Forget WiFi and Bluetooth – you can transfer images via radio like it’s 1989! | Digital Camera World

Wireless before wireless: this YouTube video explains how you can transfer imagery over analog radio waves, no WiFi necessary

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If you find the workings of tech fascinating, then you might want to check out YouTuber – and digital MacGyver – @JanusCycle's video, where he manages to send imagery between two phones via analog radio. The video in question was released in 2022, but I’ve only just come across it and it blew my mind.

You may or may not be aware that many of the best camera phones have a built-in FM radio receiver. As the channel explains, while much of the world relies on digital radio formats like HD Radio and DAB, some countries still rely heavily on analog FM radio.

The YouTuber reveals that major chipset developer, Qualcomm Atheros, bakes FM radio receivers into its chipsets. “That’s because it’s easier to make one chip and let the phone makers decide which functions to include,” he says.

You’ll likely have to turn to a third-party app if you want to use your phone’s radio. Janus recommends NextRadio Free Live FM Radio. However, he does note that newer iPhones no longer include FM radio receivers, having removed them after the iPhone 7.

He shows a couple of examples of phones with FM radio receivers including his Microsoft Lumia 950XL and a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime. Now, that’d be interesting enough for most people, but the Janus Cycle YouTube channel features some pretty serious tech tinkering, so he decides to go a step further. Watch the video below to see him send images over analog waves:

Turns out, this process has been around for a while. It’s called slow-scan television (SSTV). You’ll have to watch the video to find out exactly how he does it, but at around 03:16 he transfers his first image between two phones. The spooky ambient music helps, but honestly – watching the image gradually appear as it’s sent via analog radio is pretty darn cool.

A lesser-minded tech junkie – like myself – may find it hard to fathom how this is possible. But Janus explains how the images are received succinctly; “I’m running the FM radio app in the background and the Robot36 app listens through the microphone and decodes the images out of the audio signal.”

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The sending process is a little different, and requires a phone with a built-in FM transmitter. He explains that these are rare, but manages to find a solution: the Nokia N8. Make sure you watch the full video to find out how he sets up the transmitter.

So there you have it. Not only can you transfer images over the radio, it’s cool as heck. That said, I don’t think camera manufacturers will be giving up Wi-Fi and Bluetooth any time soon…

Make sure you check out the Janus Cycle YouTube channel for more tech voyages into the digital unknown.

If you're interested in phone-related photography check out the best iPhone for photography and the best camera apps for iPhone and Android.

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Mike is Digital Camera World's How To Editor. He has over a decade of experience, writing for some of the biggest specialist publications including Digital Camera, Digital Photographer and PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine. Prior to DCW, Mike was Deputy Editor of N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine and Production Editor at Wex Photo Video, where he sharpened his skills in both the stills and videography spheres. While he's an avid motorsport photographer, his skills extend to every genre of photography – making him one of Digital Camera World's top tutors for techniques on cameras, lenses, tripods, filters and other imaging equipment – as well as sharing his expertise on shooting everything from portraits and landscapes to abstracts and architecture to wildlife and, yes, fast things going around race tracks...