Sending Memes Using Radio

The internet has fallen, billions can’t use social media. How are you supposed to send your horrendous memes to your bro now?

Using radio of course!

Well, kinda. There are many limitations to this which I’ll elaborate on later, but it does make for a fun side-project. Furthermore, I can also see a number of alternative use-cases for this which may be helpful. Even if you have none, at least you have a cheap wireless speaker now!

Yo, What? But How?

That was my exact reaction when I saw this post by adminispwd on Instagram. Thankfully, he was nice enough to even share a tutorial on how to do this! So, how does this work?

This uses a method called slow-scan television (SSTV), which is used by amateur radio operators to send images to each other. SSTV systems operate on voice frequencies, and in this post I will show you how this can work over FM radio, which is part of the Very High Frequency (VHF) range.

SSTV also has multiple modes of operation that affects the resolution of the image and the time it takes to transmit. The most popular modes (according to my basic research) seems to be Martin M1 in Europe and Scottie S1 in the US. In this guide, we will instead be using Robot36 as it is fast and can transmit in color too!

What’s the Next Step of the Operation? 👽

You’ll need a few things to get started. Thankfully, all of them can be bought for cheap or even free!

• 2 devices (one to transmit and one to receive. Ask a friend if you lack an extra device.)
• SSTV encoder and decoder software for both devices
  • For Linux: QSSTV (Flatpak Version)
  • For Android: SSTV Encoder and Robot36
• FM transmitter
• Radio
• Optional: A USB-C to headphone jack adapter (if you get an FM transmitter that only uses a headphone jack)

The majority of basic FM transmitters in the market are mainly for use in car cigarette lighters to provide cheap wireless speaker functionality for old cars. Make sure you don’t buy a Bluetooth transmitter either. The one shown in the image uses a headphone jack rather than a USB connection, because I don’t want to connect a random USB I bought online into my phone or computer. It cost me about RM17 (~4 USD) at the time of writing.

Funnily enough, just ask around for a radio. Someone probably has some dusty old radio lying around. Anything that can receive FM signals will work. You can even use your car radio! Also, ensure that your FM transmitter is not too far from the receiving device, it has a relatively short range.

This post will exclusively focus on Linux and Android. However, there are SSTV decoders for iOS and SSTV encoders/decoders for Windows but I haven’t tested those so explore on your own.

It’s Tuning Time.

Enough with the static, it’s time to tune in.

1. Connect your FM transmitter to your transmitting device and turn it on.
2. Tune your radio to the same frequency displayed by the FM transmitter. If the radio is tuned correctly, you’ll hear silence instead of static.
3. If there’s interference, search for a frequency with no or little interference on the radio. Once found, adjust your FM transmitter to that frequency. For reference, my FM transmitter is set to 107.2MHz.

After that, you should start up your SSTV encoders and decoders.

• On your transmitting device:
  • Open QSSTV (Linux) or SSTV Encoder (Android)
• On your receiving device:
  • Open QSSTV (Linux) or Robot36 (Android)
• Ensure both devices have their decoders/encoders set to Robot36 mode (or Robot36 Color).

On your transmitting device, pick a meme to transmit. Since the resolution is lowered to 256 x 240, simple memes are best. However, you can just send whatever you want.

Ensure that your receiving device is placed close to the radio/speaker. Noise will cause interference in the signal, but a little bit of noise may add some charm to the final image if you’re into that (I certainly do).

Finally, start the transmission! You can do so by clicking the Play button on your encoder.

Beep boop. Slowly but surely, an image should start to form line by line as your receiving device decodes the raw output of your radio. Congratulations, you’ve just sent a meme over FM radio! You are now a certified radio shitposter 🎉 !

NOTE TO SELF: Find an actual certification 😅

That’s Sick, but What’s the Catch?

Cheap FM transmitters generally have a short range due to legal restrictions. Technically, you can’t host your own amateur/ham radio station (which is essentially what you’re doing) without a license. However, that mainly applies to larger-scale operations that are meant to cover entire towns, and it’s also subject to your local laws.

There’s also the interference factor: another radio station can interfere with your radio transmission easily. If the default frequency doesn’t work, it will take some time for you to find a functioning frequency.

I can think of multiple use-cases for this beyond sending memes:

• If you’ve bought one, you can use your new/old radio as a wireless speaker, since you’ve essentially created your own little radio station. My radio has become my primary wireless speaker because of this.
• Embed an image into an coded radio transmission in your horror game or alternate-reality games (ARGs). It would probably increase the depth and creepiness of your game.
• Use a screen recording of the output or the image output itself in an analogue-horror series. The potential from the grainy/noisy nature of the image can’t be understated.

Once again, I want to thank Muhammad Isa @ adminispwd (his website) for the original idea! I had a lot of fun doing this and seeing the reactions of others when I demonstrate this is incredibly funny. Dumb yet interesting experiments like this add spice to your life, and I look forward to see what you would end up using this knowledge for.

This post marks Day 2 of #100DaysToOffload