mighty 4 watts and is operated by the New Westminster Amateur Radio club.
Anyway, I will keep you informed on any DX tests that we do. Swing the yagi this way before the Jamaican overproof takes effect :mrgreen:
RoX ToX in the dialog BoX . . . Bye, Jim VE7ROX
VE7ROX Website: http://ve7rox.spaces.live.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Law Won:....http://tinyurl.com/2gbzvn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
VE7ROX
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:30 pm
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby radiofan » Sat May 02, 2009 3:49 pm

VE7ROX wrote: He (Mr. CFAY) just recently registered with RadioWest, a "Newbie", so he should be able to get on here pretty soon.


His acceptance here might be delayed. He failed to supply a valid Visa number with his application, so we'll have to wait and see if a money order or cash payment arrives in the mail this week.


VE7ROX wrote: Interesting. I also discovered an PFM station operating on the PNE grounds on 88.7. I presume they use it to broadcast special events, but in between, to fill in dead air, they re-broadcast CISL AM 650. If anybody is in the PNE area, maybe about a 2 or 3 kilometer radius, you can listen to CISL AM, on FM. I hear it as far away as the North Vancouver Seabus terminal. When you go east of Willingdon in Burnaby, CHNW FM 88.7 in New Westminster starts to dominate.


What you're hearing from the PNE grounds is a CISL rebroad at the Coliseum. This is for the benefit of Giants fans that want to listen to the radio PBP at games. Few if any AM signals penetrate the rebar and cement in buildings like teh Coliseum or GM Place. When GM Place opened, the NW engineers installed a low power AM transmitter that could be switched between 730 and 980 so Grizzlies or Canucks fans could listen to PBP in The Garage.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
User avatar
radiofan
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 13693
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 2:24 pm
Location: Keremeos, BC

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby Glen Livingstone » Sat May 02, 2009 5:58 pm

....

Welcome Eldon ... Glad to have you aboard, Matey !



Mutineer

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Hoist up the mainsail, here I come
Ain't no room on board for the insincere
You're my witness, I'm your mutineer

I was born to rock the boat
Some might sink, but we will float
Grab your coat, let's get out of here
You're my witness, I'm your mutineer

Used to be we'd laugh at shadows
Lightning flashed, the thunder follows
It could never find us here
You're my witness, I'm your mutineer


I was born to rock the boat
Some may sink, we might float
Grab your coat
Let's get out of here
You're my witness, I'm your mutineer


You're my witness
I'm your mutineer

~ Warren Zevon
User avatar
Glen Livingstone
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 948
Joined: Sun May 07, 2006 8:12 pm

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby slowhand » Sat May 02, 2009 6:07 pm

Wow! A signed painting of Mrs. Pluto. That's got to be worth big bucks. :pirate:
User avatar
slowhand
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 756
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 2:03 pm

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby Mike Cleaver » Sat May 02, 2009 8:41 pm

Anyone else here ever build one of those three tube Knight Kit radio broadcasters back in the early '60's?
I had one which I hooked up to a custom made console with a microphone and two turntables and a tape machine.
It was the legal 100 mw output allowed by the government but if you put a longer antenna on it, you could get about a mile out of it.
I strung up a copper wire from gable to gable in the attic of our rancher just west of Pandosy Street.
This, of course, was when there was a lot less electrical pollution in the air.
This was my radio experience before getting hired at CKOV
Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services
Engineering, News, Voice work and Consulting
Vancouver, BC, Canada

54 years experience at some of Canada's Premier Broadcasting Stations
User avatar
Mike Cleaver
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 2085
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:56 pm
Location: Vancouver

Re: CFAY the Pirate

Postby skyvalleyradio » Sun May 03, 2009 7:57 am

VE7ROX de VE7SKA - I too DXed AM and FM as a kid...TV too thanks to our rooftop antenna heads - one for VHF lo-band (chs 4 & 5) and one for hi-band (chs 7 & 12) My high ridge-top location here in the Goofy Islands was chosen for its excellent elevation. Before the FM band was over-saturated, it was fairly common during good tropo conditions to pull in KLCC 89.7 and KWAX 91.1 from Eugene...ditto UHF TV chs 32 Salem and ch 16 Eugene. Running a 24/7 server for Sky Valley Radio pretty much screws up the AM band here though. My preference for AM DXing both daytime and night is on the open, steel deck of the small BC Ferries that ply the waterways of the Goofy Islands. I have static strips on my pick-up truck to ground my vehicle to the cardeck. The reception there is incredible!!! Best DX on a ferry has been Radio Lighthouse 1610 Anguilla, WI and a 1620 in Waycross, Ga! My other preference for AM DXing is out at Tofino. I have a 500' roll of open wire I string through the trees on the beach we stay at. Radar Hill at Tofino is an excellent VHF DX location and I've logged over 400 FM stations & translators in Wa, Ore & Calif via tropo in my vehicle there. On AM, I've logged stations all over the Pacific islands and eastern Asia in the wee hours of the morning pre-sunrise! I got my ham license in my early 20's and have specialized in DXing the 6 meters (50 mHz) ham band and weak-signal tropo and hi-speed meteor-scatter on 2 meters (144 mHz)

Mike - I always wanted to build one of those Knight kits but was too young in the 60's and therefore couldn't afford one. My first AM transmitter was part of an electronics kit designed for kids that had multiple choices of projects one could construct on a bread-board type set-up that had a unique push-pin system to hold components in place. Damned if I can remember the name of this kit - I had the deluxe 50 project kit and I think there was a cheaper 20 project version too. Anyway, I built the bread-board AM transmitter and hooked up to my DX long-wire strung between the house and clothesline pole at the back alley. I could at least hear it on a transistor radio in our back yard but it didn't go much furhter than the neighbour's homes on either side of our house

Good memories guys!
User avatar
skyvalleyradio
Advanced Member
 
Posts: 1109
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 1:16 pm
Location: The Goofy Islands

Next

Return to Radio Station History

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests