The Crystal Ship

From HFUnderground

Revision as of 17:49, 22 June 2009 by JohnPoet (Talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search

The Crystal Ship, often referred to as "TCS", is perhaps one of the oldest HF pirate radio stations still operating, with a history dating back to the Fall of 1982. The primary format of the station is classic rock music, with a heavy emphasis on The Doors, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and others. The station announcers are The Poet aka John Poet, and The Radical, who has a semi-regular segment called "Shots from the Port Side". The Poet and The Radical often editorialize on politics, with a left-leaning point of view.

The station is active as of June 2009, after a 10-month absence. It is usually heard on 6876 or 5385 kHz in the AM mode. It has sometimes used dual transmitters to broadcast on parallel frequencies.

The station's transmitters consist of a pair of E.F. Johnson Viking Valiants, rated at 150 watts carrier output, and a Johnson Viking II rated at 100 watts output. The Valiants have been modified to produce wide-band high-fidelity audio.

Since their second coming as an active pirate station in the Fall of 2004, The Crystal Ship has verified the reception reports of well over 100 pirate DXers in 32 states, reporting from all four corners of the lower-48 United States. Reception has also been reported from Canada, Venezuela, France, and England. The station claims to be based in lower Michigan.

The station now primarily uses E-QSLs to verify reception reports, which should be sent to tcsshortwave@gmail.com

CrystalShip.jpg



This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Some links may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these.