Radio Chthulucene 87.9 FM

For this project, I was inspired by my favorite game Super Mario. Especially with finals week coming up, I wanted something joyful and nostalgic that could be listened to. Thus, my radio station plays the Mario theme song on 87.9 FM. My Arduino board is inside a MDF laser cut wooden box, engraved with the Mario star. The star in the game is a power up that allows the player temporary invincibility. Just like the star in the game, I hope that when students get to listen to my radio station and hear the nostalgia of Super Mario, it gives them temporary invincibility against whatever stress, worries, and fears they may be currently facing.

Interestingly, although the notes of the Mario theme song is the same, it sounds differently transmitting from the Arduino. It sounds distorted, robotic, and at a faster pace.

My project is located on the third floor of the SME building, in the faculty office number 343. There are student study spaces available there as well as faculty offices. I originally chose the Envision Lab as my location however another student’s radio station already occupied the space. Thus, I still wanted a location that students frequented and found that these spaces were not only abundant, but also well populated with students studying in preparation for finals. I tried to choose a neutral location since the study rooms are isolated from one another and settled on the table in the middle of them.