How-To Tuesday: Make your own Pirate Radio Station with an iPod
posted Jun 15th 2004 11:07AM
This was going to be "How-To increase the
range of your iTrip mini". But after playing around with the new iTrip mini, the FM broadcasting accessory for the iPod
(our review here) our little minds got working on
some ideas. We thought we might be able to make the range of Griffin's iTrip mini a little better if took it apart and
exposed the antenna, turns out we could. And then we thought, hey- we could use a couple iPods to broadcast something
we wanted to get out there, perhaps not "should" that is, but could. So that was our motivation, and here's the
How-To.
Ingredients:
-
1 iPod mini
-
1 iTrip mini
-
Optional: Addition iPods, iTalks and iTrips
Getting Started
First, to become your own pirate broadcast
station you'll need to increase the range and signal of your iTrip mini. Turns out, there is an antennae built inside
the iTrip mini. All you need to do is remove the top sticker-like protection which hides the antennae and then using
tweezers or your fingernail, pull the antennae out. We've found a 20% to 30% increase of range on average. This likely
voids the warranty, so there, we said it.
Next up, if you're using the iTrip mini, then
you know that you can install all the stations on the dial to broadcast on. At first we we're really sure we'd ever use
them, but now we have good reason. So make sure you've installed all the stations, on the go you might need them to
switch to. Remember, the iTrip is a FM broadcasting device, intended to broadcast 10 to 30 feet to a FM radio.
Next, choose your broadcast, it can be any song or a spoken word MP3, don't worry we have a few suggestions. A lot depends on the situation you're in.
Pirate Broadcasts
We usually keep a couple tracks of silence ready to go, ever get stuck
at a stop light for like 10 minutes and the dude in the next car is blasting the radio? With the super easy iPod
interface you can quickly get to the station he's on and send over whatever you want, a couple gentle ocean waves or
birds usually works out great.
If you've ever gone to the Gym, or starred in to one from
the outside- you'll notice the TVs are muted and set to broadcast on specific FM frequencies, folks then tune in their
radio headsets to whatever station to listen to the audio as they exercise. Now we're not suggesting you go around and
broadcast over CNN or anything, but we think broadcasting "Aliens have landed today, the President and UN will be
making an announcement immediately" could be quite fun. We'll be trying this out with our gym pals who are usually up
for a good gag.
There are other times where you simply need to
broadcast back. Let's say you're at the park, enjoying a nice quiet day with your family- then comes along someone
blasting the radio. We've found broadcasting a silent track tends to work nicely, sure you need to be within 30 to 40
feet, but no one will even suspect that their FM broadcast is getting usurped by you.
Advanced Pirate Radio Broadcasting techniques
We've also discovered another fun example. If you use the iTalk,
Griffin's voice recorder accessory with 2g/3g iPod you can record your pirate broadcast on the fly, pop in the iTrip
and start broadcasting. Usually pretending to be an omnipotent being and asking folks to build a water proof car, drive
across the English Channel with two of every gadget gets some interesting reactions.
Now, if you really get in to this- you could easily increase the range even more, google around for ways to do this- we're working on a few and will let you know too. You can additionally use multiple iPods, when you're broadcasting something like a silent track, you and a pal can cover more area and really surround the FM receiver. And finally, there are also a lot of other things which use FM that you can discover and broadcast to, happy hunting.
This concludes our broadcast. Send comments and ideas to torrone@gmail.com
You can amplify the signal from the iTrip(mini)... build bigger a bigger antena(e).. possibly on the moon
and take over the world...
I think the most obvious use for this would be to override the horrible stuff they usually play in shops. Can this iTrip connect to any 3.5mm jack or is it iPod specific?
it's iPod specific. It uses the custom port next to the 3.5mm jack to allow you to control it & power it.
>Can this iTrip connect to any 3.5mm jack
>or is it iPod specific?
Probably iPod specific if you change frequencies using the iPod.
Yes, you could silence the ghetto-angst with birds chirping or something, but why not take advantage of the subwoofers already in place and play something... I don't know, techno-ish? :-)
There's a version that will plug into any portable audio player called a Si-Link, i've seen them sold at places like Radioshack. My personal favorite is finding the broadcast frequency that some stores use to run the announcement PA.. oah the glory of playing the "pricebreak@isle12.mp3" at an opportune moment at Wal-Mart.. oah the redneck carnage:)
but in order to pirate someone else's radio station (the car next to you, the guy in the park, a store's music), you'd need to know exactly what radio station they're on, right?
I don't know about the iTrip mini, but my 3rd-gen iTrip is so weak it can barely go the 4' between it and my antenna. Using it to disrupt a passing car's radio reception is VERY doubtful.
tried to use the same method on the bus to cancel out a crappy radiostation that was playing. the itrip was too weak and the bus being made of metal and being between me and the antenna didn't help. i am thinking of building an amp...
It shows it in the picture but then only describes it for the iPod Mini. Can this be done on the iTrip for a 15 gig iPod. Where do I unscrew it to pull the antenna out? And really.... will this actually work?
10 years ago with equipment from radio shack and a discman. You can buy the generic equivalent to the Itrip at radio shack, best buy, etc.. for about $15 today.
Broadcasting from multiple iPods would be unlikely to multiply your effectiveness, because they would generate an interference pattern, augmented in some places, cancelled out in others.
This is a very good idea. In fact I thinking of getting one for my Ipod. There is just one thing to consider. The people that have spent the money to have the nice systems in there cars don't listen to radio. They are listen to a CD / CD changer or even XM radio.
http://www.fm-transmitter.com/transmission/fm-transmitters/omb-em5000v-single-tube-fm-transmitter.htm
This is a great idea, but the one thing not taken into account here, is that the majority of intersection concerts are from Car CD Players. Blasting through crappy speakers that can not handle the power. If we could send a pulse to disable the cars electronics we would have a million seller. Leaving the unsuspecting thumper sitting in his dead car, with traffic now backing up around him as he gets embarrassed by his polished POS hip-hop machine.
Once upon a time, a certain monkeywrencher in the 1970's documented how a gearhead friend of his had built a 'Boombox Attitude Adjuster" - a piece of electronics that basically was about the size of a lunchbox, and which you could plug in a microphone to (or just use the ambient mic), and when activated would then scan the EM spectrum for RF emissions that matched the input audio - and which would then send out a tuned EMP pulse, blowing out the speakers of the nearby annoyance.
For the technically inclined, the problems associated with this approach are numerous. For those of you who don't immediately see them -
A: Power source. (The gearhead used one-shot capacitors)
B: Tuning the EMP (You don't want to blow out everything in range, now do you?)
C: Fragile Modern Electronics (Consumer Electronics in the 1970's were quite robust. Not necessarily so today.)
D: Safety (It's an EMP. Enough Said.)
The lesson here is this - If the annoyance is loud enough to be an annoyance, it's loud enough to be generating plenty of RF - RF that can be isolated and identified by the correct electronics. RF that can be re-modulated real time - by the correct *coughBoseQuietHeadSetcough* equipment...
Of course, this is all hypothetical. I wouldn't suggest anyone actually employ anything discussed here.
here's the schematic for an itrip amplificator (non-mini): http://thewolfweb.com/photo_photo.aspx?user=13314&photo=182313
plugs into your car's electric circuit to power the amplifier. boxed, portable 4*AA battery version anyone?
cheers
I found this article on MacBytes.com and it's very, very interesting. I work in a place that sells mac stuff, and there they sell a lot of iPod accesories. I've had the experience of people that comes and buys the iTrip (normal version) and then returns complaining that it doesn't work as it should. Then I began to think that the iTrip was not good at all.
Anyways, after reading this the question about if the normal iTrip's signal could be amplified as in the iTrip mini comes to my mind (same as a few that I've read on the comments). It would be so great if there is a way to do the things that were mentioned on this article using a 3G iPod (15/20/40) and a normal iTrip.
Awesome article.
now i can finally mute that ANNOYING classical music :)
oh, and I don't think people need very nice system to play loudly enough to be irritating
Why not just get an old "Mr. Microphone" and tune the analog pot inside it to your local rap station or whatever station the toom-toom car listeners tend to use.
Why spend $500 when you can spend only $19.95, and if you act now you can get TWO for the same price!
Why not just get an old "Mr. Microphone" and tune the analog pot inside it to your local rap station or whatever station the toom-toom car listeners tend to use.
Why spend $500 when you can spend only $19.95, and if you act now you can get TWO for the same price!
We did this with nothing more than a simple mp3 player and a Radio Shack-ish (uhm, there is no Radio Shack in the Netherlands) FM transmitter, longer range, and a lot cheaper offcourse.
And silencing the boom-cars: don't most guys play a CD, instead of listening to the radio?
There is/was a similar product at RadioShack. It takes its own batteries and you tune it with a regular dial. It plugs into any 3.5 mm jack.
Also at RadioShack: a build-your-own FM bug kit! It has a range of 3-4 feet when assembled and connected to a single N-size battery. Try wiring that microphone to a headphone plug instead, add some amplification to the output, attach an antenna and you should have something at least as good. Except it's in mono, but who needs chirpy bird sounds in stereo?
(If you just leave it with a microphone, you can talk over it in real-time, sending those SOBs in SUVs individualized messages. Or hold the thing so the microphone picks up the blasting sound and re-broadcasts it on the same frequency, and they'll start hearing feedback.)
I also have an old electronic learning kit that includes instructions for an AM broadcaster, though that wouldn't be much use nowadays.
Here's an idea for use in cars: Open the thing up and see if you can build something to amplify the signal entering the antenna and then attach it to a big external antenna.
Another use: RF wireless game controllers and non-infrared remotes use FM, though it isn't in the regular range. You'll have to modify an FM broadcaster to mess with those. I've seen radio controlled cars using 27 and 44 MHz, so I'd check around that range. (Many broadcasting devices use a knob instead of software tuning. Depending on how it's made, the mod might be as simple as replacing a potentiometer or a base-frequency clock crystal, or might involve a software hack.)
The people who have subs in their cars do tend to listen to CD's as the bass on FM signals tends to be of rather poor quality. What i was wondering was; Is there a way to just broadcast on all frequencies, or quickly go up and down them. Because if there isnt thn by the tim you find the station the person next to you is on it's likely that the light has changed. How did you find what station they were on?
uk shop that has stock of alot of the kit you mention worth a look
http://www.ipodessentials.co.uk/products/accessories/index.html
full VAT invoice and been around for years
For those of you wondering if this will work on the non-mini iPod, the answer is no. Well, not the way shown in this article anyway. The case is all plastic with no stickers to remove. The antenna also appears to be rigid copper wire.
I don't have an ipod, but i want to get a generic one from radio shack. Would it still have the antennae i could extend?
There's an area in my town where nearly every radio station sort of fades out including fm bands.
It would be interesting to see how much of a signal can go from some given area.
For example on tech tv they were designing away to use a old direct tv dish or a coffee can as wireless internet. Maybe if a signal is strong enough it could do some things.
iTip Antenna:
1.Take the iTrip and rip off that ugly white plasitc.
2. With your intelligence, attatch a modern antenna onto your iPod, either by making a new exoskeleton (which would be tedious) or just bolt or tape it on.
3. Make sure your connection from the antenna to the iTrip is insulated and secure.
4. I guess that is it.
Summary: All you are doing is attatching your own antenna onto the iTrip. RTFMs on it, and you'll figure it out. -PRIMATE
The biggest thing left out of this article is how much fun you can have at the drive-in.
Take the tip on building an antenna from PRIMATE
Go to the local drive-in movies
Recieve frequency at the ticket stand
Now you can go one of two ways with this.
During an action movie play some golden girls audio, or, during a family film - porn audio.
Enjoy
First, the iTrip Mini most likely uses the Rohm BH1415 FM transmitter IC. Link for the pdf data file - http://www.rohmelectronics.com/downloads/products/focus/audio_lsi/bh1415f.pdf
We have a 1 to 1.5 watt broadband FM amplifer kit which will increase the 10-50 milliwatt or so output to a level sufficient for several miles of coverage. A 7 element low pass filter must be used between the amplifier and antenna to reduce the harmonics.
You will need to remove the internal antenna and attach a short length of RG174 coax to the pad where the antenna was soldered. Center conductor to the pad, shield to ground side of the circuit board. You can connect a BNC connector to the other end of the coax and use a BNC panel jack for the input to the amplifier and filter which should be housed in separate metal enclosure. The output from the filter is connected to a standard UHF SO239 bulkhead connector (same type as on the back of CB and amateur radio gear).
As far antennas go, your best bet is either a dipole for fixed locations or a 1/4 wave whip attached to a magnetic mount base which is placed in the center of your vehicle's roof.
Such endeavors are not encouraged by the FCC which takes exception to such expressions of free speech rights. After all, the airwaves are supposed to be a common property not a profit center for corporate pirates.
Dowload our Microower Broadcasting Primer from our web site - http://www.freeradio.org. Contact us for further information - xmtrman@pacbell.net
could you take the iPod mini transmiter and put it on the normal iPod? it would just look wierd. but woodn't it still work?
The 4th item down in the "Parts Needed" section says .001 uf transistor. It should say "Capacitor" instead of transistor. The only reason i bring this up is because there is a big difference between the two items. Even in the schematic it shows the symbol for a capacitor there and not a transistor.
By the way... just asking, is it possible to use a normal iPod and normal iTrip instead of using a iPod mini and iTrip mini.
By the way... just asking, is it possible to use a normal iPod and normal iTrip instead of using a iPod mini and iTrip mini.
To answer the previous question: Yes it is very possible.
check out the site:
http://www.binaryelysium.com/itrip_amp/
It is an abstract, with detailed images.
Is there any way to achieve ways of doing exactly this without having an ipod or itrip? Does anybody have instructions of somesort to build one?
I'm all for cool hacks, but why would I bother doing this when I could just dig up a Mr. Microphone at a garage sale and accomplish the same task?
I live up the road from a radio station were they broadcast and i rekon it would b real sweet to go down and change it to sum decent music. i am thinking of getting an itrip but the thing is i dont wont to break it wile taking it apart!
I know this is an old thread so nobody might be reading it, but if anyone is in contact with 'greg' could you please ask him or someone (or do it yourself if you have it) to attach the image and send it to me on email taosk8r at yahoo.com
Subject: I-Trip Mini Amp
Thanks in advance
Hey don't destroy your iTrip just to mess with somebodies head. Have a look at this...
http://www.ccrane.com/fm-transmitter.aspx
This comes with a car power adapter and broadcasts arount 50 feet.
Have PHUN....
I was looking into purchasing an iTrip mini and this just sold me on it. The CD player in my car doesn't work nor does it have a line-in jack or cassette player, so I thought this just might be the thing for me. Living in Phoenix where the sun turns your car into an oven in the summertime, I need something I can just stick in my backpack or pocket easily so that it doesn't get fried sitting in the car.
p.s. When I think "pirate radio" I think of London circa 92-94 and stations like Kool FM and Dream FM. Big up ya chest! Booyakah! ;)
"I live up the road from a radio station were they broadcast and i rekon it would b real sweet to go down and change it to sum decent music. i am thinking of getting an itrip but the thing is i dont wont to break it wile taking it apart!"
it doesn't work like that. you will be on the wrong frequency to take out any link between the studio and transmitter (which could be on another fm band, or even on a UHF or microwave band depending on country etc..), and your iTrip will never be strong enough to jam the stations fm signal.
Hey i know this is a really old thread but i have a question, i have a ipod photo 40 gig and an itrip and i downloaded all the stations onto my ipod but i cant get it to play over any popular stations so i dont understand how you guys are saying you can pull up to people in traffic and take over if you know what there playing, mine can only play on fm stations that have nothing on them will someone help me out thanks.
Well I just did this today I am not using it to pirate any radios but it actually made my iTrip work cause it didnt work at all I live in guatemala I have a iPod and a normal iTrip and it worked like crap, I read this articule and assumed the normal itrp would have the lil ant so I decided to open it even though it was real good sealed besides of it not working I said to hell with it so I can say I pretty much opend the sh*** out of it and managed to get the antenae from the sides where it has the rubber things now it works!!!!!!! as it should have in the first place like I wanted it to, thank you very much for this!!
I just got a free ipod and a free itrip. I just took apart the Itrip and built the amp. Now the itrip wont get any power to it nor will the ipod even detect it. They sent me a 4th gen ipod. I duno if those are known to have probs with the itrip or if maby i wrecked the board on the itrip when opening it. At least i didnt waste any money ;-) In any of y'all are interested i still have the link i got it from:
http://www.mp3players4free.com/default.aspx?r=160718
Well, after reading the whole how to and comments, it makes me want to do this as well. Although, I belive that I can have more fun with this because I'm stationed in Afghanistan. Insted of that damn music they play, I will show them the light of some trance or even some system of a down.
-=] Zer0 [=-
well i just spent 24 days waiting for my ipod to come from office depot (i wouldnt buy from them)and the itrip mini doesnt even work will the antenae thing be hazardous to my ipod or the itrip itself and is there any other way to improve clarity. i just want to listen in my bedroom
jipii radio station
Thanks.
i just modded my itrip mini, use a razor blade to peel up the top adhesive sticker, pull out antenna, thats it!
i now get clear reception in my car and can even walk with the ipod away from the car and still get reception. Touching the antenna creates some distortion, i would really like to make a telescopic antenna on top of the itrip, anyone get that far yet?
Does the iTrip mini sticker on top protecting the antenna go back on after you peel it back?
My iTrip experiences are horrible so far - hoping to improve it
Is it possible that the iTrip (regular not mini) might be more effective in USA than in Australia? We are having trouble getting strong reception from ours back home in Tasmania after having really good performance while driving in USA recently. I have taken tips from other people here and pulled out the antenna. This has given significantly stronger signal but is still not strong enough in the car (the car's aerial is in the body). Clipping on an antenna extension seems to help a little. ???
I am going to be an electrical engineer and I am a student of level-2/tram-1 now.I don't know how aradio wark and how radio station sent frequency.I want to know everything about this.
so are the itrips not illegal over there as they are in the UK?
Finally can play "Banana Phone" over the schools intercom system =D adn they won't know who it is.
dont u have to be on an empty radio station to be able to use the ipod?
i dont no about you ppl but my car has a cd changer in the trunck (not factory) and it is not connected to the radio it uses a fm modulator. It broadcasts the signal about an inch the broadcaster is placed almost directly next to the antenna connection. It broadcasts on something like 88.6 or something could you not just set up the itrip to everride the cd player...
Yes you do need to tune an FM transmitter into a free frequenzy. The best things is an airplay as they are easier to use and much stronger. Also anybody seen the new itrip lcd coming out take a look
http://www.easyipod.co.uk
there is a picture of the item
how can you overide a strong signal? ex. if someone is playing annoying music, how can you play your music over that? doesn't the signal have to be really bad? my itrip mini (with copper wire wrapped around the antenna) can only go over stations with bad signals.
i was serching on how to build a piret raido station and came across this, looks cool but im looking in to building a cheep transmitter that i can leave playing a loop of "anti-vertisements, over the main raido stations. it has to be cheep because it will eventualy be found and destroyed. (im looking to build multipul units. id be intrested if any one has an idea on how to do this.
ps im not a techy kinda guy , so id need sum details. if you could help me out my e mail is sjsdr@hotmail.com
THANX!!! }:)
Can this be done with a 4g/iPod photo? If so, I will be all oer this idea.
One way to boost the signal is to build a parabolic shaped bowl out of balsa wood covered with copper foil. You drill a small hole in the middle of the bowl. Then, you put the antenna through the hole. Make sure the antenna's wire is exposed at the tip. Make a shape out of copper foil to connect to the wire. The shape should look like that thingy on a massive transmitter that points in the direction of the dish. You have just made a Marconi satellite transmitter.
hello
im trying to market http://www.autosurfmonster.com on the radio any advice on how i can do this??
All of you have no lives! I'm gonna build me a 4.5782901.43 FM transmitor ampliflicator hydro-foil system and aim it straight up your HINEY HOLE!!
In seventies when I was young and interested in electronics I discovered a way to make a radiocassette recorder into a transmitter.
It only needed microphone and 10 microfarad electrolytic capacitor in series to connect into the base of mixer/oscillator transistor of the radioreceiver.
Basically you find the spot by tuning a second FM radio 10.7 MHz higher than the one you are hacking into a FM transmitter. Lets say you have 90 MHZ on the transmitting radio and you find muted frequency on 100.7MHz on the receiving radio. You just tap your finger on the radio part of the transmitting radio near the tuning capacitor and you should hear a buzzing noise when you find the right spot. You solder the other end of the capacitor into this point and microphone in series.
Warning : if you are not familiar with electronic circuits use a battery operated transistor radio so you avoid getting electric shocks.
Me and my brothers had some fun with this when we tuned on top of pop music station in our small country town. (in seventies there was only two FM stations in our small home town)
We parked next to a police station and announced rego plates of passing cars and told they had a problem with their vehicle. One Morris Mini stopped, parked and driver walked around his Mini looking very puzzled and checking the tires. We cracked laughing in our truck.