Found a way to share banned news reports by using old school radio tech

I have a contact in a country where certain news sites are blocked online. They needed to get a local protest report out. We tried encrypted apps, but those got flagged. The trick was using a shortwave radio broadcast. I set up a basic transmitter, recorded a 5 minute summary, and broadcast it on a clear frequency at 2 AM local time. My contact just needed a cheap shortwave receiver to pick it up and transcribe it. It felt like going back 50 years, but it worked when the internet failed. Has anyone else found low-tech methods that bypass digital censorship?

2 comments

2 Comments

alice2421mo ago

Read about people using mesh networks with old phones in places with internet blackouts. They set up local wifi grids that don't need any cell towers at all. Saw a video where a whole neighborhood shared info during a power outage just by bouncing signals between devices. It's basically like a digital version of passing notes, but it works when the big networks go down. Low tech can be the best tech when you really need it.

ray_coleman411mo ago

Always thought you needed big tech for that, but old phones doing mesh networks changed my mind.