When the cops tried to shut him down, Kantanko resisted, and the first Black Liberation Radio station was born. Kantanko inspired Dunifer, who in turn has supplied dozens of transmitters to stations across the US, as well as Haiti, Mexico, and the Philippines. In the US, there are now at least 1000 unlicensed broadcasters, up from 300 a few years ago. Some micropower stations run ads from local businesses who can't afford big station fees. Others are adamantly non-commercial.
Cheap tech is a key factor fuelling the spread of micropower.
Radio hacks used to convert surplus military transmitters to get a decent signal. This Radio built its own antenna with plumbing parts. The movement is gathering steam over the internet, which allows pirates to share info and download audio files from around the country. This goes for both the left, which networks through web sites like Radio4All.org, and the right, where militia folk are downloading broadcasts of the American Freedom Network, in addition to picking them off satellite feed. In Miami, an unlicensed dance music station called The Womb, 107.9 FM, broadcasts live over the Internet and has and a recording studio and on-line record store to retail tracks by its young dj's.