Channel Z

The maiden voyage of Channel Z Radio took place on November 14,

2004, using a home-brewed 14 watt Grenade clone. Since that time

Channel Z has been a regular on the shortwave bands with a mixture of

new wave and obscure 60s and 70s music. The Channel Z programming

is inspired by the original “free form” FM stations from the 60s, like

WNEW-FM in New York and WMMS in Cleveland. Additional

programming is provided by longtime English pirate DJ Andy Walker

with his series of “Before They Were Famous” programs.

Station Op “Z” enjoys the technical aspect of the hobby, including transmitters, QRP, propagation, and antennas. He has helped several other stations get on the air, either by guiding them in transmitter construction or by building

transmitters for them. All of Channel Z Radio’s broadcasts have been via the station’s own home-brewed transmitters. Seven different designs have been on the air: Commando (by Dave Martin, 25 watts), LuLu (by LU8EHA, 18 watts), Grenade (by Radio Animal, 14 watts), Corsair (Dave Martin, 10 watts), Guerilla (Radio Anarchy, 8 watts), Corsette (Dave Martin, 1 watt), and Buccaneer (Channel Z’s own 4 watt, series modulated design).

These rigs have been heard in 40 states and 12 countries, including

Japan and New Zealand. In addition to the usual 43 meter pirate

frequencies, the station has also broadcast in the 49, 31, 25, and 19

meter bands, on frequencies anywhere from 6150 to 15090 kHz. The

380 mW “CZ” pirate beacon on 11428 kHz has been heard several times

in Europe.

The station verifies all correct postal reports to the Blue Ridge Summit maildrop with a hard-copy QSL card. Email reports are verified by eQSL only.