Radio 390

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Radio 390 (1965–1967) was a pirate radio station on Red Sands Fort, (near Whitstable), a former Maunsell Fort on the Red Sands sandbar.

Previously the fort had been used by Radio Invicta (c June 1964 – February 1965) and K-I-N-G Radio (March – September 1965).^[1] Neither was well-financed or successful, and KING approached Ted Allbeury, who suggested a format based on women's magazines to appeal to housewives.

Radio 390 was named after the station's wavelength, so listeners would know where to tune. The actual wavelength was 388 metres (773 kHz), but 390 was easier to remember. Like its neighbour, Radio City, Radio 390 took advantage of the fort's layout by erecting a 250-foot vertical mast on an inner tower, guyed to three of the outer towers. This, with additional elevation from the height of the towers, gave a stable and efficient antenna, better than ship-based stations, ensuring coverage of southern England with only a 10 kilowatt transmitter. For advertisers, the station claimed 35 kilowatts.

The station's easy listening format was innovative and highly popular with listeners, but criticised by Britain Radio as "Stone Age radio – a series of segmented dirges".^{[citation needed]}

An episode of Patrick McGoohan's Danger Man (known in the U.S. as Secret Agent) called "Not So Jolly Roger"^[2] was filmed on Red Sands Fort in early 1966, when Radio 390 was broadcasting (a a year before it shut down). The episode was broadcast on 4 July of the same year.