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Pirate radio station antenna being dismantled (Kenneth Jackson/Ottawa Sun)

The Ottawa Sun just posted a story that after two cease-and-desist orders the RCMP and Industry Canada showed up at the Saadé International Hotel at 11:45 this morning where Jayhaed Saadé has his illegal radio station set up.

Apparently, Saadé Junior is still acting like a spoiled brat and not cooperating with the authorities because he has apparently hidden some of the equipment and isn’t telling anyone where it is, even his father. And he’s not taking it very well, either:

Jayhaed was mad, yelling at the police and was crying at one point, [Georges Saadé] said.

Tracking down the hidden equipment shouldn’t be that difficult because everything will have to be connected via cables. If the cables are hidden, then I imagine there could be some collatoral damage.

According to the story, Georges Saadé (the father) was told there wouldn’t be any charges, just that Industry Canada wants all of the equipment. That is incredibly generous of Industry Canada, who are probably considering the fact that the equipment they’re confiscating is worth about $80000 as punishment enough.

So, it sounds like the plug is finally being pulled. Hopefully, Saadé Junior will learn from this experience and realize that he’s subject to the same rules as everyone else.

Update: The Ottawa Citizen has a story on it, too.

A tip o’ the hat to one of the participants in the Digital Home forums who posted a link to the Ottawa Sun story.

The Ottawa Sun is reporting that Jayhaed Saadé’s pirate radio station is off the air. It’s unclear what finally caused the plug to be pulled, just that he was being “forced to go off air”. Industry Canada’s threat of fines in the order of $5000/day probably played a role.

I didn’t hear his last broadcast, but people in the Digital Home forum said that someone could be heard in the background telling him to turn it off. Whether it was his father or someone from Industry Canada is unknown. He apparently is confident that his application for a broadcast license will be granted, something that most of the posters in the forum think is highly unlikely.

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Yesterday’s Ottawa Sun had an update on the pirate radio station being run by Jayhaed Saadé out of his dad’s business in Greely. Apparently, Saadé Jr. was being interviewed by the reporter when he found himself served with a second cease and desist notice.

“They’re telling me I have to take it down. I’m not taking it down,” he said Wednesday, minutes after the encounter.

This despite the fact that the letter from Industry Canada says he could face fines of $5000 a day and up to a year in jail. Absolutely incredible, not to mention stunningly stupid.

Georges Saadé, his father, finally seems to be realizing that they can’t win. According to Saadé Sr., both he and his wife have told Jayhaed to turn it off. Junior, it appears, is now not only ignoring cease and desist orders from Industry Canada, but also his parents.

“He’s hard-headed. He won’t do it,” Georges said Friday afternoon. “I know it’s not good for him to have it on anymore. I want him to turn it off.”

I’m not sure why this is such a hard thing to achieve. If his parents are really serious about him turning off the transmitter, they could flip the breakers, and if necessary get an electrician to completely disconnect the power.

What Junior doesn’t seem to realize is that the next time Industry Canada knocks at the door, it’ll probably be with police in tow and an order to surrender everything related to the operation of the pirate radio station, which could include Junior’s computers, mixers, the antenna, and everything else. And while he would probably have his computer returned and maybe the mixers, he won’t get the transmitter or antenna back. I’m not sure exactly how much it cost, but 2000 watt FM broadcast transmitters are not cheap.

I doubt he’s read my other posts about this, but maybe he’ll see this one: Hey Jayhaed, it’s one thing not to have any respect for the government, and another to not have any respect for your family. Have you thought about the impact a $5000/day fine would have on your family? What about if your dad has to do jail time because of your actions? It’s not worth it, kid. Turn off your illegal transmitter now and spare your family all this potential grief.

A tip o’ the hat to Bob (VA3QV) for writing about the story in the Ottawa Sun.

On Friday, I said:

Should he be fined? Not if he stops broadcasting, but if he continues then he should. If he does continue, I wouldn’t be surprised if Industry Canada confiscated the unlicensed transmitter.

At last report, the pirate radio station I wrote about that being run by Jayhaed Saadé is still on the air, despite having been told to cease and desist by Industry Canada.

If asked that question now, my answer would be: Yes, he should be fined to the maximum extent of the law, which is at least $5000 and possibly more. And all of the equipment should be confiscated, including the antenna and tower. Wading through a thread on the Digital Home forums, it appears I’m not alone in this sentiment.

The Ottawa Sun had a story that said he’s running a 2000 watt transmitter. Combined with his antenna, the footprint of his pirate station has a radius of at least 30km, with reports coming in from as far away as Franktown. And despite what Jayhaed has said in the Digital Home forum thread, he is interfering with other stations. CBC has a story where their reporter is unable to receive CBC Radio 1 (91.5 MHz) in close proximity to the transmitter, which you can watch here (it starts after the obligatory ad). (To put it in perspective, the maximum power a  licensed amateur radio operator with many more qualifications than Saadé has can run is 1000 watts.)

He is apparently applying for a license, which I hope he doesn’t obtain. Industry Canada would effectively be rewarding him for breaking the law if they were to grant him an FM broadcast license. They need to make an example of him and show that they’re serious when it comes to pirate radio stations.

But the problem isn’t just Jayhaed Saadé — it’s his father, Georges. Georges Saadé is actively encouraging him to ignore the cease and desist order from Industry Canada and knowingly break the law. Some people have even suggested that the Children’s Aid Society should investigate Georges Saadé for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by encouraging him to continue running his pirate station.

The CBC had a story on the news this morning about Jayhaed Saadé, a kid in Greely who has set up an unlicensed radio station broadcasting out of his parents’ restaurant on 91.9 MHz. Industry Canada has told him to stop broadcasting immediately. The laws on this sort of thing are very clear and the penalties include fines of up to $5000 and even jail time. Predictably, a lot of people have made comments supporting the Saadé and encouraging him to continue broadcasting even without a license, but at the same time there are also people saying that ignorance of the law is no excuse and that he should stop broadcasting, at least until he obtains a license. (According to the story, Saadé didn’t know he needed a license and has said he’ll apply for one, but that he “can’t shut off the station”.)

It’s a low-power station and he’s a kid, so it’s no big deal, right?

Wrong… (more…)

I posted a video to YouTube today of the launch of VE3REX-11 this past Saturday:

I’ve also posted a few pictures in an album on Facebook that you can view even if you don’t have a Facebook account.

… but not always where you want it to.

I picked up my friend, Ken, Saturday morning and we headed to Perth to watch the LASA group launch two balloons: VE3REX-11 and VE3LCA-11.

VE3REX-11 was the first hydrogen-filled (yes, not helium-filled) balloon to be launched from outside Perth. This balloon carried just an APRS tracking device and was hoped to set a new altitude record. Ken and I decided to follow this balloon, so we took off shortly after launch and left the other people to track the other balloon.

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