[liberationtech] Creating a Pirate FM Radio

Sun Mar 6 14:51:13 PST 2011

On the cheap, perhaps you could add some sort of amplified antenna to this:

http://www.wholehousefmtransmitter.com

More:
http://www.google.com/search?q=home+fm+transmitter

The use of FM boom boxes to play audio from speakers at a rally might
be the most viable application.

Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
  Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.Org
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  New Tel: +1.612.234.7072

On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 3:25 PM, Walid Al-Saqaf <admin at alkasir.com> wrote:
> Thanks Mick for such an insightful and detailed reply.
>
> Based on preliminary research done by colleagues on the ground in Sanaa and
> Taiz, I can say that you are absolutely right in the assumption that
> authorities refrain from storming groups of tens and sometimes hundreds of
> thousands of protestors to locate a particular low power transmitters. It is
> wise perhaps to start small and then go from there. I do like the idea of
> purchasing low-cost low-power FM transmitters linked somehow to a central
> audio source. I am already moving to the logistics part and thinking of how
> to get those devices into the country. I believe it would be wise to have
> them shipped as multipurpose devices that could not be as suspicious. The
> low cost of such transmitters also makes it possible to not worry if one or
> two are confiscated or get damaged or lost.
>
> I'll keep you updated about how it goes. I plan to have those radios up and
> running within a month. The revolution's pace is quite fast and I wouldn't
> rule out the possibility of the fall of the regime rather soon. But such an
> initiative could also help in the post-liberation phase as well.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Walid
>
> -----------------
>
> Walid Al-Saqaf
> Founder & Administrator
> alkasir for mapping and circumventing cyber censorship
> https://alkasir.com
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 10:16 PM, Mick McQuaid <mcq at umich.edu> wrote:
>>
>> Oh, yes, I admit I was speaking speculatively and that  I
>> did not take your 5000USD budget into account in thinking
>> about that.  Differences in the availability and market
>> prices of used transmitters between nations / continents may
>> vary, and a quick check of ebay showed me that Greece is
>> vastly cheaper than the US for transmitters.
>> I also have no idea whether it is realistic to draw 500kW
>> power without the authorities noticing or whether the local
>> infrastructure would even support it.
>>
>> Likewise, it never would have occurred to me that you might
>> place a high-power transmitter within a rural area inside
>> the nation.  Isolation would seem to make it easier for
>> hostile forces to locate a transmitter.  Instead, it
>> seems like a better strategy might be to put extremely low
>> power transmitters directly in the middle of protests, since
>> their locations are already known and since the use of force
>> might carry a higher cost in front of witnesses.  Also, an
>> extremely low power transmitter may be carried in a backpack
>> along with its power source.  A high-power transmitter
>> would require a conspicuous vehicle or stationary location.
>>
>> On reflection, it seems that there would many reasons to
>> prefer a very distributed, very low power arrangement,
>> probably peer-to-peer, to communicate in defiance of hostile
>> authority.  The giant border blasters of eighty years ago
>> seem to have died from regulatory causes.  Bringing them
>> back today might not make sense for many other reasons.
>>
>> Inexpensive, hard-to-disrupt p2p communication might be the
>> right tool for this time, just as Khomeini found the
>> technology of audio cassettes ideally suited to his time and
>> situation. In every such case there is probably a
>> confluence of political, social, and technological reasons,
>> including many that do not apply to today.  For instance,
>> Khomeini later said that many of his cassette-epidemic
>> messages were intentionally deceitful as a way of enlisting
>> the aid of disparate enemies of the Shah.  By choosing a
>> technology where his voice ensured the authenticity of each
>> message, he could maintain "message discipline," a concept
>> that may be abhorrent in the revolutions and protests of
>> 2011.
>>
>> I still believe it useful to revisit past technologies
>> since, in a changing world, circumstances might sometimes
>> favor their revival.  In particular, the Egyptian revolution
>> changes the circumstances for all their neighbors.  That's
>> really what sparked my speculation about putting up a
>> high-power transmitter.
>>
>> - Mick
>>
>> ... regarding a message from Walid Al-Saqaf on Mar 06:
>> > Hi Mike,
>> >
>> > Interesting. But an AM radio would probably cost much more, right? I can
>> > set
>> > up one in a rural area in Yemen. But if it is an FM radio, it would be
>> > easier to access and possibly cheaper. I was thinking more along the
>> > lines
>> > of purchasing some 5 or so small FM radios and distribute them all over
>> > the
>> > place and have them connected through an audio stream from the Internet.
>> > I
>> > find that feasible and less risky. But I'll study my options.
>> >
>> > Thanks indeed for this valuable information.
>> >
>> > Sincerely,
>> >
>> > Walid
>> >
>> > -----------------
>> >
>> > Walid Al-Saqaf
>> > Founder & Administrator
>> > alkasir for mapping and circumventing cyber censorship
>> > https://alkasir.com <walid.al-saqaf at oru.se>
>> >
>> >
>> > On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 7:24 PM, Mick McQuaid <mcq at umich.edu> wrote:
>> >
>> > >
>> > > This message and the earlier one about AM radio reminded me
>> > > of border blasters, high-powered stations operating legally
>> > > from countries other than those being served:
>> > >
>> > >  http://www.onthemedia.org/episodes/2007/11/16/segments/89005
>> > >
>> > >  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_blaster
>> > >
>> > > Currently it looks like the nearest reasonable place to put
>> > > one would be over 500 miles from Yemen (southern Egypt).
>> > > In the nineteen thirties, some border blasters could
>> > > broadcast over a thousand miles but today there may be
>> > > insurmountable technical obstacles, not to mention social
>> > > / legal / political  challenges.
>> > >
>> > > Nevertheless, the nearest reasonable place would have
>> > > probably been much farther away just before the Egyptian
>> > > Revolution.  It might be interesting to hear about
>> > > sociotechnical challenges for high-power radio today.
>> > > (Unfortunately, I know nothing about this beyond hearing the
>> > > above-cited documentary).
>> > >
>> > > - Mick
>> > >
>> > > ... regarding a message from Walid Al-Saqaf on Mar 06:
>> > > > Thanks Alec & Michael for your useful tips.
>> > > >
>> > > > I'll go ahead and use them. I have just investigated the issue and
>> > > > it
>> > > > appears the most critical task is to actual get it into the country
>> > > without
>> > > > being confiscated. Will check our options...
>> > > >
>> > > > Wish us luck.
>> > > >
>> > > > Sincerely,
>> > > >
>> > > > Walid
>> > > >
>> > > > -----------------
>> > > >
>> > > > Walid Al-Saqaf
>> > > > Founder & Administrator
>> > > > alkasir for mapping and circumventing cyber censorship
>> > > > https://alkasir.com <walid.al-saqaf at oru.se>
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > > On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 2:02 PM, Alec Muffett
>> > > > <alec.muffett at gmail.com>
>> > > wrote:
>> > > >
>> > > > >
>> > > > > On 6 Mar 2011, at 12:35, Walid Al-Saqaf wrote:
>> > > > >
>> > > > > >  A suggestion was to use a low-budget pirate FM radio solution.
>> > > > >
>> > > > > You may find parts of this documentary to be useful for getting a
>> > > > > feel
>> > > for
>> > > > > the technology, albeit some of this will be more advanced than
>> > > > > your
>> > > > > requirements:
>> > > > >
>> > > > >        http://boingboing.net/2010/03/26/pirate-radio-documen.html
>> > > > >
>> > > > > I suspect you'll get more mileage from an AM rig, but it depends
>> > > > > what
>> > > your
>> > > > > audience wants to listen to.
>> > > > >
>> > > > >        -a
>> > > > >
>> > > > >
>> > >
>> > > > _______________________________________________
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>> > > --
>> > > Michael McQuaid, Assistant Professor
>> > > School of Information, School of Art & Design
>> > > University of Michigan
>> > > 4364 North Quad
>> > > 105 S. State St.
>> > > Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2112
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>> > >
>>
>> --
>> Michael McQuaid, Assistant Professor
>> School of Information, School of Art & Design
>> University of Michigan
>> 4364 North Quad
>> 105 S. State St.
>> Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2112
>> 734-647-9550 voice  734-647-8045 fax
>> mcq at umich.edu       http://mickmcquaid.com
>
>
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