February 18th, 2010 
joel Now that the FCC has identified Marshall Jones as operating a radio station without a license, he is telling his story to Erie’s mainstream media.
Last night on WJET/WFXP, John Treanor reported a package on Jones where they showed that he continues to operate the station with a computer, some microphones and a transmitter connected to a small mast at the top of a building in Erie’s Little Italy neighborhood. Despite the possiblity of major penalties, Treanor reports that Jones is determined to continue with 90.1 The Movement:
But Jones, a former Super Soul Saturday DJ, tells us he can’t stop – if he’s not on air, a whole genre would disappear in the city.
“The question always remained, why don’t we have this 24 hours a day, what do we have to do to do it and basically I went ahead and said let’s see what happens, you know what I mean,” says Jones…
…Jones is staying on air as long as he can before getting fined – his dream is to make the movement legal.
“I have to I have to go forward and see what it is that has to be done to make this happen,” Jones says.
This morning (Thursday), David Bruce continues his reporting on the pirate radio stations in the Times-News, complete with pictures of Jones’s operation. Bruce describes the chain of events leading to the sign-on:
A club disc jockey and former announcer at Gannon University’s WERG-FM, Jones said that he started broadcasting in October because there wasn’t enough urban music being played in Erie.“Blacks, whites, Hispanics all had a major concern about the type of music played in Erie 24/7,” Jones said. “It was my mission to get this station up and running.”Jones said that he started broadcasting at the low-frequency limits, then increased power.“The response from people was so strong that I just turned it up,” Jones said. “Then someone ratted me out to the FCC.”One problem was that Jones’ signal was intruding on the signals of other, licensed, radio stations, said A.J. Miceli, who oversees WERG as Gannon University’s chairman of theater, communications and fine arts.
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Some people just have to push the limits, and don’t care what the law says. If it were me that was operating a pirate station, and got a warning, I would take it. It will be interesting to see what unfolds with this one.
Just another example that Erie is full of ignorant people. I changed my mind on the topic. He was warned. If he wants to screw with the Feds then I hope he gets what he deserves.
There is a reason why a Rattlesnake will make a noise before it strikes. Time for Uncle Sammy to **edit**.
He should go the LPFM route like Sam Reese did with WXCS 92.9 in Cambridge Springs. It would probably be cheaper than paying the $10,000 fine he will pay since he is staying on the air. Somehow, Marshall Jones received a “radio station in a box” which the company who produces such transmitters specifies that they will not be mailed to anyone in the U.S. without a license. Somehow, he got one without a license.
It turns out that Marshall Jones is posting on an LPFM email group.
Here’s the group (groups.yahoo.com/group/LPFM/) and it seems that his name sometimes appears or his user name (djprimo1969).
Here are links to the posts that he has made:
groups.yahoo.com/group/LPFM/message/6707
groups.yahoo.com/group/LPFM/message/6710
In this last post, he writes, “from my understanding the right way to go is to have an engineer assit in the application process. how can i find AN ENGINEER. i have a 50 watt transmitter, cable and antenna purchased from ramsey with mic’s computers the whole 9 yards. can u assit me, PLEASE!”
The only issue is that he will probably not be able to obtain an FCC LPFM license (limited to 100 watts power at 100 feet above average terrain) because the FCC is not taking any applications at the present time for LPFM licenses, he has already been cited for operating an illegal radio station, and most LPFMs are licensed in the commercial FM band (92.1-107.9). He also cannot air ads, but underwriting is allowed if the ads do not include “calls to action” with an FM station.
Urban radio is hard to sell to advertisers, and radio stations need to make money to stay on-the-air unless the owner has big pockets filled with cash. That’s why WAMO in Pittsburgh went off-the-air last year and was sold. A rythmic CHR radio station might work in Erie. Joe Lang says in the Erie Times-News article linked to this post, urban does not sell in Erie, otherwise it would be on the air.
An urban radio station sounds like a good idea, but Marshall Jones is taking the wrong approach to legally go on-the-air. However, urban is not the only format that is missing here in Erie.
I know there are a lot of people supporting him, but the cold, hard truth is there are laws, rules, and regulations that have to be followed, including those of the FCC, an entity of the government. If everyone who wanted to play radio operated a pirate station, there would be chaos and plenty of interference. It is very discouraging to someone who puts money, time, and effort into operating a legal, licensed radio station when an illegal pirate just goes on the air without any regard to the rules and the FCC ensures that stations operate on different frequencies, operate at different powers, and are separated by specific distances in order to prevent coverage overlap and interference.
jeez doug can u fault the man for looking the right way. and how do u know what connecttions he has and how much doe is in his pockets. hey u guys conplained about the illegal stuff now u complain about the right stuff, what are u nervous about. by the way urban music makes nosense anyway.
December 16, 2009
Washington, DC – The Local Community Radio Act passed the House of Representatives Wednesday evening with a resounding voice vote and now moves to the Senate. The bill will open the airwaves for hundreds of new non-commercial stations across the country, bringing low power radio to urban areas for the first time.
sadstory says:
February 20, 2010 at 6:14 PM
jeez doug can u fault the man for looking the right way. and how do u know what connecttions he has and how much doe is in his pockets. hey u guys conplained about the illegal stuff now u complain about the right stuff, what are u nervous about. by the way urban music makes nosense anyway.
I’m not sure what you mean by the last sentence? Urban is probably the most music genre as it has been for some time now. Since the early 90′s it’s gained major footholds. Today’s Hip Hop and R&B may not be great as it was, but neither is any other genre of music including country and rock.
The ignorant people are the one’s with the majority of posts on here sylvester. I say it again; you must have a bone to pick for some reason. Almost racial tones in your posts!
This guy running the station is far from ignorant. Just look at all the press he’s received. Shining the spotlight on a topic that’s long over due
I wonder if many folks know you CAN operate a low power AM or FM and even a Shortwave broadcast station without a license by following the FCC’s part15 rules? Granted,the coverage sucks due to the limited power and antenna restrictions of part15,but it can be done, legally! You can also put up multiple transmitters to expand the coverage. The thrill of being heard for some people is like a drug,they run the power and antenna up to illegal levels and you get the busts that we have had here. I pray the new community broadcasting bill passes to accomodate truly local community stations.
Background:I worked in radio as a dj,later an engineer and still work in communications 35 years later.I have operated part15 radio stations in Erie for most of those years and still do today. Only my friends,family and close neighbors know of my operation as the range is very limited. This is just a hobby for me as I am not trying to reach a big audience.
If you want to learn more about part15 broadcasting,try these links:
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/lowpwr.html
http://hobbybroadcaster.net