Pirate radio station prompts residents to call the feds

WEST PRICE HILL, Ohio (Angenette Levy) -- There's a new radio station on the west side but it's not licensed and the vulgar language in the rap music has residents calling the feds. No one knows who is operating the pirate radio station but it can be heard in West Price Hill, North Fairmount and Westwood. Tuesday night, June 30, and Wednesday afternoon, July 1, rap music from the group The Geto Boys played continuously. The hijacked frequency is 87.9 FM. "If it was going down like that I didn't give a F#@k." one of the lyrics blared Wednesday. Pete Witte said someone hijacked the frequency a couple of months ago and it's been playing rap music with illicit lyrics. Witte said its not the rap that bothers him its the vulgar language in the lyrics. Witte has filed a complaint with the FCC. "It's very challenging as a parent to listen to this channel and to think that my kids on a whim or by being influenced by friends could tune this in," Witte said. Dave Schram is the operations specialist at WMKV-FM. He said hijacking a frequency is not difficult to do. "Not many people realize you can go on the Internet and buy an exciter and an antennae and the cabling to go with it. You do not need an FCC license to do this," Schram said. Schram said hijacking a radio station is a bad idea. The FCC takes pirate radio seriously and the signal could interfere with licensed radio stations. "If it ends up being one of the larger radio groups in town that you end up stepping on with your frequency, you're going to find out they're not going to be very happy with you," Schram said. Local hip-hop artist Ilyas Nashid said the Geto Boys are an important part of rap music history. But Nashid thinks what's happening on 87.9 FM is odd. "I don't see the motivation for it. Because like when I used to hear about pirated radio it would be somebody playing music that wasn't in the mainstream or they would be doing something that was very politically motivated," Nashid said. The Geto Boys play Cincinnati the weekend of July 3. By then, Pete Witte hopes their music will be off the air. "We need the FCC to address this. And I'm kind of curious to know how they will do this." Local 12 News contacted the FCC for a comment. The agency declined. Schram said the FCC can locate the signal and will typically give a high school student who might be doing this a warning. The agency may even give a warning to an adult. But if the piracy continues, Schram said a 0,000 fine could be issued for each violation. Follow Angenette Levy on Twitter @angenette5, and LIKE her on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @Local12 and LIKE us on Facebook for updates!