Continuing on from April 15th

R.N.I. STORY - PART 4 THE JAMMING & THE 1970 GENERAL ELECTION
Continuing on from April 15^th, 1970, at 2030 hrs, on that day, acting on an order made by the Ministry of Posts And Telcommunications, under the direction of Mr John Stonehouse, the Royal Navy's radio station at Rochester in Kent began jamming RNIs' medium-wave transmissions by broadcasting an 800 Hz tone on the same frequency, resulting in R.N.I. going off the air.	John Stonehouse		It is interesting to reflect that not even in times of war had the British Government ever previously jammed a Broadcast Station.
The first record to be 'jammed' was Norman Greenbaum's 'Spirit In The Sky'. R.N.I. returned to the airwaves with test transmissions at 2100, April 30, 1970 on a new frequency 1385 Khz / 217 metres and a new FM frequency of 100 Mhz (Channel 43). However, the return was but a brief one, for at 1210 hrs the following day, the tests ceased, and RNI was heard only intermittently over the next few days. On May 13^th, it was decided to change the medium wave frequency to 1230 Khz / 244 metres, an official free frequency and very near to the BBC's 'Radio One', so near it was hoped that the jamming would stop for fear of affecting Radio One, but no such luck. On May 16^th, regular programmes recommenced, but five days later so did the jamming, this time the MPT said it was at the request of the Government of Czechoslovakia. The plot thickened as the owners of RNI then claimed that they had permission from the Czechs to use the frequency. The power of the Naval stations' signal was said to be 10kw, though many thought it to be much higher. Not only did the signal interfere with RNIs broadcasts, it also caused widespread interference to reception of the BBCs' Radio One signal across Kent on the adjacent channel of 1215 kHz and brought a deluge of complaints! RNI retaliated with the following on-air statement, read by Roger Day: ‘Do you honestly believe any Government that passes the Marine Offences Bill which forbids English people from working or advertising with Radio Northsea International or indeed any offshore commercial radio station and it also says it protects the freedom of the individual – well it just can’t protect the freedom of the individual with this particular bill and also with the jamming of Radio Northsea it proves that they certainly don’t. If you want to protect freedom of speech, of choice, opinion and you believe in human rights of free choosing of whatever radio station you want to listen to I’ll tell you want you can do about it. There is something you can do. you know. It’s no use just sitting back and saying ‘oh it’s very sad, but there’s nothing we can do’. If you have this opinion then Radio Northsea will not be able to continue. If you do want us to continue, there are some things you can do, for instance, telephone one of these numbers right away and ask what you can do to help Radio Northsea International and so help fighting for freedom of the individual in Britain. There’s Rayleigh, Essex 4259. Secondly a London number 01 272 0592 and thirdly and finally: 01 203 3386. We want you to work together with us. If you fight for R.N.I. it’s your freedom and the freedom of your friends that we are fighting for’. A statement from the Directors of Radio Northsea International followed: ‘When Radio Northsea International first began broadcasts, it soon became apparent our transmissions were causing interference with lifeboat service broadcasts and for this reason Radio Northsea International changed frequency to 244 metres. This frequency was chosen so that it would not interfere with any emergency broadcasts, nor would it interfere with any legally authorised broadcasting station. The interference that you can hear on 244 metres is intentional and so designed to discourage Radio Northsea International bringing you the programmes you want to hear. Radio Northsea International, having done nothing illegal, has received no official complaints and therefore presumes it is other broadcast transmissions that are causing interference on 244 metres. Radio Northsea International further presumes that these transmissions which cause the interference will cease and allow Radio Northsea International to bring you the programmes that you want to hear on 244 metres, 1230 Khz’. On May 28, R.N.I. started to try to dodge the interference by jumping between 1227 Khz and 1232 Khz every 15 minutes (must have been a nightmare having to readjust your radio every quarter of an hour), but the jamming followed. Later the jamming signal was changed, the modulated carrier now also carried a pulsed beep, making things sound even worse! The cat and mouse exercise had proved pointless, and was therefore abandoned. It became virtually impossible to receive R.N.I. A satirical weekly of the day described the situation thus: ‘instead of pop, pop, pop, now it’s pip, pip, pip, like an engaged line on the telephone’. On May 30, 1970, a demonstration was held outside the Post Office station at Beacon Hill in Kent. The British Labour Party called a general election for the 18^th of June. 1970 would be the first time that 18, 19 & 20 year olds would be able to vote, the voting age having been lowered in 1969 from 21 to 18. "Free Radio" became a real issue and it was hoped that a fear of the "new electorate" voting Conservative and thus Labour losing the election, would cause the Government to stop the jamming. In a calculated move, five days prior to election day (June 13), RNI dramatically changed its' name to Radio Caroline, launching a propaganda campaign in support of the Conservative party. Messrs Meister & Bollier had made this deal with Caroline boss Ronan O'Rahilly, believing that they could further capitalise on Caroline's popularity with the nations youth - a brand name to spearhead their aim.
		Listeners were told that their freedom to listen to the radio station of their choice was under threat. If the Labour party were returned to power then the station would close. Therefore, they should vote "Tory", the only party that supported commercial radio
In an official statement from RNIs' headquarters in Zurich, the station said: "The future of Radio North Sea lies in the outcome of the General Election. The Labour Government is opposed to free radio, and if it is returned to office, Radio North Sea will have no alternative but to go off the air, completely and definitely". Station programme director Larry Tremaine said: "RNI never intended to be politically biased in any way, but at the moment we have no alternative. We have to make the truth clear to protect ourselves, and our future. We cannot continue under the jamming signal forever".	Larry Tremaine
Harold Wilson	An anti-Wilson campaign was started. Posters portraying Harold Wilson as Chairman Mao were displayed all over London and a special ‘Caroline’ bus toured marginal constituencies in an effort to bring a Conservative Government to power. Larry Tremaine had the idea to adapt the theme from the TV programme: ‘Dad’s Army’, using , in his words "major rock stars" to record::
Who do you think you are kidding Mr Wilson, if you think free radio’s down? We are the boys who will stop your little game, We are the boys who will make you think again, So, who do you think you are kidding Mr Wilson, if you think free radio’s down? Mr Stonehouse loves to jam and at 5.21 and he goes home at two a.m., his dirty work is done. So watch out Mr Wilson, you have met your match in us. If you think you can crush us, we’re afraid you’ve missed the bus. So, who do you think you are kidding Mr Wilson, if you think free radio’s down’
A rally was held on Sunday, June 14th, in Hyde Park where an estimated 10,000 supporters heard speeches from David Prewett Chair of the Campaign For Independent Broadcasting, and Ronan O'Rahilly. Following the rally, a march to No.10 Downing Street, headed by Ronan O'Rahilly, Carolines' first ever DJ Simon Dee, film star George Lazenby, and many other prominent free radio personalities took place.
	On the day, the radio station gave the march great publicity. Roger ‘Twiggy’ Day announced: ‘I really would like to say that in my greatest expectations I never realised that so many people would turn out in our cause. You’ve made all the disc jockeys and the crew on board very proud and very proud to be part of you and right now I’m very proud to be British and I’m proud of you too so thank you for turning up’.
The station was getting telephone calls every ten minutes from public call boxes along the route. Stephen Ladd, who was on air at the time, was therefore able to give regular fully informed updates, without letting on that they were aware of the situation, by saying things like ‘right now I can imagine you’re in Park Lane going south and I can visualise about 5,000 and I imagine you’ll have a red banner up in front’, much to the amazement of those on the march, who were unaware that as Messrs Meister & Bollier had one of the most sophisticated electronic companies in Europe	Stephen Ladd
	and the land to shore equipment that was on board the Mebo II was exceptional, the station was able to maintain an almost constant ‘outside broadcast’. A month before the election, Erwin meister had contacted Radio Caroline boss Ronan O'Rahilly and asked him to arrange the vital link, which he did using a radio ham in Clacton-on-Sea. The piece of 'kit' used - an ultra high frequency transmitter and receiver designed for operating on
frequencies above 600mc/s - was so complex and revolutionary that it would be impossible for the British Post Office to detect. It was delivered by Mr Meister and installed in a wardrobe. Stephen Ladd continued: ‘I think you should all raise your hands in the air right now and jump for joy. This meeting is so fantastic and I hope that Harold gets our message. I hope he does’. (Left - Mark Wesley at the demonstration.)
As the election approached, Radio Caroline (Alan West) issued the following message: "This is your chance to fight for free radio. Vote for free radio on Thursday. Your weapon is … the vote. Be a Caroline girl. Your help is needed urgently to fight for Radio Caroline and for your freedom. You’ll be working with TV star Simon Dee, Radio Caroline’s first disc jockey & Ronan O'Rahilly, the man who brought offshore radio to Britain. Join the team working on the Caroline buses. Call immediately, London 01 629 8606 or if you are in London call in at 19 Hayes Mews, London W1, where you will receive a very warm welcome in the spirit of the campaign for Radio Caroline and your freedom". On the 17th June, the jamming of Caroline was greatly increased when a much more powerful signal was put out from a radar station in Essex. The former World War II RAF base at Canewdon was patrolled by security guards with dogs. The guards were believed to be armed! Radio and television reception was seriously disrupted over a wide area as a result. On the day of the election (June 18), Caroline news bulletins gave regular updates. The Conservatives, under Edward Heath, won. Roger Day recalls he celebrated by getting "rat arsed". He left on shore leave, but never returned, fire by Larry Tremaine over "differences". Just what influence, if any, the radio campaign had on the result will never be known, but everyone involved in offshore radio gave a hearty ‘three cheers’ to a ‘jamming-free’ future …. which, of course, never happened. On June 20, the station reverted back to the name: R.N.I. During the last week in June tests were carried out in the 31 metre short wave band on 9940 kHz, but they interfered with the quality of the medium wave transmitter which had again started to try and dodge the jamming. During the night June 27/28, 1970 a move was made to 1385 kHz (217 metres) once more, but needless to say the jamming followed, so on the 30th it was back to 1320 kHz (244 metres). However the Essex Canewdon jammer came off the air to be replaced by the less powerful Rochester station. The 6210 kHz (49 mb) short wave transmitter short wave returned to the air at 1545 hrs on July 2, 1970, but the next day Norway started transmissions on the same frequency; " This is a transmission from the Norwegian coast station Rogaland Radio. The transmitter is operating in single side band mode, upper side band, with a carrier frequency of 6210,4 kHz. The purpose of this transmission is to clear the channel of unauthorised and out of band broadcasting, to improve reception conditions for ships wishing to communicate with coast stations on this frequency or on adjacent maritime mobile telephone channels." This together with various tones was transmitted every 105 seconds. The ITU list of coast stations showed Rogaland Radio as operating on 516 kHz and 1729 kHz !!!. The MPT stated on July 14, 1970 that the jamming would continue and at 2255 hrs on July 23, 1970 R.N.I. closed. The Mebo II with aid of a crane ship, lifted anchor and headed back to Holland. Alan West concluded: "When the jamming continued after the election and the Conservatives were in power and Heath was elected Prime Minister, we thought this is it, they’ll switch it off now, and we can carry on as if nothing had ever happened, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out like that. Nothing ever seemed to be working out the way we wanted it. The jamming just carried on and I think we were even more angry. In fact we felt we had been used and duped and that we had probably blackened our names forever in the process. I think everyone became despondent then & I think we were happy when Mebo decided to move the ship back to Holland".
Programme during Caroline's week on the MEBO II, from Saturday 13th June 1970 until Friday 19th June 1970 were as follows: Saturday 13th June 1970 5.30 Roger Day 9.00 Andy Archer 12.00 Alan West 3.00 Mark West 6.00 Larry Tremaine 9.00 Bob Mackie 12.00 Carl Mitchell 2.00 am Closedown - Carl Mitchell Sunday 14th June 1970 As above except: Newsbeat every hour on the hour with Alan West and Carl Mitchell reporting Monday 15th June 1970 - Wednesday 17th June 1970 5.30 Roger Day 9.00 Andy Archer 12.00 Larry Tremaine 3.00 Mark Wesley 6.00 Alan West 9.00 Bob Mackie 11.00 Carl Mitchell 2.00 Closedown - Carl Mitchell Newsbeat every hour on the hour from 6.00 am until 9.00 pm with Alan West, Andy Archer, Roger Day, Mark Wesley and Carl Mitchell reporting. Thursday 18th June 1970 - General Election Day 5,30 Roger Day 9.00 Andy Archer 12.00 Larry Tremaine 3.00 Mark Wesley 6.00 Bob Mackey 9.00 Caroline Election Special - Alan West 12.00 midnight Caroline Election Special - Carl Mitchell Friday 19th June 1970 5.30 Roger Day 9.00 Andy Archer 12.00 Larry Tremaine 3.00 Mark Wesley 6.00 Alan West 9.00 Bob Mackey 11.00 Carl Mitchell 2.00 Closedown - Carl Mitchell Newsbeat: As Monday. No further transmissions from Radio Caroline International were made from the MEBO II. Transmissions from Radio Northsea International resumed at 12.30 pm on Saturday 20th June 1970. Transmissions were from MV MEBO II anchored five miles off the coast of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, UK, on 1230 kHz medium wave and 100 MHz VHF. Mailing address: P.O. Box 113, CH-8047 Zurich, Switzerland.