Aperture Science Radio
|
This article would greatly benefit from the addition of one or more new images. |  |
|---|---|---|
Please upload one or several relevant images (from canonical / official sources) and place it here. Once finished, this notice may be removed. |
| |
| Aperture Science Radio | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Faction | |
| Type |
Radio |
| Usage | |
| Used by | |
| Game information | |
| Entity |
|
Radios can be found through the Enrichment Center in Portal, and less frequently in Portal 2. On March 1, 2010, a Portal update expanded the radios' role within the game,[1] using it within an alternate reality game to promote Portal 2.[2]
Contents
Overview[edit]
When they are initially found in test chambers in Portal, the radios are set to the frequency 85.2 FM, and play an instrumental version of "Still Alive". They also initially have a red light on them. Since the Portal ARG update, when moved to specific locations within the test chamber where they are found, they will play seemingly random sounds consisting of noises and beeps. However, when some of them are played through an SSTV decoder, the sounds reveal images, with letters and numbers, which lead to a now defunct BBS server (see the Portal ARG article for more details). Others are simply Morse code.
Radios are destroyed when taken through Emancipation Grills, however after the Portal ARG update they will instead emit another sound.
In Portal 2, a radio can be found one of Rattmann's dens, playing "Exile Vilify" by The National, with a mural containing odd lyrics painted on the wall behind it. This radio still has the same frequency as the others. Again in Portal 2, a radio can be found falling from a Vital Apparatus Vent, which will play another hidden SSTV image when taken to one of Rattmann's dens within that chamber. When decoded it shows a picture of the companion cube on the surface of the Moon. Finding this easter egg will activate the achievement entitled "Final Transmission".
Related Achievements[edit]
| Portal | |
|---|---|
|
Transmission Received |
| ..? | |
| Portal 2 | |
|
Final Transmission (20G) |
| Find the hidden signal in one of the Rat Man's dens. | |
Behind the scenes[edit]
- In the USA, the 85.2 MHz frequency actually does not exist as a FM radio frequency, as the latter does not start before 88.1 MHz. The frequencies set before 88.1 are reserved for the commercial broadcast televisions.
- On March 1, 2010, Portal was updated[1] as part of its ARG to have a total of 26 radios (including the ones already present before the update) playing in the Test Chambers, always in an area more or less difficult to reach (but given to the player by the music playing), and with a red sprite added to the switch. The radio transmission frequency is also said to have been changed "to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations", as said in the update. In-game, the radio must each time be moved in a particular spot of the Test Chamber. When doing so, the music will be scrambled by interferences, then Morse code or data transmission sounds will be heard, and the red sprite will turn green. To be made in each Test Chamber, finding all radios and jamming the transmission will unlock a new Achievement, "Transmission Received", although its description is simply "..?". The analysis of the Morse code and data transmission sounds led to many intriguing finds.
Trivia[edit]
The radio found in the ruins of the Portal relaxation vault does not play "Still Alive". Additionally, the radios found in the ARG do not appear in the old chambers.
However, the aforementioned functional radio that drops from a Vital Apparatus Vent still plays "Still Alive", provided it is caught properly. If the radio hits a wall too hard or a Weighted Storage Cube is dropped on it, the music will stop, although the radio itself remains functional. Catching the radio without hitting it too much is possible through creative use of portals.
Gallery[edit]
The cake, a radio and the Aperture Science Red Phone on the desk of the lobby of GLaDOS' chamber after the end of Portal.
The Test Chamber 02 radio after the March 2010 update.
Aperture Laboratories logo seen under radios.
The radio still present in Relaxation Vault in Portal 2.
Portal 2 model, showing the ravages of time on it.
List of appearances[edit]
Main games[edit]
Other[edit]
- Portal: First Slice
- Portal: Still Alive (Non-canonical appearance)
- Portal ARG
- Portal Pinball (Non-canonical appearance)
- Lego Dimensions (Non-canonical appearance)
- Bridge Constructor Portal (Non-canonical appearance)
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Portal Update Released on Steampowered.com (March 1, 2010)
- ↑ Portal 2 Announced on Steampowered.com (March 5, 2010)
External links[edit]
"Dinosaur" sounds, part 1 on YouTube- "Dinosaur" sounds, part 2 on YouTube
- All radios and signals through Portal on YouTube
