RIGHT-WING RADIO 1985-2003

     This is the official history of Right-Wing Radio, which was the most active in the 80s and is the most famous free Finnish radio station of all times. DJ Tex Willer first wrote the beginning of the story in 1989, which also corrected typos and made additions in the summer of 2003. Copyright holder and publisher is Free Radio Campaign - Finland (FRCF) in Jyväskylä in 1989 and 2003. The history was translated to English during the summer of 2005.

BACKGROUNG STORY

     Supposedly Viihderadio 91 of hobbyists from Leivonmäki dried out, but the idea of free radio in Jyväskylä didn't die out. During the winter of 1984-84 Tex recruited people for founding a station. In the spring of 1985 there were already six interested. Everybody was radio enthusiasts and some also active DXers. One of the guys was an electronics hobbyist and he started right away building equipment needed for free radio operations.

     In February 1985 came news that the permit for the local radio station was given to Jyväskylän Seudun Paikallisradio Oy (Local Radio of the Jyväskylä Region Inc), which was owned by the social democrats. Jyväskylän DX-Kuuntelijat Ry (DXers of Jyväskylä), which was for a long time a strong candidate, was ignored because of party politics; social democrat Matti Puhakka was the relevant minister when the permits were prepared, when the permit was given another social democrat Matti Luttinen was the minister. That annoyed the men of free radio, who responded by giving the name Right-Wing Radio. But it was never intended to talk politics, RWR's goal was a free local youth music and program station, because it was a threat that the coming social democratic radio station of Jyväskylä would not want or bother to investigate interests of the young, that it would be some kind of an trade union station.

STARTING UP

     In the spring of 1985 RWR progressed quickly in the beginning. RWR became member of the Dutch Dedemsvaart box and so mail started to travel to RWR safely trough the address RWR, P.O.Box 41, 7700 AA Dedemsvaart, Holland. Soon a 4-channel mixer was ready for studio use in RWR and it was possible to practice making programs.  Studio equipment included then decks borrowed from friends, cassette players and a microphone, and a pile of cassettes and cords.

     Around May Day in 1985 the first FM-transmitter for RWR was ready. It was built from the specs of Swedish Radio 88's 25-Watt transmitter. The cost was surprisingly high. It was later found out that the person who acted as the builder put money to his own pocket while buying parts. Also expensive BLY-transistors burned once during construction. Also other equipment, which was needed to bring RWR on the air, was expensive, like a car battery as a power source and an SWR-meter for tuning the transmitter. As the antenna a simple half wave dipole was built, which was used from the beginning always vertically.

     The transmitter was a two-part transistor transmitter; the oscillator and the driver gave out one watt of power, which grew to 25 watts with linear amplifier. The tuning was made using 12 different trimmers, which was extremely difficult. Later it was found out that there were several cold soldering and other mistakes. It was hard to get power out, and when it happened, it came out through the whole band in wrong frequencies. The transmitter was tested and tuned during the month of May and gradually it was ready for real transmitting of programs.

     During the same time there was also practicing to make programs. The first efforts were mixed rock-country-messing around. There were no echo yet, but jingles and other effects acquired from another Finnish pirate Radio West were used often. RWR's own style was formed in the beginning, and never basically changed.

TRANSMISSIONS BEGIN. AND PROBLEMS.

     The first real radio transmission was on the air on 91,2 MHz in 10.6.1985. The situation looked good in the sense that RWR was really on air and with real programming, RWR was the first local radio station in Jyväskylä.

     But the problems also started. Right after the first transmission the activity of RWR froze. 11.6.1985 two of the members went to army and third member quitted because of long distance. The rest continued testing during the summer, but more problems arrived. The electronics guy who built the transmitter and a DXer refused to pay their share of equipment expenses. This resulted to difficult conflicts. Apparently the pressure of illegal activity became too much for those and they tried to get out with dishonest action. The only Tex and DJ Michael Knight were left, and Tex was in the army. During a leave Tex managed to burn the transistors of the transmitter, and because there was no one left who could fix the damage, the transmitter was left useless waiting fixing.

TRANSMITTER SERVICING

     In the fall of 1985 Tex made a contact with a Finnish pirate operator, who was known as Jerry Dayton. From Jerry new jingles and a new transmitter were acquired. The new transmitter was a transistor transmitter, designed by the Dutch, with output of 35 watts. It was built in two separate cases, and the output of the driver was 5 watts. It was found out that the 25-watt transmitter needed only little power. For using it in forest a motorcycle battery was acquired. Being small and light it was definitely more portable than a car battery.

     At the same time RWR moved from 91,2 MHz to the new frequency 96 MHz. The previous frequency was between YLE's 1st and 2nd networks (88,9 and 92,5 MHz), the new frequency was between YLE's 2nd network (92,5 MHz) and Radio Jyväskylä (97,7 MHz). So it was quite possible that while changing channels people would happen to the frequency of RWR.

     Other changes also happened. RWR got it's own logo designed, it was a borrowed skull logo from the Rebel-record label, with the frequency 96,0 MHz drawn to it's forehead. Likewise in the fall of 1985 a machine was acquired to help, which would create the final RWR-sound. An acquaintance of an RWR-man bought a Sony Deck, which had three sound heads. After some tuning the sound could be routed inside the deck so that the output sounded echoed. Heavily echoed!

     The old 25-watt transmitter was delivered to servicing to Jerry even before the new transmitter arrived. In the late fall of 1985 Tex got his hands on the new 35-watt transmitter and managed to burn it already during the first test. It was apparently on too long and because of the overheating it smoked when art of the components ere destroyed. So in late 1985 RWR was without a functioning transmitter and enough of crew. Right in the start of 1986 the old 25-watt transmitter was back from service, but RWR remained quiet because of busy schedule of Tex and Michael. Tex didn't dare to send the 35-watt transmitter to service because he was too ashamed to admit he burnt it so soon.

TRANSMISSIONS

     10.6.1986 RWR celebrated its first anniversary with testing. Tex was back from army, excitement was growing and tests occurred now and then. It was found out that reception was good in the distance of several kilometres and it was okay ever further away. Difficult tuning and bad echoes continued to be problems.

     In August of 1986 it was decided to really star the activity and the first actually advertised transmission was organised. 26.8.1986 at 20.00 was chosen as the time. A press release was sent to several medias beforehand. At the transmission day Michael was sick, but Tex lugged the transmission equipment alone to the pine forest Aittovuori, east of Jyväskylä.

     Information that was acquired later says that there were a lot of listeners on the frequency 96 MHz when Tex turned the equipment on at 20.00. The program was like before music program with a DJ, this time Tex alone. The new address was read on air: RWR, P.O.Box 433, D-2980 Norden, West-Germany. The publicity of the transmission was really big, for example the newspaper Keskisuomalainen published two largish articles about the event. The editorial of the local newspaper Napakymppi was about free radio. Also the local radio station Radio Jyväskylä took notice of the competition and in the transmission on the next day parts of the RWR's transmission was played and men of PTL (like the FCC) were interviewed.

     The transmission of RWR lasted 48 minutes, and mirroring teams were not spotted at least nearby- after the transmission PTL made a criminal notification to the police. Because of the great publicity Tex and Michael had to ponder the possibilities to continue, because PTL would certainly be on the area during the next transmissions. RWR tried to get on the air next Tuesday, but the tuning of the transmitter failed and the most of the city missed the transmission.

RADIO SUPERNOVA

     For the next advertised transmission Tex and Michael decided for a test to change both the name of the station and their DJ names. The next broadcast was on the same frequency on 25.9.1986 but the station was called Radio Supernova, Tex used the name Mark Daniels and Michael was now Simon "Iceman" Heel. This time both DJs were in the woods taking care of the equipment and were all of time afraid that PTL would appear from the bushes.

     The transmission had lasted half an hour when police siren was heard nearby. The operators quickly packed their equipment and escaped through the woods. So began the cat and mouse play with PTL.

     In the next day's Keskisuomalainen there was a short story about the incident, but from then on the newspaper put the pirates in news boycott. The idea of confusing the authorities was deemed unsuccessful and the station returned to its glorious name RWR. But Michael changed his DJ name permanently to Simon Heel.

PUBLICITY AND ACTIVITY

     During the latter part of 1986 the activity was quieting as the weather was worsening, but testing and irregular broadcasting continued weekly from inside. Tex was sending also lengthy transmissions from his house without any advertising. To bring an alternative to monotonic programming of the Christmas holidays RWR decided to arrange an advertised broadcast on Christmas day 25.12.1986. Then RWR tried to get on the air from an acquaintances home at 14.00 as advertised. Unfortunately only a part of the powers of the transmitter was gotten out, while the rest was spread through the band.

     At the same time RWR also planned to move to short waves. After several contacts it was deemed hopeless to find an own SW-transmitter, The as the solution was found Central European relay stations, and negotiations for getting program time were started. Referring this project a lot of RWR information was spread out to European free radio magazines, it was published in Radiotelex, Discoline Newsletter, PIN-magazine and Weekly Report. At the same time Tex started to make programs to West German station radio Marabu, which played mainly alterative music.

     Also in homeland RWR campaigned strongly for free radio. Material was sent out especially to the media. In the press release the activities of RWR were defended and campaigned for now frequency division in FM band. According to the proposition the frequencies from 104 to 108 MHz would be reserved to non commercial private radio stations, commercial radio stations would be given the frequencies from 100 to 104 MHz and frequencies below 100 MHz would be given to YLE.

     RWR tried to show it was serious about radio and tried to apply an official local radio permit. 28.12.1986 a professional and well based application was sent to the transportation ministry, signed by Tex and Simon. A copy of the application and other information were also sent to several newspapers. At least Ilta-Sanomat reported about the event in its article 3rd January 1987 and Keskisuomalainen in short article later in spring. Neither permit nor any other reply was ever received from the ministry.

THE START OF SHORTWAVE BROADCASTS

     In January 1987 RWR also started broadcasting on short wave. RWR started buying monthly program time from Radio Delmare, which was broadcasting from Belgium with over a kilowatt of power. The first transmission was on air 11th January 1987 on 6206 kHz. It was heard in the whole Europe, also in Finland.

     After that RWR was on air through Delmare once or twice every month until Delmare was busted in May 1987. The lengths of the programs were usually two hours and the DJs were both Tex and Simon. Another relay station for RWR was Riverside radio in Ireland, which relayed RWR for free. The first broadcast through Riverside was 15th March 1987 on 6210kHz. Later in the same year RWR was heard through Riverside also on other frequencies on 48 meters.

     In January 1987 the address for RWR changed again, the new address was RWR, P.O.Box 220342, D-5600 Wuppertal 22, West-Germany. The short wave relays continued often through the spring of 1987, and RWR became known as a station, which uses a lot of effects and echo. The station was called as the avant-garde station of short waves; others said that you couldn’t make sense of the programs.

NEW POWER FOR FM

     The spring of 1987 was a time for busy program making, and at a same time testing was started on FM and activities for the summer were planned. In April Tex got a reporter from Jyväskylä, Helena Seppälä, to make a story on RWR after she heard it on air. After a telephone interview and plenty of material she did make a long story to Jyväskylän Ylioppilaslehti (University magazine). Luckily the issue was delivered to every home in Jyväskylä, and just before May Day, giving RWR good publicity for its May Day transmission.

     Along the spring of 1987 more crew for RWR were drafted, and so RWR was on the move on May Day with four man, and a 35 watt transmitter just in from service. The gang was driven by an acquaintance to the root of the Laajavuori ski jumping hill, from where was run with the broadcasting equipment across a skiing hill to the forest. A couple of men were put to guard so that they would see the Laajanvuorentie road, on which the PTL would have to come.

     A little before seven o'clock in the evening the power was turned on. The equipment was now in good shape and the output was nice. According to own observers the broadcast was heard fine at the distance of least ten kilometres. But now also the PTL observers were on the move. Already after 20 minutes of broadcasting a guard came to tell that the white Chevy van with antennas on its roof was getting closer. The equipment was disassembled in a flash and the men ran away through the back woods of Laajavuori.

     The frustrated mirrorers had then supposedly raided few men who were talking to Walkie Talkies using illegal powers and frequencies. RWR was now clearly under PTL observation. Because at the time the pirate scene in Finland was quite quiet, PTL could send people after RWR.

     In the spring of 1987 the RWR activity was continuing with FM transmissions at least once a week. Usually the station was on the air at nights. During the transmissions the mood was excellent. There's probably no place in the World where there' better mood than in a dark forest where PTL could be behind any bush.

     The broadcasts were usually quite long, 90 minutes. All programs came from tape, because RWR didn't dare making live transmissions. Broadcasts were made from Aittovuori, Ylistönmäki, the old stone quarry of Kuokkala and Kypärämäki. At the same summer, 1987, also the legendary Calminators duo appeared to RFR. They appeared in Simon's with good reception. At least YLE Ysiysi, Radio Jyväskylä and Radio Visitors from Tampere have played out the loud mouthed Calminators later.

PUBLICITY ALSO ON TV

     In June 1987 local station permits were again handed out, nut RWR was left without. After that it was decided to apply for a permit again and to centre more to getting publicity. Also the transmissions themselves were advertised more for example via Walkie Talkies. Newspaper reporters were getting more interested about free radio and RWR got itself on the front page of Aamulehti and Ilta-Sanomat, among others.

     On August 10, 1987 RWR applied a local radio station permit again for either a commercial or non-commercial radio station in Jyväskylä. The supplements of the application were meant to justify the application as well as possible. The Traffic and Communications ministry didn't answer this application either, but because of the application even the national commercial TV MTV got interested about RWR.

     In the end of August 1987 Tex communicated with the Jyväskylä correspondent of MTV Erkki Juuri-Oja, and it was decided to make a story about RWR to the MTV ten o'clock news (MTV's main news). It was filmed on August 31st that Tex dismantled, assembled and used the 25 Watt FM-broadcasting equipment. There were also reporters of Aamulehti (second biggest newspaper of Finland, from the second biggest city Tampere) and Ilta-Sanomat (the other tabloid). The filming went by well with humour, and the reporters seemed to understand what the free radio activity is about.

     The TV clip was supposed to air already the next day, but it was postponed two weeks. While waiting for the TV clip, there were published stories about RWR at least in Hymy magazine, Aamulehti and Ilta-Sanomat. The RWR men waited every night at ten o'clock when the MTV clip will air.

     14.9.1987 The RWR men were again by the TV set at an acquaintance’s house and there were also people around with no information about the activity of RWR. Right after 22.00 in start of the news the RWR story was mentioned. RWR was one of the three main news! Then it had to be hurried to get the extra people out before the news story. It was managed. After that the RWR men started to follow the news comfortably waiting to the RWR story. But. Before the RWR story was broadcasted, YLE turned off the TV2 transmitter in the middle of the ten o'clock news. The transmitter was turned off for exactly half an hour, after that it was turned on again. Of course the news had ended a long time before by then. Apparently YLE had managed to see the promo in the beginning of the news, and decided to turn off the transmitter so that RWR would not get good publicity in Jyväskylä. In the rest of Finland the story was broadcasted normally.

     So the story was not seen in Jyväskylä, until a month later a video cassette was got straight from the MTV archives. The story handled professionally the situation and plans of RWR then. There were also on tape comments of some bureaucrat of Traffic and Communications ministry like "international treaties which have been signed must be followed…” RWR was following international treaties. In the summer of 1987 the frequency was changed a bit, from 96 MHz to 100 kHz lower. The new frequency 95,9 MHz was official, reserved in international plans in 1984 in the Geneva conference to the neighbouring municipality of Jyväskylä, Muurame.

ENTHUSIASM AND ACTION

     In the autumn of 1987 the FM transmissions were continuing and RWR was also part of the 1000 Lakes Rally with extremely long transmissions. The transmissions were made with auto reverse Walkmans. With the help of those the men of RWR could leave quite far from the transmission area, when the Walkmans took care of changing the side of tapes.

     While the rally the RWR men were once in a car 15 kilometres away from the transmitter, when suddenly the tone of the program changed. Instead of the regular upbeat disco show, grumbling sounds appeared, like beyond the grave.  In a hurry the RWR men drove to the transmission site, but it took half an hour in the 100 Lakes Rally rush. On site it was observed that the Walkmans, which were placed on top of rocks, were fallen down and got to the area of the magnetic field of the transmitter. The magnetic field had scrambled the rotation speed of the Walkmans and they started rolling the tape in a fraction of normal speed.

     In September 1987 RWR recruited more members. The core group included four men and over twenty different kinds of assistants. At the same time the plans for improving RWR were started. The objective was to start short wave transmissions on an own transmitter, to improve studio equipment, and to increase power on FM and start stereo transmissions on FM. All the objectives were later met.

     In the end of August and start of September RWR communicated a Finnish pirate, who could build good transmitters. A shot wave transmitter, a stereo encoder for FM transmissions and a 150 watt linear amplifier to the 35 watt FM transmitter were ordered. In September a new mixer was bought, a 6 channel stereo mixer, which was originally built by men of Finnish Radio 48 in the change of 70s and 80s. It worked fine, except some static on some channels. The former 4 channel mixer was sold to the operator of Radio Midnightsun. In the fall of 1987 RWR also acquired a factory built Monacor echo machine to replace the formed deck echo, so RWR could create whole new sounds using the several adjustment possibilities.

     In the fall of 1987 there were four announcers working for RWR: Tex, Simon, Saigon and DJ-with-no-name. In the end of 1987 the transmitter for RWR arrived from the manufacturer. The transmitter was apparently built to the body of the old transmitter and packed in a big metal casing. It was a tube transmitter, and supposed to give 15 watts in the 48 meter band and a couple of watts less in the 41 meter band. It had a built-in inverter, which gave it the ability to work with a 12 volt car battery, like all of the FM equipment.

ON SHORTWAVE WITH AN OWN TRANSMITTER

     Testing on short wave was started right on October 4th, 1987 on 6225 kHz, which would become the regular frequency for RWR. Transmitter crystals were bought also for other frequencies. The first actual program on short wave was broadcast on October 18th 1987 on Sunday, and reception reports arrived from Finland and also from Sweden from as far as Skåne. For example RWR was heard SINPO 4 to 5 on the island of Gotland in Sweden.

     From October to December RWR was on air on short wave two to three time a month. All of the programs were taped earlier. The transmissions were made from different locations around central Finland from mobile places, which didn't have the electricity for making live broadcasts. Mostly the transmissions were made from, in addition of Jyväskylä, the neighbouring Laukaa and Hankasalmi. On short wave the length of the transmissions varied form 45 to 90 minutes, varying from the freezing temperature in which the personnel had to stand in.

     In addition the before mentioned four DJs also Robert Eb was making short wave programs for RWR. He had been a pirate operator in the start of the 80s in other parts of Finland. For Christmas 1987 RWR decided to do something flashier on short wave. So beforehand a common program was made with the four DJs, which the RWR men went to broadcast on Christmas Day December 25th 1978.

     Many family members must have been astonished when the RWR men climbed from their beds already before nine o'clock on Christmas Day and talked something about visiting friends. This time a summer cottage was the broadcasting site, where the transmitting antenna was readily assembled beforehand. The broadcasting equipment was assembled on the attic and the show was playing a little before eleven o'clock. The DJs who were there moved next to the fireplace to eat and listen to the program. Christmas celebration and peace at it's best! The whole three hour program was not broadcasted, because the batteries ran out almost half an hour before the show ended.

PREPARING FOR STARTING OVER

     When the year 1988 started the transmissions on short wave were getting fewer and transmissions on FM ended altogether when the 35 watt transmitter had to be sent again to the builder of the 150 watt linear amplifier for them to work together, the 35 watt had to have a different kind of oscillator of using stereo.

     In the other hand public relations were increased. RWR was advertised in Finnish music magazines and small magazines, RWR stickers which were ordered from abroad were spread around Jyväskylä in telephone booths, restaurants and where ever. Especially many small magazines got interested about RWR and free radio and published information and articles.

     In February 1988 the spring plans of RWR were also given to few selected newspapers in Jyväskylä. For example Suur-Jyväskylän Lehti published a professional article about RWR's plans. Also Radio Jyväskylä handled the subject with a news story in which the PTL and the police did their best to make RWR look bad and to scare the operators. The scaring tactic was again focused on how the transmissions can interfere air traffic and whatever. Pure lies. The main point for RWR was that the information about the plans was spreading and the people could expect the debut for station in high power.

     In addition of stickers also with T-shirts were used to make RWR known. In the autumn of 1987 the station had ordered hundred white T-shirts with a big black RWR logo on the front. The shirts did get the attention they deserved in schools and later in the spring and summer also on the streets and beaches.

     Right before Easter 1988 the new FM stereo transmitters arrived from the builder. The operators moved right the next night far in the peace of countryside of Laukaa to test the equipment. Along the spring a couple of two element yags were built, which could now be used. While testing the equipment they gave out over 200 watts of power. The exact figure was left as a secret, since the SWR-meters scale ended at 200 watts. Connected to the gain-impression of the two element yag it was estimated that the ERP radiation power was abound 300 to 400 watts.

     The station was playing now in clean stereo. The stereo encoder was a Rivendel FM, built by a Dutch professor of technic, and it was claimed to be better in the beginning of the 80s than the encoders of the Dutch national NOS radio. The power usage was so high that to use all of the equipment two car batteries were needed, one for the 150 watt linear amplifier and one for the rest.

     Starting the operation with the newly acquired equipment looked good, since the reception area even in stereo should definitely be tens of kilometres to the main radiation direction. So a massive campaign was started with the goal of letting the whole town know about the start of the station. The debut was decided to be April 8th at 23 hours on 95,9 MHz. Several magazines and newspapers were called about it and material was spread out by the kilogram. It worked, since several articles were published even before the station started. For example Keskisuomalainen newspapers youth addition Syke published the previous weekend nearly a whole spread about the debut with a photograph. As a route to Syke and a as a writer of the article was a DX listener from Central Finland, Esa Sallden, who later became better known as a long time editor of the magazine Skanneri (Scanner).

RWR IS RADIO CAROLINE

     In the spring of 1988 Tex had managed to acquire a lot of different jingles and effects. At the same time it was considered that should the name of the station be something less aggressive than RWR. Finally it was decided to change the name. The main reason for that decision was that in some circles the name RWR was deemed political, which in no way was the intention. At first it was the meaning to start with the name KISS FM, but after a couple of difficult happenstances it had to be given up.

     Finally as the new name was selected Radio Caroline, because for that name was a lot of good quality jingles available, which would improve the programmes. The name Caroline was also conveniently neutral and traditional. A station of the same name has been operated in the North Sea already since 1963.

     In addition to the Caroline jingles and other effects also something other new was wanted to the programmes, different and modern. One acquaintance was managed to create new samples or kind of jingles for Caroline with the computer sampler on the Amiga. Also with the sampler a theme and other music were created for Caroline.

     For the first broadcast it was decided to get a segment from all of the four regular DJs. Simon were to create a TOP-5 programme and Saigon’s segment, which included both Finnish music and rock. DJ-with-no-name had changed his name to Radio-Rambo and his job was to create the listener competitions, what he had already created to among others RWR's Christmas short wave broadcast in the Christmas of 1987. Tex was to plan the beginnings and endings, and the composing of the segments.

WAITING AND DREADING

     The DJs were making their segments during the week before transmission in RWR's studio, and the final program was tape only at the evening of the broadcasting day. On Friday April 4th in addition to newspapers also other radio stations brought publicity for the debut of Radio Caroline. Radio Jyväskylä told about it and YLE Ysiysi aired a long program, which was made by Juha Hintikka, who is also known as a DX-listener, again frightening about radio interference.

     Earlier on the same week the operators had checked out a couple possible broadcasting sites in Aittovuori and Kotalanmäki. The situation looked really bad, since there were almost a meter of snow in the forest. It would definitely make carrying equipment and getting away harder. The broadcasting day could no more be delayed, because it had gotten so much publicity. If RWR wouldn't come on air now, it would never again get media coverage for a new try. Since one of the purposes of the project was to get as much publicity as possible for the idea of free radio, it was decided to go to the snowy forest no matter what.

     On Friday April 8th the whole gang gathered to a RWR members home in Halssila and decided to choose Kotalamminmäki south of Jyväskylä out of the checked out places. The site is over 200 meter from the sea level. There would go three men with the equipment and also two Walkie Talkies for communicating. One car with a crew would be in vicinity of Jyväskylä monitoring reception and two others on the lookout in Kotalampi forest with Walkie Talkies.

     Right before leaving RWR got inside information that there would be eight monitoring cars and that the patrol that will catch RWR will have a reward. It seems that the bosses of PTL were getting tired of useless trips to Jyväskylä and decided to end the whole operation once and for all. The mirrores themselves called the trips "Jyväskylä drinking trips". RWR decided that this transmission would not be suspended unless there would be the specific information from the guards that PTL is climbing on the hill, since there were no reason to believe that the PTL or the police would bother to go into a meter of snow.

     On the evening after nine o'clock the operators with the equipment were transported to the root of the hill and a little over a kilometre later the equipment were assembled on top of the hill on the side of a small clearing. The yag was lifted to a tree and directed towards the lights of downtown Jyväskylä. At 22.55 the 5 watt transmitter driver was turned on and the SWRs of the antenna were checked out. They seemed to bee all right. Radio-Rambo was listening Radio Jyväskylä on a pocket radio. They announced that they would be broadcasting only music non stop before the start of the next program. They also wanted to listen if RWR as promised would get on air.

95,9 MHZ 150 WATTS IN STEREO!

     Radio Jyväskylä like no others didn't have to be disappointed. At 11 o'clock the power was turned on to all of the equipment while two batteries gave power, when the power gauge sprang to the end. The cassette was put to roll and the start of the program was on air. RWR was finally on air with big power and with the help of huge advertising there must have been thousands of listeners. Through Walkie Talkie information arrived that the modulation could still be increased.

     The whole 45 minutes long program went smoothly without surprises and there were no warnings about the PTL. When the show ended at 23.46 the equipment was turned off and it was packed quickly. The transmitter and the stereo encoder were comfortably in suitcases with the exception of the 150 watt linear amplifier. Other stuff was packed in back bags and the batteries were pulled on a sled.

     The route from the mountain was just in case different than in the start. It was quite hard because there were really a lot of snow, to the height of the navel of a long man. Over an hour later the RWR men finally made to the side of the road and ride was called on the Walkie Talkie. There were quite a celebration on air when the RWR men were all in the car and on the way to their homes.

     The driver who had been on the lookout told that the first PTL cars had arrived to nearby roads already 15 minutes after the start of the transmission. In all there had been three our four different mirroring cars, but nobody had gotten out of the car. The mirroring cars didn't have contraptions in the style of TV antennas, there were on the sides of the roofs thin whips and some kind of sphere on the middle of the roof. There were both cars and vans as mirroring vehicles. On the way additional worrying was created by a police car, which made a peculiar U-turn twice to the back of the car in which the RWR men and a woman were.

MEDIA GAME

     Information, which was later received, confirmed that the transmissions had been loud and clear in stereo at least in the distance of ten kilometres. The surveillance van hadn’t dared to leave very far from down town Jyväskylä, fearing that the transmission would be cut off.

     There was also a peculiar phenomenon in downtown Jyväskylä. Form some reason unexpectedly Radio Jyväskylä was spitting from its frequency of 97,7 MHz also to about 96 MHz. After pondering that it was concurred that there were no other explanation than a deliberate act. PTL and/or Radio Jyväskylä wanted to decrease the reception of RWR especially in downtown, where RWR would have gotten plenty of listeners because of joy riding. That’s why the transmitter of the Radio Jyväskylä was supposedly deliberately tuned little off.

     Radio Jyväskylä also in other ways acted peculiarly towards RWR. Earlier in the winter of 1987-88 Tex and Simon had for fun applied for work there and sent demo tapes. On telephone the editor of Radio Jyväskylä Kari Tyni, who later became known as an ice hockey announcer, said to Tex that the station had no need for "this kind of sound mass". After that the station still started to blatantly copy RWR's jingles, mixes and other styles. Later one Radio Jyväskylä employee said that the RWR men's demo tapes were very much liked, but because of the pirate background they couldn’t think of hiring them. That’s why Tyni had to invent an excuse.

     Also the media found out that the RWR reception was good and the statements and promises were reliable. That’s why even provincial newspaper Keskisuomalainen broke its news blockade and published a small news item, also Helsingin Sanomat (biggest Finnish newspaper) mentioned about it.

     But the news bomb was the commercial main news Kymmenen Uutiset April ninth 1988. RWR hadn't been in contact with MTV since autumn 1987. That’s why it was a big surprise that RWR was again one of the three lead stories at the ten o'clock news. It was a decent news story, after which the anchorman said that "the police and the PTL will have a big job for silencing the pirate station".

     After the news story Tex again contacted MTV's Juuri-Oja, who told that MTV had asked a permission to film PTL's mirroring cars and other equipment, but the PTL wasn't enthusiastic about that. At the same time a deal was made that there would be a story for MTV's Sunnuntairaportti news magazine. The filming date was to be Friday April 29 1988, but for reasons stated later was never made.

THE CLASSICAL TRAITOR

     During the week after the first transmission information started leaking that the business was spreading too much. In the spring of 1987 a DXer who was with the beginning of RWR in 1984-85 and left in the summer of 1985 again contacted Tex. In the spring of 1987 he again claimed to be interested in the activity and said he will found his own station Radio Sunshine Music with DJ-name Jack Junior. Later it was called Radio Midnightsun. But the station never had it's own transmitters, it borrowed RWR's transmitters and bought RWR's old 4-channel mixer.

     In the spring of 1988 Jack was interested in the big project and he was promised that he could be a guard if he would buy a Walkie Talkie. But just before the first transmission he announced that he couldn't afford to buy a Walkie Talkie and so could not come along. Later it became clear that Jack was jealous of the success of RWR and because of that started to sabotage it.

     Monday 11yh April someone who wasn't part of RWR came to brag to a RWR supporter that he knew who Tex Willer is. "That RWR is lead by someone… from the University, I heard the thing from a sure source, from one… who could have been part of the station, but he lied that he couldn’t afford to buy a Walkie Talkie." Additionally another RWR-supporter was in a party in9th April, where this Jack was present and yelled the real name of Tex. Later when Tex confronted him he denied, but the evidence was against Jack. Jack's bad conscience shows also from the fact that he after that never contacted Tex, although they communicated regularly before.

     Later in the winter of 1988-89 Jack wrote using a false name to Tex to the Kajaani barracks, where Tex was stationed, and tried to get information, In the winter of 1989 Jack also claimed to a RWR-man in the attic of Restaurant Ruth that he would become an officer after eight months of service in February 1989. Tex called Kajaani and found out that in reality jack was sent back to company.

SUCCESS GAVE COURAGE TO CONTINUE

     After the high power transmission reactions towards the program were assembled. It was found out that the youth had usually liked the program and therefore RWR was on the right tracks. Anyway the length of the next transmission was decided to cut down due to the uncomfortable rumours. The reliability of the rumours was increased when it was noticed that after the first transmission there were more police cars patrolling in the neighbourhood where Tex, Saigon and Simon were living.

     During the week a new huge blizzard occurred. The operators didn’t want to go to similar horrible snow like the last time, so more familiar Aittovuori was chosen as the broadcasting site.

     At the same time it was thought that the police would raid Tex's home, but it never happened. Perhaps the police and the PTL figured out that Tex wasn't that stupid that he would keep broadcasting equipment in his house. All of the equipment had been moved to the home of a RWR supporter in time. The raid was also impossible in then because at that time the law didn't allow searching of homes of a person who was suspected of a crime that had a maximum penalty of only a fine. That was the situation of pirate radio activity. Tex didn't even have a Walkie Talkie licence, which could have been the reason for the PTL to enter this home.

     On Friday April 15th 1988the transmission was decided to be put on air normally, because it was promised to be on air at the same time every week. Most likely even skipping one broadcast would mean that many people wouldn't bother trying listening the station on the next week. The credibility would be lost quickly.

     The program for the transmission was assembled only the same night in RWR's own studio. The program was made to be only 35 minutes long an it therefore included only Simon's TOP-5 and ending which was made by Tex. The program making went well, but the rest of the evening was one series of unfortunate events.

BAD LUCK

     Friday night April 15th came a message that some of the guards can't come with their cars. So the situation was that only one car with its drivers would be on the lookout and three guys would go to the transmission site.

     The equipment was loaded to the car and around 9 o'clock they were on the move. It was indented to get to the transmission site in Aittovuori from Kangasvuori on a skiing track. It was possible to get the car to a secluded place right next to the skiing track. All of the operators were wearing clothes that were good for roaming in the forest and boots.

     Right at the moment the operators had managed to get al of the equipment out of the car and were moving to the woods, a car drove by where several pairs of eyes were staring out and wondering. From that spot RWR didn't dare to go on, so all of the equipment was hastily thrown back into the car. While cursing to their bad luck they were driving around looking for an new spot.

     The backyard of the Aittorinne thermal power plant was knows to be a quiet spot. The same skiing track and jogging trail went behind it, on which it was easy to move closer to the broadcasting site. And there would probably be no skiers at nearly 10 o'clock at night. The RWR men just got the car behind the power plant, when there were seen movement on the track. A female runner came on the dark and snowy road at 10 o'clock. The woman even turned away from the track and ran through the power plant yard while wondering about the car. The RWR men started driving again, while swearing, since they didn't dare go walking along the track with car batteries, afraid that there could be others.

     Behind the Aittorinne neighbourhood there was a small skating ring in the forest, which is reached only by walking road. They decided to run to the forest from nest to the skating ring and drive there with a car, because the driver was telling that at this time its safe. But what happened again. On the walking route a angry looking couple came and there were the local youth drinking in the skating ring. So quickly back on the same route.

     The time was already so much past ten o'clock, that soon it would come a hurry if the station would be on air at 11 o'clock. So it wad decided to go to the same place where they had been during the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1987. So the drove quickly to the root of the Karmitsa ski jumping hill behind Aittovuori, where Matti Nykänen also started his career. The spot was quiet and so unloading started.

     Then it was noticed that the radiator of the antenna had badly bent when loading in to the car. There would be no time for getting a new antenna. So a flashlight had to be broken to see with a battery and light bulb could the antenna still be used. Luckily the wires still seemed to be connected to the elements and no short circuit was noticed.

     So the three operators climbed the steep hill with the equipment. The driver drove away and the forest was quiet. This time there would be no driver later, since the driver had to be working at midnight. So the equipment had to be carried away through the forest. On top of Aittovuori the RWR men were surprised. There went a new road from the other side and there were a cell phone mast building site. The site had to be leaved far away and the operators headed to the forest at first on ready tracks.

     The batteries were on a sled and fell down again and again because of the deep snow. After one time it was noticed that at some point plugs from the other battery had loosened and half of the battery acid had spilled. So one battery had to be enough. Saigon backtracked and found the plugs on the snow.

     At some point the RWR men arrived to a forest line, which they thought will lead them out of the forest. The equipment was assembled by the line quickly. The antenna was straightened so much that it could be lifted and fixed on the tree. At that point it was decided that Radio-Rambo will leave to get the car and comes to Aittorinne after the transmission.

     At 22.55 the driver’s power was turned on and the SWR vales looked decent. The whole equipment was tried to turn on at 23.00, but one of the batteries didn't have enough power. The currency was too low and the transmitter gave out only about ten watts of power. Suddenly Tex turned off the power, took of the 150 watt linear amplifier from between and started to drive the program with only 35 watts, but still in stereo. Otherwise the whole 35 minute program was put on air normally.

A CLOSE CALL

     At 23.37 the power was turned off and the equipment were being disassembled. Tex said to Saigon that "the trip was mead in such bad luck that only thing missing is the PTL." At that moment the sound of cars was heard, several headlights appeared to the forest at the distance of 20-30 meters and there were sounds of car doors slamming.

     It was later found out that the RWR men had walked a long circle in the dark forest and ended up back to root of a cell phone mast, where PTL could drive its van. There was that much luck with them that the equipment had already been packed. The car batteries, antenna and other loose stuff were left at the broadcast site, but Tex and Saigon got away with all of the transmitters and the ghetto blaster, from which the broadcast was played out.

     Then the operators didn't really know where they were. When the operators started to run they thought they were running towards Aittorinne, but in reality they were running towards Halssilanrinne. On the way they crossed the road that the PTL had driven on. PTL probably heard the sound of the snow while the operators were running, because at times was heard "somewhere there they are going" from behind and from the side.

     This time the PTL was left behind and didn’t catch the operators, who after they arrived to the Hassilanrinne neighbourhood they lost the pursuers running through the backyards of houses. At some point the PTL and the police lost the tracks. When the operators stopped to take a breath in the forest near Jyskä, there were no longer voices from behind. From Jyskä the operators got to the beach of Jyväsjärvi lake and on to the ice after running over the Vaajakoski highway. While walking in the snow on the ice the men got away from the area and could finally call Radio-Rambo on the Walkie Talkie to help with his car.

     Everybody got safely to his homes. Radio-Rambo and Simon, who had been on the lookout, told that there had been several mirroring cars and police cars on the road between Jyväskylä and Jyskä. The cars that that were recognized were among others white criminal police undercover vehicle Volkswagen Golf with the plate XLA-515, a white Russian car Lada IAT-??? and an green Ford Transit van ASS-???.

WILL WE STILL CONTINUE?

     After these experiences everybody were ready to quit or at least suspend transmissions for now, since the batteries had been left to the forest. The situation remained anyway undecided. On Saturday April 16th Tex decide to innocently go skiing and quietly look the broadcasting site in daylight. After circling the site Tex found out that there were no other tracks leading to the site other than their own. Tex skied to the site and there were both batteries and the antenna in snow.

     According the tracks left by the PTL and the police they had came after the operators only through roads. The operators on the other hand had ran a long way right next to the road but still in the forest without noticing the road. After the RWR men got away the PTL maybe didn't find the tracks leading to the transmitting site, because the area in question is a busy outdoor activity area and full of tracks left by skiers and dog walkers. The other option was that the PTL thought that the RWR got all of the equipment, and didn't bother to go looking through the forest. If the pursuers didn't have the right kind of shoes they might have not wanted to go to walk in half meters of snow. Or they thought time was on their side.

     Anyway Tex dragged the rest of the equipment next to the road, from where he picked them up later. Then the stuff was brought to an acquaintance to safety.

     During the next week more rumours appeared. Some unknown person called to the mother of DJ Saigon and warned her that his son was in part of breaking the radio law. After the situation got tenser Simon didn't dare to go to make programs and also a part of the crew thought that the situation was getting too hot. Anyway it was decided to make a last transmission on the next Friday. After that there would be a brake until the situation would calm down and the snow would melt from the forest.

PREPARING FOR THE LAST TRANSMISSION

     For the last transmission the battery that fell down was brought to a battery shop for filling and charging. To avoid suspicions Saigon was left out, but fortunately a new man was recruited for carrying stuff in the forest. Two men could in no way have been able to transport the entire transmission equipment.

     As the transmission site was now chosen a uninhabited forest area in Seppälänkangas, north from Jyväskylä by Laukaantie. The area was checked out thoroughly beforehand and new guards and cars were also recruited.

     On Friday afternoon on April 22nd 1988 some of the group were circling the city looking for PTL's mirroring cars, with the intention of getting a file photo. A green Ford Transit was parked on the yard of Hotel Areena right in the middle of the city, but the place was so public that photographing it would have been too crazy. Tex went on his car to glance the PTL's car yard in Laakavuorentie road, but high snow walls blocked visibility, and while looking to the yard Tex didn't see that a car in front of him lowed down before, an crashed it. The damage was minimal.

     The program for this transmission was made only the same night before leaving. Tex and Saigon were on air. There weren't even time for making backups.

     Between eight and nine in the evening the operators with their drivers gathered to a supporters home, where the transmitters were hidden. At the same time the guards met in the yard of a K-market. Finally the trip was made from different places with different cars. The driver took the operators (Tex, Radio-Rambo and the new guy) by a side road leading to a shooting range, from where they jumped to the forest with the equipment.

     The operators started walking in the snow towards he chosen broadcasting site. The last day there had snowed even more. The guards had the meaning of starting to patrol the Laukaantie road before 11 o'clock, and in addition one guard would be parked in front of a car store by the only big road leading to the area. The guards were supposed to sound the alarm only if the PTL or the police would leave their cars and go to the forest. Otherwise the transmission would not be suspended.

     The radio call sign for those who were in the transmission area was Tuki (Support) like previously. The call signs for the guard cars were Savu 1 (Smoke), Savu 2, and so on. Channels 11,22 and 23 were used. The supports had two three channel Danitans and the smokes had President Jacksons and Handics among others. The agreed warning message was "Tuki fuck off".

     The RWR men moved to the broadcasting site normally and assembled the station in the forest. Photographs were taken for memory. When the new guy was photographed by the transmitter he said jokingly that "next to this picture it will be written that this was taken when everybody still laughed”. While waiting for the start of transmission the new guy made false tracks to the forest in case of the PTL possibly coming. The time was closing to 11 o'clock and Tex was left nest to the transmitters while others moved away to guard.

THE LAST BROADCAST

     At 22.55 tested normally SWR readings and at 23.00 adds the big linear amplifier and let the program out on the air. Something was wrong because this time the power was at the top of the scale, maybe only the promised 150 watts to the two element yag. Perhaps the other battery wasn't after the movement all right.

     30 minutes of the 45 minute program was sent out when Radio-Rambo arrived to Tex and said "I might have heard something through the Walkie Talkie". Had one of the guards tried to warn about the arrival of PTL? The men of RWR tried to call the same guard, but didn't get any response.

     It was later found out that PTL and the police had stopped the car of the guard in question while he was yelling a warning to the Walkie Talkie "support fuck off". The policemen jumped to the guard's car and asked “what are you driving here this time of the night?" The guard made it by claiming he was delivering newspapers. In the backseat of the car was conveniently a pile of Keskisuomalainen newspapers.

     It was later found out that the guard had found an empty PTL van at the site of tracks left by the RWR operators, and guessed that this is the real thing. While Tex and Radio-Rambo were trying to call the guard who the police was hassling, also the new guy arrived to the transmission site and told that he had seen flashes of flashlights at the other side of a nearby clearing. It had to be believed. PTL was coming.

THE GETAWAY

     Hastily the men gathered the equipment to bags and started going through the other side. The snow was deep and the batteries slowed them down. Anyway the operators didn’t believe that PTL could move very fast, and there were the false tracks at the broadcasting site.

     After less than a kilometre the RWR men arrived to a forest road that had not been driven and started to locate them on the map. At the same instant a flashlight flashed only about 5-10 meters behind them in the bushes and a man yelled "Hi boys!”.

     The RWR men started running their hearts pounding. Radio-Rambo had a sailor bag on his back and in his hand a briefcase where the transmitters (35 watts) and the stereo encoder were. Tex was pulling the batteries in a sled and on his back there were a ghetto blaster in a backpack. The new guy had a linear transmitter and other stuff in a backpack and an antenna in his hand. The batteries and the antenna were left on the spot when they started running. Tex and the new guy get to good speed, but the sailor bag bouncing from side to side on his back bothered Radio-Rambo.

     Already after a short run Tex and the new guy saw while looking over the shoulder that the pursuers were catching up on Radio-Rambo and got him. It was later found out that from the car that was parked on the side of the road only one police and one PTL man went after the operators. Of those the police had went along the false tracks and the PTL man in a fluke left from the broadcasting site on the right tracks. While catching Radio-Rambo the PTL man had no police authority.

     While the PTL man was holding Radio-Rambo the police who circled the false tracks arrived on the scene and soon other authorities arrived from the forest. Radio-Rambo was dragged from his neck, threatened to throw him off a cliff and putted to drag the equipment left in the forest in a sled. The he was handcuffed and put into a car. Pretty amazingly over the top from the police. As it happened at the same time in down town Jyväskylä a man was stabbed to death while the police were running after a harmless pirate in the woods.

     After some time of running Tex and the new guy were reaching the Seppälänkangas sand hole area, where the forest road led. There seemed to be a lot of vehicles moving around in the area with headlights on. PTL and the police were waiting for the RWR men to fall into their laps straight from the forest, but as a mistake left the headlights of their cars on. The backpack with its ghetto blaster, which was on Tex’s back, was jettisoned from slowing down already when he started running.

     When the lights of the PTL cars became visible, Tex, while they were running, grabbed the backpack from the back of the new guy, which included fro example a 150-watt linear amplifier, SWR-meter and a camera, which included a lot of pictures of RWR men. Tex threw the backpack over the side of the road to hide it.

     The escaping RWR men departed the road to avoid the waiting officials and split up to make the pursuit harder. Tex and the new guy were escaping via different routes across the quiet forest. Both men managed to cross the Laukaantie road and so managed to get away from the area that was circled by the roads to a more sparse area and towards the city.

     At the same time Radio-Rambo sat in handcuffs in a detective car next to a Rohd & Schwarz Miniport mirroring receiver. The PTL and the police focused their search to the area around the road that leads from the transmission site to Jyväskylä. Police cars were speeding like nuts, at best at 100 km/h on Laukaantie road, where the speed limit is at Seppälänkangas mostly 60 km/h. The cops checked out every vehicle’s register number via police radio from the files of the Car Registry Central when they were trying to find familiar names.

     There were also vehicles from the PTL and the police canvassing the side roads leading to Laukaantie searching for tracks. If the escapees would head towards the city, they would have to at some point cross these side roads. The new RWR man managed to travel almost an hour trough woods and the sides of Laukaantie towards the city before he came to the area of Kangaslampi heat power plant. There were two PTL men on the lookout. They stopped the new man and called the police. When the police started questioning he said that he was only jogging.

     Meanwhile the police had found tracks left by Tex on the side of some side road and started following them. The snow had fallen the last day and so there were no other tracks yet, and so the police could follow Tex easily. The police probably expected Tex to be already more further away, since when Tex stopped for breathing and listening, he could hear the police talking. After running for several kilometres Tex arrived to Kangaslampi neighbourhood. After getting thought the yards of houses to melted asphalt Tex felt safe, since there would be no more tracks left. Later it was found out that the fastest constable had followed Tex almost a kilometre on the asphalt before finally losing tracks before Kangaslampi school.

IN POLICE CUSTODY

     Soon the police ended its searches in the woods and it was said in police radio. "Let it be, we won't catch the third anymore". Police did send a patrol to the home street of Tex to wait for his arrival. Radio-Rambo and the new guy were taken to the police station to be interrogated, where they were kept for the whole night. Radio-Rambo was interrogated first, and after frightening he told the story of the last broadcast to the police. He didn't have any chance, because he was caught red handed with the transmitter.

     The new guy of RWR drew a hard line and claimed he didn't know anything about any pirate radios and was only jogging. The police acted very aggressively, like they were big criminals. For example they weren't allowed to go to the bathroom and they were kept lying on the floor for hours. Both men who were caught were held for hours, until they were let out on Saturday morning 23.4.1988.

     During the night Tex was circling through small streets to the place of a RWR supporter in his own neighbourhood. Together they went to pick up Tex's car and went to look through the transmission area, knowing only that Tex was caught. A little earlier a police car was standing on the front of a kiosk near Tex's home, but it left.

     After three o' clock there were no one anymore on the transmission area. Later the RWR men who were guarding told that they were waiting around listening to Walkie Talkie for possible help calls while the police and PTL was hovering around. When they heard nothing they thought, "oh crap" and left the area. Tex transported his friend to sleep and himself went to his home.

     At Saturday morning 9 o'clock Tex waked up on the doorbell. Two police officers had come to get Tex into questioning on a police van. That time in the morning the situation had calmed so that the older constable Havumäki was reasonably professional towards Tex. Although he did try to feed nonsense. Like that Tex could be found out as guilty on a newspaper picture where he was in a commando mask.

     The first two hours Tex stick to his claim that he wouldn't give any statements that could worsen his situation and that he confesses nothing. After commissioner Myllymäki came by to clarify his point of view and Havumäki read aloud statements that were gathered earlier, Tex thought that "what the hell, I wont get much from this. Lets get this thing over with and we'll get through the court like that.” So Tex told about his part in the business and could leave the police station after one o'clock on Saturday.

     In the interrogations it was found out that PTL didn’t find all of the RWR equipment in the forest. They also didn't figure out that the 150-watt linear amplifier was missing. They even in their winning joy proclaimed to Radio-Rambo: "As if 300 watt transmitters! What false news! This thing puts out only 30 watts!”.

     On Sunday 24.4.1988 the operators headed in a car to the transmission site and Tex went to get a backpack he had ditched to, which included a linear amplifier and a camera. So luckily valuable equipment was salvages.

     After the weekend Simon and the new RWR man went into questioning to tell their stories again to fit the statements of Radio-Rambo and Tex. No one who had been interrogated had nothing against the police before, they thought that the police were only doing their job. After the before mentioned events the opinions changed. Carefully put the police activity looks very suspicious messing around after pointless issues. 

WAITING FOR THE TRIAL

     Radio-Rambo got additional problems because of the Walkie Talkie, which was found in his possession, didn’t have any permits. Havumäki surprisingly called to Tex in the start of May 1988 and asked "should we put to charger those batteries in our basement", "go ahead" Tex answered. Even the police was preparing that confiscated equipment would be returned after the trial. Off course the responsibility of the police would be to take care of the equipment during its confiscation.

     The operators no more panicked. It was known beforehand that they would get by with fines and no criminal record.  It also seemed that most of the confiscated equipment would be returned someday. After everybody confessed his part the whole business should be quickly over. It was also known that the case would be handled in Helsinki. In the beginning of the eighties it was decided that all pirate radio trials would be in Helsinki. But the interrogating cops didn't know that.

     The press and local radio stations reported about the bust quite widely. YLE's Ylen Ysiysi made contact with RWR through Wuppertal, and 16th May 1988 YLE broadcasted a quite long story about the bust of RWR and an interview with Tex.

     In May in 1988 it seemed that for now the pirate radio activity in Jyväskylä was over, So RWR sold all it's old transmitters: 25 watt FM-transmitter, SW-transmitter and 150 watt FM linear amplifier. The operators didn’t believe they would need transmitters anymore, or specifically believe they had possibilities for any kind of free radio activity.

     In late summer 1988 pirate activity in Jyväskylä was continued by Radio Vega in the familiar frequency 96 MHz. In the fall of same year also started broadcasts from KISS FM on 95.9 MHz in stereo. KISS FM had familiar DJ's, Tex Willer and DJ Saigon who changed his name to Pale.

     PTL and the police confiscated in the summer of 1988 the next items: 35 watt transmitter, stereo encoder, Suunto compass, a briefcase, a backpack, a sled, two car batteries, Philips ghetto blaster, one TDK AD-cassette and a Walkie Talkie. Of those it was thought to claim back everything but the transmitter itself.

AFTERTHOUGHTS

     After the bust new information trickled also from the activities of PTL. PTL's big and expensive mirroring centre was planted on the other side of Jyväsjärvi in Ainola strand in Kuokkala. At least eight smaller mirroring cars and police cars had been moving around. PTL had come into town Friday afternoon. In the evening they had a shared meeting with the police where they played out different scenarios. They were taking RWR seriously.

     Also the reasons for the bust of RWR became more clear. The rumours Jack planted about the identity of Tex had reached the police, or alternatively Jack or Jack or someone using Jack's information had ratted Tex out.

     In interrogations commissioner Myllymäki himself said that he was the last night in Tex's neighbourhood on the lookout. So the police knew before the broadcast from which part of the city the transmission would originate, because after following the RWR men from the neighbourhood of Tex and Simon to the broadcasting area. So it was easy to mirror from the area of a couple of square kilometres. Supposedly the police had also compared Tex's signature in the licence application with others, like from other public registries like drivers licence registry that Tex had signed in his own name to confirm his identity.

     During May 1988 the press published in addition to decent articles also false information, for example Aamulehti newspaper's article May 13th, where it claims that on of men of RWR was Jyväskylä court server. This was incorrect, but one RWR man did work as a janitor there.

     After the bust the operators focused on reminiscing the past and planning new projects. The intention was to apply an official local radio permit, but at that point that amounted to nothing and the application wasn't made until next year. Regarding RWR practically nothing happened before autumn 1988. The operators tried to keep RWR out of the public eye while waiting for the trial.

THE COPYRIGHTS

     In the fall of 1988 the papers had travelled to TEOSTO (copyright officials) in Helsinki. In a letter dated 30.8.1988 TEOSTO contacted two RWR-operators and suggested negotiations of copyright payments.

     In the middle of September Tex travelled to the headquarters of TEOSTO in Lauttasaari, Helsinki. In the side of TEOSTO the negotiators were CEO Kallio and Deputy Manager Eskola. TEOSTO reacted to RWR in very professional way, and in less than an hour after little haggling an agreement was made. Tex got TEOSTO to reduce 30 % it's demands. The agreement is secret, so the details cannot be made public more than this. As a souvenir Tex got TEOSTO's 50th Anniversary publication.

     RWR paid TEOSTO few weeks after the negotiations, and the issue was over. TEOSTO sent a letter to the police and the prosecutor a letter, in which lift ed all demands against RWR. So RWR saved litigation expanses, which it certainly would have to pay if TEOSTO would have gone to court. The deal made with RWR must have been a bad surprise to PTL and others who are against RWR. Because TEOSTO was no more part of the case, the trial was transferred back to Jyväskylä.

THE COURT

     The winter of 1988-89 went by waiting for the trial.  Radio Jyväskylä reported in the end of 1988 that the trial would be in February or March, but it was later, After May Day in 1989 Tex and Radio-Rambo got sued and served for a trial in 2nd June 1989. The new man of RWR didn't get sued because of his small part. Neither was Simon sued.

     There were eight charges, some for Tex, one for Radio-Rambo and some for both. The prosecution claimed that the first and the fifth point of law of radio equipment were broken and the crime was continued. Also all of the unlicensed equipment were demanded to be judged for the government.

     Friday Morning before nine o'clock the accused were in the lobby of the courthouse with a couple of RWR supporters in stylish black suits. It was decided to get through fast and clean, that's why press or other reporters were not invited, despite at least YLE's regional Radio Keski-Suomi, newspaper Suur-Jyväskylän Lehti and commercial national TV-network MTV were interested.

     The case of RWR was second last and the men were called in after 11 o'clock. The caller by the way was a RWR supporter. The trial went by quickly. The prosecutor read the charges and the plaintiffs read their own depositions without lawyers. The plaintiffs stipulated part of the charges, but denied some because of lack of evidence. As mitigating circumstances Tex talked about freedom of speech, official frequency, and that RWR never caused interference to other radio transmissions. After a short session the court went to deliberate.

     When the judgement after ten minutes of deliberation was announced it became as a big surprise for the RWR men. Tex was given as much as 70 day fines or 1400 Finnish marks (hundreds of dollars) and Radio-Rambo got 40 or 800 marks. Also the sled, backpack and compass were judged to be given away. When Tex asked how could a compass be considered to be a unlicensed radio equipment, the court answered that it was also used to commit a crime.

     Although the sentence was not reasonable according to western justice tradition, the men of RWR decided not to appeal, so that the issue would be finally over. Appealing would have postpones the resolution maybe even two years. RWR also decided to finish the issue quietly and didn't give statements, unlike previously. Although Radio Jyväskylä reported the verdict in it's local news and Keskisuomalainen in it's next day's newspaper. Additionally one interview with Tex was later in summer in Keskisuomalainen.

     During the next week RWR collected money among ex-RWR members for payment of fines and so each members portion was small. The fines were paid by the middle of July. That was the end of Right-Wing Radio with its work done and objectives met. But RWR will not be forgotten. It lives on like it's legendary forerunners. Rasputin, 95, Nova…

15 years later

     The former text is written as a book in the year 1989 fresh after the trial. After that has until the year 2003 has a lot happened that is someway connected to RWR. Here is a short summary of the most important events.

     Free radio activity in Jyväskylä continued long into the nineties almost continuously. Some of the men of RWR have more or less, in some way or another, been part of the action or supported it. KISS FM, Radio Galaxy, Radio Matilda, Cool Jazz Radio, Radio Kale. Those are some of the pirates, which are or have been active in the Jyväskylä region.

     Of the men of RWR Tex Willer and Radio-Rambo were brought to court as radio criminals and were again convicted in 1994-95 for new offences and radio stations.

     The men of RWR helped set to motion several free radio stations in Finland with advice, encouraging, equipment or other ways. Reporters were interested in the story of RWR long after the bust of RWR. Articles have been published in several different newspapers. Radio stations have made radio interviews and radio programs. Finnish national TV 2 made a program about RWR as late as the summer of 2002.

     DJ Tex Willer has written dozens of pages of free radio articles to the Internet and different magazines, especially to Skanneri (Scanner) magazine.

     Simon "Iceman" Heel has written a screenplay based on the story of RWR, which may someday be filmed.

     In the beginning of nineties when Germany united the address of RWR changed again, this time only the post number. The new and current address is RWR, P.O.Box 220342, D-42373 WUPPERTAL, Germany.

     Tex Willer bought to himself the 150-Watt linear amplifier in the nineties, which RWR sold in 1988. The linear amplifier itself is legal, so it can be on Tex's bookshelf and remind of times gone by.

     Radio Jyväskylä did not become the dreaded union radio. Despite that a RWR man was witnessing when Radio Jyväskylä, which started in 1985, went off air in 31.12.2000 at 23.59.

     PTL or PLH or THK published it's own view of the last day of RWR in it's own customer magazine, as written by Tuure Ikäheimonen in 1994. Men of RWR brought to Finland the radio station names KISS FM and Radio Nova, which were later used by others.

     Men of RWR were applying for a permit in the name of an official registered company in 1989.

     Men of RWR ended up making programs for several legal radio stations, like Radio Polaris, Päijänneradio, Reissuradio and Radio Jyväskylä. Men of RWR were founding the first and only private commercial short wave radio station, Scandinavian Weekend Radio.

     DJ Tex Willer ended up in his career as an entrepreneur and a CEO of a local radio station.

     Radio-Rambo became a doctor of chemistry.

     Simon "Iceman" Heel founded an ad agency and made television programmes and -ads.

     The new man of the last gig studied law in Rovaniemi, graduated as a vice judge and ended up as a lawyer.

     DJ Saigon was never caught and still makes radio programs now and then for legal radio stations.

     The woman who was guarding when Radio Caroline were first time on the air has later been an announcer in several radio stations and different television programs.

BUY!

     This history of RWR in Finnish and a lot of extra material is available in a package, which includes a book, Video CD and two CD-ROMs. You can have the whole package by sending 20 euros to the address FRCF, P.O.Box 35, FI-40321 Jyväskylä, Finland. More information about Finnish Free Radio and RWR is available at http://koti.mbnet.fi/~tapanih/rwr/ or by writing to aoniemin@cc.jyu.fi.