Seizing the airwaves

Subversives seeking to seize the airwaves can do so with $20, a nine-volt battery and a soldering iron, according to Gretchen K., a member of something called the Emergency Broadcasters Block, which gave a display of the technology Saturday at the Anarchist Book Fair.

“A lot of people come to radio thinking it’s this huge thing that requires a huge antenna and a huge transmitter, but it can be quite small,” she says. Now, thanks to constant tinkering by miniature-minded radio junkies, “for 20 bucks you can have a broadcasting radio station in your pocket,” says K. Depending on the number of surrounding buildings, the radio can broadcast up to a one-kilometre radius on the FM band. “It won’t go far or even interfere with big corporate radio stations, but it will serve a purpose,” she says. For example, bicycle activists can roll through town broadcasting their message, or organizers of a housing occupation could disseminate information on their crusade to various neighbours.
Unlike the States, Canada tolerates small broadcasters, which have proved useful in remote areas. The more ambitious pirate could start a 5-watt station with a 12-foot antenna to broadcast over several city blocks, a practice that would be tolerated as long as the CRTC received no complaints. K. directs would-be radio pirates to http://microradio.net,
freeradio.org, qualitykits.com and the Active Électronique store in St-Leonard. :

—Kristian Gravenor