Offshore radio acquired the yacht Ceto and installed radio equipment. Unfortunately, the apparatus could not operate properly overboard, the signal being heavily affected by the climate conditions. The transmitter was then replaced by Siemens loudspeakers and the Ceto toured England "broadcasting" gramophone records interspersed by advertising. Unauthorized offshore broadcasting stations operating from ships or fixed platforms in the coastal waters of the Northern Sea first appeared in 1958. There were as many as eleven such stations in the mid-1960s. One of the most popular offshore radio broadcasts in Europe came from Radio Caroline, which developed out both of the strict broadcasting regulations
Pirate radio in North America is the James Brownyard memorial station, playing clips from an old Pennsylvania daytime AM station of that same name. Radio One recreated the sound of 1960s top-40 radio and played oldies with an echo chamber reverb effect behind the announcer much like WABC had done. The Voice of the Sea Cucumber was known for some very strange programming, its announcer calling himself "Dear Leader." There are also many stations that are specifically aimed to the pirate radio listening community; many are long-running gag stations such as WBNY, the Voice of the Rodent Revolution, with programming by its leader Commander Bunny,