SDR radio:
For my essay im writing bout my experiences with radio.
So I dug a bit deeper in ways I experiment with this medium.
An artist a really like ‘Scanner’ he’s work used to be inspired by this use of radio recordings. He used a device called a scanner, where he could tune into peoples privates conversations.
There is an interesting interview in a chapter in ocean of sound by David Toop.
- https://ubu.com/sound/scanner.html
So I did some research to see if I should get a scanner. So nowadays people don’t really use landline telephones, there is less information to access, and a lot of stuff is encrypted, so it’s harder to access. And with a scanner you can only listen in a certain proximity.
So I found this device called an SDR radio.
The one I got in particular works with a software. It comes with an antenna bla bla
It’s taking a while to reach since it ships from the US.
This device allows you to access all sort of radio frequencies from all parts of the world.
This device can even be used to hack into peoples electric garage door.
You can even hear astronauts communication in real time.
I got it so I can sample it ands it for my creative composition
But I would also like to find a way to perform live with this device.
Im also trying to build a simple DIY radio I got from amazon for 5 pounds, the problem is that it doesn’t come with a manual and there is not much information in the internet about it, so that is taking a bit more time than excepted.
When I first booted my RTL-SDR, I started by listening to FM and AM radio, since it’s the easiest to set up. The software that is recommended when using and SDR in macOS is CubicSDR. This software it’s quite intuitive. You can type in the frequency that you want to listen, depending on the type of frequency you’re accessing, the bandwidth has to be adjusting accordingly. Then you get a waterfall diagram updated in realtime so its easy to know what frequency are stronger.
When starting you realise that the antenna position is very important for the result you want.
Radio scanning in Mexico City
Ive done some research of people using radio scanners in Mexico City and I’ve found pages where you can find loads of frequencies, from railways communications to McDonalds, Six Flags and Taxis. Its quite a long list and it keeps getting updated constantly.
http://www.oocities.org/xe1rcf/freq2.html
My grandfather had an interest in radio. When he passed away my grandmother gave me all of his audio equipment. A microphone, 4 channel mixer, radio and a cassette recorder.
It seemed that he had an interest in recording the news onto cassettes, as I found lots of recordings of political discussions and random news on some of his old tapes. I still have these recordings. When he lived he never discussed this interest with me, I spoke with my dad about this and he mentioned me that this was one of his hobbies. I find it fascinating that we share this in common, as if in a way we both managed to see this potential radio has. And im being able to express it and articulate for both of us.
As my next electronics project ill be building a DIY radio, I already bought it, but it came without instructions. So im waiting until summer when i have some free time, and ill be doing this. After this I found a cheap way of building an electromagnetic mic. To get deeper into other forms of radio frequencies and crazy sounds