Radio 390

Radio 390

Radio 390 (1965 - 1967) was a pirate radio station which operated from the former British Army Maunsell towers located off southeastern England on the Red Sands sandbar.

Radio Invicta's successor KING Radio was bought by Ted Allbeury, who wanted to relaunch it with an easy listening format and name it "Eve, The Women's Magazine of the Air". One of KING's disc jockeys had been John McGowan, brother of Cathy McGowan, presenter of the television rock show "Ready Steady Go!" Allbeury was advised to change the name to the station's wavelength in metres so listeners would know where to tune. The actual wavelength was 388 metres (773 kHz), but 390 was easier to remember and close enough for tuning. However, the original name was not discarded: the station was announced as "Radio 390 presenting "Eve", The Women's Magazine of the Air".

Like its neighbour Radio City, Radio 390 took advantage of the fort's layout by erecting a 250-foot vertical mast on an inner tower, guyed to three of the outer towers. This gave it a stable and efficient antenna, more than on ship-based stations, ensuring a 10 kilowatt transmitter coverede southern England - so much so that for the benefit of advertisers the station claimed 35 kilowatts.

The station's easy listening format was innovative but criticised by rival Britain Radio as "stone age radio - a series of segmented dirges".

The 1966 "Danger Man" ("Secret Agent") episode "Not-So-Jolly Roger" was set aboard a pirate radio fort, and partly filmed in and around Red Sands, with the credited permission of Radio 390. The fictional "Radio Jolly Roger" was a front for enemy spies.

There have been attempts to revive the station. One is a website claiming association with the original people behind the Radio 390 of the 1960s. This can be found at http://www.radio390.co.uk.tt

Red Sands Radio, a temporary station operating under a Restricted Service Licence, broadcast from Red Sands Fort for ten days between July 14 and July 23 2007 and July 2 to July 13 2008. Many of its presenters worked on offshore pirate stations in the 1960s and 1970s and the station celebrated the legacy of offshore broadcasting, particularly from the forts. [http://www.redsandonline.co.uk/]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Radio Invicta — is the name of more than one radio station:*Radio Invicta (Red Sands Pirate Station) a station that broadcast from July 17, 1964 to February 1965 on 306 metres in the Medium Wave Band. This easy listening format station next became Radio KING and …   Wikipedia

  • Radio Nordsee — Piratensender sind Rundfunk , in der Regel Hörfunksender, die ohne Lizenz ihr Programm ausstrahlen. Der Begriff bezeichnet private Sender, die von innerhalb, aber auch häufig von außerhalb eines Staatsgebietes aus ohne Genehmigung der zuständigen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Radio Lollipop — is a charitable organization for entertaining children in hospital. It organizes volunteers to spend time with children on a one to one basis, taking its name from the radio stations it runs in hospitals playing children s programming part… …   Wikipedia

  • Radio Minsk — Kyrillisch (Weißrussisch) Радыёстанція Беларусь Łacinka: Radyjostancija Biełaruś Transl.: Radyëstancija Belarus …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pirate radio in Europe — Radio portal An introduction to the subject of pirate radio can be found under that heading. Contents 1 Belgium (from international waters) …   Wikipedia

  • radio — 1. radio [ radjo ] n. m. • 1907; abrév. de radiogramme, radiotélégraphiste 1 ♦ Vx Radiogramme. 2 ♦ (1917) Radiotélégraphiste. ⇒ sans filiste. Le radio de bord d un avion. ⇒ radionavigant. « Le radio, de ses doigts, lâchait les derniers… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Radio telescope — A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy and in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes. In their astronomical role they differ from optical telescopes in that they operate in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Pirate radio — For other uses, see Pirate Radio (disambiguation). Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for… …   Wikipedia

  • Offshore radio — is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures, usually in international waters. The claimed first wireless broadcast of music and speech for the purpose of entertainment was transmitted from a Royal Naval craft, the HMS Andromeda …   Wikipedia

  • Terrestrial Trunked Radio — TETRA redirects here. For other uses, see Tetra (disambiguation) TErrestrial Trunked RAdio [ETSI EN 300 392 2 v3.2.1] (TETRA) (formerly known as Trans European Trunked RAdio ) is a specialist Professional Mobile Radio [http://www.tetra… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”