How to Make Your Own Small Radio Station

Are you tired of the preprogramed junk that makes up radio? Don’t curse the DJ; seize the airwaves! An FM transmitter (like this one) is a simple device that connects to your music player and broadcasts your tunes through a weak radio signal. This signal can be picked up by receivers in the immediate vicinity, but with a few tweaks you can strengthen it and reach up to 100 feet. Although it may not be much, it can turn your car into a vehicle that doubles as a mobile radio station.

Here’s what to do:

You’ll need
• FM radio transmitter
• Putty knife
• Telescoping antenna (no more than 35 inches long)
• Soldering iron
• Copper wire

Open up the transmitter
Locate the seam on the transmitter's case and pry it open with a putty knife (if your transmitter is screwed shut, you'll need a screwdriver to open it). Be careful to preserve the device's electronics. Once the transmitter is open, locate the antenna. Antennas may vary depending on the type of transmitter you are using. Sometimes the antenna looks like a small metal stick, sometimes it is a wire, but in most cases it's labeled “ANT."

Replace the antenna

Remove the antenna and solder the telescoping antenna in its place. The new antenna might not fit in the transmitter's original casing, so make a hole for the protruding antenna, or create a new case (something like an Altoids tin should do the trick). There are plenty of cheap antennas out there that will work, just make sure that your new antenna is no more than 35 inches long. If your antenna is too long, the signal will be outside of the standard FM transmission spectrum. You want to ensure that anyone with a radio receiver can tune in.

Remove resistors
Many FM transmitters have a resistor (typically marked with an “R”) to limit the power of the signal. Since the goal of this project is to boost signal, you'll want to remove any resistors you find. By simply replacing any resistor with copper wire, you can increase the radio signal even further.

Pick your device
Next you'll want to choose a frequency on the transmitter and the device you want to broadcast from. The device you can use and what frequency the transmitter broadcasts varies from model to model, so you'll need to familiarize yourself with the built in specs beforehand. When you have this figured out, you can begin making your broadcast playlist or personal podcasts.

Test it out
Once your modified transmitter is put together it should be able to send out radio waves, but before you go live you'll want to check. Connect the transmitter to your device and turn them both on. Then tune your radio receiver to the frequency on the transmitter. If you did everything correctly, you should hear the audio that is playing on your connected device. To test the broadcast radius move your transmitter farther and farther away from your receiver, once the audio starts fading out, you have found the transmitter's limit.

Go live

Slap a bumper sticker on your ride advertising your station’s frequency. That way nearby cars will know what frequency to tune into to hear your broadcast. Soon you’ll build a grateful audience of fellow commuters suffering through that traffic jam. Or maybe you can tell the car tailgating you to back off.

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