This Guy Connected GTA Radio to His Radio, So He Can Listen to GTA Radio on the Radio
Redditor Key_Historian_2454 built this device that lets him listen to GTA Radio through his car’s stereo.
The Grand Theft Auto franchise has always been deeply satirical — something that outspoken moral critics of the series never quite seem to grasp. The radio stations players hear in cars while they’re driving around are perfect examples, as they’re over-the-top caricatures that lampoon real-life radio stations. Some of them even play really good music. Redditor Key_Historian_2454 wanted that entertainment in his real car in the real world, so he built this device that lets him listen to GTA Radio through his car’s stereo.
This is a small device with a round LCD screen to show the current station’s logo and dial to scroll through the available stations. It transmits audio over FM, so any nearby FM radio can tune-in. Key_Historian_2454 included all of the radio stations from every 3D Grand Theft Auto game, so there is a pretty substantial collection. Questionable copyright issues aside, those audio files are available online for people that know where to look. It is also possible to extract the audio files directly from the installed games’ directories, if you own the games.
Sadly, Key_Historian_2454 hasn’t yet provided many technical details on the project. We can see that the enclosure was 3D-printed and Key_Historian_2454 states that there is a Raspberry Pi Zero and an FM transmitter, with power coming from a USB adapter. The display is a GC9A01-based round LCD. But we don’t know what Key_Historian_2454 used for the dial, or if it is a potentiometer or a rotary encoder.
We do know that a Python script running on the Raspberry Pi handles audio playback based on the user station selection. When the user switches stations, it picks a random timestamp for that station’s MP3 file to start playback. That mimics the in-game experience and that of real-life radio stations.
One could achieve something similar with a smartphone app, but the self-contained and tactile experience here is very appealing. And it is safe to say that Key_Historian_2454 will be excited to add the stations from GTA VI when it finally releases next year.