Re: Dark station in Presque Isle, Maine

[Jeremy Mixer <mixer@zoso.net>]

On Fri, 23 Jun 2000 Dib9@aol.com wrote:

> I don't remember all the details, but I seem to remember that Mr.
> Weiner was also accussed of using the subcarrier frequencies of his
> Maine stations to run pirate stations in New York.  I believe this was
> part of the reason he had to give up ownership of the stations.  I
> have nothing against Mr. Weiner and wish him well in his current
> enterprise, but the posts that painted him as a victim of an
> overzealous FCC are not accurate.  He stepped over the line and they
> came down on him.
> 
> I'm sure someone else here knows the details of Mr. Weiner's history with the FCC.

Actually you are correct, I honestly had forgotten about that (it's been a
couple months since I read the book) He mentioned in the book that at
night, he used the WREM tower (it's 710-AM, and goes off at night) to run
a pirate station from a studio.

However, I have to somewhat argue, with all due respect Dan, that while on
several issues he did cross the line, he also tested some policies that
are very unclear, as well as the fact that when the m/v Sarah was busted
in 1987, the legal limit (I beleive, this is from memory here) of the US
borders was 3 miles......and it stated somewhere in the rulebook that the
FCC cannot govern beyond US borders as long as the frequencies didn;t
interfere with any US frequencies......the FCC busted them
anyway....even though they were a couple more miles out of US
territory.....before their court date President Reagan extended the border
to 12 miles off the coast, hence his ship, since it, although stripped of
radio equipment, was still in the waters in now an illegal zone. It's
quite messed up and open to interperatation. Nonetheless Allan is a very
interesting person, and has an interesting point opf view when it comes to
running radio stations.....but he's a wise man....if you ever get a chance
to chat wiith the man then you won;t be wasting your time.

Yes some of it may be exagerated in how the FCC handled it,, but I
honestyly don;t feel either side was in the right on many issues....