The most interesting tidbit of information to be found in the pending FM translator petition is not even about the proposal itself. It comes from the owner of a translator station in New Jersey which rebroadcasts an in-state gospel-caster. According to these comments, the “capture and substitution” of the FM translator station’s regular programming with Howard Stern’s uncensored Sirius radio show is a “daily occurrence.” One day Howard’s broadcast overrode the gospel music uninterrupted “for over twenty minutes.”
There have been several reports of this phenomenon, but they involve the interruption of mobile radio reception, as a Sirius customer with an in-car receiver-adapter cruises by. [For those just tuning in, these receiver-adapters work by rebroadcasting the take from a satellite radio on an FM frequency at an ultra-low power – typically unlistenable beyond dozens of feet, but far enough that the satellite-equipped car might interfere with other nearby vehicles, should their occupants be tuned to the same FM frequency.]
The commenter in this instance similarly attributes his experiences to overpowered satellite receiver-adapters in vehicles, but such interference is usually incredibly short-lived because the offending vehicle is moving. Non-stop Howard for nearly a half-hour would suggest a more intentional interruption of the translator station itself. Such tactics, combined with the spate of actual pirate stations that have hopped the Howard bandwagon, further propagate vibrator-riding to the masses.