Today, if you want to play video game, you usually have to buy online. But it is not always so easy. Thanks for the article published by the site Interesting engineering, We learned that before you had to use the radio to download games. This practice was very common in the 1970s and 1980s.
This period coincides with the advent of personal computers with microprocessors. The most popular include the Apple II, the Commodore PET or the DRS-80. These computers were far from the computers we know today. As a storage medium, they used the audio cassette. Thanks to that, I was able to install the software on these devices.
The use of these cassettes gave an idea to the engineers of the audiovisual broadcaster Netherlands Omroop Stitching (NOS). Thanks to people who started downloading games on the radio.
Data transmitted by radio
NOS engineers discovered that if software and games could be stored on audio cassettes, their data could be sent to the radio. To test their hypothesis, they launched a program called “HobiScope”, which allowed people to “download” games on their home computers.
The principle is relatively simple: read radio data on cassette.
The program that directed this data sounded like it had been heard before when modems tried to connect to the Internet. The process used is very difficult. In fact, each data line must be aired four times to complete the download.
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A practice that has become popular
Faced with the success of their project, NOS ‘engineers decided to create a standard translation format called BASICODE. This allowed us to say goodbye to compatibility issues between machines. Broadcasting games have become very popular on radio, and other broadcasts have sprouted around the world.
In Yugoslavia, the “Ventilator 202” radio station broadcast 150 programs between 1983 and 1986. Broadcasts no longer share video games. They also provided computing software, educational tools and encyclopedias.
This practice was discontinued in the late 1980s with the advent of floppy disks.
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Beatrice Ashford is a contributor at Nintendo-power.com, covering a wide range of topics including news, politics, business, technology, sport, entertainment, and lifestyle. She focuses on delivering clear, balanced reporting and useful information that helps readers stay informed about current events and emerging developments. Her work highlights stories that matter to everyday audiences, with an emphasis on accuracy, relevance, and accessible journalism that keeps readers connected to the issues shaping the world around them.